About Us
Balik Kampung @ Bussorah Street is the brainchild of its Chairman, Mr Rosman Sahlan, or warmly known as TP by its committee members. Mr Rosman grew up on Bussorah Street and was a resident there for nearly 30 years. For the benefit of our non-malay friends, Balik is “returning to” and Kampung is “village” in the English language. Balik Kampung @ Bussorah Street, or Balik Kampung in short, was initiated in 2016 with Mr Rosman spearheading a get-together Hari Raya event for the kampung folks who used to live within the Kampong Glam area, Singapore. With the help of volunteers who were also from the kampung, the event managed to attract more than 500 of the kampung folks across four generations. The volunteers are now the dedicated committee members of Balik Kampung. The committee have since organised more events that include introduction of unique dishes originating from the kampung, gathering and appreciation of Warga Perintis (Pioneers) and contributing to initiatives by external agencies relating to the kampung. In the pipeline are a handful of initiatives that Balik Kampung will embark on. The objective is to maintain a strong silaturrahim (kinship) between the kampong folks.
Our kampung heroes chilling out – they grew up together at Kampung Kita
Kampung Kita – Why Balik Kampung @Bussorah Street?
The kampung folks you will read more about on this site consist of neighbours who once lived within the Kampung Glam area. They lived on Pahang Street, Baghdad Street, Bussorah Street, Kandahar Street and Sultan Gate. These streets are passionately known as Kampung Dalam, Kampung Intan, Kampung Khaji, Kampung Tembaga and Pondok Jawa respectively. These kampungs were possessively referred to as kampung kita or our village by the residents there. Till this day, those who have lived in those kampungs will proudly say “itu kampung kita” or “that’s our village” when there is any mention of the area. On a lighter note they will also unashamedly claim, to whoever will listen, that the historical Masjid Sultan (Sultan Mosque) as masjid kita (our mosque). Simply put, everything that is in the area is kita punya... all ours!
In the early nineties the last of the kampung folks moved out of kampung kita. This was due to the redevelopment of the area. Most of them went on to live in HDB flats. Today, former neighbours and old friends will still visit kampung kita albeit in a different ambience. Rumah kita or our homes may have been taken over by fancy shops and restaurants but, nothing can take away the sense of belonging and kinship of the kampung folks whenever they return and chill out for the authentic teh tarik at kedai Bai, Bai sarabat stall, or the famous Pariaman and Rumah Makan Minang nasi padang. Oh yes, those original teh tarik “power” stall and nasi padang “power” café owners… itu orang kita… pun intended… they are our people!
Hence, the initiation of Balik Kampung @ Bussorah Street. The objective is to continuously engage orang kampung kita (our kampung people) through various platforms and initiatives to strengthen the silaturrahim (kinship).
Objective
The objectives of Balik Kampung are few folds.
We aim to strengthen the silaturrahim (kinship) of the kampung folks and bridging the generation gap. We believe the younger and future generations who are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the kampung folks, and did not have the opportunity of experiencing the unity of the kampung people, will benefit from the values and traditions that we at Balik Kampung can help to impart.
Introducing the unique delicacies of the kampung to the younger generations and upholding the originality of our forefather’s recipes are also our priority. Our plan is to publish a recipe book containing the unique recipes of our kampong folks. We will strive to provide the history of the recipes and the families who initiated or introduced them to the kampung folks. It is one of the challenging initiatives we are undertaking and is in its infancy stage.
We will continue to pay tribute to our forefathers, the living pioneers and those who have passed on, InshaAllah. IN MEMORIUM, a page on this site, is our tribute to those who have passed on. OUR PIONEERS is a page dedicated to our living pioneers. We thank them for giving us the opportunity to film their memories of those years gone by at Kampung Kita, and their wishes and hopes for the future generations of orang kampung kita (the people of the kampung).
The story behind our logo
