PUBLIC
RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TICO. 882
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3 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
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20. The next point I touched at was Senggang, also on the Perak River, and some 10 miles below Qualla Kangsa. At Senggang resides Rajah Yusuf, the Rajah Muda, or heir presumptive to the throne.
Both in bearing and intelligence Yusuf is superior to the other Perak Chiefs; instead of the listless, apathetic disposition, which is the normal characteristic of the Malay, he appears to possess energy and activity. It is probably due to these qualities, so peculiar in a Malay, that he has incurred an ill-feeling which exists against him among some of the-Chiefs.
I had a long interview with Yusuf, and I found that representations previously made to me that he wished the British Government to undertake the government of the country were quite correct. He told me distinctly that he thought this was the only way to put an end to the present unsettled state of affairs in Perak.
21. The next place I stopped at was Blaoja, also on the Perak River, but some distance below Senggang. Here I found the Ex-Sultan Ismail, who had come down from Kints to see me, Raja Dris (heir presumptive to the Bandabaraship, and cousin to Sultan Abdullah, but a very superior man to the Sultan), Rajah Ngah, Ismail's cousin, the Maharaja Lela, Panghina Kints, Toh Nara, and other minor Chiefs.
Yusuf, the Bandahara, the Mantri, the Laxamana, and others, had come down the river either with me or after me.
23. I had three interviews with Ismail, and found that he had not an idea of his own. Without any claim to the throne, he was made Sultan of Perak, at the instigation of the Mantri, with a view to pave the way for the Mantri's own eventual succession. Ismail is completely in the hands of the Mantri and other minor Chiefs. He is no doubt still regarded as Sultan by the majority of the Chiefs of the Ulu, or upper districts. He acknowledged unreservedly to me that the country was in a very unsettled and disturbed state; that nothing is being done towards improving it; and that there is no real govern- inent therein. I asked him his wishes, and he answered "whatever the Governor pleases." On my suggesting to him, as a solution, that the government of the country should be directed by British officers, he received the suggestion apparently with pleasure, but said that he could not act by himself, but must consult his advisers. Evidently he feels that he was raised by the Mantri and others to a position to which he was not entitled, and he now fears to offend them.
He subsequently addressed me a letter, of which I enclose a copy, in which he states that he will not recognise the Pangkore engagement, but that he is nevertheless desirous that we should help him to govern the country. This letter, I have good reason to believe, was written by the Mantri, and as Ismail can neither read nor write, I think it probable that he was not alive to its contents.
My impression is that, seeing the course taken by Yusuf, on whose support he has hitherto greatly depended, by Raja Dris, by his own relative, Raja Ngah, and others of less note on whom he has hitherto relied, but who are now desirous of living under British rule. Ismail will in time fall into their views, and I would then propose to treat him with every consideration.
23. My next point of call was Campong Gaja, where I found Sultan Abdullah This village also is on the Perak River, and some miles below Blanja. waiting for me.
I should mention that, believing that any agreement between him and Ex-Sultan Ismail was hopeless, I had purposely not asked Abdullah to come up to Blanja.
In my boat at Campong Gaja I had an interview with Abdullah, and I told him the gist of my conversations with the Chiefs at Blanja.
He confined himself on this occasion chiefly to polite expressions of welcome, and questions relating to the route I had taken, but said he would come to me the next day at the British Residency at Bandar Bahru, about midway between Blanjs and the mouth of the Perak River.
24. The next day I had a more formal interview with Abdullah at the Residency, as had been arranged.
I then told him that he, as well as other Chiefs of Perak, had violated the engage- ments entered into with the British Government at Pangkore, and had disregarded your Lordship's own distinct warning, that Her Majesty's Governinent would hold him and his Chiefs responsible for such violation; that, instead of following the Resident's advice, he had thwarted him in his endeavours to improve the condition of Perak; that there was no real government in the State; that the system of debt-slavery in practice in the country was oppressive, and at variance with Mahommedan law; that the present state of affairs in Perak was detrimental to the interests of his country and his people, and calculated to lead to disturbances; and that, interested as the British Government is by both treaty obligations and by the rear neighbourhood of Perak to its own Settle-
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ments, in obtaining good and settled government in that State, in the development of its resources, in the well-being of its inhabitants, and in the prevention of oppression, we could not allow the affairs of Perak to remain in their present condition.
I had previously addressed Ismail and the Ulu Chiefs in very similar terms, and they had granted the truth of my statements, and declared that they felt themselves powerless to better the condition of affairs without the assistance of the British Government.
25. I now found that the representations that had been made to me as to Abdullah's unfitness and inability to govern were correct. On every occasion be appealed to some
one near him, especially to the Shabandar, who has been his evil adviser from the commencement of his rule.
His other advisers are three Malaya of the worst character, who have gained his consideration by their readiness to carry out any business which an honest man would refuse, and who, in the advice they offer, seek merely to make a tool of Abdullah for their own profit.
Abdullah, in replying to me, promised to do right and carry out his engagements in future, but apked to consult the Ulu Chiefs at Blanja before giving me a written reply to my suggestion that British officers should undertake the government of the country, and that the Sultan, Ex-Sultan, and other Chiefs entitled to payments by the State, should receive allowances from the revenues of Perak.
I proposed this course, believing that it would be a satisfactory solution to all con- cerned, and seeing that it would put an end to the rivalry of the parties in the State, who had expressed their willingness to adopt the advice of our Government in a course which would place the affairs of Perak on a satisfactory footing, and give all parties and individuals equal justice.
26. I confess that, when I considered Abdullah's disregard of his engagements, his private character, his bad advisers, the rival parties in the State, the absence of law or justice, the outrageous impositions of petty Kajas and Chiefs, the influence for good or evil in our own Settlements of peace or disturbance in an adjoining State, our financial relations and responsibilities with Perak, and the impossibility of withdrawing from the position which we had adopted in 1874, I inclined to the opinion, before I held commu- nications with the Chiefs, that the best course to adopt would be to declare Perak British territory, and govern it accordingly. But, on weighing well the impressions conveyed to me by my interviews with the Chiefs, it did not appear to me expedient at present that this course should be adopted. Moreover, reasons to which I shall presently refer strengthened me in this conviction.
Convinced, however, that Abdullah ruling independently, with a British officer as an "adviser" only, was quite impracticable, and wishing, if possible, to make an arrangement which, whilst it should be effectual to give good government, should still, as far as possible, be one which would meet the wishes of the Perak people, and leave it impossible for Abdullah to say that he had not had a fair trial-more especially now when he made promises of aniendment-I determined, if the Sultan could be induced to agree to the proposal, to adopt the policy of governing Perak by means of British officers in his name.
27. There were other considerations which weighed with me in adopting this course. In carrying on the government of the State at present, it would be very incon- venient if the inhabitants of Perak all at once became entitled to the rights and privileges of British subjects. On the other hand, by ruling in the name of the Sultan, the form of government will be more adapted to the conditions of the case, and will enable us to deal easily with matters that might be difficult of solution under English law.
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For instance, it will be much easier to deal with Chiefs who may oppose the new order of things, because their interests are bound up with a system which oppresses and squeezes the people.
I
may
add that the cost of government will be much less when carried on in the name of the Sultan than it would be if conducted on British principles.
Moreover, we shall be able either to recede from our position, or adopt a more advanced policy as circumstances may render desirable; ie., either relinquish the government gradually to native rulers, if we hereafter found any fitted to carry it ou or add the territory to the Colony of the Straits Settlements.
Meanwhile, we shall undoubtedly be strengthening our position. With the control of the revenues, the power of preventing improper payments, the appointment of officials, the control of the police, the establishment of stations at points selected by us, and the opening out of the country by means of roads, we shall always be in a position, if desired, to asume the government on the part of Her Majesty the Queen, and maintain order, without the slightest prospect of opposition.
28. My proposal, therefore, is to govern the country in the name of the Sultan by means of officers, to be styled Queen's Commissioners, and Assistant Queen's Commis
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