Muar Town - History

History

Muar is rich in history as mentioned in many historical records and archeological works. It is believed that the history of Muar started much earlier than the Sultanate of Malacca. There were many accounts recorded about the early history of Muar. In 1361, it was claimed that Muar was a part of the Majapahit empire. Another account also stated that Parameswara, upon his exile from Temasik before proceeding to found Melaka, had established a settlement at Kota Buruk, Pagoh, Ulu Muar, Muar witnessing the beginning of the Malacca Sultanate empire. Historically, Muar was also where the deposed heir of the Malacca Sultanate escaped to in 1511 following the invasion of the Portuguese, launched from Goa. During the Portuguese's Afonso de Albuquerque invasion and attack in 1511, Muar played a role in resisting the Portuguese occupation of Malacca; the Kubu Bentayan fort was built by the last Sultan of Malacca, Sultan Mahmud to repel seaborne invasions, before he was defeated and retreat further to Pagoh, this time witnessing the fall of the Malacca Sultanate empire. During the Portuguese occupation era, the Portuguese built a fortress named Fortaleza de Muar to defend the colony against the attack of Dutch and Aceh instead at the same strategic site of Bentayan. The colonial British did just about the same thing at the Muar River site near Bentayan in defence against the advance of Japanese Imperial Army in the Battle of Muar in the 2nd World War. Muar is also the home for the one and only tomb of the 7th Malacca Sultanate, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah I (1477–1488). During the time of the beginning of Bugis immigration from Sulawesi Indonesia and their influence in Johor Sultanate, the famous five Bugis pioneer prince-brothers sea-warriors or rather pirates from Sulawesi, Indonesia; Daeng Marewah, Daeng Parani, Daeng Celak, Daeng Manambun and Daeng Kemasi said to have come to reside in Liang Batu, Lenga, Muar before they and their descendants become the influential Temenggungs and even rulers later.

Muar, the Bandar Maharani, have been recorded by several historians, scholars and authors and in many important historical materials like old maps, poems, epics, manuscripts and books :

• Prapanca (1361) (Nagarakertagama Poem) :Nagarakertagama famous poem - written in 1361 Prapanca (a Buddhist monk and priest of Majapahit Palace) told Muar as a colony part of Majapahit empire subdued by Hayam Wuruk and prime minister, Gajah Mada(1350 to 1389).

• João de Barros ("Decades of Asia"), (1553) :João de Barros who wrote in 1553 in his 2nd Décadas da Ásia ("Decades of Asia"), a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.stated that Parameswara (Paramicura) who were driven away from Temasik after he killed the representative of the King of Siam, Temagi; had escaped in exile and stopped in Muar and built a in rural areas of Muar called Pagoh.

• Tun Sri Lanang (Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals) Shellabear version :In the Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals states that Temasik during the reign of Parameswara(Sultan Iskandar Shah) was defeated by Majapahit Kingdom. But he and his family including his followers had fled to Pagoh, Muar and opened 2 areas on the banks of the Muar River; the Biawak Busuk and another fort called Kota Buruk before moved to Melaka and opened up Melaka. In 1488, the incident of Malacca's Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah I (1477–1488) who has died and buried in Pagoh, Ulu Muar during a visit, called "Sultan Mangkat Di Muar".

• Tomé Pires (the Suma Oriental) (1512–1515) :Tomé Pires wrote a landmark book on Asian trade, the Suma Oriental que trata do Mar Roxo até aos Chins (Summa of the East, from the Red Sea up to the Chinese) in Malacca and India between 1512–1515, completed before the death of Afonso de Albuquerque (December 1515), which highlighted the emergence of Parameswara replacing his father, Raja Sam Agi as the ruler of Palembang and later attacked by the king of Majapahit of Java, King Batara Tamavill for declaring himself as 'Mjeura'(those who dare) before fled to Temasik(Singapore)where he killed Siamese King of Ayutthaya's representative, Temagi and he secretly ruled Temasik for 5 years. But fearing the revenge attack by the King of Ayutthaya, he fled to Pagoh, Muar with his 1,000 followers and lived there for 6 years when the Seletar peoples were still occupying Malacca before he moved to Malacca and opened it later.

• An old map of the Portuguese shows that Muar had a second Portuguese fortress in the Peninsular Malay beside Malacca. From the map, it is believed to be the Fortaleza de Muar built in 1604 by Emanuel Godinho de Erédia in triangular to defend the colony against the attacks of Dutch and Aceh at the mouth of Bentayan River near the Muar River. It had vanished but believed to be located at the present location of Bentayan Express Bus Bus Station(formerly Pagoh Bus Stand) in Jalan Maharani, Muar.

• Abraham Ortelius (1584) (Old Maps) :Old maps such as Map Ortelius A.D. 1584 shows Muar as a city located to the south of Malacca.

• Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1595) (Old Maps) :Map Linschoten A.D. 1595 shows Muar as a city close to the state of Malacca.

Sultan Ali's Rule of Muar: Muar was the royal town of northern Johor once. A civil war between the prince of Sultan Hussein Shah; Tengku Ali dan Temenggong Ibrahim|Dato' Temenggong Daing Ibrahim which was later settled by a treaty of agreement and understanding signed in Singapore between the British and Tengku Ali; that ceded the control of the rest of state of Johor (except Muar region) formally to Temenggong Ibrahim|Dato' Temenggong Daing Ibrahim in returns of the sultan title with the condition the title is not hereditary for succession, and recognization of him as Sultan Ali and his reign ruled over the Muar region(state) of the area lies between the Muar River and Kesang River with an annual pension from the British Government under the terms of the treaty. Although Sultan Ali was in fact the real heir of the Johor Sultanate but due to his weakness, the Temenggong became the de facto ruler instead and begin the rule of the Temenggung in Johor onwards. Sultan Ali delegated the administrative affairs of Muar to the Raja Temenggung of Muar (also known by the title of Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar) and rather 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 and signed an agreement with Shellapah to contribute a portion of his monthly allowance to repay his debt. However, Sultan Ali found himself unable to pay 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 Raja Temenggung of Muar|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 Ali and Temenggong Daing Ibrahim passed down to the Temenggong's son, Temenggong Abu Bakar, who succeeded his father after the former died in 1862. Shortly after Temenggong 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 Temenggong Abu Bakar's (who became Maharaja in 1868 and finally Sultan later in 1885, 8 years after death of Sultan Ali) men.

Upon Sultan Ali's death in Umbai, Malacca in 1877, his 11-year-old youngest son, Tengku Mahmood, was named his successor, fueling anger and dissatisfaction of his oldest son, Tengku Alam Shah. The Raja Temenggung of Muar (also known by the title of Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar) and its village chieftains voted in favour of a merger of Muar with Johor following the succession dispute between the two of Sultan Ali's sons. Tengku Alam Shah, disputed the legitimacy of the chieftains' wishes and staked his hereditary claims over Muar, started to instigate and launch the 1879 Jementah Civil War in a bid to reclaim Muar, but was quickly defeated by the Maharaja Abu Bakar's forces and Muar was finally annexed and return back as part of the Johor state on 30 December 1879.

During the 1880s, the sovereign rulers of Johor, Temenggong Ibrahim and his successor, Sultan Abu Bakar introduced the Kangchu system and actively encouraged the Chinese leaders to set up new gambier and black pepper plantations and to bring in the Chinese immigrants as agricultural settlers and labourers to open and work in these plantations in Muar. A Western-style contracts (termed as Surat Sungai in Malay, literally "River Documents") to the Kapitan Cina (Chinese leaders) who have established the plantations along river banks in Johor. Letters of authority (Surat Kuasa) were issued when the first Chinese leaders began settling in Johor during the 1850s. The Temenggong quickly established goodwill relations with the Kapitan Cina by appointing one Malay administrator, Muhamad Salleh bin Perang, the Dato' Bentara Luar who was able to speak the Teochew dialect, the language spoken by most Kapitan Cina and settlers and able to read Chinese for these purposes. Influx of these settlers mainly of Teochew origin, and were generally first- or second-generation ethnic Chinese who became an important part and parcel of life and population of Muar until today and helped shape the population demographic and the social economy of Muar. There is even a town called Bukit Gambir meaning Hill of Gambier in Muar.

Modern Muar Town, known as Bandar Maharani, which is the main city center of Muar district, was founded by Dato' Bentara Luar, Muhamad Salleh bin Perang in 1885 and was only officially opened by His Majesty Maharaja Abu Bakar 12 August 1887 (who just became opted Maharaja title on 30 June 1868) and conferred the namesake Bandar Maharani meaning the Town of Empress, the title of Maharani Fatimah who had accompanied to graced the inauguration ceremony of the new town at Tangga Batu a place around Hentian Maharani bus station now where an auspicious "amulet" or "azimat" is said to be buried underground there then. Muar celebrated its centenary in a grand celebration attended by the Sultan of Johor in 1984.

The prosperity and rapid development of Muar made it the only town in Malaysia ever to have had its own local railway network in the early days. The Muar State Railway (MSR) operated from 1889–1925, linking Jalan Sulaiman in Bandar Maharani and Sungai Pulai for a distance of 22.5 km. A 1916 plan to extend the line to Batu Pahat was aborted and the service totally stopped in 1925 due to financial and geographical constraints and its reduced importance after the construction of Jalan Abdul Rahman linking the Muar town and Parit Jawa. It remains a memory and is only a part of history of Muar now with just the MSR steam locomotive relic on display at Tanjung Emas Park.

In the 2nd World War, the Battle of Muar, 14–22 January 1942, fought around the area from Gemencheh, Muar River and Bukit Bakri in Muar was the last major battle of the Malayan Campaign of the Battle of Malaya, fought by British Allied forces and Japanese forces from 8 December 1941 - 31 January 1942 in British Malaya. The Battle of Bakri or Siege of Bakri was a fierce battle of the fighting troops in Bukit Bakri on the 17 January 1942. The battle was a complete failure which resulted in the near-annihilation of the Allies' deployed 45th Indian Infantry Brigade, with heavy casualties for its two attached Australian's 2/19th and 2/29th Infantry Battalions and the eventual easy fall of Muar to the Imperial Japanese forces. During the 1942-45 Japanese Occupation of Malaya era, Muar continued to serve as important administration town under the occupying Japanese army with many locals involved in the bulk of anti-Japanese resistance groups such as the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) and Force 136.

During the Malayan Emergency period, in the Bukit Kepong Incident, the police station of Bukit Kepong was ambushed and brutally attacked by members of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, on 23 February 1950 killing 26 policemen and family members.

Muar also recorded the history of resistance against the communist attacks and British occupation by Panglima Kiyai Salleh, a religious and martial arts teacher of Banjarese & Javanese origin who founded the resistance guerillas troop Tentera Selempang Merah but unfortunately its many heroic stories were distorted and tainted with many factless, unbelievable and illogical myths. The Group of Seven or Orang Tujuh of Muar which consists of Tun Dr Awang Hassan(the former Governor of Penang), father of Tun Dr Ismail Dato Abdul Rahman Mohd Yasin(father of Tun Dr Ismail former Deputy Prime Minister), his brother Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Rahman, Tan Sri Datuk Hassan(former Menteri Besar) and Dato Hj Kosai Mohd Salleh was said to be active fighting the formation of Malayan Union and advocating the independence of Malaya.