[1270] Of Victorian moralist in Perak’s Augean Stable

Published in Berita Harian last week was a long letter urging film director Jins Shamsuddin to get cracking on the filming of an explosive event in Malaysian history, the assassination of James Birch, the first British Resident of Perak at Pasir Salak on Nov 2 1875, the second day of Hari Raya.

Three years have passed since the initial announcement on the film and among those offering co-operation and funding is the Perak Government. Finas (The National Film Corporation) had offered assistance and at one stage it was announced that a British film company would be involved in the project, but since then nothing more has been heard about it.

A charitable explanation for the delay might be the historical research required. In these days of books by biographers, hagiographers and traducers no royal personage, president or prime minister – past or present – is safe. Warts and all is what people want to read.

We begin with Sir Richard Winstedt, the Malay language scholar, who praised Birch and derided Sultan Abdullah. Of the former he wrote: “…an English gentleman with all the virtues and defects of his class…a man in a hurry to carry light to Perak…for even long experience had failed to bring home to his unimaginative mind that hurry is futile in the training of child-like chieftains, especially when they are sensitive, proud and spoilt”.

And of Abdullah, the Perak Sultan, Winstedt wrote: “….a young Malay raja with the charming manners of his class and the vices proper to the spoilt darling of a royal harem, sensitive as a woman to slights and shades of manner, fastidious as a woman over dress, an extravagant libertine, vain, timid and adept at intrigue”.

As Professor Khoo Kay Kim, the historian wrote in his monograph J.W.W. Birch: A Victorian moralist in Perak’s augean stable? Winstedt saw Birch as the epitome of virtue and Abdullah, the personification of vice. In short, everything is black or white and there are no shades of grey.

It had been submitted, Khoo added, that Birch failed as a Resident only because he lacked diplomacy and that he was ignorant of Malay adat (custom) and language. “But was he completely ignorant of the Malay language?”

Quoted then was Charles Fox, Chief Clerk of the Eastern Department in the Colonial Office in London: “There can be no doubt of his (Birch’s) ability and that his knowledge of Malay Language and some experience in dealing with these Native Chiefs is in his favour (Feb 2, 1874)….It will be very difficult to replace the loss of one who knew well the people and language” (Nov 10, 1875, after Birch’s death).

Noted was that Cox knew Birch for many years since the latter had been in the colonial service for 27 years, having previously served in Ceylon.

There was the oft-repeated story that Birch tried to abolish slavery. Quoted then was Sir Peter Benson Maxwell, an English barrister:”…the despatches allude to Mr Birch’s feelings of humanity as prompting him to protect runaway slaves. When the cases are examined, the slaves are found to be girls, and girls only”.

Mentioned in the accompanying notes was a letter sent by Datuk Mustapha Albakri dated Jan 31, 1952, Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, about a Malay manuscript which described Birch as an “over-sexed man”.

Also in the manuscript was the claim that the “outrageous behaviour of the Indian guards towards the women in the locality multiplied the resentment of the Malay chiefs towards Birch and his men a hundredfold”.

Mention has been made by others that some slaves were given by Birch to his policemen to become their mistresses.

Also noted was the finding of a board of inquiry that Birch had borrowed money from three Chinese – Tan Seng Poh, Cheang Hong Lim and Tan Chin Hoon. “Some months after Birch had borrowed money from him, Chin Hoon’s steamer was seized by Tunku Kudin, Viceroy of Selangor. Birch wrote personally to Kudin to release the steamer but it appears that he failed to influence Kudin”.

As has also been mentioned in the introduction to Birch’s journals he was heavily indebted to several Chinese merchants, one of whom had the Singapore opium farm.

Despite the inquiry Birch was sent to Perak in October 1874 to assume provisionally the duties of Resident. Questioned later was his management of revenue collection in the State. There was then the conclusion: “Even the colonial office had sufficient misgivings about Birch to prompt it to refuse to confirm him in the post of Resident without more searching investigations into his financial circumstances. Until his death, therefore, Birch was but acting provisionally in the office”.

How did Birch get on with the Perak Sultan? Written in his diary dated Feb 3, 1875, is the following: “The Sultan wished to go down to Batarabit, and I accompanied him as far. I had a very long talk with him about the taxes, and gave him two proclamations which I want him to issue: one about the future duty on mines and the other about the customs duties”.

And on Feb 4, Thursday: “The Sultan ordered a fat sheep to be killed and invited me for breakfast with Dris. Again we had a long talk about the taxes etc, and he personally is quite ready to fall into my views”.

On another occasion Abdullah made a plea for some money but was turned down and instead given a humiliating lecture in front of his followers by Birch.

No less illuminating is his diary dated Nov 9, Monday, 1874: “Prince of Wales birthday. Did not forget it even here. Gave the man a duck curry and the clerks beer, and hoisted my flag at 8am. It was curious to see how many came to look at it, and then all sat down and expressed a general opinion as to the good to be derived to the country by its being hoisted, and their future comparative safety”.

As recorded Birch was killed while bathing on a raft after he had ordered his interpreter Mat Arshad to post three proclamations on a goldsmith’s shop. The action was challenged by Dato’ Sagor accompanied by some 50 armed men.

In the months that followed all considered implicated in the assassination were hunted by the colonial authorities with the assistance of troops from India and Hong Kong. Tried and hanged were Dato’ Maharaja Lela, Dato’ Sagor and four others.

Exiled to the Seychelles were Sultan Abdullah, the Menteri, Dato Laksamana and Dato Shahbandar. Several others were banished to Johor.

No mean task, therefore, would be the filming of the incident which indeed hastened the colonisation of Peninsular Malaysia. Tell it like it was, Jins has already been advised by the Perak istana. He would need to get advice from such as Khoo, history professor Zainal Abidin and others to get the story right.

What is to be presented is history, not propaganda. Among questions raised would be the practice of slavery in old Perak and how the ordinary rakyat in the kampung fared in those not so halcyon days.

A nation’s history has its ups and downs, zig-zags, bloody conflicts and moments of triumphs. As someone remarked, boring is the country in need of heroes. [Personally Speaking: Tell the Birch story like it was. Mazlan Nordin. NST. February 6 1998]