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Bendahara House (Gedung Kuning)

Bendahara House (Gedung Kuning), at No. 73 Sultan Gate, built in the 1920s, located just outside Istana Kampong Glam in the Rochore area of the Central Region. It is part of the Malay Heritage Centre and now houses a restaurant.

History
The Rumah Bendahara, as it was known in Malay, was situated immediately outside the Istana Kampong Glam palace grounds. Bendahara in Malay means "Chief Minister" and was originally the home of Tengku Mahmud, the apparent heir to the Sultan's throne. Built in the 1920s, the house is constructed in the Palladian style, and its main entrance is guarded by two eagles. The house was sold to Haji Yusof Bin Haji Mohammad Noor, a Javanese businessman. Haji Yusof's descendants continued to use the bungalow as their residence until the late 1990s.

Conservation Area
On 7 July 1989, the historic district of Kampong Glam was gazetted a conservation area, which included the retention, restoration and repair of Bendahara House. In 1993, the Singapore Government first announced its plans to develop the 16 ha Kampong Glam Conservation area. On 12 March 1999, it was announced in Parliament that a "Malay Heritage Centre" would be set up at the old palace, the Istana Kampong Glam and its adjacent building, the Bendahara House. While Istana Kampong Glam is State property, Bendahara House was gazetted for acquisition by the government. The idea of a Malay Heritage Centre was to deepen Singaporeans' awareness of the history and culture of the Malays. 

On December 2003, the Bendehara House was reopened as the Gedung Kuning, meaning "yellow mansion" where yellow is a reflection of royal colour. The house became the location of an upmarket Malay restaurant, Tepak Sireh. 


Variant Names
Treasurer's House.



Author
Vernon Cornelius



References
Kampong Glam: Historic district (pp. 7, 15-19). (1995). Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority.
(Call no.: RSING 363.69095957 KAM)

New centre for Malay heritage. (1999, March 13). The Straits Times.

The events: A chronology. (1999, March 26). The Straits Times.

Vivi Z. A touch of old Kampong glamour. (2004, August 16). The Straits Times.

Malay Heritage Centre. (n.d.). Gedung Kuning. Retrieved December 23, 2004 from www.malayheritage.org.sg/gedung.html 

The information in this article is valid as at 1999 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history on the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Building Types>>Commercial Buildings
Historic buildings--Singapore
Urbanization--Singapore
Arts>>Architecture>>Public and commercial buildings
People and communities>>Social groups and communities

Librarian Recommendations
>> Sultan Gate
>> Istana Kampong Glam
>> Kampong Glam


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