SULTAN Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah launched a book titled Perak Sultanate: The Historic Royal Glory of Perak Tengah just a few days ago and it has created a buzz not seen for a long time among history buffs.
The excitement is justified because of three valid reasons. The Perak Sultanate is the second oldest ruling house in Malaysia after Kedah and the book serves as an important and unique repository that chronicles the striking aspects of the sultanate’s rich cultural heritage. Furthermore, it highlights some of the most important events that helped shape the Perak Sultanate over half a millennia.
At the launch, the Sultan of Perak lauded the publishers, Universiti Teknologi Petronas and New Straits Times Press for coming up with a book that’s a delight to peruse with its beautiful design and photographs, befitting its regal subject matter.
While waiting to get my hands on the new book, I turn to my small repository and start looking up material related to the cradle of the Perak Sultanate: Perak Tengah.
FIRST PERAK SULTAN
According to the Salasilah Raja-Raja Perak (Perak Royal Genealogy), the first Perak Sultan was the son of Sultan Mahmud Shah, the ruler of Melaka who survived the 1511 Portuguese attack. Upon Sultan Mahmud’s death in Johor, the Sultan Muda was made ruler with the title Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II. The new monarch’s brother, Raja Muzaffar, then decided to move to Siak before ending up in Klang. There, he met a Perak chieftain, Tan Saban, who traded frequently between Perak and Klang. After discovering Raja Muzaffar’s royal lineage, Tan Saban brought the Melaka prince to Perak where he was acknowledged ruler in 1528 and took the title Sultan Muzaffar Shah I.
Among the royal insignia brought by Sultan Muzaffar were the gendang nobat (royal drums), nafiri (pipes), serunai and bangsi (flutes), puan naga taru (betel-box), Chura Si Manjakini and Perbujang (state swords), kaya gambit (sceptre), kamala (jewels), ubar-ubar (umbrella) and chap halilintar (seal of state).
Chura Si Manjakini was the same sword that Parameswara used at his installation when he became the first ruler of Melaka. This important state regalia was passed down to subsequent Sultans ruling the entreport. Its name comes from a Sanskrit word which means ‘the blade from Lake Mandakini in the Ganges River (India)’.
Interestingly, the Salasilah explains the absence of a mahkota (crown) in the royal insignia. Apparently, the entourage taking Raja Muzaffar to Perak stopped at Selat Lembah Jin, off the Klang coast. Suddenly, one of the attendants pointed out to several fish in the water and that prompted Raja Muzaffar to lean over the side of the boat causing his crown to fall into the water and sink quickly into its murky depths.
Sultan Muzaffar Shah I died in 1549 and was buried in Tanah Abang (today Teluk Bakong), the very place where he first set foot in Perak after his voyage from Klang 21 years ago. His son, Sultan Mansur Shah I moved the capital to Kampung Kan Kong (today Kota Lama Kanan) in Kuala Kangsar.
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE
Acheh forces set their sights on Perak in the 1570s and over the next century continued to harass most parts of the Peninsular. Sultan Mansur Shah I’s demise in 1577 was one that was shrouded in mystery. The monarch’s sudden disappearance during Friday prayers at Masjid Kota Lama Kanan caught the people by surprise. Rumour had it that the monarch was abducted by the Achinese forces.
Soon after the disappearance, the Achinese forces took the late Sultan’s widow and his 16 children captive and brought them back to Acheh. There, Sultan Mansur Shah I’s eldest son, Raja Alauddin, was married to an Achinese princess and was installed the Sultan of Acheh taking the title Sultan Alauddin Mansur Shah upon the demise of his father-in-law, Sultan Ali Ria’yat Shah.
Left without a ruling monarch, the Perak nobles journeyed to Acheh in 1577 and asked Sultan Alauddin for a successor. To maintain the unbroken Melaka Dynasty lineage, the ruler sent his younger brother to become Perak’s third monarch, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Shah.
Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin ruled for seven years from his capital in Geronggong, near Kampung Gajah. He died at a young age, prompting the people to call him ‘Marhum Muda’. Sultan Tajul Ariffin became the fourth Perak Sultan upon the demise of his elder brother, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin in 1584.
His elder brother, the ruler of Acheh, passed away during his decade-long reign and that prompted the return of the abducted Perak royal household. Sultan Tajul Ariffin passed away without an heir in 1594 and was buried at his capital in Pulau Semat, near Kuala Kangsar.
ROTATIONAL SUCCESSION SYSTEM
A gathering of Perak chieftains was convened in 1594 and based on the advice of senior Achinese administrators serving in the state, a decision was made to elect the third Sultan’s grandson as the state’s fifth monarch. This election marked the beginning of Perak’s famous rotational succession system among members of the royal family.
Sultan Alauddin Shah I ruled for nine years and died without an heir in 1603. Once again, the chieftains turned to the rotational system to elect the son of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin’s female relation as Perak’s sixth ruler. Sultan Mukaddam Shah ascended the throne in 1609.
According to local history, Sultan Mukaddam Shah had a beautiful daughter named Puteri Limau Purut. News of her beauty reached Acheh. The Achinese ruler was enraged when his request for her hand in marriage was declined.
He immediately launched an attack. The assault, which happened in the wee hours of the morning, took the Perak forces by surprise. In the aftermath, the entire royal family, including the princess and her chaperone, Che Esah Gerbang, were taken back to Acheh as captives.
The Perak chiefs subsequently despatched an emissary to negotiate the safe return of the Perak royal family. By then, Sultan Mukaddam Shah had already passed away in captivity. The rest of the royal household, however, managed to make their way home safely.
BIRTH OF A NEW DYNASTY
Shifting my attention to several articles in the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS), I learn that the next three successive Perak Sultans ascending the throne were direct male heirs. The election of the 10th Sultan of Perak involved an entirely different process that gave birth to a new dynasty in the Perak royal house.
According to historian Khoo Kay Kim in his 1986 article, a state of uncertainly prevailed in Perak when the ninth Sultan, Sultan Sallehuddin died without an heir in 1635. The situation was exacerbated by the death of many royal family members due to an extremely lethal cholera epidemic that swept through the state.
Left with no alternative, the Perak chieftains turned to Sultan Iskandar Thani of Acheh who sent his relative, Raja Sulong, to be anointed as Perak’s 10th ruler in 1636. Taking the name Sultan Muzzafar Shah II, Raja Sulong was a prince of Siak origin and wasn’t genealogically linked to Perak royalty. His wife, however, was the great-great-grand-daughter of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, Perak’s first ruler. Thus, it was on the distaff side that the Melaka Dynasty lineage of Perak rulers was preserved.
ARRIVAL OF THE DUTCH
Achinese influence in Perak began to wane upon the arrival of the Dutch in the middle of the 17th century. On Dec 15, 1653 the Dutch and Acheh jointly concluded a treaty with Perak. The agreement, among others, gave them exclusive rights to tin extracted from mines located in the state.
The Siak Dynasty lineage suffered internal strife when Sultan Muzzafar Shah II’s three grandchildren ruled Perak between 1720 and 1752. They were Sultan Alauddin Mughayat Shah (1720 - 1728), Sultan Mudzaffar Shah III (1728-1752) and Sultan Muhammad Shah (1745-1746).
CIVIL WAR
Sultan Alauddin Mughayat Shah’s reign was brief but eventful. He was attacked by his brother, Raja Mudzaffar who was based at the Bernam River. That incident marked the beginning of intermittent civil war in Perak.
Sultan Alauddin eventually managed to reconcile with his brother, who succeeded him upon his death. Unfortunately, enmity soon developed between the new ruler and another brother, Raja Muhammad. Things took a turn for the worse and by the mid-1740s, Perak was once again thrown into turmoil.
This period of internal dissension was compounded by the growing influence of the seafaring Bugis. The mayhem resulting from their attack on Perak in 1745 prompted several influential chieftains to support Raja Muhammad as Sultan.
Their action effectively split Perak into two. Sultan Muhammad controlled the whole of Lower Perak up to Pachat while Sultan Mudzaffar held sway over the rest of the state. Thankfully, the division in Perak was short-lived. By 1746, the two brothers buried the hatchet. Sultan Mudzaffar continued to rule while Sultan Muhammad’s son, Raja Iskandar became heir apparent.
MISA MELAYU
Raja Iskandar ascended the throne as Sultan Iskandar Zulkarnain in 1752. His cousin and biographer, Raja Chulan, immortalised his 18-year rule in the book Misa Melayu. The monarch’s reign also marked the beginning of an era when the rotational succession system was temporarily abandoned and several brothers consecutively became Sultan. Sultan Iskandar was succeeded by Sultan Mahmud (1765 - 1773) who had the honour of installing the first Sultan of Selangor at Perak’s Kota Lumut.
The next century posed, perhaps, the greatest challenge to the Perak Sultanate. When Sultan Ahmaddin Shah (the 18th ruler) died in 1806 at Chegar Galah, his body was brought to Sayong where it lay in waiting for three months because the Bendahara, due to a serious succession squabble, refused to be present during the burial ceremony.
Some 40 years later, tensions caused by Chinese miners in Larut coupled with the sudden demise of Sultan Ali turned out to be an unsurmountable succession hurdle for Raja Abdullah who was then the Raja Muda.
Perak tradition required that the new ruler should be proclaimed before the burial of the deceased sultan. Raja Abdullah was absent at Sultan Ali’s burial and Raja Ismail, the Raja Bendahara, was appointed ruler instead. A squabble ensued when Raja Ismail refused to surrender the state regalia to Raja Abdullah.
BRITISH APPEARANCE
Sensing an opportunity to win lucrative concessions and control over the profitable gambling farms in Perak, merchants from the Straits Settlements became directly involved in the succession dispute. Using the traders as contacts, Raja Abdullah wrote to Sir Andrew Clarke on Dec 30, 1873 and requested for British intervention.
In January 1874, Raja Abdullah and the chieftains allied to him signed the Pangkor Treaty which recognised him as the rightful ruler of Perak, in return for which he was to accept a British Resident whose advice must be followed in all matters except those concerning Malay customs and the Islamic religion.
That historic meeting not only marked the beginning of the British administrative era in this country but also heralded the end of Perak Tengah as the place of residence for Perak Sultans. By 1895, a new palace was built in Bukit Chandan and became home to all Perak Sultans until today.
As I slowly return the books to their rightful place, I suddenly recall my trip to Pasir Salak several years back to see the place where the first Perak Resident, JWW Birch was assassinated. Although there were not many remnants of the century-old capitals left to be seen, I remember being impressed by the rich Malay architecture seen in numerous wooden houses dotting the countryside.
Coupled with the warm smiles of the local population, that part of Perak Tengah certainly left me with an everlasting impression. With my enthusiasm now firing on all cylinders, I tell myself that I really must try my very best to get the recently launched tome as quickly as possible.