James W. W. Birch

Infobox President
name =James Wheeler Woodford Birch


image_size =60px
caption =James Wheeler Woodford Birch
order =1st British Resident of Perak
term_start =4 November 1874
term_end =2 November 1875
predecessor ="None"
successor =Frank A. Swettenham
birth_date =birth date|1826|4|3|mf=y
birth_place =South England, United Kingdom
death_date =death date and age|1875|11|2|1826|4|3
death_place =Pasir Salak, British Malaya
spouse =
religion =Christian
constituency =
party =
languagesspoken =English

James Wheeler Woodford Birch, commonly known as J. W. W. Birch (3 April 1826 - 2 November 1875) was the first British Resident in Perak, Malaysia. He was appointed to the post on 4 November 1874 as the government adviser to the Sultan of Perak following the signing of the famous Pangkor Treaty on 20 January 1874, which established Perak as a British protectorate state.

Assassination

Birch was killed on 2 November 1875 by a local Malay chief, Dato Maharajalela and his assistant Sepuntum by spearing him to death while he was taking his bath, nearby a river, in Pasir Salak, near today's Teluk Intan (Teluk Anson), because of his disrespect to the local custom and tradition, and conflict with local Malay chiefs. Birch's assassination was ultimately due to the fact that 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. In the aftermath of the event, the administration shifted to Taiping. Sultan Abdullah was deposed and sent to exile in Seychelles. Dato Maharajalela and others involved in the incident were hanged.

Memorial

Birch's grave is located near the site of British fort at Kampung Pasir Pulai, about 24 km from Pasir Salak. Roads in Kuala Lumpur and Taiping were thought to have been named after him (Birch Road), but this was for a different Birch; ironically, the same road was later renamed after Dato Maharajalela (Maharajalela Road; Malay: "Jalan Maharajalela") after Malaysia's independence in 1957. Similarly Birch Road also appeared in several towns in Malaysia, they were Seremban, Penang and Ipoh, also found in Singapore.

Sources and references

* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Malay_states.htm WorldStatesmen - Malaysia]
* [http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.com/2006/04/rewriting-our-history.html Education Malaysia - Rewriting our history]

Also See

* [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Corresp:_Actions_of_Perak_Expeditionary_Force_post-murder_of_Birch Corresp: Actions of Perak Expeditionary Force post-murder of Birch]