Ontoros Antanom, also known as Antanum or Antanom (1885–1915) was a Murut warrior from

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...

who led a rebellion against the

North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC), was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia) ...

(NBCC). Claiming to have

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

Rundum Rebellion

Under the administration of

(NBCC), municipal administration was governed by the Village Ordinance of 1891. This ordinance fundamentally changed the status of the chiefs, the traditional indigenous tribal leaders in the region. Following its implementation, the NBCC only accepted those chiefs whom it had appointed as community leaders. Other chieftains, who had played an important role for generations, were either shut down or branded as criminals or troublemakers. Exclusion of these traditional leaders contributed to the decision of Antanum to rebel against the company. Claiming to have

powers, he united several Murut chiefs from Keningau, Tenom, Pensiangan and Rundum in opposing the policies of the NBCC in North Borneo and launched the Rundum Rebellion in 1915. Hundreds of Murut rebels successfully attacked the company administration building, and Antanum ordered the construction of underground tunnels to aid his fellow rebels during the rebellion. In response, the company sent 400 soldiers equipped with

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s to counterattack in April 1915. Though the Muruts were only using primitive weapons such as

blowgun A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple ranged weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles such as darts. It operates by having the projectile placed inside the pipe and using the force created by ...

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

s and

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

s, the company's soldiers failed to defeat them. Subsequently, they decided to lay a trap for Antanum; inviting him to a peace conference at Rundum. When he and his followers were on their way to the conference, they were surrounded by hundreds of company soldiers and arrested. Antanum was eventually executed, bringing an end to his resistance.

References

Murut people People from Sabah North Borneo 1885 births 1915 deaths Malaysian rebels Malaysian warriors Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu {{Sabah-stub