Chapter IV - PERAK UNDER THE ACHINESE.

Whatever trouble the Portuguese may have caused Perak with their demand for tin, it was a bagatelle compared with the trouble caused by Acheh, her neighbour across a narrow sea.

As early as 500 A.D., Chinese records tell us, the north corner of Sumatra was called Poli, had 136 villages and was ruled by Buddhist kings. In the ninth and tenth centuries Arab traders came there from Malabar and called the country Rami, al-Ramni and Lamari. In 1292 Marco Polo visited Sumatra and found Perlak, later a part of Acheh, Muhammadan, as also was Pasai, another province of later Acheh. About 1323 Fra Odorigo van Pordenone found in Lamori merchandise from distant lands; in 1345 Ibn Batutah found Samudra, yet another province of the later Acheh, walled and towered and using a tin coinage and bar-gold from China. By 1365 the north of Sumatra owed nominal allegiance to Hayam Wuruk, the great Javanese conqueror from Majapahit. In 1412 Acheh was still ruled by a Maharaja but in 1416 a Chinese envoy Ching-Ho reported it a country of Muslim agriculturists, planters of hill-rice and pepper, breeders of cattle and goats and poultry. A hundred years later the Portuguese insistence on a monopoly of trade in Malacca waters drove Eastern merchants to Acheh and made it wealthy and ambitious to confound Portuguese traders and all their allies. Muslim missionaries, related to the Indian merchants, exhorted Acheh to champion Islam against the greedy Infidel.

The first maker of Greater Acheh was Sultan 'Ali Mughayat Shah (d. 1530), conqueror of Daya, Pidie, Pasai and (temporarily) Aru, who in 1521 repulsed the Portuguese fleet under de Brito and in 1524 expelled the Portuguese from the fort they had occupied in Acheh since 1521. The next ruler of note was his son, 'Ala'u'd-din Ri'ayat Shah, called after death (1568) the Strong, Marhum Kahar. To gain the throne he had ousted his brother. He hired mercenaries from Gujerat and Malabar, Turkey and Abyssinia. In 1537 he conquered the Bataks in the cause of Islam; he took Aru but in 1540 lost it and a great fleet to Johor; in 1564 he sacked Johor and recaptured Aru; in 1570 he burnt the villages on the Johor river. But though Francisco Barreto, Governor of India from 1555 till 1558 never fulfilled his aim of subduing Acheh and building a fort on the site of its capital, so too Acheh's attacks of 1537 and 1568 on Malacca failed, as her attacks of 1573, 1575, 1582 and 1629 were all to fail. The successor of Marhum Kahar died in 1579 and was succeeded by an infant who reigned three months and then died. The next three Sultans were all murdered. The last of the three was a Perak prince.

In 1540 Perak had helped Johor inflict the crushing defeat on Acheh before Aru. In 1547 the rulers of Perak and Pahang,

Perak under the Achinese. Page 19

having joined their brother of Johor in an abortive expedition to Patani, may have sailed with the Johor fleet to Malacca when to help repel an expected Achinese attack it lay in the Muar river for several days that seemed to the Portuguese years! In 1551 Perak certainly helped Johor besiege Malacca, because in order to get the siege raised the Portuguese harried the harbours of Perak, Johor and Pahang. In spite of this, Johor was Acheh's rival and enemy and at times coquetted with the hated Portuguese so that Acheh had no mercy for Johor's allies. Not long therefore before 1579, a Malay history tells us, " the country of Perak was conquered by the Achinese, who took captive the widow and sixteen children of Him-who-died-at-Kota-Lama," namely the second Sultan of Perak. " After their arrival at Acheh, the eldest son was taken by 'Abd-el-Khana as her husband and became Raja of Acheh " in 1579, with the style Sultan 'Ala'u'd-din Mansur Shah. The Bustanu's-Salatin, written at Acheh in 1638 by a Gujerati missionary Shaikh Nu'u'd-din, relates how this Perak prince was very religious, encouraged foreign pundits and made his chiefs wear beards and turbans and Arab jubbah and made the common folk pray five times a day, " During his reign " the Perak account continues, " he sent his next younger brother to Perak and installed him there as Raja, with his capital at Julang: that place having been flooded seven times, the Raja removed to Geronggong. The Raja of Acheh crossed to Perak to amuse himself and to visit his brother and on his return he died at Kuala Acheh. After that, his mother returned to Perak with all her family.'' It is highly probable that the death of this Perak ruler of Acheh in 1585 was due to murder, the perpetrator of the act the admiral (or chief pirate!) of his fleet, afterwards Sultan 'Alaud-din Ri'ayat Shah, who also murdered Raja Ashem, grandson of the Perak prince and son of Sultan Ali Jala 'Abd'u'l-Jalil Shah of Johor.

It was in the reign of 'Ala'u'd-din Ri'ayat Shah (1589-1604) that the Dutch, French and English first visited Acheh. But in 1587 Portugal had come to terms with Acheh, so that when in 1599 Cornelis de Houtman called at the place the Portuguese instigated the Sultan to attack and kill him and many of his men and to take his brother, Frederik de Houtman, prisoner. However by 1601 Acheh was viewing with suspicion the relations between Portugal and Johor, seized a fusta that had chased an Arab vessel into her harbour, and profoundly distrusted Portugal's request for leave to build a fort at Acheh in return for help against Johor. The old piratical ruler, therefore, allowed the Dutch to open a factory, released Frederik de Houtman and sent envoys to Holland. There are two English accounts of Acheh at this time, one by John Davis who visited it as pilot to a Dutch ship in June 1599 and one by James Lancaster who arrived there on 5 June 1602. The harbour was full of ships from Gujerat, Malabar, Bengal and Pegu and even the Red Sea. The Sultan, a hundred years old but " a lustie man, exceeding grosse and fat " loved soldiers and

Page 20  A History of Perak.

gave every newcomer, Dutch and English, a creese and dress of ceremony. A necessary prelude to all business was a formal present: Davis' Baase gave a looking-glass, a drinking-up and a coral bracelet, Lancaster a silver basin with a fountain in the midst of it, a silver cup, a looking-glass, a plumed head-piece, a sword-belt and a feather fan. The court was a scene of barbaric splendour. The king ate off gold plate and fine porcelain, served by forty women who fanned him, poured out Aquavite made of toddy (too strong for Lancaster) and sang and danced and talked of venery. Such a glutton was this " great Bacchus" that " for a Change, with a Cracking Gorge " he would give audience to Dutch and English captains, seated in the river in order to " get a stomache "; or perhaps, business might be conducted at the cockpit. The king drank deep and his guests followed his example: " on 28 July, 1599 " writes Davis, "our Baase came aboard with one of the Sabanders, the Secretary, merchants of Mecca, Turks, and Don Alfonso and some Portugals, all which departed passing drunk." The population of this port of mat-walled huts was made up of adventurers of many races, Indians, Arabs, Javanese, Malays and Batak and Nias slaves. Murderer of two rivals to his throne and of a thousand noblemen who had supported Raja Ashem, the old Sultan had no scruples about ruling his rascal people by force: criminals had hands and feet chopped off and were banished to Pulau Weh. It was this royal pirate whom Queen Elizabeth greeted as her " loving Brother," congratulating him on having attacked the Portuguese " in Malacca in the yeare of the Humane Redemption 1575 " and asking permission to open an English factory at his capital. In Arabic, learnt from an English Jew, Lancaster did business with " the chief Bishop of the Realme, a man so wise and temperate" that the Englishman got cargoes of pepper, cinnamon and cloves, the right of free trade and a letter and presents for his Virgin Queen. When Lancaster was leaving, the bacchanalian ruler and his court sang very solemnly a psalm for the safety of those about to go down to the sea in ships. Such was life at the capital of Perak's suzerain, haunt of superstitious brutal pirates, needy adventurers and grasping traders.

In 1607 another strong ruler, Iskandar Muda or Perkasa 'Alam, seized the throne, bribing and menacing the chiefs and murdering his uncle the rival claimant. In youth imprisoned as a traitor he had been released to fight de Castro and had driven him back to sea. Now in 1612 he conquered Aru (or Deli); in 1613 and 1615 he sacked Johor for her overtures to Portugal; in 1618 he conquered Pahang, in 1619 Kedah and in 1620 Perak taking 5,000 prisoners, in 1624 Nias and Indragiri; in 1635 he wasted Pahang again for intriguing with the Portuguese. In his letter of 1615 to James I of England, Perkasa 'Alam described himself as overlord of thirty-nine countries, including Batu Sawar (Johor), Pahang and Perak. Under 1625 the Dagh-Register notes that Acheh "wants to ruin Jambi as she ruined Johor, Kedah, Perak and Pahang, not

Perak under the Achinese. Page 21

one of which has forgotten it." Under 6 February 1634, it notes how Acheh made excuses for not helping in an attack on Malacca, because she had sent three fleets, one to Perak, one to Aru and one to the west coast of Sumatra. A Malay history tells us the sequel to the conquest of Perak:—

" A sister of Him-who-died-at-Kuala-Acheh " (Sultan 'Ala'u'd-din Mansur Shah of Acheh) " had borne two sons in Perak, one of whom was called Tengku Tua and the other Raja Bongsu. Tengku Tua became Raja and in his time the country was again conquered by Iskandar Muda of Acheh. Tengku Tua and Raja Bongsu and all the royal family and all the chiefs were carried captive to Acheh. Raja Mansur, son of Raja Kechil and brother of Hinvwho-died-inland, escaped to Johor. In Perak were left only Maharaja Lela and Paduka Raja. Maharaja Lela went to Johor to fetch Raja Mansur, who while there had married a Jambi princess: Paduka Raja went to Acheh to fetch Raja Bongsu. The first to return was Maharaja Lela bringing Raja Mansur, whom he proclaimed Raja of Perak (p. 131) with his court at Semat. While they were arranging to fetch his Jambi consort, Paduka Raja arrived with an army from Acheh and established Raja Bongsu as ruler of Perak with the title of Sultan Mahmud Shah. Raja Mansur was removed to Acheh.

" When Sultan Mahmud Shah died, he was called He-who-died-by-the-river and his son became ruler with the title of Sultan Salahu'd-din. After a while he presented himself at Acheh and died there.

" Among the captives at Acheh was a Raja Sulong, son of Raja Mahmud, grandson of Marhum Kasab of Siak: his mother was a daughter of Bendahara Paduka Raja and her name was Tan Dermapala Johara. At Acheh Sultan Mukal (== Mughal = Iskandar II b. 1611 asc. 1636 d. 1641) had given him for wife another captive, daughter of Marhum Muda* Pahang. Now the Sultan sent them both to Perak where Raja Sulong was installed as Sultan Muzaffar Shah.† This ruler was father of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Perak: the mother of Sultan Mahmud was a daughter of Marhum Muda Pahang, grand-niece of Him-who-died-on-the-river-bank, grand-daughter of Him-who-died-at-Kota-Lama and great-grand-daughter of Him-who-died-at-Tanah-Abang," namely the first Sultan of Perak. So on the distaff side the royal Malacca descent of Perak's rulers was preserved as it has been to this day.

Captain Best visited Acheh in 1612 and saw Iskandar Muda, Champion of the World, " a gallant man of Warre, of thirty two

* According to Mr. W. Linehan, M.C.S. and in my opinion rightly, Abdu'llah, son of Sultan Ahmad of Pahang and half-brother of Sultan Mughal of Acheh; and, of course, of the royal Malacca line (JRASMB. 1932 X, p. 43). †See p. 127.

Page 22 A History of Perak.

yeares, of middle size, full of spirit," " drinking Tobacco in a Silver Pipe " and watching the fierce fights of cocks and rams and elephants, the cruel combats of tame elephants and the " stomachful " encounters of " Buffles." One day, 2 May 1613, as the Reverend Patrick Copland has related, " all Strangers were invited to a banquet sixe miles off, for which purpose two elephants were sent for our Generall. Here were all the dishes brought by water, the boyes holding the dish with one hand and swimming with the other: so did they carrie the strong drinke also, whereof when they had tasted (which they must of all) they threw the rest into the River. It continued from one till five. In it were five hundred dishes well dressed. Our General," Thomas Best, " weary with sitting by the King thus long in the water, was dismissed an houre before the rest. The Captaine of the Dutch house, taking there his bane, either with hot drinke or cold sitting so long in the water, soone after died. The second of June, they were entertained with a fight of foure Elephants, with a wild Tygre tied at a stake, which yet fastening on their Trunks and legges, made them to roare and bleed extremely. This day we were told, that one eye of a Noble man was plucked out, for looking on one of the Kings women washing in a River. Another gentleman wearing a Shash, had his head round cut so farre as that was too large. Some he is said to boyle in scalding oyle, some are sawne apieces, others their legges cut off or spitted alive or empaled on stakes." " The whole territory of Acheh was almost depopulated by wars, executions and oppression. The king endeavoured to repeople the country by his conquests. Having ravaged the kingdoms of Johor, Pahang, Kedah, Perak and Deli, he transported the inhabitants from those places to Acheh, to the number of twenty-two thousand persons. But this barbarous policy did not produce the effect he hoped; for the unhappy people being brought naked to his dominions and not allowed any kind of maintenance on their arrival, died of hunger in the streets." In his letter to King James, Iskandar Muda described himself as " the true Image of a King, in whom raignes the true methode of Government, formed as it were of the most pure Metall and adorned with the most finest colours; whose seat is high and most compleat, like to a Christall River, pure and cleare as the Christall Glasse: From whom floweth the pure streame of Bountie and Justice." The Bustanu's-Salatin declares that this ruler was pious, encouraged Muslim missionaries and suppressed gaming and drinking. Having no son he desired Best to entreat King James to send him two white women, declaring that if he should get a son by one of them he would make him English king of Sumatra's Pepper Coast! For the army and fleet and magnificence of Iskandar Muda were all due to his monopoly of the pepper trade over the whole of Sumatra's west coast. As early as 1602 Jan Grenier had found that only Javanese but no Europeans were allowed to buy pepper outside the port of Acheh.

Perak under the Achinese. Page 23

Iskandar Muda, or Crown of the World (Mahkota 'Alam) as he was called after death, had no male heir and adopted a son of Ahmad Shah Sultan of Pahang, whom he carried captive to Acheh in 1618. This ruler, Iskandar II, refused to help the Dutch take Malacca from the Portuguese, because the Dutch were allies of his enemy Johor, Malacca fell on 14 January 1641: Iskandar II died on 15 February. After his death Acheh was ruled by queens for nearly sixty years. Partly female rule, partly the growing power of the Dutch and their protection of Johor and her allies led to the surrender by Acheh of all her conquests in the Malay Peninsula except Perak. The story of Acheh's suzerainty over Perak for the next four decades is involved in the history of Dutch relations with that State. By 1678 Balthasar Bort, Governor of Malacca, reported that " Acheh is impotent and has no appearance of once more attaining any considerable power."

Achinese influence in Perak could still be traced a few years ago in the cut and style of court and wedding dress: in Low's time (1826) " Acheen dresses " were among " the goods most in request." Another survival was a neat lidded golden bowl bearing the Achinese name of mundam and reckoned among the regalia until it was stolen not long since. Achinese influence survived in the name of a pattern of cloth—the pattern of lam Sayong, lam being Achinese for kampong. It survives in the practice of addressing the Four Great Chiefs as Tengku though most of them are commoners. It survives in the terms Hulubalang and Orang Kaya-Kaya applied to the Eight Chiefs, nearly all of them territorial lords of large areas.