A History of Sarawak under Its Two White Rajahs 1839-1908

In 1884-85, the Secret Society was in active revolt against the Dutch Government, which was at first only able to hold the rebels in check, not having sufficient forces to quell them. At Mandor, a large Chinese town, they killed the Dutch official in charge, and burnt down the Government buildings. After some hard fighting with great loss on both sides, Mandor was surrendered by the rebels, upon the false promise of an amnesty held out to them by the Sultan of Sambas. Finding themselves deceived, the Chinese again broke out in rebellion, and seized the important town of Mempawa, killing, amongst others, the Dutch officer in charge, and driving the Dutch troops back. But their triumph was short-lived, for upon the arrival of strong reinforcements the rebellion was quelled. One of the principal leaders, the man who had shot the Dutch controller of Mandor, was subsequently arrested in Sarawak, but rather than face his fate he hanged himself by his queue in his cell the day a Dutch gunboat had come round to fetch him.

In 1889, a secret society, allied with the Sam Tiam225 or Ghee Hin Hueh, a branch of the Triad Society of China, was established at Segobang, the centre of a large district of Chinese pepper planters. This Hueh had been formed by criminals and expelled members of the Society from Mandor and Montrado. Their primary intention was to raise another rebellion in Dutch territory, but they were banded by oath to exterminate all people without queues. On July 15, the houses of the chief and other known leaders were surrounded and searched, and the inmates arrested. The documents seized clearly showed the objects of the Society; that they had hundreds of men organised and ready for service; and that they were in correspondence with the Ghee Hin Societies at Mandor and Singapore. Six of the leaders were executed, and eleven sentenced to penal servitude for life. One of the principals, who had taken a leading part in the Mandor rebellion of 1884, was handed over to the Dutch.

As late as 1906, one or two mysterious murders of Chinese in the Rejang aroused the suspicions of the authorities, and it was found that a secret society existed on that river. Valuable help was afforded the Government by anonymous letters sent by law-abiding Chinese containing minutely accurate information as to the members and their doings, which led to the arrest of many, and to the discovery of incriminating documents. This Society was called the Golden Orchid or Lily Society, and was established at various places along the coast, from the Rejang to Simatan. This was also a branch of the Triad Society, professing the same great purpose, the reinstatement of the Ming dynasty in China, but in practice its objects were murder, robbery, and violence. Eight of the ringleaders were executed, and ten others sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

CHAPTER VII

THE SHERIP MASAHOR

When the Rajah assumed the Government of Sarawak, he had to look out for suitable officials among the Malays to carry on the Government, and suitable officials were not easily to be found where hitherto all had been corruption and oppression. There is not much choice in rotten apples.

There were three offices of importance to be filled: that of Datu Patinggi, he who had the supervision and control over the tribes on the left-hand branch of the river; that of Datu Bandar, he who held sway over those on the right hand; and the Datu Temanggong, who had to look after the tribes on the coast.226

It will be remembered that before the rebellion of the Sarawak people against the Government of Bruni these offices had been held by three of their chiefs, who, in 1841, were reinstated in their old positions by the Rajah, and made collectors of the revenue in their several districts.227 This was a tax levied on the head of a family of a bushel and a half of rice. Hitherto the officers of Government, the Bruni Pangirans great and small, had exercised the right of pre-emption of whatever the Dayak produced, and that at the prices they themselves fixed. Rajah Brooke modified, but could not wholly abolish, this privilege. He suffered these three officials, and them alone, to have the right to buy before all others what the Dayaks had to dispose of, but only at market price. With the others, the Datu Patinggi Gapur had been in disgrace under Rajah Muda Hasim and the Pangiran Makota. Any one who was looked on with an evil eye by that arch-scoundrel Makota had a claim to be regarded as an honest man, and for a while the Datu Patinggi did fairly well, but this was only till he had, as he thought, established himself firmly; and then he began to oppress the natives in the old way, by enforcing sales to himself on his own terms; and the timid people, accustomed to this sort of treatment, and afraid of the consequences should they protest, submitted without denouncing him to the Rajah. He was a man plausible and polite, and some time elapsed before the Rajah obtained sufficient evidence to convict him. But when he did, instead of deposing him from office, he announced his determination to pay each of these officials a fixed salary, in lieu of the enforced first trade with the Dayaks, and of their share in Dayak revenue.

The Datu Patinggi had a handsome daughter who was sought in marriage by a certain Sherip Bujang, brother of Sherip Masahor of Serikei, who had assumed the government of the Rejang river,228 and had long been in league with the Saribas and Sekrang pirates – an evil-minded and intriguing man. The Rajah was very averse to this marriage, but could not forbid it. And the result was that Gapur and Masahor put their heads together, confided to each other their mutual grievances, and commenced plotting against the Rajah and his officers. Serikei is 20 miles up the Rejang river, which was not yet within the jurisdiction of Sarawak, but Saribas and Sekrang were, and Masahor was a source of annoyance and danger by incessantly fomenting agitation among the people of these rivers against the Rajah's government, and supplying them with powder and arms. For a while the Sadong district had been placed under the charge of the Datu Patinggi as well as his own, but it was found that, not satisfied with the salary paid by the Government in lieu of the right of pre-emption, he was enforcing that same right and using great oppression in both districts. The Tuan Besar, who was then administering the Government, went from Kuching to make a tour in both these, and to ascertain whether the rumours relative to the misconduct of Gapur were true, and by this means sufficient proof of his illegal exactions was obtained.

The Datu Patinggi had indeed pursued a course of oppression ever since 1851, when the marriage between Sherip Bujang and his daughter took place. He had levied imposts on the Sarawak Dayaks, forced trade on the Matu people, oppressed the Sadong Dayaks, and interfered at Lingga and Serikei, and had even proceeded so far as to assume the insignia of royalty by displaying a yellow (the royal colour) flag and unfurling a yellow umbrella. He was then, in November 1853, brought up in Court, publicly reprimanded, and made to disgorge his plunder. He submitted with outward tokens of goodwill, but he had been publicly disgraced, and this he did not forget. His feeling against the Government of the White Man became more intensely bitter.

Early in 1854, the Rajah and Captain Brooke, the Tuan Besar, went up the Batang Lupar river to visit the Tuan Muda at Lingga, and Brereton at Sekrang; Mr. Spenser St. John was then at Kuching. This latter says: —

One day, whilst sitting alone in my little cottage, the eldest son of the Temanggong, Abang Patah, came in to have a talk. He was one of the best of the Malay chiefs – frank, loyal, honest, brave as a lion. He subsequently lost his life gallantly defending the Rajah's Government.229 I saw by his manner that he had something to communicate, so after answering a few leading questions he said, "It is no use beating about the bush, I must tell you what is going on." He then unfolded the particulars of a plot which the Patinggi Gapur had concocted to cut off the Europeans in Sarawak. The Patinggi had confided his plans to the other chiefs, but they had almost unanimously refused to aid him, and had determined to keep a watch over his proceedings, but they had not the moral courage to denounce him to the Government. At length Abang Patah said, "I have become alarmed. The Rajah and Captain Brooke are away together. The Patinggi is with them with all his armed followers, and in an unsuspecting moment all the British officers might be cut off at a blow." I promised, as he desired, to keep his communication a secret from all but the Rajah, to whom I instantly wrote, giving not only Patah's story, but other indications which had come to my knowledge. An express boat carried my letter to its destination. The Rajah read the letter, and, without a word, passed it to Captain Brooke. The latter, having also read it, said, "What do you think?" "It is all too true," answered the Rajah, to whom conviction came like an inspiration. They had noticed some very odd proceedings on the part of the Patinggi, but, having no suspicions, had not been able to interpret some of his armed movements, but now it was quite clear that he was trying to get the Europeans together to strike one treacherous blow. Nothing, however, was said or done publicly. The faithful were warned to watch well, and a few judicious inquiries brought the whole story out.

The Commission had been despatched to sit at Singapore, on the conduct of the Rajah. Gapur was well aware that the British Government was indisposed to support the Rajah, and that there existed a body of opinion in England distinctly and bitterly hostile to him, and certain to apologise for any insurrectionary movement made to depose him, even if it involved, as Gapur supposed, his being massacred along with his English officers.

Mr. St. John goes on to say that upon his return to Kuching the Rajah intended to bring the Patinggi to justice for this contemplated act of treachery; but this was not done immediately. Before publicly convicting and punishing the leading chief of the State, amongst whose relations the Rajah could count so many staunch friends, it was thought advisable to wait for some overt act which would afford clear and convincing proof to all of the Datu's treachery.

The Rajah had not long to wait. Towards the close of June he appointed chiefs over the various kampongs (districts) in Kuching, each to be responsible for the good order of his kampong, and with power to arrest evil-doers. These chiefs had been given their commissions publicly in Court; however, the Datu Patinggi promptly summoned them to his house, exacted the surrender of their commissions into his hands, and dismissed them with the remark that he was not going to allow everybody to be made a datu. This was open and public defiance, and the Rajah then determined to disgrace him publicly.

Measures were taken to prevent even a show of resistance being made. Though Gapur was head of the party that existed in favour of Bruni, and of a restoration to the old condition of affairs, yet in Kuching he had but few adherents upon whom he could safely rely, even amongst his own people; but Malays when forced into a corner often resort to desperate deeds of folly, and it was to guard against such an act that precautions were taken.

In a letter the Rajah describes both Gapur and what his proceedings were: —

As he got rich there was no keeping him straight. His abuse of power, his oppression of the people, his revival of ancient evils, his pretensions, his intrigues, and his free use of my name for purposes of his own, had been often checked but never abandoned, and ever recurring. Some time ago he was seriously warned, and made to disgorge some of his ill-gotten wealth; but this, instead of preventing him, only urged him forward, and he not only intrigued against the Government, but by threatening the better class of Sarawak people, thwarted our measures, and used language which was treasonable against every constituted authority.

I resolved, therefore, at once to degrade him from his office, so as to crush the seeds of discontent in the bud. I ordered a great public meeting of the country for an important business, but, excepting Captain Brooke, St. John, the Datu Bandar, Datu Temanggong, and a few others, no one in the country knew my object. The court was crowded, many hundreds being present. I gently explained the duty of the people towards the Government. I alluded to the past, the present happiness of all classes, and the crime committed by any one who failed in obedience to constituted authority, or desired to disturb the public peace. I pointed out to the elders of the Kampongs that, having received authority from the Government, they should not have yielded it to the Patinggi, but at the same time I acquitted them of all evil intention, and declared – which was strictly true – that I knew their attachment to the Government.

I then turned to the Patinggi, I reminded him of the past, the warnings he had received and neglected. I detailed the charges against him, and concluded by saying, "I accuse you before the people of treason, and I give you the option of publicly declaring your submission to the Government or of death." He submitted. I then said, "I do not seek your life, for you are the Bandar's brother,230 and have many relatives my friends. I do not confiscate your property, for your wives and children have not shared your offence. For the safety of the Kingdom I order you to sit in your place in this court, whilst proper persons bring to the fort all the arms and ammunition which belong to you." He sat quiet. I requested his relatives to go and bring the guns and powder, and, after a couple of hours, the things were brought. I then shook hands with the culprit, told him what I had done was for the good of the people, and that he should hear further from me through the proper channel. He then returned to his house.

There was still a difficulty to be overcome, how to get rid of him. The Rajah bethought himself of proposing a pilgrimage to Mecca, and Gapur jumped at it. This would remove him from Sarawak for some time, and, before his return, it was hoped his influence would be broken, and his opportunities of doing mischief be removed, through his position being given to his brother-in-law, the Datu Bandar.231 The Bandar's brother was made the Imaum, the head of the Muhammadan priesthood, and was added to the list of the Rajah's trusted councillors. He remained true and a mainstay to English influence among the Malays in subsequent difficult times.232 As to Gapur, on his return in 1856 from Mecca, now a Haji, he was repudiated by his relations, who refused to be responsible for his conduct, so that he had to be banished to Malacca. We shall hear of him again, but for the moment must look at the proceedings of the Sherip Masahor, whose brother had married the daughter of Gapur.

Muka was then a town of considerable importance, at the mouth of the river of that name. It has since increased considerably, and is now as large as Bruni. Then, as now, it had a great trade in raw sago, which is shipped to Kuching, where it is converted into sago flour in the Chinese factories, in which form it passes to Singapore. Oya comes next in importance, then Bintulu, and then Matu and Bruit. These places supply more than half the world's consumption of sago. The trade in this had always been the principal one of Kuching until a few years ago, when pepper took the first place, but the sago trade is still increasing.

For years past numerous trading vessels from Kuching visited Muka to obtain this article of commerce, but in 1854 much difficulty had been felt in getting it, as at that time civil war was raging, and anarchy existed in Muka, so that trading vessels were debarred from entering the river, being liable to plunder by one party or the other.

The Pangiran Ersat had been placed there in authority by the Sultan, and he had oppressed the people incessantly. But beside him there was the Pangiran Matusin, his cousin, also of royal blood, who had been brought up among the Muka people, where he had many relations through his mother, who was of inferior class. A feud had long existed between these two Pangirans, both of whose houses were fortified. Ersat had expelled his cousin from Muka, but the latter had been allowed by the Sultan to return.

Matusin, though unprincipled himself,233 could not countenance the extortions of the other, and he supported his own people against the injustice of his rival.

On one occasion, as Matusin was returning home from the river mouth, he passed the abode of Ersat, when this latter, with his followers and relatives, mocked him from the platform in front of the long house, brandishing their spears and daring him to attack them. Matusin was filled with rage. Of all things that a Malay can least endure is insult. Seizing his arms, he rushed into the house, and, running amuck, cut down Ersat himself, and, in the promiscuous onslaught that followed, killed one of the Pangiran's daughters and wounded another. He then made his way forth, no one daring to oppose him, as he was a man of prodigious strength. On reaching his house, he strengthened the fortifications and prepared for an attack. In the course of a month, a large force had assembled in Muka to avenge the death of Pangiran Ersat, led by the Sherip Masahor, who had called out the Saribas Dayaks, under the jurisdiction of the Rajah of Sarawak, as well as the Kanowit Dayaks on the Rejang. They numbered more than a thousand, exclusive of Malays.

This host surrounded the fortified house of Matusin, and Masahor, in the name of the Rajah, called upon the former to surrender. He undertook, if Matusin and his followers would come forth, with all the women and children, and give themselves up, that their lives would not only be spared, but that thenceforth they should all dwell together in amity. It was agreed that this was to take place on the following morning. But during the night a member of Masahor's party managed to get into the house of Matusin to warn him that treachery was intended, and to urge him to escape. This Matusin did in the dark, attended by six men only; he fled up country, and made his way to Kuching, where he threw himself on the protection of the Rajah. Next day Sherip Masahor, with his ruffians, took most who remained in Matusin's house, and many of the relations of the Muka chiefs who had supported him, to the number of forty-five, chiefly women, massacred every one, and gave their heads to his Saribas and Kanowit followers. As soon as the news reached Kuching, the Tuan Muda was sent to Muka to inquire into matters. He says: "The scene where the murders took place was then fresh with the marks of the slaughtered wretches. Their torn clothes, the traces of blood and tracks of feet, were plainly visible on the ground. In pulling up through the Muka village, most of the houses were burnt down, and the graveyards pillaged by Dayaks." Melanaus adorn their dead with costly gold ornaments, which are buried with the bodies; this the Dayaks knew; to attain these and the heads of the dead were their object in desecrating the graves.

The people had lost their favourite leader and relative, Pangiran Matusin; besides relations they had lost their homes and property, burnt and pillaged by Masahor's followers on the ground that the owners had favoured the slayer of Pangiran Ersat, and they were well aware that they themselves were doomed, and all would most surely have been put to death but for the arrival of the Tuan Muda. And now the poor creatures surrounded him, and implored that an Englishman might be sent to govern the place, and deliver them from the tyranny of the Bruni officials. Having seen to the safety of Matusin's wife and children, who, with other surviving relations and followers, were sent to Kuching, the Tuan Muda returned to Sekrang. A fine was imposed on Sherip Masahor, and he was forced to release 100 captives, and was deposed from his governorship for having called out the Saribas under Sarawak rule for warlike purposes. He was in league with the piratical party in the Saribas, and not only supplied them with salt, which is an absolute necessity to a Dayak, and which it was now difficult to obtain on the Sarawak side, where the markets were closed to them, but also with ammunition, and in other ways encouraged them in their opposition to the Government. He left Serikei immediately, fearing further consequences.

A party of malcontent Saribas Dayaks had been induced by the Sherip to settle in the Serikei river, to be handy agents for the execution of his oppressive exactions, and the intrepid Penglima Seman was sent by the Rajah to drive them out. This he did very effectually, and destroyed their houses and stores. Shortly afterwards the Datu Temanggong and the Datu Imaum dispersed a flotilla of some forty Saribas bangkongs which they had met in the main river below Serikei.

The unsatisfactory condition of affairs in the Muka and adjacent districts led the Rajah to pay another visit to Bruni, and thither he sailed in June, 1855, after having despatched the Tuan Muda to Muka. He went up in his little gunboat, the Jolly Bachelor, alone, and with no retinue, no longer holding high offices under the Crown, "the castaway of his own country." But he was most cordially received, and entertained with due honours by the Sultan, by the Rajahs of both the hostile factions, and by the people. All saw in the Rajah the possible instrument to relieve them of the dissensions with which Bruni was troubled, and which now verged upon civil war. Of the opposing factions, which had existed ever since the days of Pangiran Usop, one party, and by far the most powerful, was led by the Pangiran Anak Hasim, the late Sultan's reputed son (who became Sultan in 1885), and this party was in opposition to the Sultan, who had lost the support of nearly all his people by becoming the tool of his cunning and grasping minister, Pangiran Makota. "Trade had become a monopoly and thus been extinguished; the exactions on the coast to the northward had produced dissatisfaction and rebellion; the unfortunate people of Limbang, which country is the granary of Bruni, was reduced to extremity, cruelly plundered by Makota and his sons, and attacked by the Kayans, sometimes at the instigation of Makota, sometimes on their own account; in short, what Sarawak was formerly, Bruni was now fast becoming; and when I pulled into the city in my little gunboat of thirty-five tons, four of the Kampongs had their guns loaded and pointed against each other." Such was the unhappy condition of the country as described by the Rajah.

The day after his coming the rival parties disarmed their fortifications. The Sultan and the Rajahs placed the government in his hands, with a request that he would endeavour to establish it on a proper and firm basis, and promised obedience to all his directions.

Makota was absent, having been ordered by the Sultan to Muka to look into matters there, which meant that he had been sent to plunder the people of that and the neighbouring districts, but, though it angered the Rajah, it rendered his task the easier.

Makota was now the sole minister, and the Rajah arranged that the old executive system should be restored so as to counterbalance his influence. The offices of the four ministers of State, or wazirs, established by the ninth Sultan Hasan, early in the seventeenth century, were revived; these were the Temanggong, the Bandahara, the di Gedong, and the Pemancha. Though of ancient origin, by the will of autocratic Sultans they had been in abeyance for many years, and their revival gave confidence to nobles and people alike. They were never allowed again to lapse.

Besides the above-mentioned functionaries, there are eight ministers of the second class, all nobles; and lastly, a council of twelve officers of state, chosen from among the leading people, the chiefs of the different divisions or parishes of the city. These chiefs being elected by the people renders this council representative.

Pangiran Anak Hasim became the Pangiran Temanggong. Though stern, he was popular, governed well and fairly, and encouraged trade. His only brother, the other doubtful son of Sultan Omar Ali, was made the Pamancha. Now that the Rajah had succeeded in reconciling the hostile factions, he trusted that the Pangiran Temanggong, with the assistance of the other wazirs, supported by his own pledge to uphold them, with force if necessary, against all disturbers of peace, would be able to preserve the Sultan from the evil influence of Makota; indeed the Sultan had a desire to act rightly, and his disposition was not altogether bad, but avariciousness was his failing, and the means by which his evil counsellors gained his ear.