Besut Darul Iman
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The Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman (; Jawi:كراجأن بسوت دارالايمان) was a historical Malay Kingdom located in the northeastern coast of the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...
, precursor of the present-day
Besut District Besut ( Terengganuan and Kelantanese: ''Besuk'') is a Terengganu Malay and Kelantan Malay district in the Terengganu federal state of Malaysia. It is bordered by the state of Kelantan to the north and west and the South China Sea to the east. It ...
and most of Setiu,
Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...
. A principality of Terengganu, the state was established in 1780 following the crowning of a Terengganuan prince, Tengku Kadir as the Raja (King of) Palembang Besut. The House of Palembang, a
cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...
of Terengganu nobility continued to rule the territory before it was unified with Terengganu in 1899.


History


Origin

Based on the narration by
Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan ( Jawi: ; English: ''The story of Abdullah’s voyage to Kelantan'') is a Malay literary work of Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir. It was first published in 1838 in Singapore, and considered as the first Malay litera ...
and
Tuhfat al-Nafis ''Tuhfat al-Nafis'' (; English language, English: The Precious Gift) is a work of Malay language, Malay literature written by the Bugis Raja Ali Haji in Jawi script, Jawi in around 1866–1870. who is of Ethnic Malay, Malay-Bugis descent. It re ...
, Besut was founded by a group of
Pattani Pattani (or Patani in Malay spelling) may refer to: Places Continental Asia * Patani (historical region), a historical region in the Malay peninsula, in Thailand and Malaysia. * Pattani Province, modern province in southern Thailand ** Pattani, ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
n pilgrims led by Che Latif, a
Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...
ese chief. Upon their arrival, they were met by a group of indigenous
Orang Asli The Orang Asli are a Homogeneity and heterogeneity, heterogeneous Indigenous peoples, indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. As of 2017, the Orang Asli accounted f ...
community who had already settled in the area. To resolve this issue, Che Latif negotiated for a relocation program for the natives, he offered fishing equipments to the community as compensation for their transfer. The Orang Asli agreed to relinquish their rights on the territory and departed for Hulu Besut where they established new settlement in the hinterland. Following the departure of the Orang Asli, Che Latiff and the pilgrims then constructed a settlement around the Besut riverbanks. The soil is suitable for rice-cultivation which the settler used for agriculture. The pilgrims also built a
wharf A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...
to engage with regional trade network. The settlement was named Palembang, derived from their place of origin. Upon the death of Che Latif, the local administration was then succeeded by his son, Che Kamat. It was during his time that Besut was severely plagued by the piratical activities originating from nearby islands. It was believed that the raiders were led by Panglima Ebeh and Panglima Garang. The local chief then decided to request aid from the
Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...
Sultanate to combat the sea bandits. The request was granted by Mansur I of Terengganu, with the army being mobilised into the territory led by Tengku Kadir, a Terengganese prince. The campaign was proven to be successful with the piratical activities being near fully eradicated. The bandits were forced to retreat to Pulau Perhentian following their defeat. As a reward for incapacitating the piratical traffic, Tengku Kadir was then granted the
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
of Besut, with the style of Raja Palembang (Besut), while Che Kamat was then elected as an Orang Besar, a local lord with administrative powers in Pulau Rhu. In the wake of the establishment of the kingdom, the Raja then ordered the construction of forts along the Besut River, close to Kota Palembang. He then relocated the capital to Kampong Raja. His rule witnessed a period of relative calm and stability in the territory.


The Besut revolt

Tengku Ali ascended the throne as the second Raja Palembang following the death of Tengku Kadir in 1835. The reign of Tengku Ali witnessed the growing intervention pertaining to the domestic Besut administration from the Terengganuan central government. On 22 November 1876, the second Raja Palembang staged a revolt for independence against Terengganu rule. The armed conflict known as ''Perang Besut'' (The Besut War). The revolt commenced during the absence of Tengku Ali at the time of the installation of Tengku Ahmad as the Yang Dipertuan Muda of Terengganu. In wake of the peculiar absence, the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Omar then mobilised his armed forces to Besut. On arrival, they were met by a Besut resistance movement led by Tengku Ali, who was supported by an assembly of
Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...
ese militia ready to launch an attack. Sultan Omar then petitioned his objection letter to the
King of Siam The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty. ...
and the Governor of Singgora, he also warned the Kelantanese government not to interfere with his dependencies. He then launched an 8,000-man army commanded by General Panglima Besar Orang Kaya Megat Seri Mahkota Raja (Wan Ab. Rahman bin Ali) to Besut. The General was assisted by Tengku Yusof Panglima Kedai Payang, Tengku Long bin Mustaffa (Tengku Long Pendekar) and Tengku Nik, while the commanders consist of Encik Musa, Datuk Bandar Jaafar, Tok Kaya Mahkota Haji Abdul Rahman and Tun Setia Wan Ismail Kampung Gedung. The tactical control was planned by Engku Saiyed Seri Perdana (Engku Saiyed Zain bin Muhammad), who held the position equal as the
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
of Terengganu. He drafted a plan for a severe
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
bombardment launched into the coast. The battle was successful which led to the retreat of Tengku Ali north to Kelantan where he lived in exile in the state until his death. Following the revolt, Besut was then governed by Tengku Ngah, appointed by the Sultan of Terengganu.


Besut succession crisis

The appointment of Tengku Ngah as the Raja of Besut was objected by Tengku Muda. Amidst the chaos ensured, Tengku Ngah abdicated from his position and elected his brother, Tengku Chik Haji as a successor. The crisis escalated into the division of Besut, with Tengku Muda ruled over Kampung Lampu, while Tengku Chik Haji has his jurisdiction in Kampong Raja. The severity of the crisis led the Sultan of Terengganu to arrive in Besut in order to reconcile the matter. To resolve the conflict, the sultan took into consideration the geographical locations of the respective rulers. His verdict was in favour of Tengku Chik Haji as the King of Besut, due to his advantageous geographical location in Kampung Raja, compared to the western Kampung Lampu.


Post-war recovery and growth

The ratification of Tengku Chik Haji as the ruler of Besut ushered in a period of peace and stability in the area. He was awarded autonomous power equal to a local sovereign to preside over criminal trials. He also received
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
ation rights over the land. It was also during his rule that Besut witnessed the role of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
continuing to flourish in the area with the establishment of religious institutions, various
waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...
s, police stations, among other. The palatial residence, built during his reign in 1878 still stands today. The last king in the Royal House of Palembang was Tengku Ngah. He was known to be a reserved, but a caring leader towards his subjects in Palembang and Kampung Raja. He managed to continue the development projects in Besut parallel to the reign of presiding Tengku Chik Haji. It was recorded that the Royal Commissioner from Terengganu often visited the town to obtain materials for the
Bunga Mas The bunga emas dan perak ( "golden and silver flowers", ), often abbreviated to bunga mas ( Jawi: "golden flowers"), was a form of tribute sent every three years to the king of Ayutthaya ( Siam) from its vassal states in the Malay Peninsula, ...
tribute procession to Bangkok. He ruled Besut for 19 years until his death in 1899.


Reunification

The death of Tengku Ngah marks the end of the royal institution in Besut. Since Tengku Ngah died without appointing an heir, the local administration was then inherited to Tengku Long (Tengku Seri Indera Segera) in 1899, a member of the Palembang-Besut Dynasty. He acquired the position as a Royal Commissioner of Terengganu, instead of the earlier Kingship title as his predecessors. Following the demise of Tengku Long, Besut was directly ruled from Terengganu with the subsequent Royal Commissioners were not of the Palembangese lineage.


Rulers of Palembang–Besut, 1780–1899

Throughout its history, Besut was ruled by the descendants of Tengku Abdul Kadir, the progenitor of the House of Palembang (Besut).


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Div col end Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of Besut Darul Iman, Kingdom of