Skip to main content
Home The New Paper
  • Home
  • News
    • Singapore
    • World
    • Business
    • Views
    • Backstage
    • Others
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Singapore Football
    • Team Singapore
    • School Sports
    • Athletics
    • Basketball
    • Cricket
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Racing
    • Others
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Star Style
    • School of Frock
  • Lifestyle
    • Makan
    • Hed Chef
    • Weets Eats
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
    • Biker Boy
    • Celeb Chow
    • Others
  • Racing
  • Your Tip-Offs
  • Read E-Paper
  • Contests
  • Coupon
  • Team

Popular

  • COURT & CRIME
  • Food & Drink
Singapore

Snail mail on a slow boat

This article is more than 12 months old
Pulau Ubin postman
LONE RIDER: Mr Haron Jomahat has to ride his motorcycle through some tough terrain on Pular Ubin to deliver mail.TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH
Pulau Ubin postman
Mr Haron picks up the day's mail at a specially marked box at the Singpost Loyang Avenue delivery base. TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH
Pulau Ubin postman
Some Pulau Ubin residents use makeshift containers as mailboxes.TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH
Pulau Ubin postman
Mr Haron has to ride his motorcycle through some rough terrain on Pulau Ubin to deliver mail.TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH

This article was originally published in The New Paper on May 20, 2014. TNP met Singapore's oldest postman, who at 73, braved Ubin’s elements to deliver letters to the islanders. Mr Haron Jomahat has since fully retired.

Gary Goh
Dec 29, 2016 03:13 pm
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • E-mail this article
  • 0 Engagements

Rain or shine every weekday afternoon, you’ll find Mr Haron Jomahat sitting on the brown benches at Changi Point Ferry Terminal.

Like anyone else who wants to go to Pulau Ubin, Mr Haron has to wait for 11 others to fill the bumboat before it leaves the terminal.

Then it’s a 10-minute journey to the island.

But unlike other boat passengers, who might be going on a rustic adventure, the 73-year-old part-time postman makes the daily trips to deliver mail to the island’s last remaining residents.

A Singapore Post spokesman said Mr Haron is the oldest postman in Singapore.

On good days, he can be on his way within minutes of arriving at the ferry terminal.

Families at the walk at Pulau Ubin.
Singapore

Learning about Singapore on a walking trail at Pulau Ubin

Aug 10, 2017

Related Stories

Pulau Ubin kampung houses to be restored

A day in the life: Ubin's postman

GALLERY: A day in the life of a Pulau Ubin postman

But rainy days mean fewer people travelling to Pulau Ubin, and he may have to wait for hours.

Mr Haron, the only postman in Singapore to take a bumboat to deliver mail, said with a chuckle: “I spend the time reading newspapers or just relax on the benches.”

Yet there is a lot more to his job than having to rely on an irregular ferry service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahSFwyANWjQ

He knows each residential address on the island, and sorts the letters at the SingPost delivery base off Loyang Avenue, starting with houses nearest to the jetty.

Pulau Ubin postman
LONE RIDER: Mr Haron Jomahat has to ride motorcycle through some tough terrain on Pulau Ubin to deliver mail.TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH

PATHFINDING

And mind you, an address may be no more than a house number and the numbers are not in order along a street as it is on the mainland.

For instance, if you write to “12 Pulau Ubin”, Mr Haron would know exactly where it is and will be able to deliver the letter.

Relying on his 20 years of experience there, Mr Haron can usually finish his mail run in less then three hours.

Pulau Ubin postman
Mr Haron also collects mail from the only post box on the island. TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH

When he is done, Mr Haron, who lives in Pasir Ris, waits for a boat back to the mainland.

While his mail runs are typically shorter than those of his colleagues on the mainland, he has to ride through some of the roughest terrain accessible by post.

Some houses have only a narrow dirt track leading to them and at times it is difficult to reach them, even by motorcycle.

Pulau Ubin postman
Mr Haron has to ride his motorcycle through some rough terrain on Pulau Ubin to deliver mail.TNP PHOTO: GARY GOH

Mr Haron said: “On rainy days, these tracks would be too muddy and slippery for me, so I’ll just keep the mail for delivery the next day.”

Still, Mr Haron does not complain about his job.

He grew up as an islander on Pulau Tekong, and the grandfather of 12 said Pulau Ubin reminds him of his formative years.

“If given another chance I’ll still want to be assigned to Pulau Ubin,” he said. “It is not as hectic as the mainland and I love the rustic feel of this place.”

Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now

pulau ubinSINGPOSTCOMMUNITY ISSUES

Gary Goh

Read articles by Gary Goh
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • E-mail this article
  • Newslink -  Purchase this article for republication

Top Stories this Month

Makansutra: Mad for this moist millennial char kway teow
Makan

Mad for this moist and marvellous char kway teow

Feb 25, 2021
Wild boar drags woman for a metre in Punggol attack
Singapore

Wild boar drags woman for a metre in Punggol attack

Feb 22, 2021
Father on late son’s fiancee: She was like a daughter to me
Singapore

Father on late son's fiancee: She was like a daughter to me

Feb 16, 2021
Home
  • Contests
  • Coupon
  • Team
  • Home
  • News
    • Singapore
    • World
    • Business
    • Views
    • Backstage
    • Others
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Singapore Football
    • Team Singapore
    • School Sports
    • Athletics
    • Basketball
    • Cricket
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Racing
    • Others
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Star Style
    • School of Frock
  • Lifestyle
    • Makan
    • Hed Chef
    • Weets Eats
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
    • Biker Boy
    • Celeb Chow
    • Others
  • Racing
  • Your Tip-Offs
  • Read E-Paper
  • Contact TNP
  • About SPH
  • Privacy Statement
  • Data Protection Policy
  • Member Terms & Conditions
  • Website Terms & Conditions
SPH Digital News Copyright © 2021 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn No. 198402868E