Twisted Temasek: A Bibliography
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve read my book Twisted Temasek, all about the precolonial history of Singapore! Below, you’ll find suggestions for related books and films, as well as a compilation of sources for the chapters—just in case you think I made stuff up!
Further Reading
By far the most important is Sulalatus Salatin, also called Sejarah Melayu. I’d say the best translation, is the following. Sadly, it’s out of print:
· Brown, C C. (translator). Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals. Oxford University Press, 1970. (Based on the earliest surviving manuscript, Raffles MS no. 18.)
If you read Malay, the most commonly referenced edition is:
· Sulalatus Salatin: Sejarah Melayu, edited by A Samad Ahmad. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1979. (Based on multiple manuscripts.)
If you can’t find those, acceptable substitutes are:
· Leyden, John. Malay Annals. Silverfish Books, 2017. (Based on an unidentified manuscript.)
· Tun Seri Lanang. The Genealogy of Kings (Sulalatus Salatin). Translated by Muhammad Haji Salleh. Penguin Random House SEA, 2020. (Based on Raffles MS no. 18.)
I’d also recommend the following books of history and legends:
· Kwa Chong Guan and Borschberg, Peter (eds). Studying Singapore Before 1800. NUS Press, 2018.
· Kwa Chong Guan, Derek Heng, Borschberg, Peter and Tan Tai Yong. Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore. Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2019.
· Pires, Tomé. The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires. Asian Educational Services, 2005.
· Pugalenthi Sr. Myths and Legends of Singapore. VJ Times, 2001. (The 1991 edition is wonderful, but it also contains original short stories mislabelled as legends!)
· Winstedt, R. O. A History of Johore 1365-95. Silverfish Books, 2022.
Special thanks also to Firdaus Saini of Oranglaut.sg, who helped supply information on Orang Laut traditions and the alternative story of Hang Nadim’s execution.
Further Watching
You might also enjoy these classic Singapore movies inspired by legends in this book. They’re all in Malay, so if you don’t speak the language, make sure you find a version with subtitles.
· Badang. Directed by S. Roomai Noor, Cathay-Keris, 1962.
· Dang Anom. Directed by Hussain Haniff, Cathay-Keris, 1962.
· Hang Tuah. Directed by Phani Majumdar, Shaw Brothers, 1956.
· Raden Mas. Directed by L. Krishnan, Cathay-Keris, 1959.
· Singapura Dilanggar Todak (Singapore Attacked by Garfish). Directed by Omar Rojik, Shaw Brothers, 1961.
· Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang (The Passing of Sultan Mahmud). Directed by K. M. Basker, Cathay Keris, 1961.
Sources
Who Was Here First?
· Hsü Yün-ts’iao. “Singapore in the Remote Past”. Studying Singapore Before 1800. Eds. Kwa Chong Guan and Peter Borschberg. NUS Press, 2018.
· Foo Shu Tieng. “Singapore’s Stone Tools.” BiblioAsia, vol. 18, issue 4, Jan-Mar 2023. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-18/issue-4/jan-mar-2023/stone-tools-singapore/
For more on prehistoric Southeast Asia, research the Tabon Caves of Palawan, the Philippines, and Lubang Jeriji Saléh of East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The descriptions of islands which may be early Singapore are taken from Ptolemy’s Geographia and Du You’s Tong Dian.
The Chola Invasion (1025)
· Brown, C C. (translator). Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals. Oxford University Press, 1970.
· Sinclair, Iain. “Traces of the Cholas in Old Singapura.” Sojourners to Settlers: Tamils in Southeast Asia. Eds. Arun Mahizhnan and Nalina Gopal. Indian Heritage Centre and Institute of Policy Studies, 2019, pp 50-51.
· Zaccheus, Melody. “Singapore may be 1,000 years old, not just 700 as believed: Study.” The Straits Times, 22 December 2019. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-may-be-1000-years-old-not-just-700-as-believed-study
The Rise of Sang Nila Utama (1200s)
· Brown. Sejarah Melayu.
For clarity on different versions of the story, see Heng, Derek. “Sang Nila Utama: Separating Myth From Reality.” BiblioAsia, vol. 16 Issue 2, Jul-Sep 2020. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-16/issue-2/jul-sep-2020/sangnila/
The Founding of Singapore (1299)
· Brown. Sejarah Melayu.
· Chew, Ian. “Did Sang Nila Utama really see a lion?” The Kontinentalist, 5 February 2020. https://kontinentalist.com/stories/singapore-sang-nila-utama-legend.
Life in Early Singapore (early 1300s)
The description of Singapore in Wang Dayuan’s Dao Yi Zhi Lüe is recounted in Lee Meiyu. “Tales of the Dragon’s Tooth Strait.” BiblioAsia, vol. 10, issue 3, Oct-Dec 2014. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-10/issue-3/oct-dec-2014/dragons-tooth-strait/.
Singapore’s population at this point is extremely uncertain. It’s 2,000, according to Kwa Chong Guan, Derek Heng, Peter Borschberg and Tan Tai Yong. Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore. Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2019, p. 41-42. However, John Miksic gives it as 5,000-10,000.
Information on the Orang Laut is also indebted to Firdaus Saini of Oranglaut.sg.
War with the Javanese (1340s-50s)
· Bade, David W. Of Palm Wine, Women and War: The Mongolian Naval Expedition to Java in the 13th Century. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 2013.
· Brown. Sejarah Melayu.
· Gusti Putu Phalgunadi (translator). The Pararaton: A Study of the Southeast Asian Chronicle. Sundeep Prakashan, 1996.
Badang and the Hantu (1360s-70s)
· Brown. Sejarah Melayu.
· William L. Gibson. “Uncovering the Origins of Badang the Strongman.” BiblioAsia, vol. 21, issue 1, Apr-Jun 2025. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-21/issue-1/apr-jun-2025/origins-badang-strongman-singapore-stone/
The story of Saktimuna can be found in Leyden, John. Malay Annals. Silverfish Books, 2017.
The story of the merlion’s connection to the makara can be found in Tan Zi Hao. “The Chimeric Trace: The Makara and Other Connections to Come.” Art in Translation, vol. 14, issue 3, 2022, pp 338-370.
The legend of the kirtimukha can be found in Zimmer, Heinrich. Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilisation. Harper Torchbooks, 1946, pp.175-76.
Hang Nadim and the Garfish Attack (1370s-80s)
· Brown. Sejarah Melayu.
· Gibson, William L. “Keramat Radin Mas (Mount Faber).” Complete Catalog of Keramat in Singapore. National Library Board, 2022, pp. 152-219. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/book-detail?cmsuuid=67da757c-ef09-4a4a-ae7a-05ca7afa8185
The alternative ending to the story of Hang Nadim was supplied by Firdaus Saini of Oranglaut.sg.
The Fall of Singapore (1398)
· Brown. Sejarah Melayu. The specific detail of the concubine’s impalement is in Leyden. Malay Annals.
· Pires, Tomé. The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires, vol. 2. Asian Educational Services, 2005, p. 232.
Magnificent Melaka (1400-1511)
· Albuquerque, Afonso de. The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque, Second Viceroy of India. Translated by Walter de Gray Birch. Hakluyt Society, 1875.
· Brown. Sejarah Melayu.
· The Epic of Hang Tuah. Translated by Muhammad Haji Salleh. Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia, 2010.
The number of visits Zheng He made to Melaka is disputed. It’s stated as five on sites such as Shao Xinying. “Peace, partnership and prosperity: Zheng He's legacy remembered.” China Daily Global, 17 October 2023. http://epaper.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202310/17/WS652dd779a310d4219e3a9503.html. It’s also given as seven on sites such as O’Connell, Ryan. “Zheng He’s Malacca: temples, the biggest Chinese cemetery outside China, and museums dedicated to Ming dynasty admiral’s legacy in the Malaysian city.” South China Morning Post, 23 January 2023. https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3207344/zheng-hes-malacca-temples-biggest-chinese-cemetery-outside-china-and-museums-dedicated-ming-dynasty
Here Come the Colonisers! (1500s-1600s)
It’s debatable if the Dutch takeover of Jakarta in 1619 marks the beginning of the colonisation of Indonesia. The Portuguese had invaded earlier, building fortresses in Ternate in 1522 and Ambon in 1568. However, these didn’t expand into the same kind of land empire the way the Dutch did.
· “The Santa Catarina Incident.” National Library Board Singapore. 2013. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=48d0a785-2b61-467a-8c85-f2728e33702c
· Borschberg, Peter. “A Portuguese-Dutch Naval Battle in the Johor River Estuary and the Liberation of Johor Lama in 1603.” Studying Singapore Before 1800. Eds. Kwa Chong Guan and Peter Borschberg. NUS Press, 2018.
· Borschberg, Peter. The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century. NUS Press, 2010.
· Macgregor, Ian A. “A Sea-Fight Near Singapore in the 1570s.” Studying Singapore Before 1800. Eds. Kwa Chong Guan and Peter Borschberg. NUS Press, 2018.
The Death of Sultan Mahmud (1699)
· Ali al-Haji, Raja. The Precious Gift (Tuhfat al-Nafis), translated by Virginia Matheson Hooker. Oxford University Press, 1982.
· Andaya, Barbara Watson and Andaya, Leonard Y. A History of Malaysia, 3rd edition. Palgrave, 2017.
· Hamilton, Alexander. A New Account of the East Indies, Vol. 2. Asian Educational Services, 1995, pp. 95-97. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.39275/page/n11/mode/2up
· Winstedt, R. O. A History of Johore 1365-95. Silverfish Books, 2022, pp. 81-83.
EXTRA FACTS: Insane Islands
Sentosa / Pulau Blakang Mati’s legend is cited in Bennett, George. Wanderings In New South Wales ,Vol.2. 1836. p136. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.45453/page/n147/mode/2up. Also in Zainal Jamari. “Asal usul nama pulau2 di selatan.” Berita Harian, 30 August 1981, p. 3. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/beritaharian19810830-1.2.21?ST
St John’s Island / Pulau Sekijang’s legend is cited in Haughton, H.T. “Notes on names of places in the island of Singapore and its vicinity.” Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, no. 20, 1889, p. 79. https://www.mbras.org.my/file/Haughton1889.pdf
Pulau Ubin’s legend is cited in “Did a pig and a jumbo turn into Pulau Ubin?” The Straits Times, 9 December 1995, p. 11. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19951209-1.2.74.3.22
Sisters’ Islands’ legend is cited in Pugalenthi Sr. Myths and Legends of Singapore. VJ Times, 1991.
Kusu Island’s legend is cited in Pugalenthi Sr. Myths and Legends of Singapore. However, earlier source suggest that the story of the giant turtle saving sailors was originally separate from the story of the Chinese man and the Malay man being shipwrecked on the island. See Dowsett, F. “Discovering Singapore.” New Nation, 13 November 1971, p. 7.
Pulau Seking’s legend is cited in Cheow Sue Ann and Koh, Fabian. “Singapore Islands You May Not Have Heard of.” The Straits Times, 19 January 2016. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-islands-you-may-not-have-heard-of. Further information is at Wee, Vivienne and Benjamin, Geoffrey. “Pulau Seking, the final link to pre-Raffles Singapore.” Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/5343730/Vivienne_Wee_and_Geoffrey_Benjamin_Pulau_Seking_the_final_link_to_pre_Raffles_Singapore.
Pulau Hantu Besar and Pulau Hantu Kecil’s legend is cited in “Did a pig and a jumbo turn into Pulau Ubin?” The Straits Times, 9 December 1995, p. 11. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19951209-1.2.74.3.22
Pulau Jong’s legend is cited in Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh, Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names. Times Media Private Ltd, 2003, p. 312.
Keppel Island/Pulau Hantu’s legend is cited in Groom, Pelham. “How Pulau Hantu Got Its Name.” The Singapore Free Press, 23 August 1958, p. 5. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/page/freepress19580823-1.1.13.
Does Any of This Matter?
· Abdullah, Munsyi. The Hikayat Abdullah. The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2009.
· Kwa Chong Guan, “From Temasek to Singapore: Locating a Global City-State in the Cycles of Melaka Straits History”, Studying Singapore Before 1800.
· Kwa Chong Guan, Derek Heng, Peter Borschberg and Tan Tai Yong. Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore.