Malacca's history is a triumph over despondency

 

I spent some time in Malacca the last two weeks, and being there I was constantly reminded of characters from Sulalatus Salatin (The Malay Annals) and Hikayat Hang Tuah.

The history of Malacca with its legendary princes and warriors is actually more storied than what meets the eye.

One hard-to-miss figure is the sagacious Bendahara Tun Perak.

While popular stories paint him as sensible and wise over and against the scheming palace ministers - it was he who hid the framed Hang Tuah awaiting to reveal him when Jebat revolted - Tun Perak had a difficult early life.

He grew up in one of the most tumultuous times of the Malacca sultanate. He was a youth when the third Sultan of Malacca, Muhammad Syah, died. Through the cunning plot of the late sultan's Rokan princess wife, the throne went to her own son Raja Ibrahim, bypassing the older prince Raja Kassim.

The throne then was effectively under the control of the Rokan clique.

Two years after his ascension, Raja Kassim, with the aid of his uncle Seri Nara Diraja, staged a bloody coup and took the throne of Malacca to become the fifth ruler, Sultan Muzaffar Syah.

Change of tides

Tun Perak's grandfather was the bendahara (chief administrator) at the time of the coup. Although supporting the Rokan clique at the beginning, he shifted his alliance after observing the change of tides.

Not long after Muzaffar Syah took the throne, the bendahara died and he was replaced by his son Bendahara Seri Wak Raja, Tun Perak's father.

The fact is, after the coup, the bendahara family had lost its prestige. The most powerful figure in the court after the sultan was now Seri Nara Diraja who aided Muzaffar Syah to gain the throne.

When Bendahara Seri Wak Raja was found dead by poisoning - the official record stating the cause of death as "suicide" - Seri Nara Diraja was appointed bendahara. Many suspected it was a palace power struggle resulting in foul play.

The late bendahara's family was totally sidelined. Against convention, Tun Perak, the eldest son of Bendahara Seri Wak Raja, was not even accepted into the palace service.

A young man in his 20s by then, Tun Perak was forced to move away from the capital to Klang, either because there were no other opportunities for him in Malacca or to escape the deadly fate of his father in the hands of powerful palace operators.

The story of Tun Perak would have ended in disappointment, with him disappearing from the pages of history, perhaps living the rest of his life in obscurity in Klang, far from the fame of Malacca.

Unorthodox move

I am almost certain that some of his family and friends would have advised him to forget about fighting for change and just move on.

The former bendahara's family probably had some wealth, which would afford an entrepreneurial career for Tun Perak in Klang and elsewhere.

"Why bother? You change one sultan to another, one government to another, what is the difference? They are all the same."

Yet, Tun Perak refused to surrender to this sense of hopelessness. He was down but he refused to be knocked out by cynicism and pessimism.

He prepared himself for the next opportunity to serve his country. With his family wealth and a handful of loyal followers, he served the people of Klang so diligently that they petitioned the royal court in Malacca to appoint him as their chief, replacing the existing one.

And when he heard that Siam had attacked Malacca, Tun Perak led his followers from Klang, together with their daughters and wives to the battlefield.

Some people complained about the unorthodox move. The sultan, probably thinking Tun Perak was in a "holiday mood" by bringing his family along to the frontline, was angry and refused to meet him.

But when Tun Perak explained his strategy, everyone was impressed: they brought along their wives and daughters because they were prepared for a do-or-die battle.

Brilliant strategies

When Siam attacked a second time, Tun Perak utilised a strategy familiar to readers of the 'Romance of the Three Kingdom', where the ferocious Zhang Fei tricked Cao Cao into thinking the former had a big army with just a handful of soldiers stirring up the dust on the ground from afar.

Similarly, Tun Perak sent the fierce young warrior Tun Omar to attack Siamese ships while instructing soldiers to light up trees on the shore at night, giving the illusion of a large force awaiting the enemy's warships.

Malacca was twice saved by the brilliant strategies of Tun Perak, the once outcast of Malacca.

Because he did not succumb to despair and despondency, Tun Perak rose to the occasion when his service was needed the most.

Eventually, the sultan recognised Tun Perak's value and appointed him to the office of the bendahara. It was not only a vindication and a restoration of his family dignity, but Malacca, and our nation, gained an able leader. In the long view of history, Tun Perak's undying spirit makes sense.

One cannot deny the despondency of our time. Yet, again and again, the history of humanity demonstrates that in the long run, doing the right thing despite widespread cynicism to do otherwise, is worth all the efforts and sacrifices.

We must never give up on our country, and on the struggle to make Malaysia into the great nation she is meant to be.

Martin Luther King reminded us powerfully: "The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice". This is a lesson from Malacca's history. We may be disappointed, but we must never despair and surrender to hopelessness. - Mkini

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STEVEN SIM is the MP for Bukit Mertajam.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.