Kampong Lorong Buangkok is a village located in Hougang, Singapore. Built in 1956, it is notable for being the last surviving kampong located in mainland Singapore. It is situated right beside a canal that drains into the nearby Sungei Punggol.
The kampong was also known as Selak Kain in Malay, which meant 'hitching up one's sarong (skirt)' as people hitch up their sarongs to wade through floods whenever the village experienced flash floods in the 20th century Singapore. The land which the kampong rests on, was acquired in 1956 from Mr Huang Yu Tu by Sng Teow Koon, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) seller and herbalist.
At the point of purchase, there were already 4 to 6 houses built on the land. He set up home in the village with his family, and started renting out land to people to build homes. The land was handed down to his children. It evolved into a kampong. It was initially a swampy piece of land with only 5 to 6 homes. By the 1960s, it housed about 40 Chinese and Malay families. Electricity, running water, and garbage collection are provided by the government. Post is provided by a postman on a motorcycle once a day.
In the 1960s, most residents of Kampong Lorong Buangkok worked in the nearby Woodbridge Hospital or factories, while their children studied in nearby schools. A small rental fee of $2âÂÂ$3 was paid by the residents back then. They also tended to rear their own chickens for food.
In the present day, the residents consist of make-up artists, workers, and mostly elderly residents. , the kampong housed 25 families (12 Chinese and 13 Malay. Paying an average of S$18.25 in rent, they continue to live a slower and more traditional pace of life that the kampong setting offers. The Muslim residents have the Surau Al-Firdaus, a small prayer house that functions as a mosque. However, it is also used by Muslims from the urban areas outside Kampong Lorong Buangkok as well.