Pahang Uprising

The Pahang Uprising (Malay: Pemberontakan Pahang, Jawi: ڤمبرونتقن ڤهڠ‎), also known as the Pahang Rebellion or the Pahang War, was an anti-colonial uprising in Pahang, Malaysia, between 1891 and 1895. The uprising was largely led by traditional chiefs and fueled by local grievances towards the British Residential system.^[1]

By the 1880s, governance in Pahang came under the purview of the British Straits Settlements government. Increasing pressure was exerted upon the Sultan of Pahang Ahmad Mu'azzam by the residing British Agent to administer the state according to British ideals. The British ultimately compelled Sultan Ahmad to administer the sultanate as a British protectorate in 1888, and John Pickersgill Rodger was appointed as Pahang's first Resident. Tax reform introduced by the British residency resulted in serious discontent among the local chieftains who were traditionally given the right to collect taxes in their respective territories.

The uprising began when the chief of Semantan, Dato' Bahaman, retaliated against the arrest of his followers by attacking a detachment of British Sikh police, burning down a police station at Lubuk Trua, and sacking the town of Temerloh in 1891. Over the years, the rebellion grew with many other chieftains joining Dato' Bahaman, notably Tok Gajah, the chief of Pulau Tawar, and his son Mat Kilau. At the beginning of the conflict, the rebels gained significant victories but was later gradually pushed back by heavy British forces. In 1895, the war was concluded when several ringleaders were either captured or exiled in neighbouring states.^[2]

The Sultan of Pahang initially gave tacit support to the rebelling Malay chiefs but was subsequently pressured by the British to support colonial rule in Pahang.^[3] An amnesty was issued in 1892 and most of the chiefs surrendered while the rest fled (and was captured in Kelantan). Tengku Mahmud's cooperation with the British led to them rewarding him as heir to his father Sultan Ahmad.^[1]