Kota Kinabalu - Resistance against colonial rule in Malaysia began in Sabah by a local warrior, Panglima Datu Tating, more than 200 years ago, according Baszley Bee Basrah Bee, a history lecturer at the Social Science School of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) here.
He said Datu Tating, a local, was the first to challenge colonial rule, in particular the British, in Sabah.
He claimed that it was Datu Tating who paved the way for other local tribe leaders to follow suit in standing up against the oppressive rule of the colonialist in years to come.
"Not many people realise that the resistance against the English colonial rule in Malaysia actually began here in Sabah and that the English colony at Pulau Balambangan was started much earlier than those in Penang, Singapore and Melaka," he said.
According to Baszley, Datu Tating‘s contributions might had been overlooked by historians and the local community due to perceptions on whether Tating was a "Sabahan" as he belonged to the Tausog tribe which is predominantly found in the southern islands of the Philippines as his Sulu Sultanate ancestry.
Baszely revealed this in his paper at a "Seminar on remembering warriors" organised by the Malaysian Youth Islamic Movement (Abim) Sabah at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka main hall here.
He said more than 100 years before Datu Paduka Mat Salleh started his rebellion against British rule in North Borneo, Datu Tating led his men in routing the British colony at Pulau Balambangan, off Kudat.
The incident happened on March 5, 1775 where Tating commanded his men of about 100 comprising Tausoq and Iranun tribes in defeating the British over what historians describe as "colonialists" disrespect of local customs practised by the Tausog and Iranuns.
"North Borneo‘s history before 1881 is also part of the Brunei and Sulu Sultanate history. Thus, the notion that Tating was an outsider and not a Sabahan is unjustified considering that North Borneo - or at least the areas along the coast on both sides - was under the rule of both sultanates," he said.
"Tating may not have been considered to be a local because of the transformation of the state‘s boundaries to what it is now, which started in 1881 and was eventually used to identify whether one was a Sabahan or not."
"As he was born outside Sabah, Tating was never considered to be a Sabahan and that probably is the reason why his role is ignored," Baszley added.
Regarding the English colony in Pulau Balambangan, he said history has it that is was established in 1763 by Alexander Darymple of the English East India Company (EEIC) as a trading post to challenge the Spanish and Dutch dominance in the region.
Prior to that, the earliest known record of the existence of the island can be traced back to the Spanish landing in 1521 by Juan Sebastian Elcano.
"In fact, the Spanish knew the island as I de Santa Maria before Darymple referred the island to its present name, " he said.
In 1773, a fort was built and staffed with 400 men comprising Europeans, the Sepoi and Bugis. Nine cannons were strategically placed at the fort and offices, godown and workers‘ quarters were also constructed.
The colony made a slow start at first but the arrival of John Herbert as Resident saw an increase in trading opportunities, especially since Herbert managed to obtain rights in the pepper trade from the Sultan of Brunei.
However, the colony never recovered from the attack by Tating and his men and saddled with over population and limited food supply, the colony was finally closed on the orders of Lord Wallesley in November 1805.
As the man responsible for the colony‘s decline, Tating had good relations with the English at first, where he was even awarded a contract to clear the jungles as well as build infrastructures for the EEIC in Balambangan.
Unfortunately, it was the EEIC and Herbert‘s act of disrespect to the customs of the Tausog and Iranuns that led to Tating taking arms against the English.
Baszley said Tating‘s knowledge of the fort was instrumental in defeating the English.
"The fact they only took about seven hours to do so was testament to Tating‘s ability in planning the attack as well as the fighting spirit of his fighters," Baszely said .
Tating seized the fort, goods, weapons, three boats as well as the EEIC warship ‘Phoenix‘, while Herbert together with his top officers managed to escaped to Labuan on board another EEIC warship berthed at the island, the "Endeavour".
Source: www.dailyexpress.com.my (19 September 2007)
