Resistance in the Malay Peninsula
The killing of Resident J.W.W. Birch at Pasir Salak in 1875, led by Dato' Maharaja Lela and other Perak chiefs, was one of the earliest major uprisings. In Pahang, Dato' Bahaman (the Orang Kaya of Semantan), together with Mat Kilau and Tok Gajah, fought the British in the 1890s. In Negeri Sembilan, Yamtuan Antah resisted British interference in Sungai Ujong.
Key idea
Resistance happened all across the country — in the Peninsula, in Sarawak and in Sabah — as people defended their land and rulers.
Resistance in the north
In Kelantan, Tok Janggut led an uprising at Pasir Puteh in 1915 against new land taxes. In Terengganu, Haji Abdul Rahman Limbong led people against harsh land rules in 1928.
Resistance in Sarawak and Sabah
- Rentap resisted James Brooke from his fort at Bukit Sadok in Sarawak.
- Sharif Masahor also rose against Brooke rule in Sarawak.
- Mat Salleh fought the British North Borneo Company in Sabah, with a fort at Tambunan.
- Antanum led the Murut in the Rundum uprising of 1915.
Across all three regions the pattern was the same. Local leaders fought against interference in custom, unfair taxes and the loss of their authority. Most held out bravely from jungle forts and villages, but in the end the West's better weapons and organisation wore them down. Their struggles, spread over many years and many places, show how widely the people rejected foreign rule.
Remember
- Peninsula: Birch killed at Pasir Salak, 1875.
- Borneo: Rentap vs Brooke; Mat Salleh vs the North Borneo Company.