Kuala Lumpur Siapa Punya? Sejarah Mendailing di Malaya Bahagian 2

Sebelum saya boleh menjejak cerita semula ke Perak, seterusnya menyingkap peranan Si Puntung dan peranannya membunuh Residen Pertama British di Perak dan Malaya ketika itu JWW Birch, saya harus memberi pendedahan kepada pembaca mengenai Kuala Lumpur dan asal pembukaannya.

Walaupon sejarah mencatat bahawa Kuala Lumpur dibuka oleh Yap Ah Loy, tetapi sejarah bertapaknya Mendailing di Kuala Lumpur bermula lebih awal. Malah beberapa nama di Kuala Lumpur seperti Seputeh berasal dari nama isteri seorang warlord Mendailing yang merantau dari istana Pahang ke Kuala Lumpur dan akhirnya menetap di Perak. Lebih menarik bila hamba kepada warlord Mendailing ini yang bernama Si Puntung pula terkait dengan pembunuhan JWW Birch di Perak.!.

Jangan terkejut juga jika mengetahui bahawa beberapa nama jalan di Kuala Lumpur terkait dengan warlord Mendailing yang lain seperti Jalan Raja Laut dan Jalan Raja Bot! Juga selain Seputeh (nama isteri warlord Mendailing yang bernama Si Puteh) yang dah jadi tempat elit Cina dan diwakili MP DAP Theresa Kok, nama Kampung Kerinci dan Rawa juga terkait dengan Mendailing!

Artikel ini saya petik dari Lembaga Adat Mendailing (LAMA)

ALA LUMPUR SIAPA PUNYA ....??

EPISOD 1

PEMBUKAAN KUALA LUMPUR

Namora Pande Bosi

Kuala Lumpur ataupun ‘Muara Bustak’ di dalam bahasa Mandailing adalah ibunegara Malaysia. Ramai yang ingin tahu tentang bagaimana Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur dibuka dan sejarah awal mengenainya. Pelbagai versi tentang sejarah awal Kuala Lumpur telah dikemukakan dan pelbagai pendapat telah menjadi topik perbincangan, namun belum ada sesiapapun yang dapat membuktikan siapa sebenarnya yang membuka Kuala Lumpur.

Ada sesetengah pendapat yang menonjolkan Yap Ah Loy @ Yap Tet Loy sebagai pembuka Kuala Lumpur tanpa mengambilkira bahawa Yap Ah Loy sebenarnya merupakan Kapitan Cina yang ketiga di Kuala Lumpur dan bukannya Kapitan Cina yang pertama. Kapitan Cina yang pertama di Kuala Lumpur adalah Hiew Siew yang datang ke Kuala Lumpur pada tahun 1861 dan Kapitan Cina yang kedua adalah Liew Ngim Kong yang dilantik pada tahun 1862.

Jelas sekali jika Yap Ah Loy yang datang pada 1862 dan hanya menjadi Kapitan Cina yang ketiga di Kuala Lumpur pada 1868, maka dia bukanlah orang pertama yang memimpin masyarakat Cina di Kuala Lumpur. Justeru itu adalah tidak logik sama sekali jika Yap Ah Loy dianggap sebagai pembuka Kuala Lumpur sedangkan pada masa itu sudah ada masyarakat tempatan yang telah lama bermastautin di tempat pertemuan dua sungai tersebut.

Jika Yap Ah Loy bukan merupakan orang yang membuka Kuala Lumpur, apakah Hiew Siew sebagai Kapitan Cina yang pertama di Kuala Lumpur pada tahun 1861 boleh dianggap sebagai pembuka Kuala Lumpur? Sedangkan Hiew Siew datang ke Kuala Lumpur pada tahun tersebut atas undangan dari seorang ketua masyarakat Mandailing bernama Sutan Naposo @ Sutan Puasa yang juga merupakan seorang penguasa tempatan dan Waris Negeri di situ. Oleh yang demikian dia bukanlah orang pertama yang tiba dan memulakan penempatan di Kuala Lumpur. Seperti orang-orang Cina lain yang datang ke Kuala Lumpur kemudiannya, dia juga menyewa tanah perlombongan dari Sutan Naposo.

Ada pula pendapat yang mengatakan bahawa Kuala Lumpur itu dibuka oleh Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar yang membeli tanah perlombongan Ampang dan memulakan aktiviti perlombongan di Ampang pada 1857. Sebenarnya itu juga tidak tepat kerana dia juga bukan orang pertama yang tiba dan memulakan penempatan di Kuala Lumpur. Raja Abdullah datang ke Kuala Lumpur bagi memulakan aktiviti perlombongan bijih timah setelah dia mendapat tahu terdapat usaha melombong dan mendulang bijih timah yang sangat menguntungkan di sana. Dengan ertikata lain, sudah ada satu masyarakat tempatan dan penduduk setempat di Kuala Lumpur yang bergiat di dalam perusahaan melombong bijih timah sebelum kedatangan beliau.

Raja Abdullah datang ke Ampang pada 1857 untuk membeli tanah perlombongan di kawasan tersebut lalu memulakan aktiviti perlombongan bijih timah tersebut dengan usahasama dan bantuan kewangan dari 2 orang jutawan Cina yang bernama Chee Yam Chuan dan Lim Say Hoe dari Melaka yang pada masa itu merupakan sebahagian daripada Negeri-negeri Selat Inggeris. Kedua-dua taukeh Cina ini mempergunakan Raja Abdullah untuk membeli kawasan perlombongan itu bagi menembusi pasaran perlombongan bijih timah yang sedia ada di kawasan tersebut. Lantaran itu atas usahasama berbentuk Ali-Baba ini, Raja Abdullah telah meminjam wang sebanyak $30,000.00 bagi membeli dan memulakan aktiviti perlombongan di Ampang pada masa itu.

Jumlah tersebut pada masa itu adalah sangat banyak jika dibandingkan dengan perbelanjaan membuka sebuah kawasan perlombongan. Perbandingan ini dapat dilihat apabila pada masa yang lebih kurang sama Chin Ah Chan telah menjual sebuah kawasan perlombongan di Kanching dengan harga $3000.00. Ini bererti Raja Abdullah telah membelanjakan wang sebanyak 10 kali ganda daripada Chin Ah Chan yang mengusahakan lombong di Kanching. Apakah penjelasan yang munasabah bagi Raja Abdullah membelanjakan wang sejumlah $30,000.00 untuk membuka sebuah lombong di Ampang pada masa itu? Sesiapa juga dapat meneka bahawa Raja Abdullah tidaklah sekadar membuka kawasan melombong yang baru, tetapi sebaliknya telah membeli sebuah lombong yang telah lama diusahakan oleh pihak tertentu. Persoalannya, daripada siapakah kawasan melombong tersebut dibeli oleh Raja Abdullah?

Jelas bahawa Raja Abdullah bukanlah orang pertama yang datang membuka penempatan baru di Kuala Lumpur. Jauh sebelum kedatangan Raja Abdullah ke Ampang, telah wujud kegiatan perlombongan bijih timah di Kuala Lumpur. Kegiatan melombong bijih timah di muara Sungai Gombak dan Sungai Kelang inilah yang menyebabkan muara tersebut dipenuhi dengan lumpur lalu kawasan perlombongan dan penempatan tersebut dinamakan Kuala Lumpur atau Muara Bustak di dalam bahasa Mandailing yang membawa maksud kuala sungai yang airnya dipenuhi dengan lumpur. Siapakah sebenar yang merupakan tokoh yang membuka Kuala Lumpur?

KEDATANGAN SUTAN NAPOSO @ SUTAN PUASA

‘The economic disruption caused by the war no doubt stimulated movements of people within and out of Mandailing and Mandailing migration to Malaya may have started in this period.’ (4) – Tugby.

Pada tahun 1816, seluruh Tanah Mandailing diserang dan ditakluki oleh angkatan Padri dari Tanah Minangkabau. Apabila disebut Padri, ada yang mendakwa kononnya mereka ini pejuang-pejuang Kristian disebabkan mereka memakai serban dan jubah berwarna putih. Lantaran itu kumpulan Padri ini disamakan dengan pendeta-pendeta Kristian. Namun sebenarnya mereka ini adalah pejuang-pejuang Islam di bawah pimpinan Tuanku Imam Bonjol @ Peto Sharif @ Malim Besar @ Muhammad Shahab bin Rajanudin.

Pada masa itu perkataan Padri tidak wujud dan tidak membawa sebarang maksud di dalam bahasa Melayu, Minangkabau, Siak, Riau, Rawa ataupun Mandailing. Perkataan Padri pada masa itu tidak membawa sebarang pengertian yang berkaitan dengan pendeta-pendeta Kristian.

Padri yang dimaksudkan di sini adalah sekumpulan pejuang-pejuang Islam dari satu kawasan yang dinamakan Piduri di Tanah Minangkabau yang mahu melakukan reformasi radikal ke atas semua orang Islam yang semakin longgar pegangan agamanya pada masa itu serta mengislamkan secara paksa orang-orang yang bukan Islam di Tanah Besar Sumatera. Angkatan perang ini ditubuhkan dan dipimpin oleh Tuanku Imam Bonjol yang dibantu oleh 8 orang panglima perang asas yang digelar sebagai Harimau Nan Salapan. Lain-lain ketua pasukan Padri ini diberikan gelaran Tuanku yang bermaksud Tuan Guru dan Panglima Perang.

‘The Padris were members of an Islamic revivalist movement initiated in Menangkabau just south of Mandailing in Sumatra by religious teachers who had visited Mecca. The Padri armies went northwest into Mandailing with the object of converting the population to Islam.’ (146) - Tugby.

Pada sekitar tahun 1816, satu pasukan perang Padri di bawah pimpinan Tuanku Rao @ Fakeh Muhammad telah menyerang Tanah Mandailing melalui Muara Sipongi untuk mengislamkan seluruh penduduk Tanah Mandailing yang pada masa itu masih menganut agama campuran Parbegu dan Buddha Tua. Namun serangan pertama itu tidak mendapat kejayaan yang besar. Setelah datangnya bantuan pasukan perang pimpinan Tuanku Tambusai @ Fakeh Salleh @ Haji Muhammad Salleh, barulah seluruh Tanah Mandailing ditumpaskan dan ditakluki dengan mudah.

‘During the Padri wars and the following period of Islamic proselytization, the Mandailings were provided with new motives for trade and travel.’ (17) – Tugby.

Kedatangan angkatan perang Padri ini telah membawa 3 faktor penting perubahan di dalam kehidupan masyarakat orang-orang Mandailing;

a. peperangan, kemusnahan dan huru-hara di dalam kehidupan masyarakat petani Mandailing yang selama ini hidup aman damai di Tanah Mandailing. Keadaan ini kemudiannya mendesak orang-orang Mandailing meninggalkan kampung halaman masing-masing dan berhijrah ke tempat-tempat lain.

b. di samping keadaan yang tidak menentu itu, satu perkara yang perlu diterima dengan penuh kesyukuran adalah orang-orang Mandailing telah berjaya diislamkan walaupun di hujung pedang. Dengan pengislaman orang-orang Mandailing, maka terbitlah sinar kebenaran Islam yang menyerlah di Tanah Mandailing. Justeru itu serangan Padri itu merupakan satu hikmah dan rahmat kepada seluruh masyarakat Mandailing.

c. serangan angkatan Padri telah memaksa raja-raja adat dan golongan masyarakat adat yang tidak tahan melihat keganasan dan kekejaman pasukan Padri pimpinan Tuanku Rao dan Tuanku Tambusai lalu

d. mengundang campurtangan Belanda. Belanda yang pada mulanya datang sebagai penyelamat kepada orang-orang Mandailing pada masa itu bertukar menjadi sebuah kuasa penakluk dan penindas kepada masyarakat tani di Tanah Mandailing pada akhirnya. Sistem rodi atau buruh paksaan, sistem pungutan tol di jalanraya dan cukai kepala yang digunakan oleh Belanda merupakan satu penindasan yang berlarutan yang memaksa orang-orang Mandailing untuk berhijrah ke tempat lain termasuklah ke Tanah Melayu.

‘The Mandailing area was economically upset by the war and some parts of it had already reached their human carrying capacity.’ (18) – Tugby.

Sutan Naposo atau lebih dikenali sebagai Sutan Puasa merupakan seorang anak Mandailing bermarga Lubis yang berasal dari Huta Tobang yang merupakan sebuah kampung kecil di Mandailing Julu. Semasa kedatangan angkatan perang Padri, keluarga Sutan Naposo yang tidak tahan melihat keganasan dan kekejaman yang berlaku ke atas kaum keluarga mereka telah membawa Sutan Naposo berhijrah ke Kelang di Tanah Melayu.

Setibanya di Kelang, kaum keluarga beliau cuba menyesuaikan diri dengan masyarakat tempatan. Lantaran itu mereka telah memeluk agama Islam.

Kelang pada masa itu telahpun terkenal di seluruh Nusantara. Nama Kelang itu sendiri berasal dari bahasa Minang iaitu ‘Kolang’ yang bermaksud tarikan perantau. Sememangnya sejak kurun ke 18, Kelang telah menjadi tempat persinggahan orang-orang dari Sumatera sebelum berhijrah ke tempat-tempat lain.

Setelah tinggal beberapa lama di Kelang, keluarga Sutan Naposo mendapati walaupun tidak berlaku peperangan di Kelang, namun nasib kehidupan mereka masih terumbang-ambing kerana sistem feudal pada masa itu lebih memihak kepada pihak bangsawan yang boleh melakukan apa sahaja terhadap hamba rakyat di bawahnya.

‘In Salangor I have seen people’s children taken from them for the loss of one leaf of Sirih.’ (284) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

‘If a man’s goat broke one stake of a raja’s fence he could be fined so that he could not pay, and would then with all his family be taken into the Raja’s house.’ (284) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

Pada masa itu kerap berlaku kezaliman dan kekejaman yang dilakukan sesuka hati oleh anak-anak raja dan orang-orang besar yang sering memeras cukai di daerah mereka.

‘Raja Kahar took away a girl and a boy from their homes, saying their grandparents had owed money to someone who handed the debt over to him. T. Sulong says the father of the children came to him saying ‘R.Kahar says I owe money to someone, but from my childhood I never knew of it.’ (273) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

‘R.Yacoob took away against her mother’s will a girl for the debt of her parents.’ (273) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

Raja Kahar took some tin (since I believe returned) from a man for no reason whatever. (275) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

Ini diburukkan lagi dengan bertambah banyaknya kejadian rompak, bunuh dan samun di merata-rata tempat. Kelang yang dikuasai oleh orang-orang Bugis bukanlah satu tempat yang selamat pada masa itu. (42) – Buyong Adil 1971.

‘Mereka dikatakan suka mengamuk, membunuh orang, bersikap kejam dan tidak berperikemanusiaan.’ (23) – Mastika, Jan 2001.

‘A Selangor man here means one of Bugis descent.’ (155) – Gullick 1993.

Suasana di Kelang pada masa itu adalah tidak tenteram kerana kurangnya penguatkuasaan undang-undang yang melindungi orang awam. Pembesar-pembesar Bugis menjalankan pemerintahan mengikut perasaan dan peraturan mereka sendiri.

‘The normal state of Selangor was robbery, battle and murder, and the sultan had cause to fear ... it was even at one time proposed to murder the sultan.’ (3) – Gullick 1955.

Sultan Selangor iaitu Sultan Abdul Samad sendiri sentiasa hidup dalam keadaan cemas dan ketakutan seperti yang dinyatakan oleh J.M. Gullick 1955 di bawah ini;

‘He always expecting that one or other of them would seize the opportunity of stabbing him.’ (3)

Bandar Termasa sebagai ibu negeri Selangor sendiri digambarkan oleh J.M. Gullick 1955 sebagai;

‘City of Festivals – a sinister place where the stroller by night ... always carried a naked weapon, and, if he met another man, was apt to strike first, and then seek for explanations.’ (8)

Suasana di bandar Termasa tidak seperti yang digambarkan oleh nama bandar tersebut yang bermaksud bandar temasya atau bandar pesta.

Sebaliknya jika seseorang berjalan pada waktu malam, dia pastinya membawa senjata. Jika dia bertembung dengan seorang yang lain, pastinya dia akan menikam dahulu sebelum bertanyakan siapakah orang itu dan mengapa orang itu berada di situ.

Seorang konsol Residen Melaka yang bernama Captain Macpherson datang melawat negeri Selangor pernah menyatakan keadaan di negeri tersebut sebagai;

‘Selangor itu jauh lebih buruk dari Lukut. Rajanya yang baru itu suka berpoya-poya dengan perempuan. Putera baginda yang bernama Raja Musa adalah seorang pemuda yang garang dan keras rupanya, usianya baharu lima belas tahun. Raja Muda Mahmud yang tidak dipilih untuk menggantikan ayahnya itu, merupakan seorang budak yang cerdik dan gemar orang melihatnya, usianya lebih kurang dua belas tahun. Pada masa itu di Selangor penyakit hawar kerbau sedang merebak dan banyak kerbau yang mati. Oleh sebab sawah-sawah padi tiada diusahakan, akibatnya rakyat dalam negeri akan kebuluran, kerana itu mereka menjadi perampas, perompak dan penyamun.’ (52) – Buyong Adil 1971.

Suasana pada masa itu juga dapat digambarkan kemudiannya melalui pengalaman seorang konstabel Frank A. Swettenham sendiri di mana pada suatu hari semasa Raja Mahmud @ Tok Kapak Cina bin Raja Mat Saman @ Raja Berkat, beliau sendiri dan seorang polis sedang minum di sebuah kedai kopi di mana terdapat seorang lelaki yang duduk dekat mereka dan bersembang dengan suara yang agak kuat. Lalu disuruh oleh Raja Mahmud agar menghentikan serta-merta perbualan itu. Beberapa ketika selepas itu lelaki itu pun bercakap perlahan-lahan. Dengan tidak semena-mena, Raja Mahmud bangkit dan menikam lelaki itu sampai mati dengan Keris Kapak Cina kepunyaannya. Lalu ditanya oleh polis itu kenapa lelaki itu perlu dibunuh. Maka dijawab oleh Raja Mahmud, ‘Dia buat bising .. patut kena tikamlah ..’ (169) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham) (41) – Gullick 1993.

Kebengisan Raja Mahmud ini tidaklah menghairankan di kalangan orang-orang Bugis. Sikap semulajadi mereka telah digambarkan seperti di bawah;

‘Lelaki Bugis diajar bersikap kasar, keras, bengis dan kurang ajar.’ (23) – Mastika, Jan 2001.

Malahan satu lagi gambaran telah dinyatakan oleh William Bloomfield Douglas yang merupakan seorang peguam bahawa, ‘Raja Kahar putera kepada Sultan Abdul Samad telah ditangkap di Langat kerana menculik dan merogol anak dara orang dan hanya dijatuhkan denda $100.00.’ Ini tidak berlaku kepada orang lain yang pastinya menerima hukuman bunuh. Akibat dari peristiwa itu, sekumpulan orang-orang Melayu dekat Langat yang ketakutan terpaksa berpindah ke Tanjung Karang kerana mereka mendakwa pasti sultan akan membunuh mereka kerana disyaki bersubahat dengan polis.

‘In Selangor...the raja had rights over unused land and could exact forced labour or drive men and their families into debt bondage. The well-being, even the life, of the commoner was in the hands of the raja.’ (7) – Tugby.

‘As a matter of statistics the Sultan I’m told, indeed he speaks of it himself, has killed 99 men with his own hand, the T.Panglima Rajah some 40 odd, Raja Mahmood 20 odd, and so on...R.Yacoob distinguished himself by killing a medicine woman who he said had bewitched his mother. His mother died a raving maniac.’ (145) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

‘The last time but one that Raja Dolah came here, she concluded, ‘...he wanted to take a girl to whom had no claim whatever from Teluk Batu, just below Langat. The girl with all her family ran into the jungle and stayed there as long as Ungku Dolah was in Langat, 3 days. 3 days and 3 nights in the jungle, fasting and eaten by mosquitoes.’ (284) – Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

‘This is merely one specimen of the ordinary habits of this interesting creature, the Salangor Raja. They are all much the same.’ (169) - Burns (The Journals of F.A. Swettenham)

Begitulah sedikit sebanyak gambaran terhadap suasana dan keadaan Selangor pada masa itu. Lantas itu masyarakat dahulu lebih senang hidup berpuak-puak agar dapat menjaga keselamatan di antara satu sama lain. Sudah menjadi sikap semulajadi orang-orang Mandailing yang merantau tidak mahu membina atau membuka kampung mereka di tempat-tempat yang telah diduduki oleh suku kaum lain. Mereka lebih suka hidup di dalam kumpulan mereka sendiri dengan mengamalkan adat budaya mereka yang berasaskan prinsip Dalihan Na Tolu.

Tambahan pula pada masa itu orang-orang Sumatera dikatakan tidak begitu rapat dengan orang-orang Bugis. ‘... the Sumatran community who were traditionally rather hostile to the Bugis ruling dynasty.’ (15) – Gullick 1955.

Lantaran itu keluarga Sutan Naposo memilih untuk meninggalkan Kelang dan berhijrah ke sebuah tempat baru yang jauh daripada kawalan pembesar-pembesar Bugis pada masa itu dan yang masih tidak berpenghuni.

Mendailings in Perak

Mendailings in Perak.

Many a Mendailings aristocrats converted to Islam upon arrival in Malaya. Even though they easily mixed with the local Malay population, the Mendailings , are known as "foreign Malay" and entrusted important task like tax collector of tin ore. Inborn instinct as entrepreneur help the Mendailing community thrives and become affluent in the then Malaya. Viewed as the foreign Malay helped the Mendailing to enjoy trust of the British. The Mendailing were then absorbed as Malay by the British Malayan population consensus for administrative reason.

The followings are excerpt from Sembangkuala blog/ NST on one of the Mendailings warlords and local chieftains in Papan Perak; Raja Bilah.

The stately, high-ceiling rooms of Istana Raja Bilah.Rumah Raja Bilah is a 'standout' mansion by the Sungai Perak where the rich and famous of old Perak built their palatial homes. JASPAL SINGH, HALIMATUL HAMID and ILI LIYANA MOKHTAR report.

BY any measure or design, the Bagas Godang (literally large house) of Papan is awe-inspiring.


Situated atop a hillock, the stately, palatial mansion certainly befitted the dignified persona of its first owner -- Raja Bilah, a Mandailing aristocrat of Sumatran descent, who made Perak his home and final resting place.


Completed in 1896, the two-storey villa has always been the largest building in Papan.


Situated next to his 128-year-old timber house (now known as Rumah Asal), overlooking the Papan mosque, the mansion, which is now referred to as the Rumah Besar, was built by Raja Bilah when he was the penghulu of Papan.

Acccording to Abdur-Razzaq Lubis, a local expert on Mandailing history, once Raja Bilah and his followers had attained some measure of prosperity, his concern was to ensure the long-term future of the Mandailings in Perak.


"Although most of the Mandailings left Papan by the late 1890s, Raja Bilah maintained his vision that it would be the community hub in Kinta.


"The Rumah Besar was the local equivalent of Bagas Godang, the residence of the Mandailing Raja (in the Mandailing heartland of Sumatra)," said Abdur-Razzaq in an interview with the New Straits Times recently.


Abdur-Razzaq, who with his wife, Khoo Salmah Nasution, co-authored a comprehensive book on the early history of the Mandailing in Malaysia titled Raja Bilah and the Mandailings in Perak: 1875-1911, said the Rumah Besar Raja Bilah looked similar to the mansions of Malay aristocracy and the Chinese miners of Kinta. But the interior was different.


On the ground floor was a large hall with octagonal columns and a raised platform (pangkin). In Mandailing architecture, the eight-sided columns symbolised that the building was erected with the support of people from the eight directions of the compass.

Upstairs, there were a few guest rooms and another large hall.

The Rumah Besar, functionally, was more like a Sapo Godang (a hall for the conference of Mandailing nobles and elders) than a Bagas Godang (a Raja's residence), said Abdur-Razzaq, adding that neither Raja Bilah nor any other family member ever moved into the Rumah Besar.


Historically, it was used for weddings, feasts and other receptions.

"But, most of all, it was a gathering place for the Mandailings and other Muslims of western Kinta, many of whom would come to Raja Bilah with their problems and proposals, especially after Friday prayers at the Papan mosque."


Going by Raja Bilah's will, the Rumah Besar and its "contents" were a family endowment or private waqf.

"It was a tradition among the Mandailing chiefs, and men and women of standing, to leave an ancestral home for the clan. It would serve to bring the children and descendants together during ceremonial occasions, such as marriages and Muslim feasts."


Abdur-Razzaq said that before work commenced, supplications (doa) were made and an auspicious day chosen to start building the house, adding that a fistful of soil from the Mandailing homeland would be scattered on the foundation of the mansion.

"Although constructed mainly by Chinese craftsmen, the Mandailings chipped in, gotong-royong fashion, helping their chief put up the house. Elephants may have been used to raise the large timber beams."

A penghulu's office was built into the buttress wall along the side of the hillock, and this was thereafter called Balai Penghulu.


The descendants of Raja Bilah, Abdur-Razzaq said, had always called the council hall Rumah Besar, but in more recent times, it has come to be known as Istana Raja Bilah (Raja Bilah's Palace), in the mistaken notion that Raja Bilah was a Malay Raja and his house, an istana.

According to Saadiah Kamaruddin, the great-granddaughter of Raja Bilah, who now lives in Rumah Asal: "My mother told me that the large hall on the ground floor was used for feasts, meetings and other receptions. It was also my playground when I was a little girl. ."


Saadiah, 69, said the men would dine on the pangkin at the end of the hall after Friday prayers at the Papan mosque. It is the only mosque in town and still stands tall, although it is no longer used as most Mandailing families moved out after 1910.


A postal bedframe occupies the space in the hall, while a desk and a steel single bed frame are in one of the rooms.


Saadiah said the Rumah Besar was always locked and would only be opened when it was in need of cleaning or at the request of family members and visitors.


"We don't hold ceremonies or feasts in the mansion anymore; not even when the whole family returns for Hari Raya. Everyone would gather at the Rumah Asal."


Saadiah said the Heritage Department had visited Rumah Besar on several occasions and promised to restore and preserve her great grandfather's mansion.


"They replaced a few broken wooden planks in the staircase and under the door of the main entrance, but it was attacked by termites. Now, we can't open the door because the rotten wood makes it hard to push it open."

Saadiah said the green walls in the Rumah Besar were scraped, but not repainted, and looked more like a "ghost house" now.

Saadiah's grandmother was the daughter of Raja Bilah. She was born in 1941 and grew up during the Japanese occupation when most Mandailing families had left Papan for greener pastures.


"I don't have children. My sister takes care of the mansion and our house when I am not here."


The Architecture Department of University Technology Malaysia (UTM) made a measured drawing of the Rumah Besar in 1993. It was used as a location set for local and international movies, the most famous being Anna And The King in 1999.


Community taking stock of identity and legacy


REMEMBER Aminuddin Baki (1926-1965)?


He was the "Father of Education" and a Mandailing.


The Mandailings are members of an ethnic group who first arrived on our shores between the 1840s and 1870s from north-western Sumatra. Many ended up in Perak and Selangor, where they worked as miners, traders and factory hands.


They subsequently established themselves in more respectable positions, like Aminuddin, who rose to become the chief adviser on education to the government (the equivalent of director-general of education today).


Aminuddin, who hailed from Chemor, near Ipoh, was responsible for getting Bahasa Melayu recognised as the national language and as the medium of instruction in schools in post-Merdeka Malaya.


"Many of the Mandailings in Malaysia today -- including myself -- are descended from these immigrants," said local Mandailing expert Abdur-Razzaq Lubis.


The Mandailings gradually involved themselves in local events, such as the Pahang War (1857-63), Selangor War (1867-73) and Perak War (1875-1876).


Abdur-Razzaq said the Mandailings were first labelled "foreign Malays" and later, "Malays" for "administrative convenience".

"By 1931, 'Mendeling' was altogether removed from the British Malaya census."


In the peninsula, he said, the Mandailings not only identified with Malayan (and subsequently Malaysian) nationalism, but were also compelled to identify with the Malays to the extent of compromising and suppressing their own identity and culture.

The process of acculturation and assimilation was assisted by a measure of colonial social-engineering, followed by post-Merdeka state conditioning, he added.


"Once the Mandailing in Malaya were redefined as Malays, it was only a matter of time before their political-economic functions were prescribed accordingly."


But, said Abdur-Razzaq, there was now an awareness among educated Mandailing who realise how important it was for the community to take stock of its cultural, social and political identity in a globalising world.


"We believe that the past is for our ancestors, the present is ours, the future is for our children. As the Mandailing elders always tell their children, every generation has a legacy to protect," said Abdur-Razzaq, who has a website, www.mandailing.org, detailing various aspects of the Mandailing community here and abroad.


Papan's penghulu and rich history


FORMER headmaster Zainal Harun, 80, from Bota, cannot recall much about the house that sits majestically on the other side of the Perak river, except that it belonged to "someone important".

"All houses along the Perak river belonged to penghulus, powerful people who heard criminal and civil cases. In the past, the river was the main mode of transportation, so it was a strategic place for people of importance."

Zainal said the only thing he remembered about Papan was that it was a tin-mining area populated mainly by Chinese settlers.

"As time went by, the younger generation left for better prospects in the cities. That is why the town is deserted now."

Zainal said Papan was quite a distance from his kampung and it was too much of a hassle to travel there to perform prayers at the mosque there.

"But, usually, the penghulu would treat the kampung folk to a 'feast' after Friday prayers."

There were many old mansions and houses of historical value situated by the river, he said.

"Some of these houses have rich histories just waiting to be discovered. Research should be done into these houses and maybe they can be restored for the younger generation to appreciate.

"If I remember correctly, there were many communists in Papan and people used to say that it was a dangerous place."


No plans to restore glory of building

THE Rumah Besar Raja Bilah was not just recognised as the symbol of greatness of the Mandailing community leader in Papan.

It was remembered by many as a film set, most notably by Oscar-winning production designer Luciana Arrighi for the movie Anna and the King (1999).


Arrighi was fascinated with Papan. She described it as a ghost town on the edge of large mining lakes, set in a mysterious cul-de-sac, shrouded and surrounded by dark, forested hills.


However, the mansion will soon be but a distant memory as it slowly decays in the "ghost town".


Seven years have passed since it was last restored by the National Museum. The latest check by New Straits Times reporters revealed that signs of termite infestation could be seen on its wooden staircases and under the doors. Some sections of the roof were also dilapidated.


A source from the National Heritage Department said the department was involved in conservation efforts of historical buildings in the country. However, Rumah Besar Raja Bilah is not on the Perak list.


The source said the Rumah Besar was a family endowment or private waqf, hence its restoration and preservation should be shouldered by Raja Bilah's descendants.

Read more: MANDAILING MANSION: Stately grace of old 'istana' http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/12MAND/Article/#ixzz11pkDCYAL

The Origins of Mendailings-Part 1

There are many scepticism on Mendailings. Many confused the Mendailings with the Bataks. Yet their dominant role in Malaya, from Malay courts intrigue in Selangor, Perak and Pahang, seafarer and warring warlords, entrepreneur of tin mine, authorised tax collector of tin ore to their role in opening Kuala Lumpur is forever forgotten.

History is written by the winning parties. Unfortunately the Mendailings sided with the defeated side from the role in JWW Birch's assasination to the lost of Kuala Lumpur to Chinese Kapitan in the Chinese gang fights. This article is taken from Lembaga Adat Mendailings (LAMA)  and is  separated into 3 parts; the mystical origins of the Mendailings, Islamisation of The Mendailings and Their Flight To Malaya and The Mendailings role in the Malay courts and political alliances in Selangor, Perak and Pahang.

(Extracted from Lembaga Adat Mandailing Malaysia souvenir book).http://mudzaffar.blogspot.com/2008/01/history-of-mandailings.html

THE ORIGINS

The Mandailing was said to have originated from Munda a district in Middle India. From the 6th century they were wanderers as they were refugees from attacks by the Iraqi Aryan that were expanding their influence.

After crossing the Himalayan Range they settled for a while in Mandalay, the capital of ancient Burma. It is probable that the name Mandalay itself is a corruption of the word Mandailing according to the Burmese dialect.

However yet again they had to wander due to frequently warring Burmese clans. At the time they crossed the Malaccan Straits, that was said at the time was only a narrow strait unlike the present day straits that separated the Malay Peninsular and Sumatera.

The Munda successfully crossed the narrow straits and set up a kingdom in Batang Pane, Portibi, sometime around the end of the 6th century.

The Kingdom Munda Holing at Portibi became famous and expanded its territories to a vast expanse of the Sumatran coast and Malay Peninsular. This elicited the anger of Maharaja Rajenderacola who attacked Munda Holing and the other coastal states in the 9th century.

The Munda Holing armies commanded by Raja Odap-Odap was defeated by Rajenderacola who came to power in the whole of Batang Pane district. His fiancee Borudeakparujar crossed Dolok Maela (in commemoration of their ancestral crossing of the Himalayas ) holding a lump of soil at Portibi to proclaim a new kingdom (Menempah banua).

The second kingdom in Sumatera was set up in Pidoli Dolok known as the kingdom of Mandala Holing meaning the area of the Keling people. At the time they were still of the Hindu faith worshipping Dewa Siva (Lord Siva).

In the 13th century, The Majapahit kingdom attacked Lamuri, Padang Pariaman dan Mandailing. Again the Mandala Holing kingdom was devastated and destroyed.

The inhabitants that were not captured escaped to the jungles and mixed with the indigenous people. Thus it was the (clan) Marga Pulungan was formed that meant picked up from pieces. In the 14 and 15 century, Marga Pulungan set up three Bagas Godang on top of three hills, but this was no longer a big sovereign, only village governments.

In the middle of the 14th century, there is a legend that three children of Yang Dipertuan Pagar Ruyung named as Betara Sinomba, Putri Langgoni and the youngest Betara Gorga Pinanyungan had set up two new kingdoms.

Betara Sinomba was banished by the Yang Dipertuan of Pagar Ruyung for the crime that started from his younger sister adiknya Putri Langgoni. Both siblings and their followers then wandered and set up a kingdom in Kota Pinang. This Yang di Pertuan Kota Pinang that bestowed the raja-rajas to Kota Raja, Bilah, Kampung Raja and Jambi.

His younger brother Betara Gorga Pinanyungan was found guilty of extra-marital relationship with the cousin from his mother side Putri Rumandang Bulan. As they were no other heirs to the throne thus the putri was bethrothed to Raja Gayo.

When Putri Rumandang Bulan was taken to Gayo she brought along a bunch of ripe betel nuts that from which she proceeded to plant a seed each at the location the entourage stopped at until they reached a river bank.

At the river bank Her Highness delivered a son that was tough and powerful. As the entourage tried to continue their journey to Gayo colossal thunder and lightning struck them that they could not decamped. That was the situation they faced in seven tries. Finally a Datu advised that the child should be left on a large rock under an angsana tree where he was born as the prince will be a great raja there.

Putri Rumandang Bulan refused to leave his prince as she wanted to die with him when Raja Gayo in the future comes to know of that she is no longer a virgin.

In such a state a rainbow appeared upon which seven bunian (fairies) descended followed by Dewa Mangala Bulan dari Kayangan. The Puteri was bathed in the nearby river scattered with the flowering angsana petals. As she came out of the river, signs that she had previously delivered was no longer noticeable. Thus the river was soon to be known as "Aek Batang Gadis" meaning the river that restored a women's viriginity.

The child that was left under the angsana tree was found by the hunting party of Sultan Pulungan that gathered him.

The child that was raised in a barn under a house later managed to escape and established a kingdom that defeated Sultan Pulungan. The child that was knowned as Sibaroar or the barn under the house finally became a great king in Penyabungan.

As the king in Penyabungan that is known to the people as hidden by his mother thus his kingdom was known as the kingdom of "MANDE NAN HILANG", in short Mandailing or Mandehilang. He is also the founder of the clan Marga Nasution., meaning orang sakti or enchanted people.

As the proclamation of the royalness of Sibaroar given the title of Sutan Diaru spread far and wide even to Pagar Ruyung, thus the Yang Dipertuan Pagar Ruyung reminisce of the pregnant Putri Rumandang Bulan that was taken to Gayo. His Highness and entourage then embarked and followed the palm trees that were planted by his ex-lover until they reached the river named "Aek Batang Gadis" and brought to the court of Sutan Diaru at Penyabungan.

After a long council sitting a matron called Sisauwa showed a ripe betel nut yellow silk cloth that enclothed Sutan Diaru when he was found under the angsana tree at together with the necklace that was put on him by his mother Putri Rumandang Bulan. Thus it was made known to the Yang Di Pertuan Pagar Ruyung, that Raja Sutan Penyabungan is his son. Thus the citizens of the state was delighted and Sutan Diaru was offically enthroned as the Raja Penyabungan.

At the same time a messenger from Kota Pinang came to Penyabungan to Yang Dipertuan Pagar Ruyung who was there to invite His Highness to enjoin his elder brother that was for a long time separated. Thus the Yang Dipertuan exlaimed, "We will visit my brother at Kota Pinang." from that day onwards Kota Pinang was known as Tanah Abang or Land of The Elder Brother, and Penyabungan was known as Tanah Adik or Land of The Younger Brother, to commerate the event of Betara Sinomba inviting his younger brother Betara Gorga Pinanyungan at Penyabungan to come to Kota Pinang even though his younger brother had a larger kingdom in Pagar Ruyung.

Kingdom of Sibaroar @ Sutan Diaru at Penyabungan finally expanded to take control of the whole of Mandailing Godang that was had very fertile lands.

THE ISLAMISATION AND EXODUS

In the 19th century around 1816, Tentera Paderi or The Paderi Army under the command of Tuanku Imam Bonjol sent Raja Gadumbang Porang or better known as Tuanku Mandailing to Islamise the Mandailing lands.

The Paderi army entered Mandailing through Muara Sipongi and invaded Penyabungan in early 1816.

Then the Dutch entered Mandailing around 1835, resulting in many of the raja-raja of Mandailing to resist and later retreated across the Straits of Malacca and settled in Tanah Melayu or Malaya.