Haji Saman Membakut 1846

Hj. Saman and his men attacking the British at Membakut, 1846.

BRITISH NORTH BORNEO settle accounts with Haji Saman, the Sultan's late commander in-chief, who had established himself at Membakut, a few miles north of Kimanis. On August 14 Captain Mundy, who had been joined by Rajah Brooke, authored off Kimanis with H.M.S. Iris and the East India Company's steamer Phlegethon. His last action was to dispatch a message to the Dusun headman of Membakut asking him to give up Haji Saman. The Dusuns' only reply, probably actuated by the Haji himself, was that if they wanted the Haji the English could come and take him, and that the Dusuns were not afraid of the white man's shot, which they could catch in their hands and throw back again.

No sooner had this little piece of purple been received than events took an unexpected turn, for thirty war-boats appeared upon the scene, carrying twenty guns and 400 men under their chiefs. These people inhabited districts for twenty miles along the coast; their mission, they said, was a peaceful one and they had no other desire than to pay their respects to the English Rajah and to assure him of their desire for legitimate trade. They offered their assistance against Haji Saman, and the Rajah, after a long talk with the chiefs, decided that there was no fear of treachery and that it would be impolitic to refuse their proffered aid.

At 8 a.m. on August 18 the expedition, consisting of seventy bayonets, crossed the bar of the Membakut River. Captain Mundy and the Rajah, with the head chief as guide, led the flotilla in the captain's gig; Lieutenant Little followed with the boats, and a quarter of a mile behind came the great fleet of native vessels, crammed with savage volunteers and decked with many-coloured flags. After a three hours' pull upstream the force encountered the first obstacles laid by the enemy, large rafts sent floating downstream adrift with the object of causing confusion amongst the boats. 

On rounding a sharp bend, they were confronted with a long line of thick bamboo stakes fixed across the stream with an immense boom attached to them. As luck would have it, the ebb tide had caused the boom to swing athwart so that the boats passed through without difficulty, and though it was a tough pull against the strong current in face of the enemy's fire, Mr. Little carried the position on the bank and the defenders fled. After the fort, batteries and magazines had been destroyed the force pushed on after the fugitives without delay. At 3 p.m. they came in sight of a large house 200 feet long, built close to the river and partly hidden by coconut-trees. 

As the boats advanced a masked battery opened; it was quickly silenced; bluejackets and marines were landed, but the defenders as usual managed to escape before the house could be surrounded, and once more got away into the jungle, carrying their dead and wounded with them. The house was soon in flames and with it fifty human skulls and as many packages of human bones which were hanging up within, evidence of the propensities of the Membakut Dusuns of those times.

Having demolished the second of Haji Saman's strongholds, the force bivouacked for the night. At dawn next morning a deserter from the Haji's camp swam the river and informed Captain Mundy that the rebels had retreated in despair to a third position at the head of the river. The advance was pushed on, and half an hour later a cheer from the leading boat told that the last refuge of the enemy was in sight. For a few minutes the stubborn Haji made one last desperate stand; for a few minutes he tried to stem the advance by a shower of bullets and poisoned blow-pipe darts, then, broken and defeated, he abandoned his defences once again and took to flight. The remains of his stronghold can still be seen upon a steep hill above the river where to-day grow the rubber-trees of Membakut Estate.

The expedition, having burnt the fort and the houses of all who had supported the outlaw, returned downstream and were on board the Iris by sunset, the casualties being one seaman killed, six seamen and eight natives wounded. The chiefs, who had entirely justified the trust placed in them by Rajah Brooke, were entertained in the Phlegethon and then departed with their people after swearing solemn oaths to protect the persons and property of any Europeans^ who might suffer shipwreck upon their coast. * ^ Mundy's Narrative, vol. ii, p. 213 et seq.

Haji Saman and his adherents having been scattered. Rajah Brooke returned to Brunei to re-establish law and order. The Sultan, who, now that his teeth were drawn, was no longer dangerous, was allowed by the wise forbearance of the Rajah to return to his capital in order that the administration might resume its ordinary course under the sanction and prestige of his name. He was, after all, the twenty-fifth of a royal and unbroken line; he had received a salutary lesson; while entreating forgiveness for the past he gave assurances of good behaviour in the future and was not too regal to eat humble pie generally. 

For all that, it was felt necessary to emphasize the warning he had received. For this purpose Captain Mundy visited His Highness in state on September 19, 1846. After the preliminary courtesies had been exchanged the Sultan led him to a private ante-chamber and ordered a large wax taper to be lighted, explaining that its light was " witness of the purity of his heart, and of the oath which he was ready to make of his goodwill towards his sister the Queen of

England." 1

Captain Mundy thereupon proceeded, in words which probably lost little significance by being delivered through an interpreter, to put the fear of God into this royal personage, ending by remarking that all depended upon his own conduct and that it would be much more agreeable for the Navy to protect the royal palace and the capital than to receive orders to inflict upon it the same punishment as had been meted out to Tempassuk, Pindassan and Membakut.

This and other recent events made a deep impression upon the Sultan and he remained true to his engagements. The government was re-established, the natives on the coast became settled, the Illanuns betook themselves to other hunting-grounds in the islands off the east coast and trade began to flourish as it had not done for many years. To crown all, after many delays, the British flag was hoisted in Labuan on December 24, 1846, by Captain Mundy, the Sultan having concluded a treaty by which the island was ceded for * Mundy's Narrative, vol. ii, p. 262.

For some time these vigorous measures had the desired effect; the power of the pirate chiefs was broken. They had found that it was not such a glorious thing after all  " to be a pirate king." The Dutch had also been active and the Spaniards had helped matters by taking the offensive against the Balagnini, destroying their chief stronghold at Tianggi, now Jolo. 

The pirate stock, however, was a remarkably hardy growth, and if left to itself it was not long before it would begin to gather strength again. It resembled the rank lalang grass of the tropics, the vitality of which is such that to exterminate it for good and all it is necessary not only to cut it down once, but to come back over the ground again and again before it has time to grow into strength once more. 

The burning of a pirate fort or village was no serious obstacle to future enterprises, for it must be remembered that Borneo forts, unlike Rome, could be built in a day from the abundance of material ever close at hand. It was for this reason that the punitive operations, though they had excellent results at the time, were in a large measure unavailing by reason of the fact that the vigilance of the Navy was not maintained in Borneo waters year in and year out, though Capt. Keppel strongly urged that more rigorous action should be taken. ^ 

Also the current of piracy set east ; Tunku, which had always been a pirate base, now became the refuge of all the cut-throats and rapscallions who found things too hot for them on the north or west coasts, among them Haji Saman, the fallen idol of Membakut. This, moreover, did not prevent the pirates from appearing periodically in their old haunts. In September, 1851, the Dolphin, a trading schooner, was captured by Tunku pirates off Marudu Bay. They disarmed suspicion by appearing in three small boats, and got a foothold on board under the pretence of bringing pearls and mats to barter. 

Then, without warning, the chief seized a weapon hidden in a roll of matting and led the attack, killing Captain Robinson, his supercargo Bums and five of the crew. The remainder (who had sought refuge in the rigging) were given quarter on condition that they * A Visit to the Indian Archipelago, vol. i, pp. 74 and 277. navigated the vessel. The pirates then made for Tunku, but in Labuk Bay the schooner was recognized by the local chief, who obtained possession of her after a fight in which all the pirates, except the leader and four of his men, were killed. The Dolphin was handed over to the East India Company's Pluto, which had been sent out as soon as the news reached Labuan. Early the following year an expedition consisting of H.M.S. Cleopatra and the E.I.C. steamers Pluto and Semir-amis was dispatched, accompanied by Spencer St. John, who was acting as Political Agent in Borneo during the absence of Rajah Brooke. 

Tunku was attacked, but when the party reached the position not a soul was to be seen, though two sailors had been shot by snipers hidden in the mangrove during the advance up the river. Fort, houses, boats and standing crops were burnt; coconut-trees were cut down and some booty taken, but the party had to return without a single prisoner and did not learn till later that the pirates had retreated to a hill near-by, where they had collected great heaps of boulders to roll down upon the English if they attacked.^ Such isolated descents upon the pirate strongholds were usually not thorough enough to effect very much, and the occupants, though inconvenienced, were undismayed. The effects of the Dutch and Spanish operations were not more lasting.

Matters went from bad to worse, for, quite oblivious of the treaty concluded in Brunei in 1847, the Admiralty, as an outcome of a political attack upon Rajah Brooke, issued strict orders that the pirates were not to be molested unless it was evident that they had attacked a British vessel. This almost incredible piece of officialdom undid much of the good that had been done, and in the year 1:858 there was a great revival in the activities of the Illanun and Balagnini pirates; their depredations became immense, large numbers of peaceful natives were enslaved, and no trade on the east coast of Borneo was safe from their outrages. A Spanish vessel was captured in the Sulu Sea by a Penglima Taupan of Tawi Tawi ; the whole crew was murdered, and the unfortunate daughter of a Spanish merchant was forced to become the Penglima's wife.

1 Illustrated London News, May 29, 1852.

Source :Owen Rutter

Awang Mat Saman Membakut

Kalau di Beaufort sana, ada satu tampat nama dia Bukit Salagun. Menurut seorang tua nama dia 'Beliau Tukang'(Almarhum), kalau dusun dari Beaufort bejumpa dengan dusun dari membakut tampat itulah diorang akan berpenggal kepala sampai bemati-matian. Memang sewaktu saya melawat tempat tu memang terdapat kesan-kesan pertarungan yang dasyat dalam tahun hujung 1840an. jadi kena terima hakikat suatu masa dahulu nenek-moyang kita memang suka berperang.

Lagi satu kisah di membakut, sewaktu penduduk barunai berhijrah beramai-ramai kesana kaum dusun tidak suka kehadiran mereka sebab kaum barunai golongan hartawan dan beragama islam. Waktu itu kaum dusun masih pagan dan mengamalkan animisme. Jadi menurut cerita orang-orang tua, seringkali berlaku peperangan antara kaum barunai dengan dusun sehingga kaum barunai menjadi semakin sedikit dan hampir pupus. Agak lama juga pertembungan demi pertembungah berlaku hingga membawa kepada campurtangan bangsa padas(Bisaya) dari Klias (Beaufort) untuk mengamankan suasana. Kelebihan bangsa padas, mereka beragama islam seperti kaum barunai dan amat mudah untuk memahami keperluan kaum barunai. 

Manakala kelebihan kaum padas terhadap kaum dusun membakut ialah, bahasa mereka yang 80-90 peratus sama dan ini memudahkan perundingan dengan pihak dusun bagi mencari jalan penyelasaian. Ini kerana kaum barunai tidak tahu berbahasa dusun. Jadi keputusan pun dibuat dimana kaum barunai menetap di hilir sungai membakut dan kaum dusun di hulu sungai membakut. Perkataan membakut juga berasal dari bahasa padas(bisaya) bererti membuat empangan dan sesetengah bangsa dusun juga menggunakan bahasa yang sama iaitu bakut bermakna empang. Antara pemimpin padas(bisaya) yang dihormati di membakut iaitu keturunan dari pemimpin yang meleraikan persengketaan antara kaum barunai dengan kaum dusun ialah Awang Mat Saman. Sebagai mengenang jasa beliau, maka dewan SMK Membakut di namakan sempena nama beliau.

Lain pula kisah di daerah Klias dimana terdapat masyarakat dusun yang sukakan kedamaian. Mereka memohon membuat penempatan daripada raja bisaya pada masa itu, Sultan Awang Koyoh dan membuat sumpah untuk menjalinkan persaudaraan dengan kaum bisaya pada masa itu. Jika ada sesiapa yang pernah mendengar keturunan dusun yang tidak boleh makan labi-labi, maka mereka adalah keturunan yang pernah bersumpah menjadi saudara kepada kaum bisaya di klias. Kalau terpegang labi-labi sekalipun seluruh badan akan gatal dan penawarnya ialah ikan palian.

Kisah dusun hanyut di kuala penyu juga agak unik. Tetapi ini juga satu contoh betapa kaum dusun sanggup berkorban nyawa menyelamatkan kaum murut yang dilanda banjir besar dari daerah tenom suatu masa dahulu dan apabila mereka hanyut sampai ke laut, mereka diselamatkan oleh kaum manunggang di daerah kuala penyu. Jadi banyak contoh yang boleh kita pelajari disini.

Source : Sabah Forum