The majority of the Arabs in Singapore are Hadharem and traced their ancestry to the southern Arabian Peninsula in Hadramaut, Yemen.

The Ba'Alawi sada, who claimed to be the descendants of Muhammad, are known by their singular honorific "Syed" for men and “Sharifah” for women.

The Mashaikhs are commoners whose family names (surnames) often begin with "Ba-" (for example Bafana, Bamadhaj, Bagharib, Bahashwan).

Their population increased as follows: (Source: Lim Lu Sia, 1987:32) The census for 1970s and 1980s is not believed to reflect the actual number of Arabs in Singapore.

Syed Ali Mohammed Al-Juneid, for instance, donated a large plot of land near Victoria and Arab Streets to Tan Tock Seng’s hospital.

The Al-Kaff footbridge on the Singapore River takes its name from another prominent Arab family, which built the first Japanese Gardens opened to the public before World War II (where the Sennett private housing estate is today).

The wakaf land of Syed Mohamed Alsagoff was formed in 1904 to help support efforts for orphanages, mosques and Islamic schools.

Currently, almost the entire area Singapore central business district were once the wakaf lands which the government acquired in the 1970s with only the minimal compensation paid to the owners.

[1] The Arabs had played a dominant role in trade in South East Asia since the fifteenth century.

No situation will be more appropriate for them than the vicinity of the Sultan’s residence..." (Buckley 1902:85) The first Arabs to arrive in Singapore in 1819 were two wealthy merchants from Palembang, Sumatra.

The al-Junied [al-junaid] الجنيد family in Singapore grew to be a rich and influential as did the al-Kaffs [al-kāf] الكاف and the al-Saggoffs [al-saqqāf] السقاف.

The Arabs dominated the businesses in Singapore, principally in oil and trade, during the British colonial period.

Hadhramaut was regarded as a cultural training ground of the young Arab men and the time spent there was the final preparation for manhood.

The independence of South Yemen with a communist government in power put an end to the Singapore Hadramis returning home.

At the same time, the economic developments in Singapore made the importance of the English language and of obtaining an education even more essential.

Some families, in the oil boom of the 1970s, tried sending their sons to Saudi Arabia or Arab States of the Persian Gulf, but it was not a success.

The 1990 census shows the Chinese as the majority with around 74% of the population, the indigenous Malays with 14%, the Indians at less than 10% and the balance placed in the category of "others".

These wakafs, bearing the family names, whether private or charitable, gave considerable prestige to the Arab community among the Muslims in Singapore.