Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar

ALMARHUM




SULTAN ABU BAKAR



By Beh Jien Meng

Introduction










Johor is one of the largest states in



Peninsular Malaysia. As every other states in

Malaysia, Johor was ruled by a ruler of high
caliber,


Sultan Abu Bakar.



Biodata





The Father of Modern Johor







Sultan Abu Bakar ibni Almarhum Temenggong Seri


Maharaja Tun Daeng Ibrahim (3 February 1833 – 4 June


1895) was the Temenggong of Johor. He was the 1st Sultan


of Modern Johor, the 21st Sultan of Johor and the first


Maharaja of Johor from the House of Temenggong.







He was also

informally known as


"The Father of

Modern Johor"

as many historians

accredited Johor's

development in the

19th century to Abu

Bakar's leadership.

Education







Abu Bakar spent his childhood years in his


father's kampung in Teluk Blanga; at a young


age he was tutored by local teachers


on Islam and Adat (traditional Malay law),


before he was sent to the Teluk Blanga Malay


school, a mission school run by Reverend



Benjamin Peach Keasberry. Under the guidance


of the missionary teachers, Abu Bakar was


observed to develop the manners of an English


gentleman, and the ability to speak fluent


English in addition to his native Malay.






















Reverend Benjamin Peach
Keasberry

Career






In 1851, Temenggong


Daeng Ibrahim delegated


Abu Bakar, then an


eighteen-year-old youth,


to assist him in


negotiation efforts


against Sultan Ali, who


was making frivolous


attempts to claim


sovereignty rights over



Johor.

Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim










As the Temenggong aged,


he gradually delegated his


state administrative


duties to Abu Bakar.





During this period, several British officers


praised of Abu Bakar's excellent diplomatic


skills, as mentioned in William Napier's


diaries, who was the senior law agent of


Singapore. Napier had accompanied Abu Bakar


to fetch Tengku Teh, the mother of the


deposed Sultan of Lingga, Mahmud Muzaffar


Shah, to Johor shortly after her son began to


exert sovereignty claims over Pahang.

The outbreak of the Pahang Civil War the following


year saw Abu Bakar befriending Tun Mutahir, whom


he provided support for his war efforts. Abu Bakar


married Mutahir's daughter in 1860 during a visit in


Pahang, and the following year he signed a treaty of


friendship, alliance and a guarantee of mutual


support with Mutahir in 1861. Meanwhile,


Temenggong Ibrahim was already suffering from a


prolonged period of ill health, and a bout of high


fever resulted in his death on 31 January 1862.

Years as Maharaja (1868-1885)





























































Maharaja Abu Bakar of Johor

(1868-1885)



Officially proclaimed as

the Maharaja of Johor

on 30 June 1868.

Years as Sultan (1885-1895)






The Anglo-Johor treaty signed in 1885 with

the British cemented his position and that of

his future descendant to the throne of Johor

and recognised as Sultan of Johor.


























































Sultan Abu Bakar in his coronation outfit


complete with flowing robes

Contributions









He initiated policies and provided aids to ethnic


Chinese entrepreneurs to stimulate the development


of the state's agricultural economy which was


founded by Chinese migrants from Southern China in


the 1840s. He also took charge of the development


of Johor's infrastructure, administrative system,



military and civil service, all of which were modelled


closely along Western lines.

Johor Military Forces


In 1885, Sultan Abu
Bakar instituted the

creation of a state postal

and judiciary system

modelled along British
lines, as well as a military

force, the Johor Military

Forces (Askar Timbalan
Setia)




Johor State Establishment Constitution



On 14 April 1895, Johor State

Establishment Constitution
(Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri

Johor) was promulgated,

drafted by Abdul Rahman

Andak.
It is the first-



ever written


constitution in the


Malay Peninsular.


The legal and


administrative



system was


introduced, in Jawi.

Abu Bakar was noted for his diplomatic skills, and


both the British and Malay rulers had


approached him for advice in making important


decisions. He was also an avid traveller, and


became the first Malay ruler to travel to Europe


during his first visit to England in 1866. In


particular, Abu Bakar became a lifetime friend


of Queen Victoria in his later years. Abu Bakar's


friendship with Queen Victoria played an


important role in shaping Johor's relationships


with Britain, and was the only state by the end of



the 19th century in the Peninsular Malaya to


maintain autonomy in its internal affairs as the


British Colonial Government pushed for greater


control over the Malay states by placing a British


Resident in the states. He was also an Anglophile,


and many of his personal habits and decisions


were aligned to European ideas and tastes.





State Crown









































made out of gold and silver embedded 6 large

diamonds, 3 red ruby gems, 4 large emeralds and 4
large blue sapphires. The frame itself contains

1450 small diamonds. The crescent and star are

encrusted with many small glittering diamonds.





The Crown was designed by the late

Sultan Abu Bakar in 1886 and made by

the jeweller J.W. Benson in London.

Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque






Many state’s buildings constructed were

modelled after British Victorian and Moorish

architecture style.












































The minarets take the form of British 19th

century clock towers. The mosque also features

some Moorish architecture elements with some
minor Malay influence.

Leadership value for





modern generations




As can be seen, the Sultan had Democratic


relationship with British and some other



countries. This has made Johor to have


better infrastructure, administrative


system, military and civil service of which


were modelled closely along Western lines.

Archive photo of gambier cubes drying in the sun [Right] while

a supervisor [wearing white top] oversees a worker

at a gambier farm in Johor in the 1800s




Hard work will definitely pay off. It was proven


by Sultan Abu Bakar that if someone puts


effort to achieve something, the person can


definitely achieve it. It can be seen when he


initiated policies and provided aids to ethnic


Chinese entrepreneurs to stimulate the


development of the state's agricultural


economy which was founded by Chinese


migrants from Southern China in the 1840s

Conclusions








Every ruler has his own strengths and weaknesses.


As a person, we can follow their good leadership


skill and learn from the mistakes so that history


will not be repeated.



Bibliograghy











• Photo Archives of Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar

https://kemahkotaan.johor.gov.my/


• Hack, Karl, Rettig, Tobias, Colonial armies in Southeast
Asia, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 0-415-33413-6


• Hanna, William Anderson, Bali Profile, American
Universities Field Staff, 1976, ISBN 0-910116-98-9


• Hooker, Virginia Matheson, A Short History of Malaysia,
Allen & Unwin, 2003, ISBN 1-86448-955-3