The federated states, under the protection of Great Britain, but not
British possessions, are Perak, Selangor and the confederation of small
states known as the Negri Sembilan (i.e. Nine States) on the west
coast, and the state of Pahang on the east coast. Each state is under
the rule of a sultan, who is assisted in his legislative duties by a
state council, upon which the resident, and in some cases the secretary
to the resident, has a seat, and which is composed of native chiefs and
one or more Chinese members nominated by the sultan with the advice and
consent of the resident. The council, in addition to legislative and
other duties, revises all sentences of capital punishment. The
administrative work of each state is carried on by the resident and his
staff of European officials, whose ranks are recruited by successful
candidates in the competitive examinations held annually by the Civil
Service commissioners. The sultan of each state is bound by treaty with
the British government to accept the advice of the resident, who is thus
practically paramount; but great deference is paid to the opinions and
wishes of the sultans and their chiefs, and the British officials are
pledged not to interfere with the religious affairs of the Mahommedan
community. In the actual administration of the Malay population great
use is made of the native aristocratic system, the peasants being
governed largely by their own chiefs, headmen and village elders, under
the close supervision of British district officers. The result is a
benevolent autocracy admirably adapted to local conditions and to the
character and traditions of the people. A recognition of the fact that
the welfare of the Malays, who are the people of the land and whose
sultans have never ceded their territories to the British, must be
regarded as the first consideration has been the guiding principle of
the administration of the Malay States, and this has resulted in an
extraordinary amelioration of the condition of the natives, which has
proceeded concurrently with a notable development of the country and its
resources, mineral and agricultural. To the work of development,
however, the Malays have themselves contributed little, sound
administration having been secured by the British officials, enterprise
and capital having been supplied mainly by the Chinese, and the labour
employed being almost entirely Chinese or Tamil. Meanwhile the Malays
have improved their ancestral holdings, have enjoyed a peace and a
security to which their past history furnishes no parallel, have
obtained easy access to new and important markets for their agricultural
produce, and for the rest have been suffered to lead the lives best
suited to their characters and their desires. Each principal department
of the administration has its federal head, and all the residents
correspond with and are controlled by the resident-general, who, in his
turn, is responsible to the high commissioner, the governor of the
Straits Settlements for the time being.
The estimated aggregate area of the Federated Malay States is 28,000
sq. m., and the estimated population in 1905 was 860,000, as against
678,595 in 1901. Of these only about 230,000 are Malays. The revenue
of the federation in 1905 was $23,964,593 (about £2,795,000), and the
expenditure was $20,750,395 (about £2,460,000). The imports for the
same year were valued at $50,575,455 (about £5,900,000), and the
exports at $80,057,654 (about £9,340,000), making a total trade of
nearly 15¼ millions sterling. The principal sources of revenue are an
export duty on tin, the rents paid for the revenue farms of the right
to collect import duties on opium, wine and spirits, and to keep
licensed gambling-houses for the exclusive use of the Chinese
population, railway receipts, land and forest revenue and postal
revenue. The tin is won from large alluvial deposits found in the
states of the western seaboard, and the mines are worked almost
exclusively by Chinese capital and labour. Since 1889 the Federated
Malay States have produced considerably more than half the tin of the
world. Recently there has been a great development in agricultural
enterprise, especially with regard to rubber, which is now grown in
large quantities, the estates being mainly in the hands of Europeans,
and the labour mostly Tamil. The states are opened up by over 2500 m.
of some of the best metalled cart-roads in the world, and by a railway
system, 350 m. of which, extending from the mainland opposite Penang
to the ancient town of Malacca, are open to traffic. Another 150 m. of
railway is under construction. The government offices at Kuala Lumpor,
the federal capital of the states, are among the finest buildings of
the kind in Asia. The whole of this extraordinary development, it
should be noted, has been effected by careful, sound and wise
administration coupled with a courageous and energetic policy of
expenditure upon public works. Throughout, not one penny of debt has
been incurred, the roads, railways, &c., being constructed entirely
from current balances. This of course has only been rendered possible
by the extraordinary mineral wealth which the states on the western
seaboard have developed in the hands of Chinese miners amid the peace
and security which British rule has brought to these once lawless
lands. The value of the tin output for the year 1905 amounted to
$69,460,993 (£8,104,199). Although agricultural enterprise in the
Malay States is assuming considerable proportions and a growing
importance, the total value of the principal agricultural products,
including timber, for the year 1905 only aggregated $2,435,513
(£289,143).
The whole of the Malay Peninsula is one vast forest, through which
flow countless streams that form one of the most lavish water-systems
in the world. The rivers, though many of them are of imposing
appearance and of considerable length, are uniformly shallow, only a
few on the west coast being navigable by ships for a distance of some
40 m. from their mouths. In spite of the notable development above
referred to, only a very small fraction of the entire area of the
states has as yet been touched either by mining or agricultural
enterprise. It is not too much to assert that the larger half of the
forest-lands has never been trodden by the foot of man. (For
information concerning the botany, geology, &c., of the Malay States
see MALAY PENINSULA. For the ethnology see MALAYS.)
PERAK is situated between the parallels 3° 37´ and 6° 5´ N. and 100° 3´
to 101° 51´ E. on the western side of the Malay Peninsula. It is bounded
on the N. by the British possession of Province Wellesley and the Malay
state of Kedah; on the S. by the protected native state of Selangor; on
the E. by the protected native state of Pahang and the independent
states of Kelantan and Petani; and on the W. by the Straits of Malacca.
The coast-line is about 90 m. in length. The extreme distance from the
most northerly to the most southerly portions of the state is about 172
m., and the greatest breadth from east to west is about 100 m. The total
area of the country is estimated at about 10,000 sq. m.
The Perak river, which runs in a southerly direction almost parallel
with the coast for nearly 150 m. of its course, is navigable for small
steamers for about 40 m. from its mouth, and by native trading boats
for nearly 200 m. The Plus, Batang, Padang and Kinta rivers are its
principal tributaries, all of them falling into the Perak on its left
bank. The other principal rivers of the state are the Krian, Kurau,
Larut and Bruas to the north of the mouth of the Perak, and the Bernam
to the south. None of these rivers is of any great importance as a
waterway, although the Bernam River is navigable for small steamers
for nearly 100 m. of its course. The mountain ranges, which cover a
considerable area, run from the north-east to the south-west. The
highest altitudes attained by them do not exceed 7500 ft., but they
average about 2500 ft. They are all thickly covered with jungle. The
ranges are two, running parallel to one another, with the valley of
the Perak between them. The larger is a portion of the main chain,
which runs down the peninsula from north to south. The lesser is
situated in the district of Larut. There are several hill sanatoria in
the state at heights which vary from 2500 to 4700 ft. above sea-level,
but the extreme humidity of the atmosphere renders the coolness thus
obtainable the reverse of enjoyable.
Geology.
Mr Leonard Wray, curator of the Perak museum, writes as follows on the
subject of the geological formation of the state: "There are really
only four formations represented--firstly, the granitic rocks;
secondly, a large series of beds of gneiss, quartzite, schist and
sandstone, overlaid in many places by thick beds of crystalline
limestone; thirdly, small sheets of trap rock; and fourthly,
river-gravels and other Quaternary deposits. The granites are of many
varieties, and also, in all probability, of several different
geological periods. The series of quartzites, schists, and limestone
are of great age, but as no fossils have ever been found in any of
them, nothing definite can be stated as to their exact chronological
position. Their lithological characteristics and the total absence of
all organic remains point to the Archaean period. The failure to
discover signs of life in them is, of course, merely negative
evidence, and the finding of a single fossil would at once upset it.
However, until this happens they may be conveniently classed as
Laurentian. It is at present impossible to form anything approaching
an accurate estimate of the thickness of this extensive series, but it
is probable that it is somewhere between 4000 and 5000 ft.
Unconformability has been noticed between the limestones and the beds
beneath, but whether this is sufficient to separate them or not is a
matter for future investigation.... The taller hills are exclusively
composed of granite, as also are some of the lower ones.... The ores
of the following metals have been found in the formations named:
Granite--tin, lead, iron, arsenic, tungsten and titanium;
Laurentian--tin, gold, lead, silver, iron, arsenic, copper, zinc,
tungsten, manganese and bismuth; Quaternary--tin, gold, copper,
tungsten, iron and titanium. This is not to be considered a complete
list, as small quantities of other metals have also been found."
History.
The early history of Perak is obscure, the only information on the
subject being obtained from native traditions, which are altogether
untrustworthy. According to these authorities, however, a settlement
was first made by Malays in Perak at Bruas, and the capital was later
moved to the banks of the Perak River, the site chosen being a little
village called Temong, which lies some miles up stream from Kuala
Kangsar, the present residence of the sultan. When the Malacca
sultanate fell, owing to the invasion of the Portuguese in 1511, a
member of that royal house is said to have migrated to Perak, and the
present dynasty claims to have been descended from him. As this boast
is also made by almost every ruling family in the peninsula, the
tradition is not worthy of any special attention. What is more certain
is the tradition that Perak was twice invaded by the Achinese, and its
rulers carried off into captivity, one of them, Sultan Mansur Shah,
subsequently becoming the ruler of Achin. The first European
settlement in Perak was made by the Dutch in 1650, under a treaty
entered into with the Achinese, but the natives of the country rose
against the Dutch again and again, and it was abandoned in 1783,
though it was afterwards reoccupied, the Dutch being finally ejected
by the British in 1795. In 1818 the Siamese conquered Perak, but its
independence was secured by a treaty between the British and Siamese
governments in 1824. From that date until 1874 Perak was ruled by its
own sultans, but in that year, owing to internal strife, Sultan
Abdullah applied to the then governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir
Andrew Clarke, for the assistance of a British Resident. The treaty of
Pangkor was concluded on the 20th of January 1874, and the first
resident, Mr J. W. W. Birch, was murdered on the 2nd of November 1875.
A punitive expedition became necessary; sultan Abdullah and the other
chiefs concerned in the murder were banished, the actual murderers
were hanged, and Raja Muda Jusuf was declared regent. He died in 1888,
and was succeeded by the sultan Raja Idris, K.C.M.G., a most
enlightened ruler, who was from the first a strong and intelligent
advocate of British methods of administration. Sir Hugh Low was
appointed resident, a position which he held until 1889, when he was
succeeded by Sir Frank Swettenham. Since then the history of Perak has
been one of continuous peace and growing prosperity and wealth.
Although the federal capital is Kuala Lumpor in Selangor, Perak still
enjoys the honour of being the senior and leading state of the
federation.
Population.
By the census taken on the 5th of April 1891 the population of Perak
was shown to be as follows: Europeans, 366; Eurasians, Jews and
Armenians, 293; Malays, 96,719; Chinese, 94,345; Tamils, 13,086;
aborigines, 5779; other nationalities, 3666; thus making a grand total
of 214,254, of whom 156,408 were males and 57,846 were females. The
estimated population in 1905 was 400,000, of whom 200,000 were Chinese
and 160,000 were Malays, but owing to the disparity of the proportions
between the sexes the deaths in each year largely outnumber the
births, and the increase in the population is accounted for solely by
the number of immigrants, chiefly from the mainland of China, and to a
lesser extent from India also.
The revenue of Perak in 1874 amounted to $226,333. That for 1905
amounted to $12,242,897. Of this latter sum $4,876,400 was derived
from duty on exported tin, $2,489,300 from railway receipts, $505,300
from land revenue and $142,800 from postal and telegraphic revenue.
The remainder is mainly derived from the revenue farms, which are
leased to Chinese capitalists for a short term of years, conveying to
the lessee the right to collect import duties upon opium, wine and
spirits, to keep pawnbroking shops, and to keep public licensed
gambling-houses for the use of Chinese only. The expenditure for 1905
amounted to $10,141,980. Of this sum $4,236,000 was expended upon
railway upkeep and construction and $2,176,100 upon public works. The
value of the imports into Perak during 1905 was over $20,000,000, and
that of the exports exceeded $40,000,000, making a total of over
$60,000,000, equivalent to about seven million sterling. The output of
tin from Perak ranged between 18,960 tons, valued at $23,099,506 in
1899, and 26,600 tons, valued at $35,500,000, in 1905. The fluctuating
character of the output is due, not to any exhaustion of the mineral
deposits of the state--that is not to be anticipated for many years
yet to come--but to the uncertainty of the labour supply. The mining
population is recruited exclusively from the districts of southern
China, and during certain years an increased demand for labourers in
China itself, in French Indo-China, in the Dutch colonies, and in
South Africa temporarily and adversely affected immigration to the
Straits of Malacca. The output has, moreover, been affected from time
to time by the price of tin, which was $32.20 per pikul in 1896, rose
to $42.96 in 1898, to $74.15 in 1900, and averaged $80.60 in 1905.
Exclusive of tin, the principal exports were $108,000 worth of Para
rubber, $181,000 of copra, $54,000 of hides, $48,000 of patchouli, and
considerable quantities of timber, rattans and other jungle produce.
The agricultural development of the state is still in its infancy, but
rubber is cultivated in rapidly increasing areas, and the known
fertility of the soil, the steady and regular rainfall, the excellent
means of communication, and the natural and artificial conditions of
the country, justify the expectation that the future of Perak as an
agricultural country will be prosperous.
General.
Although so much has been done to develop the resources of Perak, by
far the greater portion of the state is still covered by dense and
virgin forest. In 1898 it was calculated that only 330,249 acres of
land were occupied or cultivated out of a total acreage of 6,400,000.
The area of agricultural holdings has notably increased, but a
considerable period must yet elapse before it will amount to even
one-tenth of the whole. A line of railway connects the port of Teluk
Anson with the great mining district of Kinta, whence the line runs,
crossing the Perak River at Enggor, to Kuala Kangsar, the residence of
the sultan, thence to Taiping, the administrative capital of the
state, and via Krian to a point opposite to the island of Penang. A
second line runs south from Perak and connects with the railway system
of Selangor, which in its turn connects with the Negri Sembilan and
Malacca line, thus giving through railway communication between the
last-named town and Penang. Perak also possesses some 600 miles of
excellent metalled cart-road, and the length of completed road is
annually increasing.
For administrative purposes the state is divided into six districts:
Upper Perak, Kuala Kangsar and Lower Perak, on the Perak River; Kinta;
Batany Padang and Larut and Krian. Of these, Larut and Kinta are the
principal mining centres, while Krian is the most prosperous
agricultural district. The districts on the Perak River are mostly
peopled by Malays. The administrative capital is Taiping, the chief
town of Larut. Kuala Kangsar is chiefly memorable as having been the
scene of the first federal meeting of native chiefs, who, with the
British Residents from each state, met together in 1897 for friendly
discussion of their common interests for the first time in history,
under the auspices of the high commissioner, Sir Charles H. B.
Mitchell. This, in the eyes of those who are acquainted with the
character of the Malays and of the relations which formerly subsisted
between the rulers of the various states, is perhaps the most signal
token of the changes which British influence has wrought in the
peninsula.
SELANGOR is situated between the parallels 2° 32´ and 3° 37´ N. and 100°
38´ and 102° E., on the western side of the Malay Peninsula. It is
bounded on the N. by the protected native state of Perak, on the S. by
the protected states of the Negri Sembilan, on the E. by Pahang and the
Negri Sembilan, and on the W. by the Straits of Malacca. The coast-line
is about 100 m. in length, greatest length about 104 m., and greatest
breadth about 48 m., total area estimated at about 3000 sq. m.
The state consists of a narrow strip of land between the mountain
range which forms the backbone of the peninsula and the Straits of
Malacca. Compared with other states in the peninsula, Selangor is
poorly watered. The principal rivers are the Selangor, the Klang and
the Langat. The principal port of the state is Port Swettenham,
situated at the mouth of the Klang River, and is connected with the
capital, Kuala Lumpor, by a railway. The geology of the state closely
resembles that of Perak. The state is possessed of most valuable
deposits of alluvial tin, and mining for this metal is the chief
industry of the population. Kuala Lumpor is also the federal capital
of the Malay States.
History.
According to native tradition, the ruling house of Selangor is
descended from a Bugis raja, who, with two of his brothers, settled in
the state in 1718, the son of the youngest brother eventually becoming
ruler of the country. In 1783 the then sultan of Selangor joined with
the Iang-di-per-Tuan Muda of Riau in an unsuccessful attack upon the
Dutch who then held Malacca. In retaliation the Dutch, under Admiral
Van Braam, invaded Selangor and drove the sultan out of his country.
In 1785, aided by the Bendahara of Pahang, Sultan Ibrahim of Selangor
reconquered his state; but the Dutch blockaded his ports, and
eventually forced him to enter into a treaty whereby he consented to
acknowledge their sovereignty. The earliest British political
communication with Selangor began in 1818, when a commercial treaty
was concluded with the governor of Penang. In 1867 Sultan Abdul Samad
of Selangor appointed his son-in-law, Tungku Dia Udin, to be viceroy;
and this gave rise to a civil war which lasted almost without
intermission till 1873, when the enemies of Tungku Dia Udin were
finally vanquished, largely by the agency of the Bendahara of Pahang,
who, at the invitation of the governor of the Straits Settlements,
sent a warlike expedition to the assistance of the viceroy. In 1874
the occurrence of an atrocious act of piracy off the mouth of the
Langat River led to the governor, Sir Andrew Clarke, appointing, at
the request of the sultan, a British Resident to aid him in the
administration of his kingdom. Since that date there has been no
further breach of the peace, and the prosperity of Selangor has
increased annually.
By the census taken on the 5th of April 1891 the population of
Selangor was given at 81,592 souls, of whom 67,051 were males and only
14,541 were females. The census taken on the 5th of April 1901 gave a
total population of 168,789 souls, of whom 136,823 were males and
31,966 females. Of these 108,768 were Chinese, 33,997 were Malays,
16,748 were Tamils, and only 487 were Europeans. The returns deal with
nearly a score of different nationalities. Since 1901 the population
has been much increased and now certainly exceeds 200,000 souls. Now,
however, that instead of a single port of entry there exist easy means
of access to the state by rail both from the north and the south, it
is no longer possible to estimate the annual increase by immigration
with any approach to accuracy. It will be noted that the inhabitants
of this erstwhile Malayan state were, even at the time of the census
of 1901, over 64% Chinese, while the Malays were little more than 20%
of the population. In Selangor, as elsewhere in the Malay Peninsula,
the deaths annually far outnumber the births recorded (e.g. in 1905
births 8293, deaths 12,500). The disproportion of the female to the
male sections of the population is greater in Selangor than in any
other part of the colony or Malay States. The development of planting
enterprise in Selangor, and more especially the cultivation of rubber,
has led during recent years to the immigration of a considerable
number of Tamil coolies, but the Tamil population is still
insignificant as compared with the Chinese.
Finance, Trade, &c.
The revenue of Selangor in 1875 amounted to only $115,656; in 1905 it
had increased to $8,857,793. Of this latter sum $3,195,318 was derived
from duty on tin exported, $1,972,628 from federal receipts, and
$340,360 from land revenue. The balance is chiefly derived from the
revenue farms, which include the right to collect import duty on opium
and spirits. The expenditure for 1905 amounted to $7,186,146, of which
sum $3,717,238 was on account of federal charges and $1,850,711 for
public works. The value of the imports in 1905 was $24,643,619 and
that of the exports was $26,683,316, making a total of $51,326,935,
equivalent to £5,988,000. Tin is the principal export. The amount
exported in 1905 was 17,254 tons. The total area of alienated mining
land at the end of 1905 amounted to 65,573 acres, and it was estimated
that over 60,000 Chinese were employed in the mines.
The main trunk line of the Federated Malay States railways passes
through Selangor. It enters the state at Tanjong Malim on the Perak
boundary, runs southward through Kuala Lumpor and so into the Negri
Sembilan. It runs for 81 m. in Selangor territory. A branch line 27 m.
long connects Kuala Lumpor with Port Swettenham on the Klang Straits
where extensive wharves, capable of accommodating ocean-going vessels,
have been constructed. A second branch line, measuring rather more
than 4 m. in length, has been opened to traffic. It connects the caves
at Batu with Kuala Lumpor. Frequent communication is maintained by
steamer between Port Swettenham and Singapore, and by coasting vessels
between the former port and those on the shores of the Straits of
Malacca. All the principal places in the state are connected with one
another by telegraph.
For administrative purposes Selangor is divided into six districts:
Kuala Lumpor, in which the capital and the principal tin-fields are
situated; Ulu Selangor, which is also a prosperous mining district;
Kuala Selangor, which is agricultural, and poorly populated by Malays;
Ulu Langat, mining and agricultural; Kuala Langat, the residence of
the late sultan Abdul Samad, agricultural; and Klang, the only
prosperous port of the state. Much money has been expended upon the
capital, Kuala Lumpor, which possesses some fine public buildings,
waterworks, &c., and where the principal residence of the
Resident-General is situated. In some sort Kuala Lumpor is the capital
not only of Selangor, but also of the whole federation. Its scenery is
very attractive.
NEGRI SEMBILAN (the Nine States) is a federation of small native states
which is now treated as a single entity, being under the control of a
British Resident, and is situated between parallels 2° 28´ and 3° 18´ N.
and 101° 45´ and 102° 45´ E., on the western side of the Malay
Peninsula. It is bounded on the N. by the protected state of Pahang, on
the S. by the territory of Malacca, on the E. by Pahang and the
independent state of Johor, and on the W. by the Straits of Malacca. The
coast-line is about 28 m. in length, and the extreme distance from north
to south is 55 m., and that from east to west about 65 m. The estimated
area is about 3000 sq. m. Port Dickson, or Arang-Arang, is the only port
on the coast. It is connected with the capital, Seremban, by a railway
24 m. in length. Most of the states comprising the federation depend
largely for their prosperity upon agriculture, but in some of the
districts tin is being worked in considerable quantities, with good
results.
History.
As is the case with the history of most Malayan states, much rests
upon no surer ground than tradition, in so far as the records of the
Negri Sembilan are concerned. At the same time the native story that
the states which now form the federation of the Negri Sembilan were
originally peopled by tribes of Sakai, or aborigines of the peninsula,
who descended from the mountains of the interior and peopled the
valleys, is supported by much corroborative evidence. Not only does
the Malay's contempt for the Sakai make it exceedingly unlikely that
the tradition, which is hardly a matter for pride, should have been
preserved if it were not true, but also many of the laws and customs
in force in these states are wholly foreign to those of the Malays,
and can plainly be traced to the aborigines. As an instance, the
custom of inheriting rank and property through the mother instead of
through the father may be mentioned. Tradition further relates that
towards the end of the 18th century a raja of the royal house of
Menangkabu came from Sumatra to rule over the federation of small
states, each of which continued to be governed in all its local
affairs by its own chief and by the village and other councils
sanctioned by ancient custom. The Sumatran raja took the title of
Iang-di-per-Tuan of Sri Menanti. Although they bore the name of the
"Nine States," only six seem to have belonged to the federation during
the time of which history speaks. These are Sri Menanti, Johol,
Tampin, Rembau, Jelebu, and Sungei Ujong. Later the two latter
separated themselves from the confederation. Ancient tradition says
that the names of the nine states were originally Klang, Jelebu,
Sungei Ujong, Johol, Segamat, Pasir Besar, Naning, Rembau and Jelai.
Of these Klang was annexed by Selangor, Segamat and Pasir Besar by
Johor, and Naning by Malacca. During the last years of the 18th
century the Iang-di-per-Tuan appointed an Iang-di-per-Tuan Muda to
rule Rembau, and the state of Tampin was created to provide for the
family of the new chief. In 1887 the governor of the Straits
Settlements sent Mr Martin Lister to the Negri Sembilan, which had
become disintegrated, and by his influence the ancient federal system
was revived under the control of a Resident appointed by the governor.
The states which formed this new confederation were Johol, Ulu Muar,
Jempol, Terachi, Inas, Gunong Pasir, Rembau, Tampin and Gemencheh.
Prior to this, in 1873, owing to a civil war in Sungei Ujong, Sir
Andrew Clarke sent a military force to that state, put an end to the
disturbances, and placed the country under the control of a British
Resident. Jelebu was taken under British protection in 1886, and was
thenceforth managed by a magistrate under the orders of the Resident
of Sungei Ujong. In 1896, when the federation of all the Malayan
states under British control was effected, Sungei Ujong and Jelebu
were reunited to the confederation of small states from which they had
so long been separated and the whole, under the old name of the Negri
Sembilan, or Nine States, was placed under one Resident.
The population of the Negri Sembilan, which according to the census
taken in April 1891 was only 70,730, had increased to 96,028 by 1901,
and was estimated at 119,454 in 1905. Of these 46,500 are Chinese,
65,000 Malays, 6700 Tamils, and 900 Europeans and Eurasians. The
births registered slightly exceed the deaths in number, there being a
large Malay population in the Negri Sembilan among whom the proportion
of women to men is fair, a condition of things not found in localities
where the inhabitants are mostly Chinese immigrants.
Finance and Trade.
The revenue of the Negri Sembilan amounted to only $223,435 in 1888.
In 1898 it had increased to $701,334, in 1900 to $1,251,366, and in
1905 to $2,335,534. The revenue for 1905 was derived mainly as
follows:--customs $1,268,602, land revenue $145,475, land sales
$21,407, while the revenue farms contributed $584,459. The expenditure
in 1905 amounted to $2,214,093, of which $1,125,355 was expended upon
public works. The trade returns for 1905, which are not, however,
complete, show an aggregate value of about $13,000,000. The value of
the tin exported during 1905 exceeded $6,900,000, and the value of the
agricultural produce, of which gambier represented $211,000 and damar
$80,000, amounted to $407,990.
General.
Seremban, the administrative capital of the Negri Sembilan, is
connected with Port Dickson by a railway line, owned by the Sungei
Ujong Railway Company, which is 24½ m. in length. It is also situated
on the trunk line of the Federated Malay States, and is thus joined by
rail to Selangor on the north and to Malacca on the south. Frequent
steam communication is maintained between Port Dickson and the ports
on the Straits of Malacca and with Singapore.
For administrative purposes the Negri Sembilan is divided into five
districts, viz. the Seremban District, the Coast District, Jelebu,
Kuala Pilah and Tampin. Each of these is under the charge of a
European district officer, who is responsible to the Resident. The
Iang-di-per-Tuan lives at Kuala Pilah, but the capital of the
federation is at Seremban in Sungei Ujong, where the Resident is
stationed. The hereditary chiefs of the various states aid in the
government of their districts, and have seats upon the state council,
over which the Iang-di-per-Tuan presides. The watering-place of
Magnolia Bay, where excellent sea-bathing is obtainable, is one of the
pleasure resorts of this part of the peninsula.
PAHANG, on the east coast of the peninsula, is situated between
parallels 2° 28´ and 3° 45´ N. and 101° 30´ and 103° 30´ E. It is
bounded on the N. by the independent native states of Kelantan and
Trengganu; on the S. by the Negri Sembilan and Johor; on the E. by the
China Sea; and on the W. by the protected states of Perak and Selangor.
The coast-line is about 112 m. in length; the greatest length is about
210 m., and greatest breadth about 130 m. The state is the largest in
the peninsula, its area being estimated at 15,000 sq. m. The ports on
the coast are the mouths of the Endau, Rompin, Pahang and Kuantan
rivers, but during the north-east monsoon the coast is not easy of
approach, and the rivers, all of which are guarded by difficult bars,
are impossible of access except at high tides.
The principal river of the state is the Pahang, from which it takes
its name. At a distance of 180 m. from the coast this river is formed
by two others named respectively the Jelai and the Tembeling. The
former is joined 20 m. farther up stream by the Lipis, which has its
rise in the mountains which form the boundary with Perak. The Jelai
itself has its rise also in a more northerly portion of this range,
while its two principal tributaries above the mouth of the Lipis, the
Telom and the Serau, rise, the one in the plateau which divides Perak
from Pahang, the other in the hills which separate Pahang from
Kelantan. The Tembeling has its rise in the hills which divide Pahang
from Kelantan, but some of its tributaries rise on the Trengganu
frontier, while the largest of its confluents comes from the hills in
which the Kuantan River takes its rise. The Pahang is navigable for
large boats as far as Kuala Lipis, 200 m. from the mouth, and
light-draught launches can also get up to that point. Smaller boats
can be taken some 80 m. higher up the Jelai and Telom. The river,
however, as a waterway is of little use, since it is uniformly
shallow. The Rompin and Kuantan rivers are somewhat more easily
navigated for the first 30 m. of their course, but taken as a whole
the waterways of Pahang are of little value. The interior of Pahang is
chiefly noted for its auriferous deposits. Gunong Tahan is situated on
the boundary between Pahang and Kelantan. Its height is estimated at
8000 ft. above sea-level, but it has never yet been ascended. Pahang,
like the states on the west coast, is covered almost entirely by one
vast forest, but in the Lipis valley, which formerly was thickly
populated, there is a considerable expanse of open grass plain unlike
anything to be seen on the western seaboard. The coast is for the most
part a sandy beach fringed with _casuarina_ trees and there are only a
few patches of mangrove-swamp throughout its entire length.
History.
The ancient name of Pahang was Indrapura. It is mentioned in the
history of _Hang Tuah_, the great Malacca brave, who flourished in the
16th century, and succeeded in abducting a daughter of the then ruling
house of Pahang for his master, the sultan of Malacca. Prior to this,
Pahang had been ruled by the Siamese. When Malacca fell into the hands
of the Portuguese in 1511 the sultan, Muhammad Shah, fled to Pahang,
and the present ruling house claims to have been descended from him.
The title of the ruler of Pahang was Bendahara until 1882, when the
present (1902) ruler, Wan Ahmad, assumed the title of sultan, taking
the name of Sultan Ahmad Maatham Shah. Up to that time the Bendahara
had been installed on his accession by the sultan of Riau, and held
his office by virtue of that chief's letter of authority. About 1855
the father of the present sultan died at Pekan, and his son Bendahara
Korish, who succeeded him, drove Wan Ahmad from the country. After
making three unsuccessful attempts to conquer the land and to dethrone
his elder brother, Wan Ahmad at last succeeded in 1865 in invading the
state and wresting the throne from his nephew, who had succeeded his
father some years earlier. From that time, in spite of two attempts to
shake his power by invasions from Selangor which were undertaken by
his nephews Wan Aman and Wan Da, Bendahara Ahmad ruled his country
with a rod of iron. In 1887 he consented to enter into a treaty with
the governor of the Straits by which he accepted a consular agent at
his court. This treaty was finally signed on the 8th of October 1887.
In February of the following year a Chinese British subject was
murdered at Pekan in circumstances which pointed to the responsibility
of the sultan for the crime, and in October 1888 a Resident was
appointed to assist the sultan in the administration of his country,
that being, in the opinion of the British government, the only
guarantee for the safety of the life and property of British subjects
which it could accept. In December 1891 disturbances broke out in
Pahang, the nominal leaders of which were certain of the sultan's most
trusted chiefs. The sultan himself took no part in the outbreak, but
it undoubtedly had his sympathy, even if it was not caused by his
direct commands. The rebels were driven to seek safety in flight in
November 1892, but in June 1894 they gathered strength for a second
disturbance, and raided Pahang from Kelantan, in which state they had
been given shelter by the Mahommedan rulers. This event, added to the
occurrence of other raids from across the border, led to an irregular
expedition being led into Trengganu and Kelantan by the Resident of
Pahang (Mr Hugh Clifford) in 1895, and this had the desired result.
The rebel chiefs were banished to Siam, and no further breach of the
peace has troubled the tranquillity of Pahang since that time. Pahang
joined the Federated Malay States by a treaty signed in 1895, and the
sultan and his principal chiefs were present at the federal durbar
held at Kuala Kangsar in Perak in 1897.
Population.
The census taken in April 1901 gave the total population of Pahang at
84,113, of whom 73,462 were Malays, 8695 Chinese, 1227 Tamils and
other natives of India, 180 Europeans and Eurasians, and 549 people of
other nationalities. The population in 1905 was estimated at 100,000,
the increase being due to immigration mainly from the states on the
western seaboard. In former days Pahang was far more thickly populated
than in modern times, but the long succession of civil wars which
racked the land after the death of Bendahara Ali caused thousands of
Pahang Malays to fly the country. To-day the valley of the Lebir River
in Kelantan and the upper portions of several rivers near the Perak
and Selangor boundaries are inhabited by Pahang Malays, the
descendants of these fugitives. The Pahang natives are almost all
engaged in agriculture. The work of the mines, &c., is performed by
Chinese and foreign Malays. In the Lipis valley the descendants of the
Rawa Malays, who at one time possessed the whole of the interior in
defiance of the Pahang rajas, still outnumber the people of the land.
Finance and Trade.
The revenue of Pahang in 1899 amounted to only $62,077; in 1900 to
$419,150. In 1905 it was $528,368. The expenditure in 1905 amounted to
$1,208,176. Of this sum $736,886 was expended on public works. Pahang
is still a source of expense to the federation, its progress having
been retarded by the disturbances which lasted from December 1891
until 1895, with short intervals of peace, but the revenue is now
steadily increasing, and the ultimate financial success of the state
is considered to be secure. Pahang owes something over $3,966,500 to
Selangor and $1,175,000 to Perak, which have financed it now for some
years out of surplus revenue. The value of the imports in 1905 was
$1,344,346, that of the exports was $3,838,928, thus making a total
trade value of $5,183,274. The most valuable export is tin, the value
of which in 1905 amounted to $2,820,745. The value of the gutta
exported exceeded $140,000, that of dried and salted fish amounted to
nearly $70,000, and that of timber to $325,000.
General.
The geological formation of the states lying to the eastward of the
main range of mountains which splits the peninsula in twain differs
materially from that of the western states. At a distance of about a
dozen miles from the summits of the mountains the granite formation is
replaced by slates, which in many places are intersected by fissures
of quartz, and in others are overlaid by vast thicknesses of
limestone. Those of the quartz fissures which have been exploited are
found to be auriferous, and several mining companies have attempted to
work the deposits. Their efforts, however, have not hitherto been
successful. A magnificent road over the mountains, with a ruling grade
of 1 in 30, joins Kuala Lipis, the administrative capital of Pahang,
to Kuala Kubu, the nearest railway station in Selangor. The road
measures 82 m. in length. Pekan, where the sultan has his residence,
was the capital of Pahang until the middle of 1898, when the
administrative headquarters were transferred to the interior as being
more central. None of these towns is of any size or importance. In the
Kuantan valley, which lies parallel to the Pahang River, a European
company is working tin lodes with considerable success. These lodes
are the only mines of the kind being worked in the Federated Malay
States. Pahang is fertile and well suited for agriculture of many
kinds. The rainfall is heavy and regular. The climate is cooler than
that of the west coast, and the full force of the monsoon is felt from
October to February in each year. For administrative purposes Pahang
is divided into four districts--Ulu Pahang, in which the present
capital is situated; Temerloh, which includes 80 odd miles of the
Pahang valley and the Semantan River; Pekan, which includes the coast
rivers down to Endau; and Kuantan. Each of these is under the charge
of a district officer, who is responsible to the resident. The
boundary with Johor and the Negri Sembilan was rectified by a
commission which sat in London in 1897-1898.
AUTHORITIES.--_Journal of the Eastern Archipelago_ (Singapore);
_Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_
(Singapore); Maxwell, _Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute_,
vol. xxiii.; Swettenham, ibid. vol. xxvii; Clifford, ibid. vol. xxx.
(London, 1892, 1895, 1899); Swettenham, _About Perak_ (Singapore,
1893); _Malay Sketches_ (London, 1895); _The Real Malay_ (London,
1899); _British Malaya_ (London, 1906); Clifford, _In Court and
Kampong_ (London, 1897); _Studies in Brown Humanity_ (London, 1898);
_In a Corner of Asia_ (London, 1899); _Bush-whacking_ (London, 1901);
_Further India_ (London, 1904); De la Croix, _Les Mines d'etins de
Perak_ (Paris, 1882); Bluebook, C. 9524 (London, 1899); _The Straits
Directory_ (Singapore, 1906); Skeat, _Malay Magic_ (London, 1900);
Skeat and Blagden, _Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula_ (London,
1906). (H. Cl.)