• Kusu Island is located 5.6 kilometres south of the main island of Singapore, with an area of 8.5 hectares.
• There are many mythological and religious legends surrounding Kusu Island. Two of these tell of a large turtle that transformed into an island to rescue two fishermen and a group of sailors from danger in nearby waters. This gave rise to the name kusu, where ku means “turtle” or “tortoise” and su refers to “island” in the Hokkien dialect.
• Kusu Island is also known as Peak Island. In the Malay language, it is also known as Pulau Tembakul because of its large population of mudskippers (tembakul in Malay).
• Before land reclamation in 1975, Kusu Island was nothing more than two small rocky outcrops on a reef.
• As early as the 17th century, there were records of Kusu Island. At that time, the galleon of the Spanish Governor of the Philippines ran aground after hitting the reefs in the waters near Kusu Island while he was leading his fleet home. The island thus came to be known as Governor’s Island.
• In 1806, a hydrographer of the British East India Company renamed the island Goa Island. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles’ hydrographers surveyed the Singapore harbour and made the island a reference point for all ships entering the harbour.
• The Tua Pek Kong Temple on Kusu Island has a long history and is the most popular attraction on the island. During the ninth month of the lunar calendar, large numbers of worshippers visit Kusu Island to make offerings and pray for good luck and safety.
• Other attractions on Kusu Island include the Datuk Kong Keramat on the highest point of the island, and the Tortoise Sanctuary, which houses hundreds of tortoises.
• Visitors can take a ferry from Marina South Pier to Kusu Island.

Although the recent haze has adversely affected air quality, it did not deter the 1,500 devotees and even a group of Malaysian tourists from taking the first ferry to Kusu Island on the first day of the pilgrimage season to pray for good fortune. (Lianhe Zaobao, 30/9/2019)