Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... From the tomb of Keramat Kuala Bidor to that of Raja Ahmad...

Good morning... Actually good early morning as I'm writing this sentence at 1.28 AM. Without much further ado, let's continue from the last posting titled Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... Batak Rabit in Teluk Intan, a major ground where the story unfolds... . This time we start to move out of Teluk Intan heading northwards to the district of Kampung Gajah to get to Pasir Salak where the first British Resident to Perak, J.W.W. Birch was murdered by locals in 1875. But not without visiting some places in between including the famous Birch's very own grave! Come...

Just a few kilometres outside Teluk Intan on the way to Kampung Gajah lies these old tombs...

I'm not sure who was buried in this one but I know for sure it is related to the tomb shown below...

Here is the tomb of a famous legendary Perak figure of old known simply as Keramat Kuala Bidor... Or literally could be tranlasted as the charismatic saintly figure of estuary of the Bidor river.

Now, I won't go into lengths explaining who is. Suffice to say that you should read these old articles which are translations/adapatations of excerpts from my Malay novels "Berpetualang ke Aceh" posted here almost 2 years ago! Have a look at it... Just click at the titles.

The tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor

The tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor 2… Touching a bit on the world shadow government

The Tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor 3 – And so the story goes…

Or you can check the video clip in the article Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Keramat Kuala Bidor posted in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU just before 1am today...

Next, we move some 15km more up north to get to this old abandoned mosque...

There's something unique about this mosque, it's beautiful design and architecture notwithstanding...

Just look at the pulpit inside... It's a gem isn't it?

A look at the front. For more explanation on it, please read the article Masjid lama Perak yang terbiar (An old and abandoned Perak old mosque) in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART)

Soon, it's time to go further into the wilderness. We actually have to walk as the path is not that accesible to cars... Yes, it was made wide enough for cars. It's just that the condition is not so good. You don't want your car getting stuck in the mud and such while exploring an abandoned area which is miles away from current civilisation, especially not when the time then was almost dusk!

Some 200-300 metres (or was it more than 500 metres?) further up north, we came across this signage leading to the tomb of the 19th ruler of Perak, Sultan Abdul Malik Mansur Shah...

Too bad, the condition of the tomb is deteriorating despite the fact that it is a historical site gazetted by the museum...

Just look at the condition of the actual tomb itself and one is hardpressed to find the tombstones... I mean for God's sake, this is not just anybody's tomb... This is the tomb of the person who ruled the state of Perak some 200 years ago! Why leave it like this?

On the other hand look at this burial ground another 500 metres further or so away...

This Christian burial site is so well-kept, such a huge contrast to the condition of the Muslim tomb that is resting area of a Perak ruler... Why?
For the record, in this burial ground lies the body of first British resident to Perak, J.W.W. Birch who was murdered in 1875 by the locals. Again, I won't go into lengths. Perhaps the articles The main players of the Perak-British war as depicted at the fort of Ngah Ibrahim... and In Perak's royal mausoleum to give justice to Laksamana Raja Mahkota Muhammad Amin posted here six months ago would help...

Oh... We are running out of pictures for this article when the article here mentioned someone by the name of Raja Ahmad... What actually happened?

Well, we actually arrived at the Christian burial ground at dusk and came out of the area in the dark. Still we went on by car to get to the tomb of Raja Ahmad, a 19th Century Perak royal who was the great grandfather to practically all the major Perak royals since then including rulers. But if you still want to see pictures showing the way it looked then (in pitch dark at night except for the beam of lights from our cars), you can have a look at the article Perjalanan terbaru ke Perak... Perjalanan malam ke Pasir Salak, Makam Raja Ahmad, Makam Keramat Kuala Bidor sebelum kembali ke Teluk Intan... made in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU 2 months ago.

Oh, by the way, the officially genealogy mentioned Raja Ahmad as the son of Sultan Abdul Malik Mansur Shah whose messy tomb we have shown above. But some said, Raja Ahmad is actually the son in-law of the Perak's 19th ruler...

Whatever, what is interesting is Raja Ahmad was believed to have disappeared into thin air after falling down the nearby river of Sungai Terus. The tomb we visited is actually a place marked by a single 'tombstone' to signify the location where he disappeared at. Perhaps it would help if you view the video clips available in the articles just posted at CATATAN SI MERAH SILU tonight (or this morning... Whatever!) never mind everything there is explained in Malay. Please view it in order. The articles are...

Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Masjid lama misteri, makam Sultan Abdul Malik dan kubur Birch - Petanda bandar Melayu yang hilang

and

Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Makam Raja Ahmad... Sekali lagi sampai waktu malam!

With that, I close this article. Good night! :]

Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... Batak Rabit in Teluk Intan, a major ground where the story unfolds...

Now that I have let go of some recent thoughts via the article Interlude: A visit to Kuala Linggi... , let's continue the latest Perak story ya... Continuing from the article Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... Opening the 'act' at Tanjung Malim

Soon enough we arrived at the town of Teluk Intan. Immediately we went some 5km eastwards to an area called Batak Rabit to get to this old mosque...

To the right side of this mosque lies a private burial ground belonging to the family of Laksamana Raja Mahkota, an inherited noble title of Perak... By the way, that's my family... :]

At the verandah of the mosque is a notice board. Among the things displayed are these pictures of some religious scholars. Felt like taking a snap... You see I am interested in the one on the top-right hand, a late 18th Century to early 19th Century prominent scholar in Kedah known as Tuan Hussein al-Banjari.

For the record, his name is listed among seven major personalities of the same era said to be of saintly status! While I have visited the tombs of the other six in the list including that of Tok Kenali in Kelantan, Tokku Paloh in Kedah and Habib Nuh in Singapura (forgive me for refusing to used the Anglicised word Singapore), I have yet to visit Tuan Hussein's, I think in Titi Gajah somewhere off Alor Setar...

A look at the mosque's verandah...

Actually we went to the mosque for a few reasons. One of it is because a few regular visitors of my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU would like to join this Perak trip from here...

In the picture (from left) is my friend and cameraman Zaidi who goes by the on-line name of PerpatihTulus followed by Dong, a regular reader of the blogspot who joined the trip along with me from Kuala Lumpur. In the white shirt is Zam who works in Shah Alam but is on holiday at his parents place in Chenderong Balai, 20km from Teluk Intan, He was the first to join us at this mosque...

A look at the Perak river from where they were standing. Actually I took the picture above of them from one of these floats!

A look towards the north-east of the river... So what is so special abouth this mosque? For more details, it is recommended you read the posting Masjid lama Batak Rabit (The old mosque of Batik Rabit) made in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) more than a year ago.

Now whenever people talk about the historical happenings in and around the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, the place that came to mind is Pasir Salak some 30km away from here. Why? Because most remember the murder of the first British resident to Perak J.W.W. Birch which happened there in 1875... They forgot that apart from there, major battles, even plans made by the Perak royals and nobles were held here in Batak Rabit, within and around the compounds of this mosque! Because this was where Sultan Abdullah II, the ruler of Perak then held his fort and command from... This was where his closest family members, the Perak Hilir royals were mainly concentrated before the place was destroyed and burned down by the British.

By the way, it was only in this trip that I learned the mosque is much older than I thought. If earlier I thought it was built in the 1920s (the site of the original older mosque is just next to the private burial grounds beside), a video clip taken by Zaidi while I was busy answering the call of nature showed that the roofing for the still existing tower is dated 1865! This means, the mosque itself is that old or much older... This also means, the original older mosque which is now reduced to a group of old planks could have been of course built much much earlier...

For video clips on the latest trip to Perak which tries to uncover the happenings behind all this, please visit my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU . For more details and a better understanding of things (apart from some entertainment and laughs, hehe...) look forward to the DVD of the trip to be released soon, God willing. Enough! :]

Interlude: A visit to Kuala Linggi...

Last weekend, I went to see my parents in Muar after some 8 months not going back to the town of my birth. One the way, I decided to take a longer route past a certain place. I ended up visiting a few other places and decided to feature this one in this blogspot. Here it is...

Actually I spent the previous night on Friday at a friend's place just before Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. In the morning, I went to Seremban to visit a certain exhibition (I will make a posting on it in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU later)...

Afterwards while taking the old route down south towards Rembau, I felt like having a look (again...) at the megalithic stones of Pengkalan Kempas. For a look at it, do read the article The megalithic stones of Pengkalan Kempas posted here in February.

From there I felt like heading west to Tanjung Tuan and Port Dickson... Right until I arrived at the junction above...

I took the left turning heading southwards and soon saw this signboard. Actually I felt like going to Kuala Linggi since as I far as I could remember, I have only been around that part of Malaysia only once my whole life... It was sometime in the year 2003 and even then at night, while on the way to return to Kuala Lumpur from Melaka...

A look behind should put the directions in perpective... Port Dickson to the left which is heading west and Linggi, also Pengkalan Kempas to the right...

Soon enough I arrived at Kuala Linggi... Kuala means estuary and Linggi is the name of the river, also the name of a district and the corresponding small town... Somehow I felt there's something more that must be seen here. But at this juncture, I thought it was only the mouth of the river which opens up to the Straits of Melaka...

Oh, by the way... It was only in this trip that I learned Kuala Linggi is actually situated in the state of Melaka. The parts across known as Tanjung Agas is situated in the state of Negeri Sembilan... All this while I thought Kuala Linggi is in Negeri Sembilan as both the small town of Linggi and the district is situated in that state. Oh well...

Whatever, the river itself is quite idyllic. For information, the Linggi river is a major river to get to inner parts of Negeri Sembilan. An 19th Century Sumatran prince by the name of Raja Melewar, recorded in history as the first Yam Tuan (ruler) of the state is among the prominent personalities who got into Negeri Sembilan using the river! Do have a look at the articles Makam Raja Melewar di siang hari (The tomb of Raja Melewar during the day) and Replika istana (The palace replica of Raja Melewar) in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) ...

A look towards the estuary...

Oh... Actually, on the way to the estuary, I saw a road sign pointing the way to something called Kota (fort of Linggi). So I decided to have a look later...

As it turned out, there are remains of an old fort...

So I decided to have a look...

Ah... Almost there. The place is situated on a hill called Supai...

This signboard should sufficiently explain its history...

The compound of what remains of the fort...

A look down towards the sea (or rather, the Straits of Melaka) shows some uncompleted buildings... And no, it is not part of the historical fort...

As far as I could see, the fort (or what remains of it) consist mainly of crudely built stone walls like this... Crudely built but sufficient and strong enough to hold attackers at bay I surmiss...

There, more of such walls...

While the uncompleted building which I believe were meant to be chalets for tourists but somehow abandoned provided an interesting contrast against the sea!

Soon enough it's time to go. Enough of Kuala Linggi I guess. For some pictures of 2 other places visited the same day, please have a look at the articles Asal usul nama (Origin of the name) Masjid Tanah and Makam (Tomb of) Hang Tuah di (in) Tanjung Kling, Melaka... in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) posted within a few hours ago. Cheers! :]

Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... Opening the 'act' at Tanjung Malim

Peace be upon you all. Just over a week ago I made my latest trip to Perak. Unlike in my previous trips where I just travelled along a certain direction visiting certain places especially old tombs along the way, this time I had a mission to record what happened along the trip on video with the particular focus of relating everything to what happened in Perak around the time of the signing of the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 and how it affected the state and in turn the whole outlook of the nation now known as Malaysia.

Hmm... This needs a long explanation and a lot of background knowledge actually. So let me just copy and paste these bits from the Wikipedia...

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The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was a treaty signed between the British and the Sultan of Perak. Signed on January 20, 1874 on the island of Pangkor off Perak, the treaty is significant in history of the Malay states as it signalled official British involvement in the policies of the Malays.

Precedence

Sultan Abdullah of Perak

Perak was a major tin producer throughout the nineteenth century, leading the UK, which had already obtained Penang, Malacca and Singapore, to consider Perak of significant importance. However, local strife collectively known as the Larut War between the local Malay elites and frequent clashes between secret Chinese societies disrupted the flow of tin from the mines of Perak.

In 1871, Sultan Ali, the ruler of Perak died. Raja Abdullah, as Raja Muda or the next in line ruler, should have been appointed as the next Sultan of Perak but Raja Bendahara Raja Ismail was elected instead. The reason being, Raja Abdullah was not present during the burial of the late Sultan Ali. At around the same time, two secret Chinese societies known as Ghee Hin led by Chin Ah Yam and Hai San led by Chung Keng Quee constantly waged battle against each other for control of the tin mines.

Agreement

Raja Abdullah later asked for the British help to solve these two problems. In her book "The Golden Chersonese and The Way Thither" (Published 1892 G.P. Putnam's Sons) Victorian traveller and adventuress Isabella Lucy Bird (1831-1904) describes how Raja Muda Abdullah as he then was turned to his friend in Singapore, Tan Kim Ching. Tan, together with an English merchant in Singapore drafted a letter to Governor Sir Andrew Clarke which Abdullah signed. The letter expressed Abdullah's desire to place Perak under British protection, and "to have a man of sufficient abilities to show (him) a good system of government." On the 26th of September, 1872 Chung Keng Quee had already presented a petition, signed by himself and 44 other Chinese leaders, seeking British interference following the attack of 12,000 men of Chung Shan by 2,000 men of Sen Ning. (The Petition.) The British immediately saw this as a great opportunity to expand its influence in Southeast Asia and strengthened its monopoly on tin. As a result, the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was signed.

Terms and conditions

The agreement dictated:

• Raja Abdullah was acknowledged as the legitimate Sultan to replace Sultan Ismail who would be given a title and a pension of 1000 Mexican pesos a month.
• The Sultan would receive a British Resident whose advice had to be sought and adhered to in all matters except those pertaining to the religion and customs of the Malays.
• All collections and control of taxes as well as the administration of the state had to be done under the name of the Sultan but arranged according to the Resident's advice.
• The Minister of Larut would continue to be in control, but would no longer be recognized as a liberated leader. Instead, a British Officer, who would have a vast authority in administrating the district, would be appointed in Larut.
• The Sultan and not the British government would pay the Resident's salary
• Perak ceded Dinding and Pangkor Island to the British.

Raja Ismail did not attend the meeting arranged between Sir Andrew Clarke and Raja Abdullah. Raja Ismail obviously did not recognize the agreement but he had no choice against the alliance between Raja Abdullah and the British. As a result, Raja Abdullah was made Sultan and Sir James W.W. Birch was appointed as Perak's first British Resident after the treaty came to force.

Following this agreement, the British actively became involved in three other Malay states; Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Pahang. These states along with Perak later became the Federated Malay States.

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OK. That was just about the treaty, furthermore explained through a Western egocentric outlook which tends to neglect how the locals felt. There were actually many underlying circumstances leading to its signing and later many resulting undercurrents. But the most noted consequence was direct interference by the colonialist British in Perak's state affairs. The way the first British Resident to the state, J.W.W. Birch handled matters especially his lack of respect on local customs lead to his murder by the Malays in 1875 and that's when the damn burst...

This eventually lead to war and then the capture of many Malay warriors. Suffice to say in 1877 some main Malay figures were hanged to death while Perak ruler Sultan Abdullah along with some of his officials were banished to the Seychelles Islands in Africa.

Ah... This is indeed a long story. So please refer to my old articlesThe main players of the Perak-British war as depicted at the fort of Ngah Ibrahim... and In Perak's royal mausoleum to give justice to Laksamana Raja Mahkota Muhammad Amin for further supporting information.

Back to the story at hand... So I want to explore the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in my latest trip to Perak while making a video on it. But the approach I took was based more on chance and gut feelings... Following a skeletal travel plan, I decided to just follow my heart where to stop or visit and just shoot the video, spontaneously making comments based on what I know (or rather what I remembered on the spot) about a place and how it relates to the main theme... How what happened around the Pangkor Treaty affected the future of Perak, the nation of Malaysia in turn and the Malays in particular.

Oh... Whatever, video clips of this trip is reserved for my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU . The still pictures are to be shown in this blogspot along with suitable narratives. So shoot...

My good friend Zaidi @ PerpatihTulus who acted as the video cameraman fetched me in Kajang about 9am or so. Then we fetched a regular visitor to CATATAN SI MERAH SILU who goes by the name Dong.

By the way, this is the first time I opened a travel to anybody who wishes to join, at any point of the trip. As it turned out later, this particular trip actually got a total of 14 participants including 2 small kids but that is another story! Anyway, Zaidi and I fetched Dong at Jalan Pekeliling in Kuala Lumpur. We then took the North-South Highway and stopped for breakfast at the Sungai Buloh rest area, hence the picture above...

Soon enough we're back on the road. We got off the highway at the Tanjung Malim exit and stopped at a certain unique mosque...

Look... The mosque got a staircase right in the middle of the main hall leading to a certain part...

Staircases like this almost always prompt me to venture up...

A look at Zaidi conducting his extra prayers...

There, a view from the certain part... The mosque tower for calling out to prayers actually...

And finally a look at the mosque itself, from the outside. For more information please read the article Masjid Sheikh Ismail di Ulu Bernam (The mosque of Sheikh Ismail in Ulu Bernam) written in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) more than a year ago.

OK. While outsiders might refer to the whole surrounding area containing this mosque as being in Tanjung Malim, the fact is the mosque is actually situated in Ulu Bernam. Officially, one have to go another 200 meter up north to get to Tanjung Malim because that's where the borders are defined. You see, Ulu Bernam lies in the state of Selangor while Tanjung Malim is in Perak!

A look to my left or rather to the west shows this part of the Bernam river which form the natural state border...

A look to my right or to the east. With that, I have officially entered Perak and thus opened the 'act'.... That is the act of making a trip with a view of making a video and a story of what happened (or how I see it happened) around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty...

With Tanjung Malim done, my next destination is Teluk Intan, the town and district where my father was born at... The place where the main fort of Sultan Abdullah, the Perak Sultan who got exiled, used the stand... The place where my ancestors used to also hold fort in their fight against the British.

On the way we stopped at Sungkai and visit its old mosque above. A short story on it will be posted in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) afterwards. Cheers! :]