Abang Haji Abdillah - Life As A Patriot

Life As A Patriot

He made it clear when he said

"Me and my people would never agree with the cession of Sarawak to the British Crown!...We cherish the independence of this state where we were born..."

"Saya dan rakyat tidak bersetuju dengan penyerahan Negeri Sarawak kepada Kerajaan British!...Saya dan rakyat mencintai kemerdekaan negeri ini, tanah tumpah darah saya..."

In a meeting with British officials, he clearly protested the cession of Sarawak to the British Crown; stating that the cession is illegal as the cession is not accepted by majority of the Bumiputra. Datu Abdillah is a major proponent of Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke as the fourth White Rajah of Sarawak.

However, the cession went on and Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah resigned from the State Supreme Council. Since then, he started to oppose the British government in his speeches. Datu Abdillah opposed the use of violence.

Realising the political threat, government officials in Sarawak were sent Circular no.9, which threaten the officials to be fired if they oppose the British Crown. Perhaps following the footsteps of Datu Patinggi, many of the Bumiputra officials resigned from their posts. A charismatic leader, Datu Abdillah managed to unite the Dayaks and Malays into one entity.

Fearing a revolt, the British government resorted to the divide and conquer tactic. The British tried to spark the sense of animousity between the Malays and the Dayaks, however with little success.