Pulau Meskol is a small island of 6.1 hectres in the Ayer Chawan group of islands lying in a cluster south of industrialised Jurong on the Singapore mainland. It was merged with neighbouring islands to form the gigantic Jurong Island, on which the petrochemical and petroleum industry is located. In Malay, ' pulau' means island, and 'meskol' refers to a water vessel or bowl that is made from three-quarters of a coconut shell, and has a narrow orifice and a rattan holder. 'Meskol' is derived from the Malay word 'miskol' (of Orang Laut origin), and its common form in Malay is 'sekul' (of Persian origin) which means a vessel or bowl.
Location
Pulau Meskol was a small island of 6.1 hectres in the Ayer Chawan group of islands lying in a cluster south of industrialised Jurong on the Singapore mainland. It lay hemmed in by the large Pulau Merlimau to its northwest, the two tiny Pulau-pulau Mesemut Laut and Mesemut Darat to its northeast, Pulau Seraya to its southeast, and Pulau Ayer Merbau to its southwest. Pulau Ayer Chawan, the largest island in the group, once lay adjacent to Pulau Merlimau and Ayer Merbau, off their western shores.
Jurong Island
Pulau Meskol and its six neighbouring islands were merged with at least seven others in the same group- Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kechil, Pulau Sakra, Pulau Buaya, Pulau Seberus Dalam, Pulau Seberus Luar and Pulau Bakau- to form the gigantic Jurong Island. A land area of 650 hectres had been reclaimed before another phase commenced in 1999 to reclaim 977 hectres. The Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) undertook both phases of reclamation, with the 1999 reclamation contract of S$ 1.3 billion being the largest it ever awarded.
Jurong Island is now the site of numerous petrochemical and petroleum companies, some of which were already established on the major individual islands of the Ayer Chawan group before reclamation took place. Gas from the west Natuna gas/oil fields in the South China Sea is piped directly to the island. The island is divided into nine districts, most of these taking on the names of its constituent islands. Unfortunately, 'meskol' did not survive as the name of any district.
Historical Name
'Pulau' is Malay for island or an isolated piece of rising ground in a sea. The word 'meskol' comes from the Malay word 'miskol' (of Orang Laut origin), which refers to a large water vessel or bowl that is made from three-quarters of a coconut shell, and has a narrow orifice and a rattan holder. The common Malay form of the word is 'sekul' (of Persian origin), which means vessel or bowl. The 'mi' in 'miskol' and 'misemut' (as used in Mesemut Laut) seems to be an affix peculiar to the language of the Orang Laut.
It is interesting to note that the names of nearby islands also connote water vessels of various kinds. For example, the word 'gayong' in Terumbu Gayong, a shoal not far from Pulau Meskol, refers to a ladle that is made out of coconut shell with an attached handle. The word 'chawan' in Pulau Ayer Chawan is Malay for teacup.
Author
Khor Kok Kheng
References
Location
Pulau Meskol was a small island of 6.1 hectres in the Ayer Chawan group of islands lying in a cluster south of industrialised Jurong on the Singapore mainland. It lay hemmed in by the large Pulau Merlimau to its northwest, the two tiny Pulau-pulau Mesemut Laut and Mesemut Darat to its northeast, Pulau Seraya to its southeast, and Pulau Ayer Merbau to its southwest. Pulau Ayer Chawan, the largest island in the group, once lay adjacent to Pulau Merlimau and Ayer Merbau, off their western shores.
Jurong Island
Pulau Meskol and its six neighbouring islands were merged with at least seven others in the same group- Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kechil, Pulau Sakra, Pulau Buaya, Pulau Seberus Dalam, Pulau Seberus Luar and Pulau Bakau- to form the gigantic Jurong Island. A land area of 650 hectres had been reclaimed before another phase commenced in 1999 to reclaim 977 hectres. The Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) undertook both phases of reclamation, with the 1999 reclamation contract of S$ 1.3 billion being the largest it ever awarded.
Jurong Island is now the site of numerous petrochemical and petroleum companies, some of which were already established on the major individual islands of the Ayer Chawan group before reclamation took place. Gas from the west Natuna gas/oil fields in the South China Sea is piped directly to the island. The island is divided into nine districts, most of these taking on the names of its constituent islands. Unfortunately, 'meskol' did not survive as the name of any district.
Historical Name
'Pulau' is Malay for island or an isolated piece of rising ground in a sea. The word 'meskol' comes from the Malay word 'miskol' (of Orang Laut origin), which refers to a large water vessel or bowl that is made from three-quarters of a coconut shell, and has a narrow orifice and a rattan holder. The common Malay form of the word is 'sekul' (of Persian origin), which means vessel or bowl. The 'mi' in 'miskol' and 'misemut' (as used in Mesemut Laut) seems to be an affix peculiar to the language of the Orang Laut.
It is interesting to note that the names of nearby islands also connote water vessels of various kinds. For example, the word 'gayong' in Terumbu Gayong, a shoal not far from Pulau Meskol, refers to a ladle that is made out of coconut shell with an attached handle. The word 'chawan' in Pulau Ayer Chawan is Malay for teacup.
Author
Khor Kok Kheng
References
Dunlop, P.K.G. (2000). Street Names of Singapore (p.251). Singapore: Whos Who Publishing.
(Call No RSING 959.57 DUN[HIS]).
Ministry of Culture, Singapore (1979). Singapore Facts and Pictures (p.256). Singapore: Ministry of Culture.
(Call No RSING 959.57 SMCFFS year 1979).
Ministry of Culture, Singapore (1998-99). Singapore Street Directory (p.12). Singapore: Publicity Division, Ministry of Culture.
(Call No RSING 959.57 SSD-[DIR] year 1998/99)
$1.3b Jurong Island reclamation begins. (1999, January 26). The Straits Times. Retrieved on 4 March 2011 from NewspaperSG.
Peet, G.L. (1985). Rickshaw Reporter (p. 189). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call No RSING 070.924 PEE).
Savage, V.R. & Yeoh, S.A. (2004). Toponymics: a study of Singapore street names (p. 205). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call No RSING 915.9570014 SAV [TRA])
Singam, S. D. R. (1962). Malayan Place Names (p. 248). Kuala Lumpur: The author.
(Call No RCLOS 959.5 RAJ)
Singapore. (1953). Annual Report (Singapore). Singapore: Government Printing Office.
(Microfilm No.: NL 6551)
Singapore islands get new names with reclamation . (1995, November 22). The Straits Times.Retrieved on 4 March 2011 from NewspaperSG.
(Call No RSING 959.57 DUN[HIS]).
Ministry of Culture, Singapore (1979). Singapore Facts and Pictures (p.256). Singapore: Ministry of Culture.
(Call No RSING 959.57 SMCFFS year 1979).
Ministry of Culture, Singapore (1998-99). Singapore Street Directory (p.12). Singapore: Publicity Division, Ministry of Culture.
(Call No RSING 959.57 SSD-[DIR] year 1998/99)
$1.3b Jurong Island reclamation begins. (1999, January 26). The Straits Times. Retrieved on 4 March 2011 from NewspaperSG.
Peet, G.L. (1985). Rickshaw Reporter (p. 189). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call No RSING 070.924 PEE).
Savage, V.R. & Yeoh, S.A. (2004). Toponymics: a study of Singapore street names (p. 205). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call No RSING 915.9570014 SAV [TRA])
Singam, S. D. R. (1962). Malayan Place Names (p. 248). Kuala Lumpur: The author.
(Call No RCLOS 959.5 RAJ)
Singapore. (1953). Annual Report (Singapore). Singapore: Government Printing Office.
(Microfilm No.: NL 6551)
Singapore islands get new names with reclamation . (1995, November 22). The Straits Times.Retrieved on 4 March 2011 from NewspaperSG.
Wilkinson, R.J. (1952). An abridged Malay English dictionary (romanised) (p.39, 67, 189, 217). London: Macmillan & Co Ltd.
(Call No RCLOS 499.230321 MAL-[RFL])
Winstedt, R.O (1964) A Practical Modern Malay-English Dictionary (4th edn.) (p.167). Kuala Lumpur, Singapore: Marican & Sons.
(Call No RSING 499.230321 WIN)
Yellow Pages (Singapore). (2007-2008). The Official Singapore Street Directory 2007 (map 262). Singapore: Yellow Pages (Singapore).
(Call No. RSING 912.5957 SSD)
The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.
(Call No RCLOS 499.230321 MAL-[RFL])
Winstedt, R.O (1964) A Practical Modern Malay-English Dictionary (4th edn.) (p.167). Kuala Lumpur, Singapore: Marican & Sons.
(Call No RSING 499.230321 WIN)
Yellow Pages (Singapore). (2007-2008). The Official Singapore Street Directory 2007 (map 262). Singapore: Yellow Pages (Singapore).
(Call No. RSING 912.5957 SSD)
The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.
