The Mat Salleh Rebellion in Sabah
Mat Salleh was a proud and war like pengeran who lived with a following of warlike Bajous up the Sugut River on the East coast of North Borneo. His father was Datu Balu, a chief in that part of the Sugut while his mother was a Baju. His wife was related to the Sultan of Sulu and a Nenek Kebayan (medicine woman). Both Mat Salleh and his wife thought themselves invincible to modern weapons.
Mat Salleh resented the European encroachment and he disliked the small flare ups he had with the Charter Company which ruled Sabah. On 17 August 1895 he went to Sandakan. A.Cook, a company treasurer, alarmed at the large following, sent him away. When Governor Beaufort returned, he ordered Salleh to surrender some of his forces and accused them of murdering two Dayaks who were part of the police force at the time. When Salleh refused, he was declared an outlaw and a price of $500 was offered for him.
Salleh retreated to Sugut where he build a fort and also sent arms to the Labuk River people who refused to pay the poll tax. In September 1896, the Dayak police destroyed his fort at Limbawan but Salleh and most of his followers escaped.
Governor Beaufort went to the impoverished and destitute Sultan of Brunei and purchased the rights of taxation, customs and the police on the people of the Inaman River. The Bajous of the Inaman river wanted no such control and together with the Mengkabob and Menggatal people joined Mat Salleh. They attacked and destroyed the Company Station at Goya.
Governor Beaufort then raised a force to pursue Salleh and burned all the villages along the Inanam River. He claimed he had the authority from the Sultan of Brunei where he had purchased the powers earlier. Governor Beaufort then sent a man named Hewett to demand that he pay compensation for not attacking the Mengkabob and Menggatal or to give the river valleys to him. Under threat of having his compensation removed, the Sultan said the local chiefs had a right and he refused to say anything about the arrest of Matt Salleh.
Meanwhile, the Company had grown weak because of the economic crisis of the 1890’s. Governor Beauford could not raise the funds to pay for an all out attack on Mat Salleh’s new fort at Ranau. He asked the Governor of the Straits Settlement for help but he refused. He did give him permission to raise a Sikh force at Singapore.
There was a new managing director of the company named Cowie. He took over at the time the fort at Ranau was destroyed but Salleh had escaped. When the council of the Charter met, they decided to continue the pursuit of Salleh. Cowie then took control over the river enclaves, that portion where the people were different.
Then, Jeludin agreed to cede his control over the Mengkabong, Menggatal, Gantisan and Api Api rivers for $2,500 per year. The Sultan then ceded his rights to the Inanam river and all independent rivers north of the Tanjong Nosong for $1,200 per year. He then sold Tanjong Nosong and all lands north of the Padas including Kwala Lama for $1200 to the British. The only river enclave left was the Membakut.
Shortly thereafter Cowie had a personal meeting with Mat Salleh where he agreed to pardon Mat Salleh and all his followers and retire to the remote Tambuan valley. Cowie, after some internal conflicts within the British hierarchy, agreed and stated the Salleh was generally adhereing to the agreement. Cowie then left for England.
In September, 1898 Salleh built a fort on the Tambuan River. Governor Beaufort became alarmed and asked for police from the Malay peninsula. The Governor of the Straits Settlements refused. Mean while, the Tambuan people were complaining that Mat Salleh was oppressing their people.Cowie, then built a Company station on the Tambuan river. Salleh thought this to be an infringement on his rights and a violation of the agreement between him and the British. Cowie then ordered a British gunboat to Sandakaan and to reinforce expedition mounted against Salleh. Salleh was killed when the British attacked his fort.
After Sallehs death, there were two opposing sides in England. The Foreign Office wanted all of Brunei partitioned and Sultanate destroyed while the Colonial Office wanted the Sultanate preserved. The Foreign Office dropped the idea of partition when Lawas was ceded to Sarawak. A British resident was appointed to the Sultanate and the kingdom, still an impoverished entity, was saved from annihilation.
The involvement of the Colonial Office was to some extent brought about by Mat Saleh and his rebellion against English rule. Although the rebellion was futile, it did contribute to the continued existence of the ancient Malay kingdom of Brunei.
From: The Mat Salleh Rebellion Reconsidered by Colin Neil Crisswald in the Sarawak Museum Journal December 1971
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