Lela Pandak Lam

This article is about a Malay nationalist. For the current ruler of Rembau, see Dato' Muhammad bin Sharif Othman.

Dato Maharaja Lela Pandak Lam (died on 20 January 1877) was a Malay nationalist from Perak.

A descendant of Daeng Salili, Pandak Lam was the son of a Bugis King from Luwuk District, Sulawesi. During the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah III, he came to Perak and was appointed Mufti and was awarded the title "Dato 'Maharaja Lela Tan Lela", granting him the authority to punish by decapitation without question.

Pandak Lam was a leader who later led the struggle against the British in Perak. Together with other leaders such as Dato 'Sagor and Ngah Kandin, he planned an alliance to assassinate James Wheller Woodford Birch (J.W.W. Birch), the British Resident of Perak. The decision was approved by Durian Sebatang meeting chaired by Sultan Abdullah on 21 July 1875.

Birch was killed on 2 November 1875 Dato Maharaja Lela and his assistant Sepuntum, who speared him to death while he was taking his bath, nearby a river, in Pasir Salak, near today's Teluk Intan (Teluk Anson).

There is inconsistency as to the reason why Birch was assassinated. One view is that Birch's assassination was because he outlawed slavery in Perak. Dato Maharajalela, whose income depended on capturing and selling the indigenes of Perak or Orang Asli as slaves, was then incensed and plotted with some of the slave-traders to kill Birch by spearing him when he was taking his bath in the river.

The more popular view among rightwing Malay historians indicate that Birch was assassinated because of his disrespect to the local custom and tradition, and conflict with local Malay chiefs. This is because modern Malay historians generally refuse to accept that the Orang Asli were being traded as slaves in the pre-Colonial era. Some accounts claimed that Birch was arrogant and disrespectful of local customs and the ruling Sultan of Perak, for example by refusing to remove his shoes when he entered the palace.

To those historians, Dato' Maharajalela is generally celebrated as a folk hero, due to his substantial contribution and seen to be a symbol of the Malay resistance against British colonialism.

In the aftermath of the event, the administration shifted to Taiping. Sultan Abdullah was deposed and sent to exile in Seychelles.

Dato Maharajalela was found guilty for the murder of Birch by the presiding court from 14 December until 22 December 1876 in Matang, Perak. He was sentenced to death by hanging on 20 January 1877 in Taiping.

See also

• Rentap
• Syarif Masahor
• Rosli Dhobi, a famous Malay Sarawakian who killed Sir Duncan Stewart

References

• Laman web Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia
• Pejabat DYMM Sultan Perak Darul Ridzuan
• Adopted from Sejarah Tingkatan 2 & Sejarah Tingkatan 5 text book.

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Date of death	January 20, 1877
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