Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... To Kuala Kangsar and 'beyond'

Greetings all. I was just turning on my laptop to continue the process of burning my recently finished Perak trip video @ travel-log story @ home-made documentary on DVD when lo and behold, the neighbour's wi-fi signal is on and clear for me to ride on to my heart's content! Oh, by the way the video contains the best selected clips from the travel with some potrayed at my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU of which the static pictures formed the stories in the currently running "Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak" articles here.

Since the burning process takes a lot of time, I might as well use the available wi-fi signal to make this posting... I started burning the first DVD for today's session at around 7.15pm before settling a few other things. Soon I started this article and by the time this sentence was written which was just after 8.30pm, only 25 per cent of the burning was done!

That's the funny thing I noticed about burning DVDs, in this particular case some 2.66 Gb or 118 minutes worth of video... The first one of the day (after you start the computer) always takes more than two hours. When it's done, the computer will ask if you want to make another copy and from this stage thereon, it takes only 10 minutes or so to burn the same information and get the same result in a DVD.

Anyway, enough rantings and ramblings. Consider this posting the continuation from the article Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... The fort of Ngah Ibrahim made 3 days ago. Oh, by the way again, this is the last article under the series. Enjoy it, cheers! :]

OK. We left the fort of Ngah Ibrahim at around 5.30pm and immediately head for the Taiping town centre. We were famished then as we haven't had lunch. So I wanted to bring the crew to a famous restaurant in Taiping well-known for its kuey teow ( a type of Chinese vermicelli).

That's the problem, it is very well-known. We managed to find the place but not only it was full, the waiting list was long and they didn't want to do take-aways. We on the other hand still have to rush to Kuala Kangsar more than 30km as there were a place or two to visit before sun down... So we can't wait.

The journey must continue and so we head towards Kuala Kangsar. The thought in mind was, if we find any place to eat along the way that' looks pleasing enough then that's where we'll have our late lunch! That's how we stopped at the place called Bukit Berapit above...

This is the road-side stall where we had 'lunch'. Although the place then was infested with flies (the owner said some people recently open a chicken farm or slaughter shed or something like that not far away. That's when the flies started coming...) we decided to go on and fill our stomach.

As far as I could remember, this is the first time I ever stopped at Bukit Berapit my whole life. This despite the fact that I've been pass this road many many times as it lies on the main Taiping-Kuala Kangsar national route. That's when I found out it has a nice stream with rapids behind...

By the time we finished eating, it's almost 7pm. As we reached the outskirts of Kuala Kangsar, I saw this hill and felt like taking a picture from inside the car.

We stopped by at a certain place in Kuala Kangsar to meet 2 friends, one from Sungai Siput some 20km away, another from Ipoh 40m away. They wanted to join the rest of the trip for the day...

Soon enough, after 7pm, we arrived the Ubudiyah mosque in Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar...

Next to it (actually right in front, in the direction facing the kiblat, the Muslims point of direction for prayers which is towards the sacred Ka'abah building in Mekah, at the Arab peninsular) is the royal mausoleum of Perak.

Although there's many many tombs inside including that of 7 Sultans (rulers) of Perak, we immediately head for the right-wing. As the azan (call of prayer) for Maghrib (the dusk obligatory prayers) resounded in the air from the mosque, we visited this tomb, the tomb of Laksamana Raja Mahkota (royal admiral) Muhammad Amin above.

We also visited the tomb of Perak's 26th ruler, Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II (the one with the headstones wrapped in yellow-clothes seen between the headstones of Muhammad Amin). For the record, both the admiral and the Sultan were exiled to the Seychelles islands in Africa after the murder of British first resident to Perak J.W.W. Birch in 1875.

For more information on the matter, please read 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 over half a year ago.

The visit to the royal mausoleum practically ended our Perak trip as we made it mainly to follow history and happenings around the Pangkor Treaty which happened in 1874. But we were raring to go to a few other places around which could be distantly related. And thus after we've done our prayers at the Ubudiyah mosque, we head for the village of Kampung Padang Changkat just about 2-3 km away to visit the tomb of certain 18th century warrior known as Daeng Selili.

Along the way lies the house of a famous traditional weapons maker known as Pak Mazin. As most of us are enthusiast, it seems we must pay a visit!

The table was practically opened with plenty of unfinished weapons, just for a taste of it. Unfinished ony in the touching-up, that's all... As far as I'm concerned every one shown (almost 20 pieces) was already functional for a fight!

Among it is a replica of a keris (Malay wavy blade) kept by the Perak palace for state royal functions. The keris is said to the Taming Sari, the famous magical weapon owned by the 15th century legenday Malay warrior Hang Tuah who served the Melaka Sultans! For the record, the Perak royalty is the only surviving royalty from the Melaka Sultans' lineage. So there...

The guys were practically wide-eyed, full of oohs and aahss as Pak Mazin (on the right) explained some things about the keris...

Soon enough, we went to the tomb of Daeng Selili just half a kilometre away from Pak Mazin's house. Then we head back to the certain place where we earlier met our friends from Sungai Siput and Ipoh... For there lies a tomb said to belong to a religious person of old known as Sheikh Abdul Qadir.

Once done there, we head for the tomb of ancient female mystical personality known as Tok Temong nearly 15km away. But I didn't take any pictures at these places. Instead I only started snapping again when I reached to mosque of Kota Lama Kanan, some 2-3 km outside of Kuala Kangsar. Above is the pulpit inside...

Inside the Kota Lama Kanan mosque is a single tombstone. If I'm not mistaken, it was erected in the 1920s to mark the place where the 2nd ruler of Perak, Sultan Mansur Shah (ruled 1549-1577) was said to have mysteriously vanished into thin air, never to be found again while performing the Muslim obligatory once-a-week congregational Jumaat (Friday) prayers in front of his subjects!

Afterwards, we also visited the tombs of Perak's 24th ruler Sultan Ali Inayat Shah (ruled 1865-1871) and 27th ruler Sultan Yusuf I (ruled 1887) within 2km down the road. Again I didn't take pictures as the visits were made in pitch darkness except for the light from our cars...

With that, we left Kuala Kangsar heading for Kampung Gajah some 70km down south. From there we intend to return to Kuala Lumpur.

On the way jus before Kampung Gajah, we stopped at a stall for supper. It was almost midnight then. As the tomb of Perak's 13th ruler Sultan Muzaffar Shah III lies just about 200 metres away, we paid a visit.

We soon find out we were too tired to drive to Kuala Lumpur that very night. So we bunked at the Kampung Bahagia mosque just outside Teluk Intan. Here is the pulpit inside.

With this, the "Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak" ends. And with this also,I would like to rest from making any articles... That is until after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration in 10 days time ya. Good nightand happy Hari Raya to all!

p/s: Watch out for the relevant video clips to be published God willing , afterwards in the CATATAN SI MERAH SILU blogspot. By the way, this ending sentence was typed at 9.55pm but still, only 62 per cent of the DVD burning is done. Jeezzz.... :]

Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... The fort of Ngah Ibrahim

OK. Time to make some updates. Continuing from the article Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak...Foraying into Beruas . Briefly ya as it is almost buka puasa (breaking fast) time for me. For the record today is the 17th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan. Here goes...

After Beruas, we immediately headed for Taiping to get to the fort of Ngah Ibrahim in Matang. We arrived at the fort which has been converted into a museum just after 5pm.... So it was closed. But luckily the caretaker recognised me from my previous visits and agreed to open it, specially for us... Why, he even welcomed us to take pictures!

Above is a picture of the guys at the section displaying some Malay weapons. In case you forgot, Ngah Ibrahim is a wealthy Malay who inhereted the thriving tin-mining activities in Larut (the district containing Taiping) from another wealthy Malay, Long Jaafar said to be his father. This happened in the mid 19th Century. Then, Larut contained the richest known tin deposit in the whole world!

Outside that section, on the main hall of the second floor (oh, forgot to tell, this is inside the house of Ngah Ibrahim within the fort) is the actual area used to hold the historical court proceedings to sentence (or rather punish...) the Malay warriors implicated in the murder of British first resident to Perak, J.W.W. Birch...

Oh, I did say above that I would be brief right? Just read and refer the full history somewhere else ya...

A section potraying the Malay warriors. Please read the article The main players of the Perak-British war as depicted at the fort of Ngah Ibrahim... made half a year ago here.

The Bugis armour... A picture of this armour was used on the leaf of my third book @ novel, "Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?" (could be literally translated as "The trip to Aceh: The prodigal son returns?").

A model of the elephant named Larut, said to be owned by Long Jaafar. The story goes, the elephant ran to the jungle. When it was found 3 days later, traces of tin were found on it's body leading to the discovery of the richest tin deposit then... Hence the whole area was named Larut after the elephant.

That's us posing in front...

And this, outside the house but within the fort is said to be the tomb of Ngah Ibrahim. Actually he was said to have died in exile in Singapura (sorry, I don't like the Anglicised word Singapore) more than 100 years ago but his remains were returned to Perak on 9th September 2006. So were the remains of his father-in-law, Laksamana Raja Mahkota Muhammad Amin.

Please read the article In Perak's royal mausoleum to give justice to Laksamana Raja Mahkota Muhammad Amin, also made half a year ago. With this I end this particular portion of the story-telling. Cheers! :]

Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak...Foraying into Beruas

Greetings! Continuing the story-telling from the article Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak...Pasir Salak historical complex . After we're done at Pasir Salak, it's time to head for Taiping, a place with history integral to the happenings around the Pangkor Treaty. In fact after J.W.W. Birch was killed in 1875, the Malay warriors and patriots were put to trial and sentenced to exile and death by the British at the fort of Ngah Ibrahim just outside Taiping!

To get to Taiping, there is a route through the sleepy town of Beruas. The small town might not have anything to do with the happenings around the treaty but Beruas has it's own history which is integral in the history of Perak. So might as well pay a visit. Here is the story...

First, we stopped at the museum of Beruas...

Here are displayed some items related to history of the old Islamic kingdom of Beruas said to have existed since some 700 years ago... And before that there was a much older kingdom having existed within the same grounds. This is the kingdom of Gangganegara said to be a Hindu and Indianised, established sometime in the 2th Century AD!

For some elaboration, do have a look at the article The origin of the name Beruas. posted here half a year ago... Look also at the articles A short stop in Beruas. And a talk on Beruas' very own mysterious "Batu bersurat" or inscribed stone... and The ancient kingdom of Beruas and its ties with the more ancient kingdom of Gangganegara! which were posted slightly earlier.

Time to go inside...

We spent sometime looking at the artifacts on display...

Oh, by the way the museum is located next to the police station. In the background is the the Bubu mountain looming at around 5,500-feet high...

Then it's time to visit the real item, the tombs of the kings of Beruas in Kampung Kota, some 4km south of Beruas town... There's two main clusters of ancient tombs here...

In the first cluster, inside one walled area, the tombstones are missing. What's left is the stub of one tombstone...

Luckily the tombstones inside the other walled area are still intact. For the record, this type of tombstones is called Aceh tombstones.

Next, we visited the second cluster...

More Aceh-type tombstones here...

Somehow, I always admire its intricate design made for people of much importance especially royalty and important religious and spiritual leaders of old...

Once done at the tombs, we stopped at the Kampung Kota mosque to rest a bit, refresh and did our obligatory prayers...

Overlooking the mosque is the hill of Shamsul Bahrin which has its own history. A series of related video clips will be posted in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU shortly. Cheers!

Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak...Pasir Salak historical complex

OK... Continuing straight away from the article Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... From Kampung Gajah to Pasir Salak .

After we're done visiting the tomb of Si Puntum, it's time to enter the Pasir Salak historical complex, dedicated to the happenings around the killing of the first British Resident to Perak, J.W.W. Birch in 1875... A killing (or murder depending from which point of view you see things) which is actually a culmination of all the resentment the Malays felt over the colonising British following the Pangkor Treaty of 1874!

The complex which also serves as a resort has several buildings...

Among it is this watchtower said to be preserved from the British colonial days...

The whole area sits next to the Perak river...

This is the main museum. For a look at some of the displays, have a look at the article Galeri Keris (The Keris gallery in) Pasir Salak in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART)...

Here is a replica of the Rumah Kutai, an old Perak Malay house...

The idyllic riverside walk...

Another Rumah Kutai...

Here is a monument dedicated to the brave Perak Malays who dare oppose the colonial rule. It is mainly dedicated to the nobles Datuk Maharajalela, Datuk Sagor and their followers Pandak Endut and Si Puntum who were on the frontline taking the fight by killing Birch. As a result, they were all sentenced to death and summarily executed! For some story on them and other related figures have a look at 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 half-a-year ago.

And this is a stone plaque set up to mark that Birch was killed around here, besides the river actually while taking a bath they said. Enough said...

Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... From Kampung Gajah to Pasir Salak

Greeting earthlings! The article Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... From the tomb of Keramat Kuala Bidor to that of Raja Ahmad... was concluded with the story of Raja Ahmad and how we arrived at his tomb at night. The same night, we head to Kampung Gajah for dinner. That's when some of us parted ways to resume with whatever business we have elsewhere while the rest of us decided to bunk at a mosque.

This is a picture from behind the mosque where we bunked at, Masjid (or the mosque) of Sultan Azlan Shah named after the current ruler of Perak. As far as my travels go (and I've been around, have slept at many mosques), this is the most 'user-friendly' mosque when it comes to find a place to bunk at...

Originally, we plan to go to the Pasir Salak, the place where the first British Resident to Perak J.W.W. Birch was killed right after visiting the tomb of Raja Ahmad. But by the time we're done visiting followed by dinner in Kampung Gajah, it was already way past 10pm! So we decided to bunk at this mosque and this is the picture morning after.

We could have gone straight to Pasir Salak from the mosque but decided to turn back down south towards Teluk Intan some 15km or so to get to Chenderong Balai. You see one of the trip's participants who goes by the nickname RadenCilik (he came with a nephew) had problems with his car. So we decided that it's best he parked his car somewhere and continued the rest of the journey in Zaidi @ PerpatihTulus's car.

Another participant Zam offered his family's place in Chenderong Balai to park the car. That would surely be much safer... So we took the offer. But Zam who joined the trip from Teluk Intan up to the visit to the tomb of Raja Ahmad and dinner in Kampung Gajah was among those who had to part ways as there's a family function coming.

Anyway the car was safely parked there. Above is a picture of the place we had breakfast at in Chenderong Balai.

Then it's time to head back to Kampung Gajah as we have to go through there to get to Pasir Salak. On the way, between the tomb of Raja Ahmad and Kampung Gajah, we decided to visit the tomb of Sultan Ja'afar Muazzam Shah, the 23rd Sultan of Perak.

view the video clip posted in the article Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Sultan Jaafar dan Bandar Tua at the Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU . For the record, Sultan Ja'afar is the son of Raja Ahmad. Furthermore, he is also the father of Sultan Abdullah II, the 26th Perak Sultan who was exiled to the Seychelles islands in Africa for being involved in the killing (I would rather use the word kill than murder here) of J.W.W. Birch in 1875.

Oh, just in case you forgot. The killing happened in the wake of the Pangkor Treaty 1874. Birch who was assigned by the colonising British to "sort out" matters in Perak proved very crude and rude and this upsetted the locals especially the Sultan and the nobles. That's why he was murdered (now I can used the word 'murder' within the right social context)!

Soon enough we arrived at Pasir Salak which is on the other side of the Perak river across Kampung Gajah... Quite early actually, I think just before 9am or so. Since we had time on our hands (then we had time, later we had to rush!), we decided to have a look at the area south of it particularly an area called Bandar Tua.

A video clip on the visit is available in the article Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Sultan Jaafar dan Bandar Tua . You can also read the article Masjid (mosque of) Bandar Tua, Perak... posted earlier today in the bi-lingual blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) .

Actually, apart from abundance of time, the main reason we decided to make the foray down south Pasir Salak was to look for a certain unique mosque mentioned by Zam as existing somewhere along the area. More than half an hour later, after a few false stops and a few kilometres down south, we finally found it. Please look at the article Masjid (mosque of) Bandar, Perak? , also in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) ...

A look from the tower of the mosque... That is Zaidi down there...

A look towards the south-east with the Perak river in view...

To the north-east... And then it's time to go...

Soon enough, we arrived again at Pasir Salak and decided to park in front of the old mosque there...

Behind it lies the Pasir Salak historical complex...

We went into the complex using the back door besides the old mosque. That's when we got scolded by the guards who directed us to use the main entrance!

Hmm... It seems, the back door was built only for the locals to get around... Since the main entrance is some 300 metre away, might as well park our car at the area above...

That's when we noticed this graveyard...

Inside it lies a tomb, one gazetted as a place of historical significance...

For here lies the remains of a person known as Si Puntum, a frontline person in the killing of Birch. For more information, please open the picture in a new window. To be continued...