Date: 6 June 2026
Time: 9.30 AM – 5.00 PM
Venue: The POD @ National Library Building, Level 16
Language: English / Malay / Baba Malay
Guest-of-Honour: A/Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs
This full-day seminar aims to inspire Singaporeans to embark on their family ancestry search and trace their Southeast Asian ancestry. In this way, we promote respect for our forefathers/mothers who preceded us and made us who we are; and celebrate their origins in Southeast Asia, their history and cultures, ultimately, enriching the cultural fabric of our Singapore society.
Participants will learn about the history and cultural practices of communities in Southeast Asia from anthropologist Dr Vivienne Wee and Malay Studies specialist Dr Suriani Suratman, hear the stories of individuals who have embarked on their family search and learn about resources available at our National Library and Archives that may assist their own search journeys, from Archivist Muhammad Alif Bin Zaini.
Join us for this event. Admission is free and seats available on a first-come-first served basis.
All seats for Hari MAS have been filled. For those who secured seats, we look forward to seeing you at Hari MAS on 6 June! For those who haven’t, please stay tuned to the GSS website for the post-event video. We wish you all the best with your ancestry search journey.
SPEAKERS
Dr Vivienne Wee, who is of Straits-Chinese descent, graduated with a PhD in Anthropology from the Australian National University, MSocSc in Sociology from the University of Singapore and Bachelor’s degrees in Music and Anthropology from the University of Minnesota. Vivienne taught at the National University of Singapore, the Australian National University, City University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Currently, Vivienne engages in independent research in the fields of anthropology, social development, community engagement, heritage conservation, cultural mapping, and linguistic documentation with Ethnographica Private Limited, a research organisation she co-founded with her anthropologist-husband Dr Geoffrey Benjamin in 2015. Her ethnographic research focuses on the Riau Archipelago, Indonesia and Singapore, especially the Southern Islands. She currently has a book in press with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, titled ‘Melayu, People, Place: Ethnohistories from the Riau-Lingga Islands, Indonesia’. She has written many papers in academic journals, including ‘Jemberang and Alam Melayu: Crossing the Straits of Melaka, Singapore and Riau’ (2018). In 2016, she wrote a report commissioned by Singapore’s National Heritage board – ‘Mapping the Living Community Heritage of Pulau Ubin’. In 2021, she gave a talk at Singapore’s National Library on ‘The Orang Laut of Singapore: past, present, future.’ Her 2010 paper ‘Pulau Seking: A bygone link to the Riau Sultanate’ is available online. In 2024, she also presented a talk on Pulau Seking as part of the National University of Singapore’s event on ‘Islanding Singapura : Reclaiming the Nation’s Maritime Heritages’.
Dr Suriani Suratman is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore. Her research focuses on gender relations and the issue of (in) equalities in Malay families and households and Malay ethnic identity and the (re)production of portraits of Malays. Of Javanese descent, Suriani is also an accomplished ceramic artist who honed her craft with Cultural Medallionist Iskandar Jalil. She also had leadership roles in the National Heritage Board and the Malay Heritage Foundation.
Muhammad Alif Bin Zaini is an Archivist at the National Archives of Singapore (NAS), where he works to provide the public with reference and access to records within the archives’ collections. Previously, he was a Graduate Teaching Fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and a General Education Officer with the Ministry of Education (MOE).
FAMILY RESEARCHERS
Fathiah A’bdussamad is an Islamic calligrapher and Batik researcher of Indonesian descent. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic language and literature at the Al Azhar University, Egypt, specialising in Arab calligraphy. Largely ignorant and nonchalant about her Baweanese origins in her growing-up years, she was forced to confront her ancestry and culture after she won a full scholarship under the QE2 Platinum Jubilee Commonwealth Heritage Skills Training Programme, to study at the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts (a post-graduate art institute in London) from which she graduated with a Master’s Degree. Her teachers insisted that she should trace her roots. Saddened by how superficial her own understanding of Batik and its motifs was and struck by the under-appreciation of Southeast Asian heritage among her peers, she embarked on her journey to the land of her grandmother – Surakarta / Solo – where she researched her ancestry and culture, leading to a renewal of her own Batik practice.
Mohamed Zulkifli Rahmat was the Deputy Editor of Berita Harian (BH). He holds a BA (Hons) degree in English Language from the National University of Singapore. Zulkifli sat as a member in the Street and Building Names Board in 2000-2006. He was a member of the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee and the Malay Resource Panel of the National Translation Committee, MCI. Noticing the lack of written records of ancestry and genealogy among Malay families, Zulkifli felt a strong need to trace his roots. He started his work in 2011, and by 2012 he managed to produce an 80-page book tracing his Javanese and Thai ancestry. Encouraged by the response he received from members of his extended family, Zulkifli came up with a revised edition of the book in 2013.
Nora Samosir is an actor /director / dramaturg of Indonesian Batak descent. Active in Singapore theatre since 1979, she won many accolades including the 2002 Life! Theatre Award for Supporting Actress. Currently a lecturer at the LASALLE College of the Arts, Nora teaches Voice in the Acting and Musical Theatre programmes. Nora who was born and raised in Singapore, is the keeper of her family history and of her Christian Batak ancestry and culture.
Sarafian Salleh trained as a mechanical engineer after which he worked on shipping vessels, an apt vocation for someone from the sea-faring Bugis community. For the last 18 years, he has managed Diagnoveritas Pte Ltd, troubleshooting in important fields like petroleum and power plants. Sarafian’s business did not distract him from his family research journey culminating in 2023 with the publication of ‘Tuah Bugis: Chronicles of the seafaring people of Singapore’. “Tuah Bugis” is an honorific he earned through his dedicated efforts in promoting awareness and appreciation of Bugis history and culture; and research into Malay holy sites, underscoring his ultimate life-long mission in history research and heritage activism. Sarafian is a member of the Institute of Engineers and a Life Member of the Genealogy Society, Singapore.
Ronney Tan Koon Siang is the current President of the Genealogy Society, Singapore. He also heads Keng Teck Whay, a private mutual benefit society founded in 1831. A 7th generation Melaka Baba, he has done extensive research on his family history.
PERFORMERS
Baba Chan Eng Thai
A practicing lawyer of over 40 years, the quintessential Baba Chan is also a leading authority on Baba culture and traditional Baba practices including the rite of “semayan” (ancestral veneration) which his family observes religiously. Baba Chan’s stage debut in 2019 was in the play “Ayer Di-Tetak Tak-leh Putus (“Blood is thicker than water”) produced by the Peranakan Siblings at the Drama Centre, National Library. He is also an avid Dondang Sayang singer and was featured in a Dondang Sayang duet with Cultural Medallion awardee G. T. Lye, in the video “Pantun Cherki-A Play on Words” produced by the Asian Civilizations Museum. In October 2025, Baba Chan published his collection of pantuns in Baba Malay in the book “Pantun Baba Chan: The Art and Beauty of Traditional Baba Malay Poetry”.
Muhammad Shahril Bin Samri is an avid pantun enthusiast and storyteller who founded Pantunism, a social group that spreads the appreciation and practice of Malay language pantuns in Singapore and the region, through workshops and community programmes. He is the author of “Lepiong dan Cepiong Mencari Makan” which was launched at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in 2022. His pantun work Mulia has been selected for the ASEAN Pantun Festival 2026. Shahril’s love of pantun informs his role as an educator at PCF Sparkletots Preschool where he teaches English and Malay. In 2024, he was honoured with the Anugerah Harapan by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) recognising his dedication and positive impact within the community. In April this year, Shahril won the first prize in pantun writing at the 2026 Festival Pantun ASEAN.
Alunan Kampung Gelam – Stories and Songs is a music collective initiated in July 2023 by Faizah Jamal and her daughters Azura ( vocals) and Almira (guitar/mandolin). Third and fourth generation residents of the historic district of Kampung Gelam, Alunan Kampung Gelam considers it their responsibility to promote the stories and music legacy of their beloved neighbourhood. Inspired also by their Banjar dad/grandad Ahmad Jamal, a diamond merchant and baritone singer, who used to sing with Radio Malaya in the ’50s and ’60s, Alunan Kampung Gelam’s repertoire is an eclectic mix of opera, classical music, Irish/Scottish folk music, and vintage and traditional songs of the Nusantara. For Hari MAS, they are joined by violinist-friend Thaddeus Chung.