On 21 July 1875 Raja Abdullah, in despair, called a meeting of chiefs where after a talk of poisoning Birch accepted the Maharajalela's offer to stab Birch to death.ĭato' Maharajalela, who was the individual chiefly responsible for Birch's death, is regarded by most Perak Malays as a heroic figure who resisted British imperialism. Governor-General Andrew Clarke had already observed on 25 March 1875 that, "I am very much annoyed with Birch and the heads-over-heels way in which he does things he and I will come to sorrow yet, if he does not mind." OSTB : When studying history in school, I always wondered what was the adat Melayu that JWW Birch had so interfered with that had invited his assassination? So this was the complaint - JWW Birch was interfering in Malay slavery as well. " to prevent the Resident from interfering with religion and custom, from acting without consulting Sultan and chiefs, and from depriving them of their property, namely fugitive slaves and feudal dues." Winstead in his "A History of Malaya" on page 226 published in the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, reprinted in 1986, wrote that a Malay deputation entreated with Governor-General Andrew Clarke in Singapore JWW Birch was killed on 2 November 1875 by Sepuntum who speared him to death while he was in the bath-house of his boat, SS Dragon, moored on the Perak river-bank below the Maharajela's house, in Pasir Salak, near today's Teluk Intan. OSTB : So when JWW Birch arrived in Perak in November 1874, slavery had already been abolished in England for over a hundred years and in the British Empire for 41 years. Slavery r emained in most of British Empire until Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Slave Trade Act 1807 prohibited slave trade in British Empire.Slavery in England "abolished" via Somersett's Case 1772.Here is some history which I gathered from various websites : But I missed the part where JWW Birch was adamant about abolishing slavery in Malaya. I recall graphic descriptions of how a Malay chief stepped on the he ad of a slave in a shallow river until the slave drowned. My comments : A long time ago I have read about slavery in Malay culture and history. The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini. Joshua Woo Sze Zeng is municipal councillor with the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP).
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