Tengku Alam Shah - Succession Dispute

Succession Dispute

Sultan Ali's third son by Cik Sembuk, Tengku Mahmud was groomed for succession. When the Sultan died in 1877, he nominated Tengku Mahmud to inherit the Kesang territory. The Sultan's decision took Tengku Alam and his supporters in Singapore to anger, who felt that Tengku Alam should inherit his father's properties given that he was the eldest son. Furthermore, Cik Sembuk's commoner background stood out against Daing Siti's, who was the daughter of a Bugis nobleman.

The British on their part, refused to recognise Sultan Ali's will on his son's (Tengku Mahmud) hereditary claims to the Kesang territory. Meanwhile, the chieftains and village headmen in the Kesang territory held their own elections for a new leader, and voted for the Maharaja of Johor, Abu Bakar to take charge of Muar, which the British accepted the outcome of the poll. The Acting Governor of the Straits Settlement, Edward Anson, allowed Abu Bakar to take interim control over the Kesang territory.

Tengku Alam and his supporters were extremely unhappy with Maharaja Abu Bakar's intervention over the Kesang territory. A long time of Tengku Alam, W.H. Read helped to lobby in Tengku Alam's cause. Supporters of Tengku Alam had criticised the irregularities in the electoral process, by claiming that the Maharaja had coerced the Muar chiefs into voting for him prior to the election, and called for an election with Tengku Alam's family members as the electors. Tengku Alam's supporters argued that the 1855 secession treaty which Sultan Ali had signed with Temenggong of Johor guaranteed the hereditary rights of Sultan Ali's family members to the Kesang territory. Tengku Alam's claims were fell on deaf ears, and the British government, with the assistance of Engku Mandak, proceeded with the electoral process into 1878. Meanwhile, the British authorities allowed Tengku Alam to inherit the $500 monthly allowance which Sultan Ali had received from the Temenggong's family, and gave him an additional $68 monthly allowance from the British East India Company. An angry Tengku Alam was declined these allowances from the British, and was said to have used abusive language when they were offered to him.

The following January, on 11 January 1879, a few hundred Bugis and Malay supporters proclaimed Tengku Alam with the title of "Sultan Alauddin 'Alam Shah, Sultan of Johor and Pahang" during his marriage ceremony. Tengku Alam's proclamation briefly generated serious concern from Maharaja Abu Bakar and the British government, who feared that Abu Bakar's political position could be a sign of a potential threat to his political position, especially after Tengku Alam had made a public declaration to challenge Abu Bakar for his claims to the Kesang territory. In October, a frustrated Tengku Alam and his supporters launched a civil war in Jementah which was quickly subdued by the British authorities.