2.2 Ahead of her time: Hajjah Fatimah Binti Sulaiman ‘Al-Bugisi’ (d.1852)
by Liyana Sulaiman, Siti Hajar Zainal and Farhanah Mohamad Saad
AHEAD OF HER TIME: HAJJAH FATIMAH BINTI SULAIMAN ‘AL-BUGISI’
(d.1852)
Let’s officially begin our Malay Pioneer Series by introducing to you the first out of six pioneers we will be looking at throughout this series – Hajjah Fatimah!
When the British began their port operations in Singapore, the arrival of the Bugis traders was greatly anticipated as it would signal the kind of trading season to be had. Famed for their navigational prowess, the Bugis as seafaring commercial agents played a critical role in gathering high-value goods from the far corners of the Nusantara and bringing them to the international entrepôt of Singapore.
Mystery Woman
Very little is known about Hajjah Fatimah, a 19th–century businesswoman. However, her death, estimated at the age of 98, in 1852 in Singapore, places her as one of the earliest traders in the annals of modern Singapore. Her origins are shrouded in mystery yet a few fragments offer tantalising possibilities in envisioning this quietly influential figure.
Hajjah Fatimah is commonly described as hailing from Melaka who married a Bugis merchant-prince from Gowa province, South Sulawesi. However, in Captain Peter Begbie’s account published in 1834, he writes on the fate of “Inchi Fatimah” married to Rajah Moosa, one of the Bugis-Riau nobles on Pulau Penyengat, Bintan – the seat of the 18th-century Johor-Riau Sultanate. He became insane, forcing Fatimah to separate from him. She then moved to Singapore and remarried; her second husband being the abovementioned Gowanese merchant-prince and with whom, she had a daughter named Raja Sitti.
Endowments
From this point on, there are two versions – in one, her husband passed away; in the other, he left her after the birth of Raja Sitti to return to Sulawesi. Either way, she built up her trading business to a point where she could own several shipping vessels and many properties within and outside of Kampong Gelam.
Her own residence was a sizeable property along Java Road (now expunged) which proved to be a prime target for robbers. Her house was ransacked and set on fire twice in the 1830s. Following these incidents, she donated her residence and erected a mosque bearing her name, Hajjah Fatimah Mosque, as well as houses for the poor in its stead.
Her daughter, Raja Sitti, married Syed Ahmed Alsagoff, from another prominent trading family. Syed Ahmed co-founded Alsagoff & Co. in 1848 and gradually took over the reins of his mother-in-law’s business. After the deaths of Hajjah Fatimah and Raja Sitti, Syed Ahmed inherited and consequently developed a 1000-acre plot which is inextricably linked to the development of Geylang Serai.
Rochor’s Beacon for Prayers and Trade
Hajjah Fatimah Mosque still stands today and continues to serve the Muslim community. Gazetted as a National Monument in 1973, the mosque is perhaps her enduring legacy although other property endowments under her daughter’s name are still being operated within Kampong Gelam.
Within the mosque stands a sign that it once was also a public library and literary centre for Arabic and Malay although the exact lifespan is not known. This could perhaps be tied to her Bugis-Riau connections as the Penyengat society during the same period was well-known as highly influential Malay literati in the region.
Another traditional function of the mosque was to act as a landmark for Bugis, Madurese, Teochew and Hokkien trading ships navigating towards Rochor river quays and Kallang harbour when Kampong Gelam was a port town. Traders, particularly the Bugis, would often call upon Hajjah Fatimah and family upon arrival before doing business in the area, alluding to her standing amongst the business community.
To find out more about the Malay Pioneer Series, click on the links below!
Malay Pioneer Series
1.1 Introduction to the Malay World
https://mhf.org.sg/newsletter/malay-pioneer-series-16077.html
2.1 Trading in Nusantara – Trading Antara Nusa?
https://mhf.org.sg/newsletter/malay-pioneer-series-16078.html
