Tun Habib Abdul Majid

Tun Habib Abdul Majid bin Tun Muhammad Ali (1637Deraman, Aziz, Peradaban Melayu Timur Laut, pg 1288 – 27 July 1697)Ibrahim, Negeri Yang Sembilan: Daerah Kecil Pesaka Adat Warisan Kerajaan Berdaulat (1995), pg 137 was the 19thAli, Wan Ramli Wan Mohamad, Pengakuan Tengku Ali: mengapa saya diturunkan dari takhta Terengganu?, pg 3 Bendahara of the Johor Sultanate during the late 17th century.Winstedt, A History of Malaya (1935), pg 147 The Johor Sultanate under Sultan Mahmud Shah II (who belonged to the Malacca-Johor royal family) saw a gradual decline of royal authority during Tun Habib's tenure as the Bendahara of Johor. Internal challenges within the Sultanate faced by Tun Habib consolidated his power as the Bendahara, in which case the Bendahara monopolised legitimate authority over the Johor Sultanate by the 1690s.Suwannathat-Pian, Thai-Malay Relations: Traditional Intra-regional Relations from the Seventeenth to the Early Twentieth Centuries, pg 39 After his death, Tun Habib's descendants spanned throughout the Johor Sultanate and established ruling houses in Riau-Lingga, Johor, Pahang and Terengganu.Abdul Jalal, Noor Rahim, Isa, Peterana Kasih: Antologi Puisi, pg 12

Bendahara of Johor

Power struggles

Little was known of Tun Habib's early life except that he was the son of the Maharaja Sri Diraja of Johor,Winstedt, A History of Johore, pg 195 and that he was jostling for power and recognition with his rival, Laksamana Tun Abdul Jamil during the reign of Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah III.Reid, Anthony, Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era: Trade, Power, and Belief, pg 138

In 1677, Sultan Ibrahim Shah appointed Tun Habib as the Bendahara of Johor and was assumed the title of "Bendahara Seri Maharaja" the following year.Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara, Malaysia Kita, pg 344 Nevertheless, his authority was quickly overshadowed by the more powerful and experienced Laksamana (who assumed the title of Paduka Raja Laksamana), Tun Abdul Jamil.Turnbull, Constance Mary, A Short History of Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, pg 66 Tun Abdul Jamil, seeking the advantage of having an inexperienced Sultan, quickly established his power centre at Riau and overshadowed the Sultan's authority and proclaimed himself Regent. He stopped paying tributes to the Sultan even before Sultan Ibrahim Shah's death in 1685, and appointed filled the top ranks with his family members. Naturally, these appointments earned the wrath of many chiefs and top ministers, including Tun Habib himself. The Laksamana, unable to withhold the tremendous opposition from Tun Habib and his allies, fled to Terengganu in 1688 where he was shortly killed after that.Bastin, Winks, Malaysia: Selected Historical Readings, pg 76 Shortly after Tun Abdul Jamil's expulsion, Tun Habib went over to Riau and took the young ruler, Sultan Mahmud Shah II back to Johor.Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (Indonesia), Pertemuan Ilmiah Arkeologi IV, Cipanas 3-9 Maret 1986, pg 283

Later career

The death of Tun Abdul Jamil allowed Tun Habib to reassert his position as the Bendahara once more. Tun Habib's return saw the position of the Bendahara in a more powerful position, given that the ruler was deemed too young and inexperienced to exert effective control over Johor's affairs. At least on the ceremonial side, Tun Habib swore allegiance to the young Sultan even as he wielded sole effective authority over the kingdom. In April 1691, a Dutch mercenary fleet visited Johor to seek for trade agreements with Tun Habib, to which he steadfastly turned down by citing that he was not to sign any agreements on his own accord until the Sultan reaches maturity of age.Reid, Castles, Pre-colonial State Systems in Southeast Asia: The Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Bali-Lombok, South Celebes, pg 5

Tun Habib was also reportedly well-loved and respected among his subjects and often worked closely with his ministers (Orang Kaya). Shortly after he regained power, Tun Habib relocated the Johor Empire's capital to Kota Tinggi. He also took charge of state affairs by proxy in Terengganu, at that time a sparsely populated state.Goneng, Growing Up in Trengganu, pg 138-9 Sultan Mahmud was given more opportunities to participate in state roles under Tun Habib, although it was the latter who wielded the actual control over the Sultanate's affairs.Andaya, The Kingdom of Johor, 1641-1728: A Study of Economic and Political Developments in the Straits of Malacca, pg 198 Tun Habib later died in Padang Saujana, Kota Tinggi in 1697, where he was buried.Ali, Hooker, Andaya, The Precious Gift: Tuhfat Al-nafis, pg 314 His oldest son, Abdul Jalil, succeeded him as the 20th Bendahara of Johor but usurped the throne from Sultan Mahmud Shah II just two years later in 1699 and took the title Sultan Abdul Jalil IV. His 5th son, Zainal Abidin, who was living in Pattani, came down to Terengganu and became its first Sultan.Information Malaysia (1990), pg 714

Family

Ancestry

Tun Habib's mother was of Malay ethnicity; while his father was of mixed ancestry. His great-grandfather, Sayyid Abdullah Al-Aidrus, was a Hadhrami Arab immigrant who settled in Aceh. His son, Sayyid Zainal Abidin, migrated to Johor and married the granddaughter of Tun Sri Lanang by his son, Tun Jenal,"Jenal" is also spelled variously as "Jinal" or "Jinak". Winstedt, A History of Johore, pg 189, 194 the 5th Bendahara of Sekudai.(Tun) Suzana (Tun) Othman, Institusi Bendahara; Permata Melayu yang hilang: Dinasti Bendahara Johor-Pahang, pg 181 It was from this union that the Maharaja Sri Diraja, the Dato Pasir Diraja (Sayyid Ja'afar) and Putri Bakal were born. Putri Bakal was believed to have later married Sultan Mahmud Shah II.Winstedt, A History of Johore, pg 59-60, 195

The name "Habib" was a local Acehnese variant of the "Sayyid", an honorific title used by descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. However, in lieu of terse relations between Aceh with its neighbours in the 16th century, Tun Habib's name revealed his Acehnese heritage served to raise suspicions when it came to political matters. His descendants gave up the use of "Habib" in their names.Winstedt, R.O., Bendaharas and Temenggungs, pg 51

Descendants

Tun Habib had several sons by different wives, all of whom rose to influential positions. He had at least six sons: Tun (Habib) Abdul Jalil, Tun Abdullah, Tun Abdul Jamal, Tun Mas Anum, Tun Zainal Abidin and Tun Mas Jiwa were all later appointed as Bendaharas. Among these sons, Tun Abdul Jalil and Tun Zainal Abidin later established their own independent ruling houses in Johor-Riau and Terengganu respectively.(Tun) Suzana (Tun) Othman, Institusi Bendahara; Permata Melayu yang Hilang: Dinasti Bendahara Johor-Pahang, pg 41

House of Bendahara, established by Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Shah IV which ruled Johor from 1699 until 1812 (albeit an interregnum between 1718 and 1722). In 1812, the death of Sultan Mahmud Shah III sparked a succession crisis between Tengku Abdul Rahman and his younger brother Tengku Hussein. The British, who came to the region in 1819 saw a royal house rivalled by succession dispute and took to task of recognising Sultan Hussein Shah as the Sultan of Johor and Singapore, while giving Tengku Abdul Rahman the title "Ruler of Singapore.Trocki, Singapore: Wealth, Power and the Culture of Control, pg 82 The royal regalia was given to the Lingga-based Tengku Abdul Rahman who was supported by the Bugis nobles and Bendahara Ali of Pahang.Trocki, Prince of Pirates: The Temenggongs and the Development of Johor and Singapore, 1784-1885, pg 97 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824Buckley, An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore: From the foundation of the settlement under the Honourable the East India Company on February 6th, 1819, to the transfer to the Colonial Office as part of the colonial possessions of the Crown on April 1st, 1867 ...It is amusing to find the assertion that the Sultan of Lingga (who had, by means of the Dutch, taken away half of the territory of Johore from the authority of his elder brother) had been prejudiced by the treaty of 1824 which secured Rhio to him... had the effect of splitting the royal household into two factions:Winstedt, A History of Johore (1365–1941), pg 95Original facsimile of the letter may be seen in Perang Bendehara Pahang 1857-1863, Menelusi Peranan British, (Tun) Suzana (Tun) Othman, page 222Tate, The Making of Modern South-East Asia, pg 134 .....Timmerman Thyssen, expressing his amazement at a fate which separated father from son, brother from brother, and friend from friend. He also declared that he continued to recognize Sultan Abdul Rahamn of Riau as his overlord, and his seal diplomatically styled him as the representative of the late Sultan Mahmud! In the same year he refused to allow the British flag to be flown in Pahang. Later, as the situation became clearer, Bendahara Ali modified his attitude and apparently accorded his recognition to Sultan Husain as well, and in 1841 Husain's son and heir asked to come to Pahang to be installed as the new sultan by the Bendahara. In 1853 the Bendahara felt sufficiently sure of his position to have himself proclaimed as an independent ruler, although the fiction of Johore's sovereignty was allowed to continue up till 1864. (NB: Johor was by then under the effective control of the Temenggong, later Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor.)

House of Bendahara (Johor): Based in Johor, this branch was headed by Sultan Hussein Shah until his death in 1824, although the Temenggong wielded more actual authority than the Sultan, largely because of a lack of legitimate recognition among the Malay nobles.Kratoska, South East Asia, Colonial History, pg 247 In the south, Sultan Hussein of Johore had no authority among the Malay rulers, although one section of the European merchants of Singapore saw in him a useful tool for intrigue. The Sultan of Rhio was forbidden by the Dutch to interfere in the peninsula, and this political vacuum encouraged the bid for independence by the subordinate chiefs, the temenggong of Johore and the Bendahara of Pahang. Hussein Shah's successor, Ali, while he managed to get hold of the royal seal to claim legitimacy to his rule,Reid, Anthony, An Indonesian Frontier: Acehnese and Other Histories of Sumatra, pg 252 was quickly overshadowed by the more powerful Temenggong. Under British pressure, he was forced to cede soveriginity rights over Johor (except Muar) to Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim in 1855. Sultan Ali died in 1877.Trocki, Prince of Pirates: The Temenggongs and the Development of Johor and Singapore, 1784-1885, pg 22-3