Sultan Ali of Johor
Encyclopedia
Sultan
Ali Iskandar Shah ibni Hussein Muazzam Shah was the 19th Sultan of Johor
, who succeeded his father, Sultan Hussein after the latter died of natural cause in 1835. Over the next twenty years, Sultan Ali's claims to the office of Sultan of Johor were only recognised by some merchants and a few Malays. Like his father, Sultan Ali's was much of a puppet monarch
and played a very minimal role in the administrative affairs of the state, which came under the charge of the Temenggong and the British
. In 1855, Sultan Ali ceded the sovereignty rights of Johor
(except Muar
) to Temenggong Daing Ibrahim in 1855, in exchange for a formal recognition as the "Sultan of Johor" by the British and a monthly allowance. Following the secession of Johor, Sultan Ali was granted administrative charge over Muar until his death in 1877, and in most administrative matters, was often styled as the "Sultan of Muar".
In the 1840s, Johor began to receive the first Chinese settlers (mainly immigrants from Swatow and Chaozhou
), the young Temenggong, Tun Daeng Ibrahim took up the administrative tasks of the state. He imposed taxes upon these settlers, which went to the Temenggong's charge. However, unlike the Temenggong, Sultan Ali was unwilling to involve himself with the affairs of the state but at the same time complained of receiving insufficient allowance from the British. He was well-known for his penchant for an extravagant lifestyle, and was chalking up considerable debts by the 1850s.
Meanwhile, loyalty among the local Malays in Johor to the ruling classes became increasingly divided between the royalty and the nobility. In 1852, Thomas Church, the Resident Councillor of Singapore, sums up the situation of the Malays along the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula:
Nevertheless, there was no major hostility as a result of the division of loyalty between the royalty and the nobility. In the same year, an English merchant, W.H. Read
, controlled Sultan Ali's royal seal in exchange for a promise to liquidate his debts. Read had been an active supporter of Sultan Ali's claims for recognition as the legitimate ruler of Johor and the states' revenue, with the Temenggong as his vassal. As a result of economic and political pressure from these traders, the Governor did consider granting a formal recognition to Sultan Ali as the legitimate ruler of Johor, but in the process, he received a strong protest from the Temenggong and his young son, Abu Bakar
.
By the early 1850s, Johor was effectively under the control of the Temenggong; followers who attempted to act in Sultan Ali's interests were quickly expelled by force by the Temenggong's followers.
were roped in to act as meditators.
The British favoured the prospect of the Temenggong in taking over the administration of Johor from the Sultan. Sultan Ali's claims to sovereignty were quickly refuted by the British and the Temenggong, who was quick to point out that the Sultan's late father, Sultan Hussein had never pursued active claims to his sovereignty rights over Johor in spite of his recognition by the British in the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty
. At that time, Johor came under the effective charge of the Temenggong's late father, Abdul Rahman, as with Pahang, which was under the control of the Bendahara. Further documents revealed that if Johor were to be under the control of a monarch, de jure
sovereignty would have been laid under the charge of the Sultan of Lingga, Sultan Mahmud Muzaffar Shah and not with Sultan Ali.
The Temenggong and Sultan Ali submitted their proposals to the British Governor in April 1854. The Temenggong agreed to the Sultan's request of his titular recognition as the Sultan of Johor, but was adamant of maintaining absolute charge over the whole of Johor. On the other hand, Sultan Ali had expressed his wish to the governor that the Kesang territory (around Muar
) should be directly governed by him, citing reasons that some of his ancestors were buried there. The British persuaded the Temenggong to concede to Sultan Ali's request and accepted after much consideration.
A treaty was concluded on 10 March 1855, in which Sultan Ali formally ceded his sovereignty rights of Johor
to the Temenggong permanently with the exception of the Kesang territory (around Muar
). In exchange, Sultan Ali was guaranteed the recognition the title of "Sultan" by the Temenggong and the British government and received a lump sum of $5000 as compensation. Sultan Ali was also promised a further incentive of a monthly allowance of $500 from the Temenggong, under the pressure of Governor Edmund Blundell
(the British Governor of Singapore), who hoped to put an end to Sultan Ali's financial complaints and problems.
(also known by the title of Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar
) and spent most of his time in Malacca. Muar was sparsely populated in 1855 and had a population of 800 and no formal structure of government was formed. In 1860, Sultan Ali reportedly borrowed $53,600 from a Chettiar
money lender, Kavana Chana Shellapah. Sultan Ali signed an agreement with Shellapah to contribute a portion of his monthly allowance to repay his debt. However, Sultan Ali found himself unable to settle his debts in time, and an angry Shellapah wrote to the British government in 1866. Pressured to liquidate his debts in time, Sultan Ali granted Shellapah the right to trade off Muar to the Temenggong of Johor as mortgage if he is unable to pay off his debts in time.
His relations with Temenggong Daing Ibrahim remained strained; in 1860, Sultan Ali allowed a Bugis adventurer, Suliwatang, the chiefs of Rembau
and Sungei Ujong to settle in Muar and prepare themselves for an attack on Johor. Such bad blood between the Sultan and Temenggong Daing Ibrahim passed down to the Temenggong's son, Abu Bakar, who succeeded his father after the former died in 1862. Shortly after Abu Bakar became the Temenggong of Johor, he sent a letter to Sultan Ali to reassert of Johor's sovereignty over Segamat. Continued disputes over the sovereignty of Segamat led to an outbreak of a war between the Temenggong's men with the Sultan's. Eleven years later in 1873, attempts made by Suliwatang to collect custom taxes from inhabitants at the Muar estuary led to further conflict with Abu Bakar's (who became Maharaja in 1868) men.
During the remaining years of Sultan Ali's reign, there was no visible economic activity in Muar. Nevertheless, he delegated the duty of collecting Muar's revenues to Suliwatang and his agents, all of whom were later poisoned and killed by the Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar. In 1868, Sultan Ali appointed Babu Ramasamy, a Tamil schoolmaster the duty collect the Muar revenues. A European miner approached Sultan Ali in 1872, in which he was granted exclusive mining rights over the entire Kesang territory for five years. Three years later, an American trader approached the Sultan, in which he gave the American the concessionary grant of purchasing 45 square miles (116.5 km²) of land within the Kesang territory.
, Malacca
, and supported himself with a small monthly stipend which the British East India Company
had granted him. He built a palace for himself and lived with his third wife, Cik' Sembuk until his death in June 1877, and was buried in a Mausoleum
within the confines of the Umbai mosque. Shortly before his death, Sultan Ali willed the Kesang territory to him shortly before his death. His decision was met with considerable disproval among the some Malays in Singapore
, who felt that Tengku Alam
should be the heir to the Kessang territory as he was the oldest son with Daing Siti, who was the daughter of a Bugis nobleman. At the time of Sultan Ali's death, custody of the Kesang territory lay in the hands of Ungku Jalil, Sultan Ali's elder brother. Ungku Jalil handed over the custodianship of the Kesang territory to Maharaja Abu Bakar
, after the British government held an election for the Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar and the territory's chieftains to decide on the destiny of the Kesang territory, and voted unanimously for Maharaja Abu Bakar as their leader. The British Governor handed over administrative charge of the Kesang territory over to the Maharaja, which upset Tengku Alam and many of his supporters. Their continued claims to the Kesang territory led to the instigation of the Jementah Civil War
in 1879.
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Ali Iskandar Shah ibni Hussein Muazzam Shah was the 19th Sultan of Johor
Sultan of Johor
Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the nominal ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a bendahara...
, who succeeded his father, Sultan Hussein after the latter died of natural cause in 1835. Over the next twenty years, Sultan Ali's claims to the office of Sultan of Johor were only recognised by some merchants and a few Malays. Like his father, Sultan Ali's was much of a puppet monarch
Puppet monarch
A puppet monarch is a majority figurehead who is installed or patronized by an imperial power in order to provide the appearance of local authority, while allowing political and economic control to remain among the dominating nation....
and played a very minimal role in the administrative affairs of the state, which came under the charge of the Temenggong and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 1855, Sultan Ali ceded the sovereignty rights of Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
(except Muar
Muar (district)
Muar District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. The name "Muar" is also used for the name of its district, which formerly sub-divided between the Town of Muar and the sub-district of Tangkak. Tangkak sub-district has been upgraded into a full district known as Ledang District in year...
) to Temenggong Daing Ibrahim in 1855, in exchange for a formal recognition as the "Sultan of Johor" by the British and a monthly allowance. Following the secession of Johor, Sultan Ali was granted administrative charge over Muar until his death in 1877, and in most administrative matters, was often styled as the "Sultan of Muar".
Early years
Tengku Ali succeeded his father in 1835 as the Sultan of Johor, but was not recognised as the Sultan of Johor for the first few years of his reign. A proclamation by the British colonial government in September 1840 granted him the right as the legitimate heir as his father's successor, but not amounting to a recognition as the "Sultan of Johor".In the 1840s, Johor began to receive the first Chinese settlers (mainly immigrants from Swatow and Chaozhou
Chaozhou
Chaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...
), the young Temenggong, Tun Daeng Ibrahim took up the administrative tasks of the state. He imposed taxes upon these settlers, which went to the Temenggong's charge. However, unlike the Temenggong, Sultan Ali was unwilling to involve himself with the affairs of the state but at the same time complained of receiving insufficient allowance from the British. He was well-known for his penchant for an extravagant lifestyle, and was chalking up considerable debts by the 1850s.
Meanwhile, loyalty among the local Malays in Johor to the ruling classes became increasingly divided between the royalty and the nobility. In 1852, Thomas Church, the Resident Councillor of Singapore, sums up the situation of the Malays along the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula:
In this neighbourhood, there are two parties, on one side, the Sultan of Lingga, the Sultan of Trengganu, and the young princes of Johore; on the other, the Raja Bendahara of Pahang, and the Temenggong Sri Maharaja.
Nevertheless, there was no major hostility as a result of the division of loyalty between the royalty and the nobility. In the same year, an English merchant, W.H. Read
William Henry Macleod Read
William Henry Macleod Read was an active participant in the commercial, political and social life of Singapore and the Malay states between 1841 and 1887.-Early life:...
, controlled Sultan Ali's royal seal in exchange for a promise to liquidate his debts. Read had been an active supporter of Sultan Ali's claims for recognition as the legitimate ruler of Johor and the states' revenue, with the Temenggong as his vassal. As a result of economic and political pressure from these traders, the Governor did consider granting a formal recognition to Sultan Ali as the legitimate ruler of Johor, but in the process, he received a strong protest from the Temenggong and his young son, Abu Bakar
Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor
Sultan Sir Abu Bakar ibni Daing Ibrahim was the 21st Sultan of Johor. He was also informally known as "The Father of Modern Johor", as many historians accredited Johor's development in the 19th century to Abu Bakar's leadership...
.
By the early 1850s, Johor was effectively under the control of the Temenggong; followers who attempted to act in Sultan Ali's interests were quickly expelled by force by the Temenggong's followers.
Secession of Johor
A series of negotiations between Sultan Ali and the Temenggong ensued with the British colonial government acting as the intermediary, after Sultan Ali had questioned the Temenggong's rights of keeping the state revenue to himself. Initially, the Temenggong proposed to split the trade revenue of Johor on condition that Sultan Ali surrendered his claims of sovereignty over Johor. The term was declined by Sultan Ali. Both parties agreed to seek the direct intervention of the British government, among which, the British Governor of the Straits Settlement, Colonel William Butterworth, and his successor, Edmund BlundellEdmund Augustus Blundell (diplomat)
Edmund Augustus Blundell was a British diplomat and Commissioner of Tenasserim 1833–1843, Resident Councillor of Malacca from 1847 to 1849 and Resident Councillor of Penang from 1849 to 1855. He was born 8 August 1804 in Taunton, Somerset, England, the son of William Blundell & Mary Ann Horniblow....
were roped in to act as meditators.
The British favoured the prospect of the Temenggong in taking over the administration of Johor from the Sultan. Sultan Ali's claims to sovereignty were quickly refuted by the British and the Temenggong, who was quick to point out that the Sultan's late father, Sultan Hussein had never pursued active claims to his sovereignty rights over Johor in spite of his recognition by the British in the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London, was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814...
. At that time, Johor came under the effective charge of the Temenggong's late father, Abdul Rahman, as with Pahang, which was under the control of the Bendahara. Further documents revealed that if Johor were to be under the control of a monarch, de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
sovereignty would have been laid under the charge of the Sultan of Lingga, Sultan Mahmud Muzaffar Shah and not with Sultan Ali.
The Temenggong and Sultan Ali submitted their proposals to the British Governor in April 1854. The Temenggong agreed to the Sultan's request of his titular recognition as the Sultan of Johor, but was adamant of maintaining absolute charge over the whole of Johor. On the other hand, Sultan Ali had expressed his wish to the governor that the Kesang territory (around Muar
Muar (district)
Muar District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. The name "Muar" is also used for the name of its district, which formerly sub-divided between the Town of Muar and the sub-district of Tangkak. Tangkak sub-district has been upgraded into a full district known as Ledang District in year...
) should be directly governed by him, citing reasons that some of his ancestors were buried there. The British persuaded the Temenggong to concede to Sultan Ali's request and accepted after much consideration.
A treaty was concluded on 10 March 1855, in which Sultan Ali formally ceded his sovereignty rights of Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
to the Temenggong permanently with the exception of the Kesang territory (around Muar
Muar (district)
Muar District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. The name "Muar" is also used for the name of its district, which formerly sub-divided between the Town of Muar and the sub-district of Tangkak. Tangkak sub-district has been upgraded into a full district known as Ledang District in year...
). In exchange, Sultan Ali was guaranteed the recognition the title of "Sultan" by the Temenggong and the British government and received a lump sum of $5000 as compensation. Sultan Ali was also promised a further incentive of a monthly allowance of $500 from the Temenggong, under the pressure of Governor Edmund Blundell
Edmund Augustus Blundell (diplomat)
Edmund Augustus Blundell was a British diplomat and Commissioner of Tenasserim 1833–1843, Resident Councillor of Malacca from 1847 to 1849 and Resident Councillor of Penang from 1849 to 1855. He was born 8 August 1804 in Taunton, Somerset, England, the son of William Blundell & Mary Ann Horniblow....
(the British Governor of Singapore), who hoped to put an end to Sultan Ali's financial complaints and problems.
Administration in Muar
Sultan Ali delegated the administrative affairs of Muar to the Raja Temenggung of MuarRaja Temenggung of Muar
Raja Temenggung of Muar is a noble title used to refer to the family of Dato' Pasir Raja and his descendants, which ruled the Muar fief, which was a part of the Johor Empire from the middle of the seventeenth century onwards.-History:During the mid-seventeenth century, the Sultan of Johor took the...
(also known by the title of Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar
Raja Temenggung of Muar
Raja Temenggung of Muar is a noble title used to refer to the family of Dato' Pasir Raja and his descendants, which ruled the Muar fief, which was a part of the Johor Empire from the middle of the seventeenth century onwards.-History:During the mid-seventeenth century, the Sultan of Johor took the...
) and spent most of his time in Malacca. Muar was sparsely populated in 1855 and had a population of 800 and no formal structure of government was formed. In 1860, Sultan Ali reportedly borrowed $53,600 from a Chettiar
Chettiar
Chettiar , also spelled Chetty, is a title used by various castes in South India especially in Tamil Nadu. In Kannada, it appears as Setty, Shettar and Shettigar, who are Padmashalis in Andhra Pradesh....
money lender, Kavana Chana Shellapah. Sultan Ali signed an agreement with Shellapah to contribute a portion of his monthly allowance to repay his debt. However, Sultan Ali found himself unable to settle his debts in time, and an angry Shellapah wrote to the British government in 1866. Pressured to liquidate his debts in time, Sultan Ali granted Shellapah the right to trade off Muar to the Temenggong of Johor as mortgage if he is unable to pay off his debts in time.
His relations with Temenggong Daing Ibrahim remained strained; in 1860, Sultan Ali allowed a Bugis adventurer, Suliwatang, the chiefs of Rembau
Rembau
Rembau is a town within a district that shares the same name that is located in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. With a population of 40,000 people the district is a stronghold of the matrilineal system known as adat perpatih, a customary practice inherited from the Minangkabaus, of...
and Sungei Ujong to settle in Muar and prepare themselves for an attack on Johor. Such bad blood between the Sultan and Temenggong Daing Ibrahim passed down to the Temenggong's son, Abu Bakar, who succeeded his father after the former died in 1862. Shortly after Abu Bakar became the Temenggong of Johor, he sent a letter to Sultan Ali to reassert of Johor's sovereignty over Segamat. Continued disputes over the sovereignty of Segamat led to an outbreak of a war between the Temenggong's men with the Sultan's. Eleven years later in 1873, attempts made by Suliwatang to collect custom taxes from inhabitants at the Muar estuary led to further conflict with Abu Bakar's (who became Maharaja in 1868) men.
During the remaining years of Sultan Ali's reign, there was no visible economic activity in Muar. Nevertheless, he delegated the duty of collecting Muar's revenues to Suliwatang and his agents, all of whom were later poisoned and killed by the Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar. In 1868, Sultan Ali appointed Babu Ramasamy, a Tamil schoolmaster the duty collect the Muar revenues. A European miner approached Sultan Ali in 1872, in which he was granted exclusive mining rights over the entire Kesang territory for five years. Three years later, an American trader approached the Sultan, in which he gave the American the concessionary grant of purchasing 45 square miles (116.5 km²) of land within the Kesang territory.
Death and succession dispute
Sultan Ali spent his last years in UmbaiUmbai
Umbai is a town between the Jasin-Central Melaka border in Malacca, Malaysia. The famous Umbai's Medan Ikan Bakar is located at Umbai Beach.-Notable Features:*Makam Sultan Ali of Johor...
, Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
, and supported himself with a small monthly stipend which the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
had granted him. He built a palace for himself and lived with his third wife, Cik' Sembuk until his death in June 1877, and was buried in a Mausoleum
Makam Sultan Ali of Johor
The Makam Sultan Ali of Johor is the mausoleum of Sultan Ali of Johor in Melaka, Malaysia. It is located near Umbai Mosque in Umbai town.-See also:*Sultanate of Johor*Johor*Melaka...
within the confines of the Umbai mosque. Shortly before his death, Sultan Ali willed the Kesang territory to him shortly before his death. His decision was met with considerable disproval among the some Malays in Singapore
Malays in Singapore
Malays in Singapore are defined by the Singaporean government using the broader and antiquated "Malay race" concept, rather than modern-day Malay ethnic group. Although Malays have inhabited the area that is now Singapore since the 17th century, most of the Malays in Singapore today are immigrants...
, who felt that Tengku Alam
Alauddin Alam Shah
Tengku Alam Shah bin Ali Iskandar Shah was a prince of the House of Bendahara , and was the oldest son of Sultan Ali, the 19th Sultan of Johor by his second wife, Daing Siti...
should be the heir to the Kessang territory as he was the oldest son with Daing Siti, who was the daughter of a Bugis nobleman. At the time of Sultan Ali's death, custody of the Kesang territory lay in the hands of Ungku Jalil, Sultan Ali's elder brother. Ungku Jalil handed over the custodianship of the Kesang territory to Maharaja Abu Bakar
Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor
Sultan Sir Abu Bakar ibni Daing Ibrahim was the 21st Sultan of Johor. He was also informally known as "The Father of Modern Johor", as many historians accredited Johor's development in the 19th century to Abu Bakar's leadership...
, after the British government held an election for the Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar and the territory's chieftains to decide on the destiny of the Kesang territory, and voted unanimously for Maharaja Abu Bakar as their leader. The British Governor handed over administrative charge of the Kesang territory over to the Maharaja, which upset Tengku Alam and many of his supporters. Their continued claims to the Kesang territory led to the instigation of the Jementah Civil War
Jementah Civil War
The Jementah Civil War happened in 1879 in Jementah, Sultanate of Johor when Tengku Alam Shah, the heir of Sultan Ali of Muar refused to give the district of Muar to the temporary administration of Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor...
in 1879.