Raden Mas Ayu

Puteri Raden Mas Ayu (Princess Mas Ayu) is the child of the union of Kanjen Gusti Adipati Agung Raden Kusomowijoyo Diningrat also known as Raden Mas, with Mas Ayu a Javanese Court Dancer whose beauty was renowned throughout Java. They were married in the early 1500's. Raden Mas' parents- Raden Manosekoro and Raden Mas Ratu objected to this union because of the differences in status. The vouched to have this union dissolved. Under the pretext of a hunting expedition requested by Raden Mas Ratu, Raden Mas was made to leave his wife alone in the palace. Upon his return Raden Mas found his palace has been destroyed by a big fire. His beloved wife was killed along With It. Broken hearted, he left Java with his child Puteri Raden Mas Ayu who was still a baby then. He resettled in Singapore as a commoner. One day, while still a young child, Puteri Raden Mas Ayu met Tengku Halijah, the daughter of the Sultan of Singapore then. Some kind of altercation occurred between these two women which led to the discovery of these two settlers’ royal lineage. Upon this discovery, the Sultan of Singapore decided to marry his daughter Tengku Halijah to Raden Mas. Prior to their resettelment in Singapore, Raden Mas and Puteri Mas Ayu were Hindus. Through the tutelage and guidance of an ulama (Muslim Religious Scholar) by the name of Mawlana Shaikh Ismail (who tomb lay buried in Bukit Timah) both father and daughter embraced Islam. Raden Mas took the name Iskandar Shah (not to be confused with Sultan Iskandar Shah whose tomb lie on top of Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill) It was subsequently renamed by the British as Fort Canning Hill, whilst the daughter Puteri Mas Ayu was given the name Siti Faridah.

The marriage between Raden Mas and his new wife Tengku Halijah was however set with problems. Amongst the many issues, the new wife of Raden Mas was jealous of the closeness of the father-daughter relationship between Raden Mas and Puteri Raden Mas Ayu. It didin’t help either the fact that Puteri Raden Mas Ayu inherited the exceptional beauty of her mother. As if his life is cursed with tragedy- soon after his marriage, his daughter Puteri Mas Ayu was killed in a palace dispute. While trying to protect her father from the attack of Tengku Bagus, a member of the Sultan of Singapore’s family, Puteri Raden Mas Ayu was stabbed by his keris and died from its wounds. She died in the year 1511. Her tomb, draped in golden yellow as a sign of her royal lineage, lie at the foothill of Mount Faber in Singapore till today.

ALMARHUM MAULANA SYED AHMAD BIN ABDULLAH ALJUWAINI or more reknown as ‘MAULANA SYED SHEIKH ISMAIL BUKIT TIMAH ’.

He was a famous missionary from India. He migrated to Singapore to seek knowledge from Maulana Ishak. In his hands, a princess Raden Mas Ayu and her father embrace Islam. Syed Sheikh Ismail, return to the grace of ALlah in the year 1516 AD. He was laid to rest at the foot of Bukit Timah, now it has been moved to Pusara Abadi Block G.