Sultan's family refuse to leave palace

DESCENDANTS of Singapore's last sultan, who died in 1835, are divided over the government's plan to move them out of the palace and turn it into a Malay heritage centre.

More than 200 people have been living in and around the badly neglected one-storey palace, built 160 years ago in the centre of Singapore.

They are direct descendants of Sultan Hussein, who ruled Singapore and parts of neighbouring Malaysia before ceding them to the British in 1824.

In March the Singapore government decided to turn the palace into a heritage centre for the city-state's Malay community. In return, its residents are to receive a total of 350,000 Singapore dollars (pounds 875,000), payable over the next 30 years.

Though dissent is rare in tightly run Singapore, a number of families are opposing the government's plan.

"Our families are hoping to stay on the land of our grandfathers," Tengku Mohamed bin Tengku Jamil told journalists.

Speaking on behalf of the families who wish to remain in the palace, he said the government should restore the palace and allow its residents to continue living there.

Tengku Mohamed said the families have sent a letter to the Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, protesting at the government's decision. Some 31 people have signed the petition.

When Sultan Hussein died, Britain appropriated about 56 acres of his land, including the ground of Istana, which means "palace" in Malay. But they allowed his offspring to live in Istana and ruled that financial provisions be made for the royal family.

The 1904 document, called the Sultan Hussein Ordinance, has been respected even since Singapore gained independence in 1959. About 80 families still receive a yearly allowance of 280 Singapore dollars (pounds 700) each.

Tengku Mohamed believes the settlement offered by the government is "too little", and has said the government should compensate the families for all the land that the British had taken from Sultan Hussein.

It was not immediately clear how many families have agreed to the government's plan. No date has been set for vacating the palace grounds.

(AP)