Stop Two - Raffles Landing Site.

Raffles Landing Site

In front of the Raffles statue at his landing site

The plaque fixated at the foot of the monument

The location of this white statue of Raffles is believed to be the point where Raffles first landed in Singapore. However, this particular statue in white was not the first statue in commemoration of him. This statue was actually casted from the original statue that is made of bronze, and which is presently standing outside the Victoria Theatre. The British themselves created the original statue of Raffles in 1887 to acknowledge their countryman’s vision and effort.

On the white statue, the inscription reads, “On this historic site, Sir Stamford Raffles first landed in Singapore on 28th January 1819 and with genius and perception changed the destiny of Singapore from an obscure fishing village to a great seaport and modern metropolis".

This open admiration of a subject of our British colonizers appears to bring across the message that there would not have been present-day Singapore should we never had been a colony of the British. In our humble opinion, this would inevitably bring upon a less positive impact on our history because it would seem that our country's history only began in 1819 (from the point of Raffles' landing). Little mention of the indigenous people living on this island during Raffles’ time and before 1819 further reinforces the impact. It is of course, naturally fair that we acknowledge Raffles’ efforts and vision in leading Singapore into becoming a major trading port during the 19th century. However, we must not neglect the role of our own indigenous people and the history our country had before 1819.