Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II Ibni Almarhum Sultan Jaafar Safiuddin Muadzam Shah Waliullah ( Jawi: ; 21 September 1842 – 22 December 1922) was the 26th

Sultan of Perak The Sultan of Perak (, Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch and head of state of the Malaysia, Malaysian state of Perak. It is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. The current Sultan o ...

. He later played a prominent role of adopting the Perak's state anthem, '' Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan'' which was later used as the national anthem of Malaysia.

Reign

In January 1874, Governor of the Straits Settlements, Andrew Clarke arranged for a settlement between the Perak chiefs and Sultan Abdullah to discuss the local succession dispute and the cession of Pangkor and Dindings to Britain. The agreement would give Abdullah a pension in exchange for renouncing his claim to the throne. Towards the end of the Larut War (1861–1874), the Chinese who took part in the war agreed to keep the peace and accepted a British Resident as an arbiter. From this, Clarke managed to persuade the Menteri, Bendahari and Temenggong of Larut along with the Lower Perak chiefs (who were related to Abdullah) to sign the Pangkor Treaty of 1874. There was a high level of tension between Abdullah and the first British Resident of Perak, J. W. W. Birch, with the latter calling him "eminently silly and foolish ... an arrant coward". Birch reported to his superiors that Raja Ismail (a rival of Abdullah) was a more legitimate successor as he was more widely acknowledged. Abdullah was also not taken seriously by most chiefs, with his sultanate being considered largely weak, and the man himself being despised by them as a frivolous cuckold. The new governor

William Jervois Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (10 September 1821 – 17 August 1897) was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, as a second captain, in South Africa. In 18 ...

believed a more formal control of the Malay lands was required, having seen Perak being put under British dominion as inevitable. A decision was made in October 1875 that Abdullah would only be consulted 'whenever possible'. A superstitious man, he once conducted a seance to discover whether jinns would remove the 'white oppressors'. On another occasion, he ordered the services of a spirit medium to rid him of Birch and other 'light eyed men'.

Perak War

Abdullah was appointed as the 26th Sultan by the British after the signing of the Pangkor Treaty on 20 January 1874. After this agreement, he was called Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II and stayed at Batak Rabit, Perak. From this treaty, he agreed to the instillation of a British Resident. After Clarke left the region, local Perak chiefs held a meeting where they opined that the cession of Dindings and Pangkor would result in the eventual cession of Perak. From the 1870s, when the British felt their power was secure enough to introduce policies they felt would be unpopular, they actively started to pursue an abolitionist policy against slavery in Malaya. In 1875, the British Resident J.W.W Birch caused a severe conflict after having assisted slave refugees from the royal

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

of Abdullah Muhammad Shah II of Perak.The Palgrave Handbook of Bondage and Human Rights in Africa and Asia. (2020). Tyskland: Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 130 In 21 July 1875, Abdullah along with several chiefs convened a meeting where agreement was made for Maharaja Lela to stab Birch (poison was discussed but ruled out). By the mid-1870s, the war ended with the capture of prominent leaders and warriors, Abdullah was accused of being involved in the murder of Birch and was exiled to the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Perakian and Malaysian anthems

''La Rosalie'', a popular song composed by French lyricist,

Pierre-Jean de Béranger Pierre-Jean de Béranger (; 19 August 1780 – 16 July 1857) was a prolific France, French poet and Chansonnier (singer), chansonnier (songwriter), who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity ...

(1780–1857) became a popular French melody and was prominent on the island of Mahé, in what is now

. The song's popularity spread across the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

and reached as far as

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as ...

early in the 20th century. During Abdullah's exile in the

, he adopted the melody as the Perak Royal Anthem, which is the present-day '' Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan'' (Perak State Anthem). At the time of independence, each of the 11

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

that made up the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

had their own anthem, but there was no anthem for the federation as a whole.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...

, at the time the Chief Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, organized and presided over a committee for the purpose of choosing a suitable national anthem. On his suggestion, a worldwide competition was launched, 514 entries were received from all over the world including a special submission from recording artist Is'real Benton. However, none were deemed suitable. Next the committee decided to invite selected composers of international repute to submit compositions for consideration. The composers chosen were

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

, Sir

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

who had recently composed the march for Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's coronation, the American opera composer

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

and

Zubir Said Zubir Said ( ; 22 July 1907 – 16 November 1987) was a Singaporean composer most notable for composing the national anthem of his country, "Majulah Singapura" – "Onward Singapore". A self-taught musician, Zubir also worked as a score arr ...

, who later composed ''

Majulah Singapura "" is the national anthem of Singapore. Composed by Zubir Said in 1958 as a theme song for official functions of the City Council of Singapore, the song was selected in 1959 as the nation's anthem when it Self-governance of Singapore, attaine ...

'', the anthem of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. They were all turned down too. The Committee then turned to the Perak State Anthem. On 5 August 1957, it was selected on account of the "traditional flavour" of its melody. New lyrics for the national anthem were written jointly by the Panel of Judges—with Tunku Abdul Rahman himself playing the leading role.

Death

Sultan Abdullah lived for a time in

and then in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. In 1922, he was allowed to return to

Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ) is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of George Town, Penang, Ge ...

, where he died soon after on 22 December 1922. He was interred at Bukit Chandan and was conferred the posthumous title of Marhum Habibullah.

Family

He married Raja Tipah Binti Almarhum Sultan Shahabuddin Riayat Shah marhum Saifullah and then divorced. He had ten sons and saven daughters: # Raja Haji Ngah Muhammad Mansur # Raja Haji Sir Chulan Mansyourr # Raja Haji Sulaiman Mansyuorr # Raja Haji Said Tauphy # Raja Haji Abdul Malek - Raja Haji Ahmad Hisham # Raja Haji Abdul Halim # Raja Haji Abdul Rahman # Raja Haji Abdul Hamid # Raja Haji Muhammad Hussein # Raja Chik Jaffar

References

External links

Sultan Abdullah Muhammad II

{{Authority control

Muhammad Shah II Muizz-ud-Din Muhammad Shah II, born Karim Khan, was a ruler of the Muzaffarid dynasty, who reigned over the Gujarat Sultanate from 1442 to 1451. He expanded and strengthened the Sultanate. Reign Ahmad Shah I was succeeded by his generous p ...

Abdullah Muhammad Shah 02