[*A Number Of Small States Are United Into A Sort Of Confederation Known
As The Negri Sembilan, Or Nine States.
Their relative positions and
internal management, as well as their boundaries, remain unknown, as
from dread of British annexation they have refused to allow Europeans to
pass through their territory.]
In 1874, Sir A. Clark, the then Governor, acting in British interests,
placed British residents in Perak, Selangor, and the small State of
Sungei Ujong. These residents were to advise the rulers in matters of
revenue and general administration, but, it may be believed, that as
time has passed, they have become more or less the actual rulers of the
States which they profess to advise merely. They are the accredited
agents of England, reporting annually to the Straits Government, which,
in its turn, reports to the Colonial Office, and the amount of pressure
which they can bring to bear is overwhelming.
It is not easy to give the extent and boundaries of Sungei Ujong, the
"boundary question" being scarcely settled, and the territory to the
eastward being only partially explored. It is mainly an inland State,
access to its very limited seaboard being by the Linggi river. The
"protected" State of Selangor bounds it on the north, and joining on to
it and to each other on the east, are the small "independent" States of
Rumbow, Johol, Moar, Sri Menanti, Jelabu, Jompol, and Jelai. The Linggi
river, which in its lower part forms the boundary between Selangor and
Malacca, forks in its upper part, the right branch becoming for some
distance the boundary between Sungei Ujong and Rumbow. It is doubtful
whether the area of the State exceeds seven hundred square miles.
The Malays of Sungei Ujong and several of the adjacent States are
supposed to be tolerably directly descended from those of the parent
empire Menangkabau in Sumatra, who conquered and have to a great extent
displaced the tribes known as Jakuns, Orang Bukit, Rayet Utan, Samangs,
Besisik, Rayet Laut, etc., the remnants of which live mainly in the
jungles of the interior, are everywhere apart from the Malays, and are
of a much lower grade in the scale of civilization. The story current
among the best informed Malays of this region is that a Sumatran chief
with a large retinue crossed to Malacca in the twelfth century, and
went into the interior, which he found inhabited only by the Jakuns, or
"tree people." There his followers married Jakun women, and their
descendants spread over Sungei Ujong, Rumbow, and other parts, the
Rayet Laut, or "sea-people," the supposed Ichthyophagi of the ancients,
and the Rayet Utan, or "forest-people," betaking themselves to the
woods and the sea-board hills.
This mixed race rapidly increasing, divided into nine petty States,
under chiefs who rendered feudal service to the Sultans of Malacca
before its conquest by the Portuguese, and afterward to the Sultan of
Johore, at whose court they presented themselves once a year. This
confederation, called the Negri Sembilan, in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries made various commercial treaties with the Dutch,
but its domestic affairs were in a state of chronic feud, and four of
the States, late in the eighteenth century, becoming disgusted with the
arbitrary proceedings of a ruler who, aided by Dutch influence, had
gained the ascendency over the whole nine, sent to Sumatra, the
original source of government, for a prince of the blood-royal of
Menangkabau, and after a prolonged conflict this prince became
sovereign of the little States of Sungei Ujong, Rumbow, Johol, and Sri
Menanti, the chiefs of these States constituting his Council of State.
This dynasty came to an end in 1832, and intrigues and discord
prevailed for many years, till the Datu Klana of Sungei Ujong, troubled
by a hostile neighbor in Rumbow and a hostile subject or rival at home,
conceived the bright idea of supporting his somewhat shaky throne by
British protection.
After some curious negotiations, he succeeded in obtaining both a
Resident and the English flag to protect his little fortunes; but it is
obvious that his calling in foreign intervention was not likely to make
him popular with his independent neighbors or disaffected subjects, and
the troubles culminated in a "little war," in which the attacking force
was composed of a few English soldiers, Malay military police, and a
body of about eighty so-called Arabs, enlisted in Singapore and taken
to the scene of action by Mr. Fontaine. The "enemy" was seldom obvious,
but during the war it inflicted a loss upon us of eight killed and
twenty-three wounded. We took various stockades, shot from sixty to
eighty Malays, burned a good deal of what was combustible, and gave
stability to the shaky rule of the Datu Klana, Syed Abdulrahman. Of
this prince, who owed his firm seat on the throne to British
intervention, the Resident wrote in 1880: - "Loyal to his engagements,
he had gained the good will of the British Government.
Straightforward, honest, and truly charitable, he had gained the love
and respect of almost everyone in Sungei Ujong, Chinese as well as
Malay, and if he had a fault he erred on the side of a weak belief in
the goodness of human nature, and often suffered in consequence." This
was Captain Murray's verdict after nearly five years' experience.
The population of this tiny State, which in 1832 consisted of three
thousand two hundred Malays and four hundred Chinese, at the time of my
visit had risen to twelve thousand, composed of three Europeans, a few
Klings, two thousand Malays, and ten thousand Chinese. It exports tin
in large quantities, gutta-percha collected in the interior by the
aborigines, coffee, which promises to become an important production,
buffalo hides, gum dammar, and gharroo. In 1879 the exports amounted to
81,976 pounds; 81,451 pounds being the value of tin. Its imports are
little more than half this amount. Rice heads the list with an import
of 18,150 pounds worth, and opium comes next, valued at 14,448 pounds.
The third import in value is oil; the next Chinese tobacco, the next
sugar, the next salt fish, and the next pigs!
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 48 of 118
Words from 48183 to 49215
of 120530
