• The term is a transliteration of the Malay term selat, which means “straits”. Singapore is fronted by the Singapore Straits and backed by the Johore Straits, hence it was known as “Selat”. The Chinese used the term to refer to Singapore since its beginnings as a trading port, which is represented by different Chinese phonetic characters in writing, like “实力”, “实叻”,”石叻坡” and “叻埠”. It was also referred to as “息辣” or “息力” and “息竦” in Chinese documents from the Qing Dynasty.

Yesterday, the National Heritage Board named the Gudwara Sikh Temple at Selat Road as a Historical Site, and gazetted it as a historical landmark. This was to commemorate the historical significance of this building to the Sikh community. (Lianhe Zaobao, 15/11/1999)

• In Portuguese works dated in the sixteenth century, the Singapore indigenous sea dwellers (Orang Laut) were also referred to as “Cellates”. In 1881, See Ewe Lay established the “Lat Pau” (《叻报》) newspaper in Singapore, named after “Selat”.