Malay royalty According to the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), a Malay dynasty ruled Singapore— or Temasek as it was then known— during the 14th century. After the reign of five kings, the Temasek kingdom came to an abrupt end as a result of an invasion. From then onwards, no Malay dynasty ruled in Singapore until the early 19th century, when Sultan Husain Shah was installed as Sultan of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in February 1819. Thus began a new line of Malay royalty in Singapore. Sultan Husain was descended from a ruling line of the Riau- Lingga royalty. He settled with his family and followers in Kampong Glam, where an istana (palace) was built.

However, Sultan Husain’s stay in Singapore was brief, as he was forced to cede power over the new settlement of Singapore to the East India Company (EIC) in 1824. He died in Malacca in 1835, leaving amongst other descendants, his eldest son, Tengku Ali. Ali was not recognised as sultan by the EIC at the time of his father’s death. But in 1840, he was recognised by the EIC as holding the same powers as Sultan Husain had. Ali was also acknowledged as sultan by Temenggong Daing Ibrahim after a period of rivalry between the two over the territory of Johor came to an end— the two signed a treaty with each other in 1855. In this treaty, Ali ceded his contested right over the territory of Johor— with the exception of a small area in Muar— to the temenggong.

Sultan Ali continued his possession of the Istana Kampong Gelam, and later moved to Malacca, where he died in 1877. His eldest son, Tengku Alam (who became Sultan Alaudin Alamshah), resided in the Istana Kampong Gelam until his death in 1891. Shortly thereafter, an internal dispute broke out between members of the royal family over the Istana Kampong Gelam. Tengku Alam’s eldest son was Tengku Ali. Tengku Ali’s right to the istana was disputed by Tengku Mahmoud (half- brother of Tengku Alam and son of Sultan Ali by his third wife). The dispute was eventually referred to the Singapore Supreme Court, which decided in 1897 that the Istana Kampong Gelam was no longer subject to the treaties that had been signed with Sultan Husain, and that the building was to be considered Crown property. The descendants of Sultan Husain continued to reside in the Istana Kampong Gelam until the property was transformed into the Malay Heritage Centre.

Even after the Kampong Glam royalty faded into obscurity, relatives of the family living in Riau- Lingga continued to maintain close links with Singapore, despite the division of the Riau- Lingga kingdom into British and Dutch spheres of influence following the signing of the Anglo- Dutch Treaty of 1824. For example, Sultan Mahmud of Lingga made frequent visits to Singapore and entered his boats in an annual regatta in Singapore. After the abolition of the sultanate by the Dutch in the first decade of the 20th century, the last Sultan of the Riau- Lingga kingdom relocated to Singapore, where he later died.