Perak War

▪ Southeast Asian history

      (c. 1874–76), rebellion against the British by a group of dissident Malay chiefs that culminated in the assassination in 1875 of James Birch, the first British resident (adviser) in Perak. Although they succeeded in eliminating Birch, the Malay leaders failed in their ultimate objective—the curbing of British economic and political influence in the area.

      Birch arrived in Perak in November 1874 to take up the post of resident (i.e., official British adviser to the sultan), which had been created as part of the Pangkor Engagement, a treaty between the British government and the Malay chiefs. Birch hoped through his influence to have Raja Abdullah accepted as sultan in Upper Perak and to modernize the traditional administrative system, under which government had been based on personal relationships between the sultan and the chiefs. Because of rapid and revolutionary administrative change, especially concerning revenue collection and slavery, the resident soon alienated Abdullah and most local chiefs.

      At a meeting in July 1875, the sultan organized a movement to kill Birch and end foreign influence in Perak. When Birch was in Upper Perak posting new tax proclamations, one of the chiefs, Maharaja Lela, and his men assassinated him. An attack on the residency itself failed to materialize. Subsequent British military action crushed weak Malay resistance; the plotters were arrested by mid-1876 and were later tried. Abdullah was deposed as sultan, and the rebel chiefs were severely punished. Subsequent British residents attempted to work through Malay rulers and to avoid drastic changes in traditional institutions.

* * *