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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023108933
SIAM ^
IN THE
MALAY PENINSULA
(A Short Account of tHe Position of Siam in the
States of Kelantan, Patani, Legeh and Siam.)
BY
R. D. DAVIES.
SINGAPORE :
Fraser and Neave, Limited, Printkrs.V
igo2.
':\MUx
o*n
X
A:l- tf
1
(.--:. -
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The following series of articles are reprinted by
the proprietors of the " Singapore Free Press " in res-
ponse to enquiries which lead to the belief that their
collection in pamphlet form will be welcomed in many
quarters. It has been deemed advisable not to alter the
form in which the series appeared beyond a few neces-
sary verbal corrections, and the addition of some
figures taken from the trade reports which help to show
the actual wealth and resources of the States in
question. Some further remarks have also been added
which carry the position of affairs up to Novepiber, 1902,
as far as it is possible to do so.
SiNGAPOBB, November, 1902.
SIAM AND THE MALAYS.
CHAPTER I.
TALES OF OPPRESSION.
In the course of this series of , articles, I shall
endeavour to set forth plainly the fa,cta> I Teamed and
the impressions gained, during an extended tour of some
of the more northerly Malay States. It is perhaps as
well to say at the start that the reason for the visit was
found in the conviction that these States are now passing
through a phase of political s|ipess, which has introduced
a new and more strenuous field of thought and experi-
ence to the Malays ; a phase which is likely to have very
momentous results all over this part of the Peninsula,
and one which it behoves England to watch carefully
in the interests of her commerce and prestige.
There has always been great difficulty experienced
in Singapore in getting reliable news of how affairs were
going on in these States. Native stories, painted, one
must confess some times with an eloquence of effect but
a lamentable lack of definition, have become even more
garbled in fe-ansit with the result that the genuine facts
become so difficult to sift from the general mass of
accretions, that one might have with almost as much
justice, either credited every tale, or refused to believe
any. It must be clearly understood however that what-
ever may appear in the course of these taler of Malays
and Siamese, has been obtained on the spot, and from
2 iSiam anddhe Malays.
the Malays themselves. It is never possible ifi pin a
native down to the mattm-.of fact aiccuracy of your
London police constable, but the utmost efEort has been
made to verify every _fact which I jfropose to set forth,
and in the majority of cases the people most concerned
are the authorities for the information. ' <
There was another aspect of the investigati'oti
which rendered the task |ar from easy^ and that' was
the inordinate dread the Malays appeared to have of
reprisals on the part of the Siamese, should it be known
they had supplied information. Those who have studied
the Malay character for any length of time will know
what I mean, when I say that in more than one kampong
there continually came up in various ways the annoying
word, "Takut." It may seem extraordinary to Euro-
peans that a people decidedly sujierior both niusonlarly
and numerically in their own country, to their would-be
rulers, should still be overawed by them, though there
is no doubt that they are .growing to see that Siam now
is not the Siam of 100 years ii.go'! Such however is the
present position of the majority of the' northern Malays,
and that it interfered greatly^ witt the scope of the
enquiry was unfortunate, and yet not wholly so,
inasmuch as it guaranteed that whatever they should say
after much patient investigation would never exceed
the bare truth. , ■ ,
There is one other point, which must not be lost
sight of in connection with this record, and that is that
whilst my time was divided between Kelantan, Patani,'
Sai and Legeh, one musit differentiate absolutely
between the position of the first !na.med State and that
of the other three, and in lesser degree between Patani
and the other States. The reason for the first distinc-
tion is obvious from Clause XIT of the Bangkok Treaty
of 182fi which I shall have occasion to quote later; the
reason for the second is that Patani is the name state
of the seven States into which the old Kingdom of
Patani was divided, and has moreover borne the brunt
of Siam's unhappy colonizing influence.
Tales of Oppression. 3
Fault may be found with part of . what is put down
here, ift that some of the statements bear no names by
which ^hey can ha authenticated. In reply it can only
be said that they cg,n^wSn'^hen it is deemed expedient,
^but that in all' cases names or documents are either in
the possession of the writer or can be obtained if
necessary.
The series* is divided into papers dealing with
Kelantan in ragaadto the Siamese, Biitish enterprise in
that State, Patani in regarii to the Siamese, Sai and
Legeh in the same light and a summary pf the effects of
Siamese occupation and the attitude of Great Britain. .
Un dealing first with Kelantan it will perhaps be
convenient to give a brief history of recent times and
events there, and- in doing so one finds it is a well-as-
certained fact Lthat Kelantan — in like manner to
Tringganu — haS never been attacked and conquered by
Siam. True the Bajahs have sent the Bunga Mas to-
Bangkok,-but that cannot be seriously claimed as an
.admission of submiasidn^oS' will be shown later on.
About twenty years ,a^or there ruled in Kelantan the
*Rajah Mulut Merah, a man of strong character -and
ability and one- who ruled his kingdom by himself.
In the instance of the present Rajah the patural
difficulties haVe been incpeasedj^ig^he Siamese have
undoubtedly tried to foster dissension amongst His
Highness' household, 9,nd to oppose and divide the
members against each other. It is just in this that
Great Britain and Siam are at opposite poles in the
matter of administration. Siam has never attempted
in the slightest degree to strengthen the Rajah's
hands by the help of his own countrymen, but has
rather fostered dissension; whilst it is fair to say
that Great Britain, had she been concerned in this
country, would have pursued the opposite course and
would have done what she has done time after time
in her many native protectorate^
\Jro begin the history of the Siamese in Kelan-
tan one has to go no farther back than 1894, when
4 Siam and the Malays.
a Siamese who came from Bangkok in company with
a Kelantan Malay whose title was Dato Ment.ri*hoisted
the Siamese flag in Kota Bahru, *he Rajah at that
time havinw no idea of what was implied by the
hoisting of another nation's flag in his country. No
soldiers however were stationed there, and some time
after Dato Mentri was shot. A year later there
came the incident of the capture &f the Pahang
rebels, and the first real show of iofce by the Siamese
in Kelantan. It is unnecessary to detail the various
incidents of that expedition sent by the British,
which under Messrs. Clifford and Duff successfully
hunted the rebels into the Palace at Tringganu,
but it m-iy be noted that before the expedition
started the Government had communicated with Siam
in accordance with Clause XII of the Bangkok Treaty,
and/ Siam had sent two commissioners Luang Visudth
ana Luang Svasti who accompanied the expedition.
In the palace ,at Tringganu there were cornered the
only seven rebels left, and although the British could
have effected their capture with little trouble, it
was deemed advisable to adhere closely to the Bangkok
Treaty which says " England shall not go and molest,
attack or disturb those States" (Kelantan and Triny-
ganu), so the British force was withdrawn. Soon
after the Siamese adopted a course of action which
will remain an everlastini'' blot upon their nam^
The Story of what happened to the rebels was
_told me as follows by a Malay who saw it all.
_Jn July of 1895 Luang Visudth came round by
sea from Tringganu to Kelantan with the chief
of the seven r'ebels, the Oraug Kaya Semantan.
Luang Svasti had previously arrived and gone on to
Kuala Eek. The rebels it is stated on good authority
had been invited to come to Kelantan, and go with
the Siamese to Bangkok, a suggestion of an ultimate
combination with the Siamese to drive the Knglish
out of- the Peninsula, being the inducement. The
rebels consented, but requested to be allowed to
Tales of Oppression. 6
proceed^ by way of Kelantan as they wished to pray
at the grave of Hadji Ming at Kuala Rek. The
Siamese Commissfoners readily granted the request,
and at Kuala Eela» Luang Svasti met Mat Kilau,
Mat Lela, Awang Nong, Teh Brahim and Pah-
Alang Soh; the Orang Kaya was at Kuala Lebeh
with Luang Visudth, and the seventh man the Toh
Gajah did not cSme. The five remained some days at
Kuala Rek and* th^ Luang Svasti invited them to a
dinner. They accepted the invitation and on their
arrival were made to sit down between Siamese soldiers.
At the close of the dinner the attendants handed to each
of the rebels some hot liquid in cups. Whether this
liquid was drugged or whether it was only intended as
a signal will probably never be knowoj but hardly had
they received the drink than they were struck on the
head from behind by Siamese with heavy sticks, and
pulled down. Luang Svasti had obtained possession of
Mat Kilau's sword, and as the man lay on 4ihe ground he
struck him with it cutting his skull open. The men
were then bound, and wounded as they were, were taken
out and thrown on the sand in the blazing sun, and as
they lay there the Siamese soldiers under orders from
Luang Svasti prodded them with their bayonets in the
head. After that they were put in a boat under a guard
and were sent down by a Siamese, Wan Ismail, to Kuala
Lebeh. This man gave the news of the capture to
Luang Visudth at Lebeh, and he by playing on the
Orang Kaya's honour deprived him of his weapons and
sent him in the boat down the river. They all got down
alive save Mat Kilau. The story goes — and only those
who were in the boat can verify it — that on the way
down Mat Kilau groaned with the agony of his wound
and asked the Siamese officer in charge of the gua.rd to
put him out of his misery. The latter, annoyed at the
noise he was making, took the unfortunate man between
his knees and broke his neck. This much is certain,
when Mat Kilau was put into the boat at Kuala Rek he
was unhurt save for the wounds on his head, and when
6 Siam and the Malays.
taken out of the boat later lie was dead with a broken
neck, and one shoulder reduced to a pulp.
Byentually the men were taken te Bangkok by Siam,
and then sent up-country out of thg way. There is one
very pertinent enquiry in connection with this incident
that still remains unanswered, and that is why the British
Government ever allowed Siam to deal with these men.
Thus in 1895 did the Siamese first come prominently
to the front in Kelantan, but th*re Were no soldiers
stationed there, and no regular Commissioner for some
time.
Colonizing. Kelantan.
CHAPTER II.
COLONIZING KELANTAN.
In the last Cltapter I gave some rough details of the
manner in whitfh tlfc Siamese first came into Kelantan.
I propose to show now how they finally established them-
selves there and what line of conduct they adopted to
show their friendliness to the Malays. In the year 1896
two Siamese Commissioners came to Khota Bahru. They
did nothing but observe the course of events, and inci-
dentally warn the Rajah to have nothing to do with the
English. Absolutely no attempt was made to interfere
in any way with the administration of the country then.
In the year 1899 the late Sultan Mansur died, and the
present Rajah, fearing for the safety of his throne, sent
to Bangkok and representing the facts, said that he
anticipated trouble with his relations with regard to his
succession.
Siam thereupon sent a gun-boat and soldiers to
Kelantan. This was the first real establishment of the
Siamese in Kelantan and how disastrous it proved will
be seen from the following facts. By the time the
Siamese arrived all the trouble was over, but the Rajah
received the Siamese as guests and entertained them and
after some days asked them to leave Kelantan. He per-
sonally wrote to the King saying that he was much
obliged for the proferred assistance, but no trouble had,
arisen and would the King kindly withdraw his forces.
No answer came to this letter or to the other letters
which were written subsequently. The Siamese on the
contrary set about to make themselves comfortable, and
the Commissioner, finding a suitable piece of land between
the Rajah's palace and the River, -proceeded to build him-
self a house and quarters for the men. This was probably
one of the cheapest houses of its size ever built.
8 Siam and the Malays.
The land itgelf was at the time covered .with the
natives' houses and these the Commissioner had pulled
down to the number of 104. He thet forced men bring
the materials for the new buildirtgs and obliged other
men to build it. No compensation was paid to the
dispossessed natives either for their houses, or the land
on which they stood. No wages were given to the men
engaged on the work nor were any pavments made for
the materials which had to be provmed iree by the Ma-
lays. Besides all this the particular site chosen was a
direct insult to the Eajah, who wrote to the King of Siam
but obtained no redress.
Then again there is that abuse of the Kra system
which one finds all over these states. Perhaps it is only,
natural that officials coming from a land still deeply
tainted with the evils of slavery, should in the natural
course of events treat the Malays as they would
treat their lower classes at home, but this is only
one indication of the unfitness of the Siamese as
colonists. The custom of the country is one which
has gone on for many years, and shows all that
common sense to which your Siamese seems so hope-
lessly oblivious. The first principle by native custom
is that men cannot be "Kra-ed" at a time when
the crops need attention. Amongst other things
also it is not customary for women to do Kra road
work, it is unusual for a man to be called on to work
more than five or six days a year, head men either direct
the works or else are not called on, and freempn are
never compelled to work with prisoners.
\Poes Siam conform in any way to native custom ?
Let us see. Men are called on to work ten and fifteen
days whilst their paddy is rotting in the field. If a
man is unable to turn up he is either fined or his women
have to do the work. Freemen are compelled to work
alongside prisoners, men are called down from the Ulu
to help in the work, a thing unheard of under the old
Rajahs," their jungle people doing the Kra by sending
down timber when necessary. 7 The scope of this article
Colonizmg Kelantan. 9
will not permit of many authorities being given, bat I
will vouch for their accuracy and can produce lists of
names should they be required.
So much briefly ior the Kra or corvee system.
One tnrns from this subject to one even less plea-
sant, that ^f the conduct of the Siamese Gendarmerie
in Kelantan. Malays told me that before Europeans hj^M^sux
lived in Khota Eahru, the Siamese soldiers used to
assault the Malay :vomen in the open streets daily,^''*^^-*^
whilst in one glaring instance a woman named Haji
Jemelah was seized by the Siamese, and taken into a
house where there were no less than twelve of these
enlightened soldiery. When t]ie woman's relatives
rescued her she was insensible.!
One other case deserves""^otation as showing the
lengths to which the Siamese have gone. An officer in
charge of the troops in Kelantan assaulted a woman at
the Kuala. The husband returned and determining to
be avenged gathered some of his friends together, and
attacked the officer and his men at the Kuala. In the
fight the officer was killed. The wronged man then ran
away and as the Siamese could not catch him, they
arrested a certain number of his friends and relatives !
These were put on trial at Kelantan, but half way through
the trial Phra Sarait, the Siamese Commissioner, saying
'the case was not being conducted fairly, ordered the five
prisoners to be taken to Singgora, Here all pretence of
trial was dropped the men being promptly put in gaol,
and then followed an example of the fiendish ingenuity
of the Siamese. One day the prison door was purposely
left open. The men, naturally eager to escape, took the
chance and came out. Unfortunately for them a firing
party of soldiers had been hidden behind the door
waiting for them, and immediately they appeared they
were shot down ! Of course the report was, " shot
whilst escaping from prison " but the whole thing was a
plot to get rid of the men, and has been corroborated
in all respecbs by a Siamese official who appeared to
thing it rather clever !
10 Siam and the Malays.
Examples of this sort of conduct could be multiplied,
but one prefers to turn to the next cause of trouble,
which though perhaps even more serious is not so unpala-
table. A man Luang Awang yisa appointed to act as
Magistrate and dispense justice. Now be it observed
that this man was recognized by the Rajah because he
thought that he would be much cleverer than the Malays,
but later the action was the cause "of a good deal of
trouble, and now the Malays ascepfe- his judgments
simply because there is the armed power behind. Some-
times two of the Malay Tungkus sit on the Bench, but
it is seldom they are allowed to do more than look on.
The result of the trials depends on the length of the
respective purses, for bribes are given and taken. As
' an instance of the peculiar administration of Justice
under this Magistrate one may cite the following from a
number of other cases. Some ten years ago a man
named Umat who lived in Khota Bharu purchased a
a piece of land from another named Tuan Dalam. He
obtained the necessary documents to safeguard his
purchase, and proceeded to improve and plant the
ground. He lived there till two years back when Dalam
went to Luang ^wang and said that he had
never sold the land, but had only lent it q,nd now he
wanted it back. The case came before the magistrate
who decided that the land belonged to Dalam. The two
Malay magistrates objected strongly on this occasion
and Luang Awang meeting with this unexpected op-
position then said, in the face of the documents produced
by Umat, that there was not sufficient evidence to say
whose the land was, and solved the difficulty admirably
by taking possession of the land himself. That was two
years ago and the' land has not yet been handed over to
either party.
These are only a few instances of the Siamese ideas
of how to administer G-overnment, and if one had no more
serious accusation to make, one could not possible over-
look their utter want of tact and good sense, but it is
impossible to rest at that point, for from all one hears
Colonizing Kelantan. 11
and sees the conviction is forced on one that Siam has
no further object than the acquisition of the country's
resources for the banefit of Bangkok ; and that in carry-
ing out their purposes they are criminally callous
ignorant, and careless. Your Siamese official will point
with apparent pride to the several miles of roads con-,
structed, and the comparatively fine quarters and police
and court houses ibuilt under their guidance. But they
will never tell you that forced labour did it all and that
not a cent of money was ever paid by them. Nor will
they talk of the conduct of their solJiers, of the attempts
made by them to alter and interfere with the Moham-
medan customs and religion, or of the travesty of justice
which goes on in the Courts, or of the people whose land
has been taken away so that the Siamese may build on
it, and who have received no compensation.
All this one has to find out by going behind the
curtain, and lest it should be thought that the Rajah
and his people suffer all this calmly, I append the
following translation of a letter sent by the Rajah to the
King of Siam last year, to which no answer has so far
been vouchsafed. The letter runs as follows : —
" From time immemorial the Rajah of Kelantan has
never made any Treaty with the King of Siam handing
over his State to the care of the latter, and for his reason
the King of Siam has never entered Kelantan to govern
it. It has always been the Rajah of Kelantan's busi-
ness to govern his State himself.
" But the Rajah of Kelantan has always been on
the terms of the greatest friendship with the King of
Siam, for the reason that the Rajah .of Kelantan has
recognized that the country of Siam is most powerful.
It is in token of this friendship that the Rajah of
Kelantan hasalways sent to Siam the Bunga Mas as a
a token of the friendship, existing between the two
countries.
" About a year ago some discussion arose between
myself and my relations, particulars of which I sent to
the King of Siam, upon which the King of Siam sent a
12 Slam and the Malays.
gunboat and some soldiers to Kelantan with instructions
to see what was going on in Kelantan. At thai time I
called my relations together and we a»ranged all matters
amicably amongst ourselves, upon -vshich I wrote and in-
formed His Majesty the King of Siam of the fact, and
asked him to withdraw the gunboat and the soldiers.
Even up to the present the King of Siam has not with-
drawn those forces. At the present "time I am very
much troubled because of the many complaints which I
receive from my chiefs and from my subjects informing
me of the crimes committed by the Siamese soldiers in
this state, which they commit without let or hindrance.
Further about a year ago the King of Siam placed a
Governor in Kelantan in order that he might administer
the law in this Country. About five months ago I
received a communication from the King of Siam inform-
ing me tha.t I was not on any account to grant land in
Kelantan to anyone except subjects of this State, unless
with the permission of the King of Siam ; and only quite
lately Phya Sukum has come and informed me that the
King of Siam wishes to collect the revenue of the
Country, and in return he wishes to pay me a certain
monthly sum.
" It is evident that His Majesty the King of Siam
wishes to alter the laws and Customs which have here-
tofore prevailed in Kelantan. In the opinion of
myself and of my principal chiefs it would be only fair
that . the King of Siam should draw up a document
(proposing His terms) before coming in to take my
countryj if he wishes to alter the Laws and Customs of
the country. In that document it would be only right
and fair that the King of Siam should clearly lay down
the terms which it is proposed that I should accept. On
receipt of such a document I would then confer with my
Council. If after due consideration with my chiefs we
came to the conclusion that we would approve of the
appointment of a Governor in Kelantan, we would
agree to this in the shape of a Treaty between the two
countries, in order that the King of Siam might govern
Colonizing Kelcmtm, 18
the country with satisfaction. But until such a Treaty
has beeft drawn up I hope that the King of Siam will
not attempt to came here, and govern my country,
because there is no ^precedent in any part of the world
for such action as between two countries which are on
friendly terms."
That 'letter speaks for itself and an impartial ex-
amination of it wttl show how the Siamese have behaved
in Kelantan.
14 Siam and the Malays.
CHAPTER III.
COMMERCIAL KELANTAN.
In previous Chapters I have tried to show how the
Siamese have attempted step by step to gain a hold
over Kelantarij in this one it is proposed to explain to
what extent British industry would be checked should
Siam's ultimate purpose be accomplished.
Banglfok has been pleased to jeer and sneer at two
things in particular of late, firstly what it terms the
■'Colonial Expansionist Party" in Singapore; and
secoTidly at the supposed fact that all the agitation about
Patanij Kelantan, etc., is the work of a capitalist party
who wish to exploit these countries for their own
benefit, having no real regard- for the Malays per se.
/" With regard to the first point, although one does
not for one moment expect the Siamese will open their
ears to the truth now any more than they have done in
the past, the old answer must again be given, "'J'here
is no Colonial Expansion Party" in Singapore but there
is a very strong commercial party which will' do irs Ijest
to prevent Siam hampering, and eventually killing
British trade with a group of titates for whose produce
Singapore is the natural outlet^^
The answer to the second point is in part contained
in the first Singapore has never so far as we can remem-
ber laid claim, to play the role of St George to Siam's
Draiion — although one cannot help mentally noting
that one could not find a much better cast for the play.
Indignation has been shown here when well meaning
rulers have been deposed from their thrones, in order
that Siamese puppets might be set up, but yet if refer-
ence can be made back, Bangkok will see that in the
Commercial Kelanian. 16
main whilst sincerely sympathising with the Malays in
their many troubles, the arguments in the past have had
as their kernel ''coximerce." I would go one step farther
now however, and sajy that when Singapore knows all
that has happened up north during the last few years,
there will be a vastly stronger desire to help the Malays
than there has been heretofore. The British have ever
been afflicted witR shyness when it comes to doing a
good deed, and'are (Jnly too happy if they can hide the
sentiment of chivalrous intentions under a seeming cloak
of hard-headed common sense.
Let us turn now to the resources of Kelantan, as
this article will be purely commercial. About the most
valuable natural products at present are copra and
paddy. The former is shipped in immense quantities even
now and finds a ready sale in the market. That the pro-
dution could be increased is obvious, for the coconut tree
is abundnnt in the country and careful and systematic
cultivation would bring aboiit the same results that
have been found elsewere. Paddy also forms a large ex-
port trade, and tlie country is one of the few native
governed States which is self-supportin<^ in this respect.
Here ' again there is a great field for increase under
sufiicient stimulus. Of otlier products there is a large
local trade in fowls, a good number of cattle a,re exported,
who, already of a good class, could be greatly improved
by judicious breeding, there are small crops of maize and
tobacco sufficient to point to the possible capabilities
and the richness of the soil, and there are also found
gold and other mineral deposits, the value of which has
not yet been determined.
Some figures taken from the 1901 returns of the
imports and exports of the country will serve to
point my a-grument. The chief imports into Singapore
from Kelantan during last year, were in order of
value, dried fish $256,367, cattle $227,588, copra
.§122,674, padi |90,419, rattans $73,248, areca nut
§60,150, gutta $28,062, dammar $19,434, swine $18,320,
tin $14,202, and hides $13,842. These are only the
16 Siam and the Malaya.
principle imports and the grand total for alU imports
was nearly a million dollars in value. When, it is con-
sidered that for the last seven years, with two treaks,
the trade ha.s steadily increased, tliat of last year being
?p200,000 more than 1900, and that the returns for the
quarter of the present year (1902) up to June show
a comparative increase again in coprf^ dried fish, padi
and areca nut more particularly, one is surely justified in
loohingon the state as very prosperious. The total
value of imports into Singapore last year was 320
million dollars odd. If one pauses to reflect that such
imports come from all over the world the position of
Kelantan which in its totally undeveloped state can
supply one three hundreds twentieth of that total as-
sumes particular importance. Nor must it be assumed
that this is the sum total of the trade. A certain though
small proportion goes to Bangkok, and there' it a by no
means in considerable coasted trade. One must .also see
that the articles enumerated are all natural products,
and nil of a kind to suit the Malay peculiarities. I mean
by this that there aie no manufactured goods, but every-
thing is a product which the Malay is accustomed to cul-
tivate and which does not involves in preparation, the
patient industry of the Chinaman. With regard to
imports, the total taken from Singapore in 1901 was
$70ii,0U0 an increase of nearly S185,00(i. Of this $265,000
was in silver bullion, about ■'Kl! 5,000 in cotl"ou goods,
§•59,000 iu diged threads, $13,000 in planlvS, $25,000 in
gambler. There is without doubt an easily enlarged
market price these things given favourable conditions.
These figures be it remembered are the outcome of
Malay work, for the number of Chinese in the state is
inconsiderable.
The history of European enterprise is very short,
and very interesting. There are stories of Europeans in
olden days seeking to gain permission to live in Kelan-
tan, and being told by the Rajahs that they might come
to Kelantan, but they must live on an island a nice long
way away from the river mouth. The Rajah's leave
Commercial Kelantan. 17
was at length obtained' for a concession for the Duff
Syndicate, embracing about half of the State and giving
the Syndicate the monopoly of practically everything
from gold to timber to be found therein. It took
a good many months work to get this concession re-
cognized by the home Government and at Bangkok,
but unwearying patience accomplished it at last, and
then work was begun in earnest.
Khota Bahipu was chosen as the head quarters, and
stations were selected at Kula Lebeh where the Lebeh
joins the Kelantan, and at Kuala Gris further up the
Lebeh. The Syndicate has been actually working in
the country about a year or rather more, and its em-
ployees have accomplished wondei-s during that time.
A staff of about a dozen Europeans was engaged, and
January of the present year saw the first clearings being
made in what a poet would call the "Primeval Forest."
The Kelantan river is a fine broad stream not of
much depth as a rule, and wich a current running down
at between three and four knots an hour. The land for
a good distance from the mouth lies flat,and one sees it
stretching away on either hand, much of it. rich pasture
land, and much covered with good timber. The country
alters higher up, hills crop out and the banks are
higher, but still there is the same clean sandy bed.
At Kuala Lebeh the junction of the Lebeh and
Kelantan rivers, the land runs out into a green clad cape,
and on the top of this there stands in a rough clearing
some still rougher looking houses, and I cannot help but
record here the extreme kindness I met with at the hands
of the Englishmen 1 met in Kelantan. Force of cir-
cumstances prevent them from living enshrined in the
splendour of a Raffles or a Galle Face, but the genuine
kindness, and the easy comradeship with which one was
greeted mad.e one forget all the pleasure of those latter
day palaces, and I never expect to meet a better set of
thorough good fellows.
However to resume. From Kuala Lebeh, one gets a
grand view up and down stream, and just across the
18 Siam and the Malays,
water is a beautifully flat stretch of ground -vjhicli is
being set apart for a township site, and which has al-
ready been la.rgely taken up. But I»am getting off my
route and must hurry up and get»to Kuala Gris. My
arrival here was badly timed inasmuch as the sun was
pouring down on galvanised iron roofing and other
similar articles, in a way which taade one reflect the
heat from -mere sympathy.
A landing was effected and lat^ caftie a look round
the works,and considering that in January the place was
only jungle, the amount of progress made was surprising.
The great work which was shown with well justified
pride, was the dredger. This is a machine similar to
those used in alluvial work in 'New Zealand, and is used
for digging up the river bed, the dirt removed being
then carefully treated for gold. The dimensions of this
monster of the deep, which by the way will scoop up
fifty cubic yards an hour, are length 100 feet, beam 25
feet and depth 7 feet. It is builc on the New Zealand
model, has been constructed on the spot, and all the
wood put in has been obtained locally. In fact these
wonderful men expected to get the whole thing ready
and at work in the same time as it takes iti New Zea-
land vfhere white labour is available and every facility
is at hand.
The gold tests very carefully taken over the riverbed
have shown an average which augurs well for the future.
Besides this a good lode of galena has been located near
the Soko, and the gold reef prospecting is going well.
The undertaking is being well financed and I was
assured at Kuala Gris, and elsewhere, that it was only
a question of preferring a request for any reasonable
mining or other material, to get it out by next mail. In
fact in brief the whole affair appears to be run by
business men, who mean to see what there is to be
done in the country and to shape their future course
accordingly. Until however it has been difinitely
ascertained what the results are likely to be no public
money will be asked for.
Commercial Kelantan. 19
So much for this particular undertaking, but there is
no reas'9n why this should remain the only attempt to
develope the cou»try, or that all attempts should run
on the same lines. •The one danger to be avoided is
that very common one of over booming the country.
There is no room for half and half unstable companies,-
but there is plenty of room for honest companies,
capitalised in Stich a manner that they can afford to
exploit the country with proper materials and proper
men, and who are prepared to work steadily and quietly
till they find out their resources.
Such is commercial Kelantan in the rough. It ap-
pears to be a country full of natural resources, and one
which if dealt with fairly and scientifically will turn ont
one of the richest. States in this part of the country, but
much depends on who is to have the whip hand there.
20 Siatn wnd the Malays.
CHAPTER IV.
THE TRUTH ABOUT PATANI.
There is some little difficulty in approaching this sec-
Son owing firstly to the fact that so many things can
be said about Patani, and . secondly because much of
what I have to say has been told before, though gener-
ally it must be confessed in a decidedly exajrgerated
manner.' It has been tbe aim so far and will be to the
end to show forhh facts only, and although I never dis-
cussed these matters much with Siamese officials, I hope
to present them without any pr&judioial colouring.
\_Patani has, if anything, a more interesting history
than Kelantan. One does not need h&wever to go back
further in that history than about eighty years ago,
when the Siamese came down and conquered the King-
dom. Then a large number of the people were cprried
off so that the country was almost depopulated. The
Tungku Besar of Kelantan, seeing how things stood,
took with him some five or six thousand men from
Kelantan, and proceeded to Patani where he settled
down and assumed the title of Rajah, apparently on the
ground of relationship with the former Rajah and he
was the first Rajah to take the oath not to fight against
Siam. The Siamese recognised his title then, and ever
since the Rajahs of Patani have been direct members of
the original stock. Weil for nearly seventy years Patani
and the other States were left in peace by the Siamese,'
and though one cannot say that they advanced by leaps
and bounds towards civilisation, they were for the
most part well ruled, and in any case the population
grew and commerce increased. In Patani for instance,
not only was an important canal constructed on the
The Truth about Patani. 21
Patani river near Nongchik but several very fair roads
were builb, and the salt industry, wich is now ojie of the
chief forms of revenue, was gradually built up.
Six years ago in'the time of the late Rajah Sleyman,
there arrived in Patani Luang Besil, a Siamese official
who bore a letter from the' King of Siam in wliich
occurred the following sentence " I send you this '\
Commissioner in1)rder that if you have any trouble in
administeringyour *people you may call him to advise
you as to the best means of- doing it." Prom this little
spark was kindled the great fire which seriously threatens
to work the destruction of all these States. Luang Besil
however made himself so objectionable by creating
trouble between ttie Rajah aud the people, that the
former was forced to ask for his recall. He was removed
and in his place cume Phya Sukum, the present High
Commissioner for all the Malay States over which Siam
claims to exercise control.
y Now Phya Sukum was for progress, and his first step
was to suggest that the opium farms of all the seven
states of Patani, Jering, Sai, Rahman, Legeh, Jalor and
Nongchik, should be put under one farm. Having made
this suggestion which was really sensible he proceeded
to carry it into force, and without tlie consent o£ the
Rajahs let the fa.rm to a Chinaman for three years, pro-
seising however that the Rajahs should get their share.
It may be noted in passing that for the first three years
the joint revenue was f 30,200 and for the next term
of throe years it was §210,000. An arrangement was
made which did credit to the business instincts of the
Commissioner aud it was worked as follows : — The
revenue from the farm of all the seven States was to be
pooled,and from this each Rajah was to receive the
amount he had been previously receiving from his own
farm. The balance was then to be halved, half to be
given to the Rajahs and the other half to be devoted to
the administration of the country^^
This looked very well in theory but it had the in-
superable objection that the Rajahs were never able to
22 8iam and the Malays.
find out if there was any balance, and in consquence
they never got any of the money. It is in connection
with this little example of financial* expertness on the
part of Phya Sukum, that the ex-Jlajah of Pataui felt
a decided grievance. For the first year, in the time of
Rajah Sleyman, the Kajah received from the opium
farm his share, i.e., a- similar amount to what he had
been accustomed to receive when the"farm was in his
own hands, but from that time not another payment has
ever been made, and the ex-Rajah of Patani never
received a cent under this head. Where it all went to no
one knows except the Siamese, who are not likely to
say, but it gives one example of the Siamese ideas of
colonizing a country and making friends with the rulers.
However this is rather an aside, and I must refer
back to the time when Rajah Sleyman died. That
occurred about four or five years ago and in accordance
with Malay custom, before he was buried the chiefs
met in council and decided on Abdul Kadir as his
successor. They drew up a document signifiyug their
choice, and amongst others who signed was ^^jah Pitalo
of whom there will be more to be said later. |jhis letter
the Rajah decided that he would himself take to Bang-
kok and he did so and the Kinij of Siam reported him-
self satisfied with the choice, and remarked that if in a
year's time the Rajah had ruled well he would confirm
the appointment. A year later the Kiiig visited Patani
and gave the Rajah a letter, saying that he was now
Rajah of the country and should rule the country as his
forefathers had done. The letter was in Siamese and
was similar to the one given to the late Uajah Sleyman
when he came to the throne. In the course of that
letter according to a rough translation, there occur the
passages "He can stop or begin any work when he
thinks fit" and "He can govern all the officials and
raiyats in Patani just as his predecessors governed."
No one seems al)le to explain exactly for what
reason this letter is sent from Bangkok, as there is no
document which says why it should be sent or when the
The Truth about Patani. 23
custom^originatedj and it is difficult now to get reliable
native evidence. Perhaps, however, in this matter
Bangkok will turn out ita, archives, and find the
authority for and meaning of the custom.
About this time the Siamese had managed to make
themselves extremely objectionable, so much so that His
Hifjjhness Rajah Abdul Kadir was driven to petition the
British Governm"^nt through Singapore. This occurred
in the latter •part* of 1901, and as the points of the
petition may be of interest as showing how the Siamese
were treating the Kajah just about then, I will give
therh. briefly in tabulated form.
(1) The attempts of Siara to do away with the old
Mohammedan customs relatiiiij^ to law, justice, crime,
property, etc.
(2) The attempt to introduce Buddhist teachings.
(3) The remission of punishments on those Malays
not attending Moiiammedan prayer; and of the contribu-
tions to the upkeep of Mosques.
(4; The criminal conduct of the Siamese to the
woinen of Patani.
(5) The Siamese Commissioner of Singora insisted,
during the time between the death of Rajah Sleyman
aad the appointment of -the petitioning Rajah, on
collfcoting the customs revenue, which it was said wbuld
be returned, but which never was.
(6j The Commissioner had also interfered with
the collection oi: the triennial. poll tax made for the pur-
pose of sending the Bunga Mas and Bunga Perak to
Bangkok.
(7) The Commissioner also said that the salt revenue
must come through his hands. This revenue was derived
from rent on the land used for salt manufacture, and
amounted to about $6,000 or $7,000 a year.
I'hese were a few of the complaints set forth in the
petition and make a formidable indictment against the
Siamese, and the Rajah rightly contended that such
conduct was absolutely contrary to the King's letter of
appointment, if that letter really carried any authority
24 8iam and the Malays.
whilst if it did not, then the matter was one to be settled
between the Rajah and his people and the Siamese.
• It maj-- be asked why tbe Raja did not petition
Bangkok in preference to Great Britain ? Well, it can be
safely said that if they have been kept, the letters from
Rajahs of the Malay States to the King of Siam con-
taining complaints, must require a ■special compartment
to themselves, for seriously there ha\Pe been a large
number of these written at different times «but in no case
have they brought redress. Thus matters stood towards
the end of September.
Not long after Phya Sri Sahadebh came to Patani
with a letter from Prince Damrong to the effect that if
the Rajah had any complaints to make he was to tell
them to Phya Sri. The Rajah replied that if Phya Sri
wished to know of his grievances he was at liberty to see
the copies of the letters which had been w-ritten from
Patani. Phy'a Sri with that commendable alacrity which
characterizes him, promptly took possession of all the
copies and sent them on board the gunboat.
He next asked Abdul Kadir what answer he was
to give to the King. The Rajah naturally wished to
consult his Council first, but Phya Sri suggested that
he should compose an answer and Rajah should sign
it. A Council meeting however was called next day,
and the members advised that as the letter was written
in Siamese it would be wise not to sign till they knew
what it meant. The Siamese Yice Minister then read
the letter, and the Rajah said there was much he
did not agree with . Phya Sri urged him to sign, at, tlite
same time telling him not to worry, as if there was any-
thing in it that did not quite meet his views it could
easily be arranged later. He then proceeded to explain
the letter differently and next morning the Rajah chop-
ped it.
Of course the inevitable happened. A Siamese
friend was called who translated the letter which turned
out to mean something quite different from what Phya
Sri had read. The Rajah wrote to the Siamese Minister,
The Truth about Fatani. 25
who h^d gone to Singapore, and pointed out the discre-
pancies, and later they met at Nongchik where there
was a meeting of the Rajahs. At that meeting were
present the represeStative of tbe Rajah of Rehman, and
tlie Rajahs of Patani, Jalor, Jering, and Nongchik.
Phya Sri produced a large document which, he wanted
signed. He told the Rajah of Patani that he was
most anxious to amend any mistakes that might have
occurred in tTie pi'evioiis document, and therefore was
eager that the present document should be signed.
Now it was unfortunate for Phya Sri that the Rajah
had had so to speak a private view of this interesting
document, and found it contained a clause enabling
the King of Siam to depose him at will. This had such
an effect that he fell incontinently sick, and was so ill
that he could not. even sign anything, and so after a
day or so the meeting broke up and nothing was
accomplished.
Phya Sri returned to Siam and a few weeks later
there came to Patani a letter from him to the effect that
the King had been told of the occurrence, and doubtless
His Highness would be glad to hear the King's answer.
The Rajah replied by messenger that he hoped the King
would grant bin requests. The messengers delivered
the letter to Phya Sri at Bangkok and he said he would
bring the answer in person. The messengers returned,
but losing their boat a,t Singapore had to go to Penang,
and from thence overland through Kedah. This took a
long time, and when they finally reached Patani they
learned that the Rajah had been kidnapped.
In order" to get the full story of this incident we
must go back to February 20th, 1902. On that day the
Siamese Commissioner at Patani brought the Rajah a,
telegram which said that the Vice Minister of the
Interior had been to Singapore to see the King who.
was staying there then, and that he was coming to
Patani and would arrive about six o'clock. He did not
come however till nine and then he landed and went to
the house of the Commissioner. He sent for the Rajah,
26 Siam and the Malays.
who at the time was at prayer, hut as soon as possible
he went to see the Vice Minister. He had with him
only about half a dozen unarmed followers. Phya Sri
had arrived at Patani in a gunboat and a number of
armed sailors had been quietly landed from her, and
had marched up to the Town. There wera also a num-
ber of the Siamese soldier-police, in all there being a
force of about 100 men about the housd^
Phya Sri first read a letter, from the £ing of Siam
in which he promised to give the Rajah 20,000 ticals
annually, but whether this was on condition of his
signing the document enclosed in the letter I was
unable to ascertain. He then produced a document
with the obnoxious clause as to deposition, and new
rules for the Government of the country. His Highness
asked for time to consider and consult his Council, bnt
this was refused. He said that in two days he expected
the messenger? back from the King at Bangkok, and
they had better wait. He wm,s again refused and was
invited to go to Singapore to sign, but he maintained
that was not the proper place but expressed his willing-
nes to proceed to Bangkok. He was then given five
minutes and told if he did not sign he would be deposed
there and then. Still refusing, Phya Sri then said he
should appoint Tuiigku Pitak as Rajah and his brother as
Rajah Muda. He said the arrangement was only
temporary, once more asked the Rajah to sign, and as he
still refused called up soldiers, and under the drawn
swords of these men the Rajah was conducted straight
on board the gunboat, being allowed no time either to
see his family or get any clothes. From thence he
was taken to Bangkok, and sent up to Pitsanuloke
where he still remains under arrest without ever having
had the shadow of a trial.
Such was the Patani coup.
Patam's Troubles. 27
CHAPTER V.
PATANPS TROUBLES.
In the last Chapter I took the recent history of
Patani as far as.the removal of the Rajah Abdul Kadir
on the ground of his refusal to obey orders. Incidentally
let us note a few things about the man whom the Siamese
appointed, in his place. This man — Rajah Pitak — is an
old man of over sixty years of age and was the nephew
of the Tungku Besar who founded the second Patani
line of Rajahs. Abdul Kadir was a grandson of Tungku
Besar so those who are curious in snch matters miuht
like to work out the relationship. The Siamese allow
this gentleman the muniiicent salary of $ 1,000 per
annum, and he lives a very retired life in a house lying
back from the main street. The peculiarity about him
is that one hears nothing of him. It is either the High
Commissioner or the ex-Rajah, but never the Ra.jtih
Pitak. To say he is disliked is overstating matters,
for the majority of the Malays simply ignore him and
the Siamese only have dealings with him when it is
necessary to pull the puppet strings. The ex-Rajah
never got on well with this gentleman on account of his
passion for gambling, and thei'e is little doubt that the
Siamese could not have put up a better man for their
purpose, as he is a hopeless nonentity.
With. regard to the ex-Rajah I should like to correct
one misre|)resentation. It has been stated in some
quarters that no communiction has been permitted be-
tween the Rajah and his subjects. This is not so because
on two occasions telegrams have been sent to His High-
ness and answers have been received apparently from
him. On the other, hand, however, the Siamese have
consistently refused to allow any messengers to go up-
2S Siam and the Malaya,
country to Pitsaiiuloke and see him personally, but from
the report of a man recently back from their His
Highness seems to be in good health, and to be taking
care not to expose his life to any danger. Two of those
messengers left Patani in April in a stearner called the
"Monliut" which f hey were informed was going direct
to Bangkok. The boat however stopped at Singora and
they were transferred to the "ChamToen" which un-
fortunately sunk, a consequence which is»liable to follow
on . indiscriminate overloading, and the men were
drowned together with the Eajah Muda, of liehman
who was also on board.
Some of the first points in the ex-Rajah's petition
mentioned in the last chapter were about Siam inter-
fering with the' Mohammedan laws and customs. Now
the Malays are very strict Mohammedans, and under
their laws men not attending prayer were fined, and
collections were made for the purposes of the main-
tenance and building of mosques. Under ihe Siamese,
however, when these cases of non-attendance at prayer
have come up, the Siamese ofiicials have remitted the
fines and punishments, and have endeavoured to divert
the subscriptions for mosques. Siamese soldiers have
smeared the Malay gravestones with lard and have
dragged men from the mosques whilst at prayer to do
" kra " work ; whilst the Siamese Commissioner whom at
least one would have thought would have been above
' desecration and sacrilege, is building a house on, a
Malay cemetery, in order to accomplish which all the-
grave marks have been removed and the ground levelled!
This from oificials of a, nation pretending to modern
civilisation is little better than an enormity. Beside
such an example other incidents pale, and the efEorts of
the Siamese to force Buddhism on the natives, and their
endeavours to get the natives to divorce their wives by
the charmingly simple process of lianding them a betel
leaf, seem very trivial ; and yet as everyone knows it is
always little troubles piled on to big wrongs which
cause oppression and later on rebellion.
Paiani's Trouhlfs. 29
Let us however before we proceed to discuss other
cortiplaints of the Malays g-lance at one more move on
tlie part of the Siainepe which is of rather staggering
nature. o
There are in Patani a large number of salt wells
which hii.ve become a very valuable property. These
wells belonged — I use the past tense advisedly — to the
Rajah and his family and a large number of private
owners. The -JDvyneo-s leased them out to salt manu-
facturers on the following terms. Every 1,050 gantangs
produced was divided into two parts, half going to the
owner as rent and the other half to the manufacturer
after certain deductions for taxes and payment for
labour.
After the Rajah was taken away, the Siamese,
apparently with the idea of getting in some extra
revenue, took the astounding step of taking possession
of all the wells and dispossessing the owners. In one or
two isolated eases the property was returned, but at
present there is the extraordinary situation of the
Siamese receiving the half profits of the majority of
these wells whilst the owners get nothing at a,ll. This
is a gross and unpardonable injustice, and if it is an
example of the general conduct of 8iam's officials outside
Bangkok, one no longer wonders that the Minister of
Finance is able to express gratified surprise at the large
increase in the Revenue returns from. the outer districts.
This is a grievance the force of which one thinks
Bangkok will allow, and one which when I was in
Patani appeared in no way likely to be altered.
Another great grievance with the Malays is the
"kra" question. It is averred in Siam that the old
corvee or forced labour system has long ago been
abandoned. Whether thac is so it is not for me to say,
but I can assure Bangkok (if it cares to know) that it
flourishes very luxuriantly in those States which she
calls her dependencies. The retort may be " Oh we are
only following the native custom of forced labour."
Quite so, but the objection is, as I have before observed;
30 Siam and the Malays.
that the .Siamese are wanting in tact, and in|tead of
being content to follow they enlarge and broaden the
idea till it becomes little less than oppression pure and
simple. Under the old regime meii were called on to
do '"kra" work only during slack times, they were
given food, never had to work in company with prisoners,
and the headmen were headcnen and did not hav-e to do
the same work as the ordinary men. ° Siam may well
reply, though with not pai-ticula^.' prjde, we have
changed all that, for now men are called on to work
ten days or longer at a stretch at a time when the
paddy is wasting in the fields; should the men not turn
up substitutes must be found, even if they have to be
paid for, or the women have to do the work. Materials
have to be got by the workers, a serious matter in the
case of house building or road making; headmen have
had to work like the rest. For all these things
absolutely no pay has been given.
It is ridiculous to claim that such statements when
analysed are not very serious. They would be in
themselves a matter for serious consideration, if only
in the light of the disturbmg effect such treatment is
bound to have on a racO' eminently unaccustomed to
be treated as 'the lower classes of Siam are treated.
But beyond that there is the ground of the moral
injustice ol: the thing, and the fact that whilst all this
kra work is going on paddy fields lie idle and nn-
cultivated, copra is not gathered, the indu.stiy of the
country is checked and its resources are never develop-
ed. It may be said this is an exaggerated picture to
draw but I contend not, and I met with a reply from
a highly placed Malay in Patani which exactly confirms
what I have said. We were talking about the salt
wells, and I told him how I had been convinced by my
visit to them that the industry was capable of great
extension, as there seemed much ground lying waste.
"Yes Tuan," he said, "but what is the use of making
more wells, the Siamese only take away what we make."
Such I maintain represents the general feelings of the
Patani's Troubles, 81
Patani JMalay now, for the Sinmese methods have first
prevented and then discouraged them from developing
their country, and if things go on as they are, the
people who are now leaving by hundreds — the village
headmen roughly compute 6,000 have already left —
will soon leave the country by thousands.
Then too the Siamese have not only taken away
the salt wells of the Rajah Prempuan of Patani but
they have als'b forced her personal servants to do kra
work contrary to the promise of the High Commis-
sioner. They have taken away her lands and
imprisoned her servants, a course of behaviour towards
a weakly old laily which cannot be described as less
than cowardly;
There are in Patani about five hundred village
headmen of importance, and on these falls the duty of
making up monthly returns of the births, deaths,
number of people carrying arms, number of cattle im-
ported and exported, state and extent of crops, etc., in
their own districts, and of sending these returns into
Siamese headquarters. This of course is an excellent
regulation and one which would be adopted by any
country desirous of colonizing well. But here again
one enquires behind and finds that no allowance in money
or kind is ever made for the writing materials for
compiling these reports nor for the expense of gathering
the information required; and yet the reports have to be
sent in properly complied on proper papers.
The ex-Eajah complained that the Siamese were
trying to get the salt and paddy revenues into their
hands. That they have done since his deposition, in
fact the whole of the revenue of the country, whichmust
amount easily to over $100,0' lO if not a good deal more,
is now in their hands, aud I challenge them to prove
that any considerable amount of that revenuef has been
spent in Patani for the benefit of the country. Much
of course may go towards the maintenance of the
Siamese ofiicials and gendarmerie, but the roads are
made and maintained by kra work, no attempt has been
32 Slam and the Malays.
made to improve the salt wells, no help has been, given
to encourage native agriculture, no schools have been
erected or maintained, and no salari^ are paid to the
village headmen for. their work. *
in the Kelantan articles I had occasion to notice
the criminal conduct of the Siamese soldiery towards
the Kelantan woman. In Patani I was told many
similar cases occurred, but that the natives were too
frightened to complain of them, and*yet is only right to
say that once when a very influential Dato caught two
soldiers running after a woman he bad them taken to
the police quarters, and on representing the matter to
the chief officer the men were flogged there and then.
Whilst it is fair to remark this case, it is also only right
to say that the Dato in question held a very strong
position in Patani, and that the Malays attribute to that
the fact of the Siamese taking notice of his complaint.
There is much more that might be said about
Patani and the grievances of the Malays. The adminis-
tration of justice in the courts for instance .is apt to be
of a peculia.r nature, there is a system of passes between
district and district which necessitates payments being
made if men wish to go from one State. to another, and
there are other rules; and restrictions of a nature cal-
culated to irritate the Malays, and foster the bitterness of
feeling against the Siamese which in spite of what is
said to the contrary is growing daily more and more
pronounced.
The whole trend of Siamese administration is
admirably hit off in a sentence spoken to me by a Malay
who said "Orang- orang Siam tidak pandei, tetapi
banyak cherdek."
Siam's Unearned Increment. 33
CHAPTER VI.
SIAM'S UNEARNED INCREMENT.
The history of the State of Sai of which Telubin is
the capital is* if ari^'thing, more interesting than that of
Patani. At the time of the division of Patani, amongst
others who surrendered to the Siamese, was a hig-hly
placed minister of the Rajah of Patani^ and to him was
delivered' over that section of the kingdom named Sai
which was at that time a dense forest. This man was the
grandfather of the present Rajah. I was informed in
Telubin that the only agreement between Siam aqd Sai
at the time was that the latter should send the Bunga
Mas every three years to Siam. Under such conditions
the claim of Siam over this State is vastly weaker than
over some oE the others. Tlie point, however, is a little
obscure, but unless Bangkok can produce written evidence
of any other conditions there is practically no doubt
that Siam's pretensions to overlordship rest on a ground
which I shall later prove to be /quite untenable. The
Rajah on his side avers that there was a distinct agreer
ment between his grandfather and Siam, that the latter
should not interfere in the State, and that the Rajiiha
should send to Bangkok the Bunga Mas.
As showing the willingness of these States to help
Siam in the past it may be noted that 60 years ago when
Kedah invaded Patani, the then Rajah of Sai took part
in the war and helped to defeat Kedah, and o,n other
occasions has given help to Siam. It was therefore with
no particular misgivings that some six years ago the late
Rajah (Tuangku Asan) received a Siamese official who
bore a letter which was similar to that sent to the Rajah
of Patani, and which introduced the official as an adviser
to the Rajah. Since that time the same sort of thing
has gone on in Sai as has gone on in Patani, the Siamese
34 8iam and the Malays.
have gradually encroadied on the govern meDt^l func-
tions so that at the present time although the Rajah is
paid much more than is the Rajah Pitak of Patani^ all
the revenues are diverted into Siartiese hands, and the
Siamese practically administer the country.
One hears the same comj)Iaints against the"kra"
system — the forced labour system which Bangkok has
the effrontery to s,ay has been abolished. * Men are called
away frorn their work in the field t(? build houses and
mak^rod'ds. The Rajah said that the country was not
so prosperous now as it usedsto be because there is so
much " kra" work that the men have not the proper time
to 'devote to the cultivation of the land. The materials
for the roads and houses have to be got by the
workmeri^ which often means that long journeys have to
bo made, and no pay is given for the work. A Siamese
gunboat went into Tel,ubin a little while ago and called
for fuel. The natives had to supply it, and one man
who had done two or three journeys and was, tired
refused to take another load and was sent to gaol for
seven days. I personally had an opportunity of watching
these Malays at "kra" work on the roads, and I met
two Europeans who a little while before had seen these
fi-ee men working side by side with chained prisoners.
The principal business of the country is in paddy,
copra, cattle and the fi^hinu;- industry. All the import
and export duties are collected by the Siamese, and
■generally amount to about $ 25^000 annually. None of
this money is ever spent on the improvement of the
condition of the inhabitants, nor are any Malays
employed in the official posts. The Siamese have tried
also as they have done in other parts, to force Buddhism
on the Malays and have interfered in several ways
with the Mohammedan laws and customs.
There are one or two rather peculiar' examples
of the behaviour of the Siamese which are worth noting.
Thus a woman of respectable family was openly
assaulted in her compound by a policeman, and on
complaint being made to the authorities nothing was
Siam^s Vnearned Increment. 35
done. , A very similar case occurred at Menara the
offender again being a policeman. Some little while
back the Siamese* Commissioner went out with 60 men
to the Ulu to capthre a bad character. Coming to a
field they found a man ploughing who seeing so many
Siamese police got frightened and ran away. He was
pursued and stabbed in the back by one of the Siamese,
though he was'not the man for. whom the party were
searching. Well,* complaint was made to Bangkok,
and the soldier was sent to Singgora but nothing was
done to him and he came back to Telubin. Of course
it is very absurd to magnify a little case of police
administration into a popular grievance, is it not ? But
see what followed.
The next year this same unfortunate man who
had been stabbed was ai-rested on a charge of beinii-
a bad character and was sent to prison. Having kept
him in prison for six months it suddenly struck the
enlightened Siamese officials that it might be interesting
to see what they had put him there for. So they held
a trial, and doubtless to their extreme astonishment
found that he was absolutely guiltless, and when your
Siamese ofiicial in these States can do that, it is safe
to say the man is next door to an angel; and so after
. having first stabbed and then imprisoned this man they
found he was quite harmless, and the real criminal
was meanwhile enjoying the sweets of liberty.
Then there is that interesting story from Menara
which at the time it occurred Bangkok magnified into
a murderous attack on peaceful Siamese by blood-
thirsty Malays. The real facts will bear repeating so
I give them. A man named Dahman was polishing a
kris in his compound and two boys named Juraynum
and Ibrahim were playing near him. He warned them
to be careful, but they went on playing and Ibrahim
was either accidentally pushed or fell up against the
point of the kris, and as a consequence got a nasty
wound in one of his hands. The boy's father told
the headman of the district, who told him to bring the
36 8iam and the- Malays.
boy to him, and he would dress the wound ai^d they
would consider the question of compensation. Eventually
the occurrence came to the ears of 4;he Siamese Com-
missioj.er who sent up a body o:^ soldiers to arrest
Dahman but when the soldiers came into the village
he ran away. The men followed and came across a
lad who had been into the jungle to bring in a bufEalo,
and who accoi'ding to custom in ^ch cases was
carrying a gun. This lad was not more than fourteen
years of age, but the soldiers fired at him and wounded
him in the stojnach. The boy as he lay on the ground
fired off his gun and hit one of the soldiers in the
thigh- Later in the day this youngster died. There
were two other men standing nearj one of whom was
nursing a child, and he also was shot and wounded.
The soldiers then returned to Menara,, and later the
Siamese Commissioner sent up more soldiers and arres-
ted five or six men and took them away, but what
happened to them I was unable to ascertain.
Of Legeh there was not much to be said. Tanjong
Mas the nominal capital is little better than akampong
and cannot be described in the same breath as Patani,
Kljota Bahru, Telubin or even Menara. There is an
air of deserted unhappiness about the place, and the
people appear in much the same style. The only
good houses, with perhaps one exception, were those
belonging to the Siamese official administration, and
these of course were the i-esults of the inevitable
" kra " work. There were great tracts of land intended
for paddy, but the cultivation was a.pparent]y very
backward which was not to be wondered at considering
the people had to spend so much of their time in
forced labour.
I had the pleasure here if I may call it such, of
meeting Khoon Pitak, the Siamese Commissioner, and
I grieve to say that the impressions I gained of him
v^ere not favourable. He adopted an objectionably
inquisitorial tone, which if it had been clever one could
at least have admiredj but it was not^ and I doubt
Siam's Unearned Increment. 37
whether lie gained any idea of what was my object in
visiting tlie country. Incidentally however he gave a
very naive and characteristically Siamese reply to the
surprise I expressed at not finding the Rajah in Eegeh.
"Yes" he said " the Rajah is staying at Singora learn-
ing the Siamese language " ! All one can say is that
the Rajah must be most studiously inclinedj especially
as he 'is evidently so to speak fighting against his own
inclinations, itTasmuth as he has written several letters
requesting to be allowed to return to his own country.
But then perhaps the income allowed him by the Siamese
of " a tical a day and find himself " is sufficiently
alluring. Anyway one would think he could acquire
the Siamese language and methods almost as well at
Tanjong Mas under the able tutorship of Khoon Pitak.*
Whilst on this branch of the subject may I be allowed
*to state that there are some Siamese officials who are
cultured men. This I realised when I met Luang Visit
at Menara. This Siamese gentleman is about the abso-
lute antithesis of tlie usual official, and if all were of
his stamp Siam would be better served in her public
offices.
There is one little, instance which is worth record-
ing of how the Siamese officials discourage all attempts'
on the part of the Rajahs to communicate with the
King. -The Rajah of Sai, shortly after the deposition
of the Hajah of Patani, was asked to sign a certain
document. He did not agree with it, but fearing the
consequences should he not sign he chopped it, and at
the same time enclosed with the document a letter to
the King of Siam saying he had signed under compul-
son. Phya Sah the Commissioher opened the cover and
told the Rajah he had better not send the letter ; and
ultimately succeeded in so frightening His Highness
that he^did not send it.
* Since this I have ascertained that the Eajah has reiterated
his request to be allowed to return, but is still detained at Sing-
Kora. Nov., 1902).
S8 Siam and the Malays.
I think I can fittingly close this section, with a
short account of the recent meetings of Rajahs and
Commissioners at Singora. The first meeting was
held on July 22nd and there' were present the
Rajahs of Jering, Legehj Jalor, Rehman, Patani (Rajah
Pitak)j Nongchik and Sai, the High Commissioner
Phya Sukum, Phya Suk, Commissioner of the seven
States, and the Secretary to the Singora Govern-
ment. The Rajah of Nongchik asRed Ifbw they could
best improve the Bunga Mas and the timber duty.
It was resolved that these subjects should be con-
sidered and decided on this year.
It was resolved that persons from Kelantan
travelling in the seven States must obtain a pasSj
or suffer the usual penalties.
It was resolved to permit gambling at the mines
in Tomoh and Jalor ; the places to be first inspected
by Phya Suk.
District Officers or Magistrates (Siamese) were in
future to sit in the Rajah's office. (Previously the Rajahs
had been allowed to hold separate courts^ but now this
last vestige of authority is to be swept away).
The second meeting took place in August, and
then it was resolved to levy a new tax on Sugar
palms of 16 atts per tree; the head of the district
to take three per cent of this amount. A tax of
$3 per head on cattle if they are taken to another
State. If they remain in the same monthon or
district they are free from, any tax except 10 atts.
It was also- resolved that the Bunga Mas should
be abolished and its place be taken by a yearly
poll tax ranging from -one to three ticals a person.
People unable to pay the tax will have to put in
fifteen days work; this is to take effect from two
years hence. A further tax of 24 atts is to be
charged on every paddy field, the headman to take
five per cent, of the amount collected.
The new arrangement with regard to the Bunga
Mas deserves notice. This tax, if it may be called
Siam's Unearned Increment. 89
such, -vjjas collected triennially and ranged from three
dollars to six cents. Two-thirds were spent on the
Bunga Mas and* one-third was devoted to the
administration of t7\e country. By the new and in-
genious poll tax of the Siamese the range is altered
so as to bring in more money, the tax will be
collected every year instead of once in three, and
no provision is made for any of the money to be
spent in tlie. 'connfry. Thus we can look forward,
in view of the new taxes on paddy fields, sugar
palms, cattle, and this poll tax to reading again
in a future financial report of the Siamese Govern-
ment, "the great increase in the revenue may be
safely attributed mainly to improvements in the
administration, whereby the happiness and prosperity
of the people have been secured, thereby encour-
aging industry and thrift."
How well it sounds and yet how little it tells
the ordinary reader ! Encourage thrift- it may, in
order that the taxes may be paid, but does the
Minister for Finnnce know that it encourages theft
to make up the necessary amounts, and has any
responsible Siamese ever taken the trouble to en-
quire the reason why during the last few years
the number of thieves in these Malay States has
increased so largely? If so one would be vastly
interested to learn whether he traces any connection
between that reason and the financial methods of
Siamese officials !
40 Siam and the Malays.
CHAPTER VII.
SIAM'S PRETENSIONS.
So far I have endeayoured to record simply and
without prejudice what I observed during a some-
what extended tour through several of those States
which lie to the north of the Federated Malay States.
Facts alone have been dealt with, and though it has
been said that the examples of what I have no hesitation
in calling Siamese oppression, are isolated instances
which could be gathered in any country, it is to be
remembered that these are examples of the general
state of affairs, and are not a number of detached cases
hunted out with much trouble and little regard for the
truth. There are indeed in my possession records of
similar cases which have been carefully preserved in
Kelantan and Patani which cover a long period and
many pages, and which are all of a very like nature to
the instances I have quoted.
Under such circumstances it is puerile to say that
this "agitation" as it has been called, has been got up
on flimsy grounds simply to serve the private ends of
any particular clique, and Siam must, if only for her
own safety, treat the present state of affairs in these
States seriously, or one day she will awake to find the
Malays, driven to desperation, np in arms against her;
and the Acheen war should tell her what that means.
The Malayian sidelight is only one aspect of the larger
and very much more serious question of how Siam
intends to get her affairs with Prance and England
permanently settled. In the face of I'hya Sri's mission
to Europe, it is useless to deny that this has to be done
and therefore it behoves Siam to act carefully and
Siam's Prei-ennioni). 41
diplomatically in this matter of the Malay States, and
not to approach it in the spirit of regarding England as
a piratical aggpesscJr and the Malays as being led by
the nose by English Adventurers.
Such however seems to be the attitude of not a
small section of political Bangkok, if we may take the
official organs as representing the real feeling there.
The attitude in* itself shows clearly how ignorant
Siamese officiatdom 4s as to the nature and character of
the people it would rule. To pretend that Siamese
Malayia, as one may for convenience call it, never had
any grievances till the Straits invented them, is to
display a lamentable lack of knowledge of the history
of these States as shown by historians from the time of
Sir John Bowring to the present day. Malays will
suffer long before they complain, and it was not until
recently that in these States at least, they dissociated
the English from the Siamese. To say that once they
found the Straits sympathetic they told much than
they had ever said before, is simply to state no more
than that they were human; but those people who
maintain because these things were not heard of before
that therefore they could not have existed as grievances,
show an ignorance of the relation ' of origin and
evidence which is extraordinary.
Such however is the attitude taken by a large, and
may one say responsible, section in Bangkok, b-ut one
doubts if it is really the true light in. which the matter
is viewed officially, or else why all this talk of reform
and new and better arrangements for governing the
country. Surely if no grievances exist there is no
necessity for making a parade of better government,
and equally if grievances did and do exist where is
either the sense or honesty in raising a cry that they
have been invented in Singapore, and that had Singa-
pore not taken the trouble to point them out they would
never have caused any bother ? It is impossible for
Siam to deny that in the past, and even up till now as I
maintain, her officials have behaved neither with justice
42 Siam and the Malays.
nor equity, to the Malays themselves or to the country
in which they live. So much they have apparently
realised, in that all their talk ncfw is of improved
government, and of schemes for spending the revenues
of the States in the States themselves — though inci-
dentally it may be noticed that this latter arrangement
has not come? into practical working as yet, and until
it does one musi reserve judgment as to its extent or
effect. Now if such is the attitude*of th*e Government
it is mainfestly ridiculous to assert that the Straits is
fomenting a baseless agitation in order that the private
ends of certain individuals may be served, for if so then
it is apparent that the Siamese Grovernment can be
swayed to and fro by the lightest breath of opinion,
and under such circumstances it is obviously not a
Government to which one can look to carry out a
scheme of colonization with any success.
By the methods she has used in the past to deal
with the government of these States and by the methods
she is still using there, Siam has proved her incapability
of colonizing according to modern ideas, and though
much has been written to tell us that all the old abuses
have been done away with, yet the system of forced
labour is still in full swing, no funds have been placed
at the disposal of the officials for expending on works
for the general benefit of agriculture or of any of the
other industries of the country, no schools have been
established, only an infinitesimal number of Malays
have been employed in public offices, abuses which have
been the subject of constant complaint have gone on
unchecked, the revenues of the country have been taken
away to augment the main revenue of Siam, and, as I
maintain, the facts I have stated prove that Siam looks
on these States as money-producing concerns for the
sole benefit of the Kingdom of Siam.
Let us now consider carefully the actual grounds
on which Siam bases her claims for sovereignty over
these States, and in doing so we must differentiate
between them to an extent. As a matter of convenience
Library td 0««rga B. MoFarlund
Siam's Pretensions. 43
therefoE^ we will take the case of Kelantan first, and
will keep in our minds the fact that on the same footing
as Kelantan stands Tringganu, but that owing to
the fact that the SuPtan of Tringganu has so far stead-
fastly resisted all attempts of the Siamese to gain a
footing there, that State need not enter into our present
calculations.
Bangkok claims that Kelantan is a dependency of
Siam in virtue of th^ Boundary Delimitation Agreement
of 1899, and that the definition of Kelantan in that
agreement upsets absolutely the definition and under-
standings of the Bangkok Treaty of 1826 (confirmed
1856) in which treats those States as independent.
I In the first place a British Government memo-
randum as recent as last year declares distinctly that
the provisions of the 1826 Treaty in this matter are
still in full and active force.* In the face of that
it becomes extremely difiicult to say that the 1899
agreement overrides that Treaty, for it is to be
remembered that the 1826 Treaty had as one of
its principle objects the regulation of the position
and status of England and Siam as regards all the
territories respectively claimed as being under the
influence of, or subject to those two countries. '
The boundary agreement of 1899 on the contrary
was to settle the boundaries between Perak and
Pahang, and Reman and what Siam called her
" dependencies " of Kedah, Kelantan and Tringganu.
Now with all due respect to Bangkok, any student
of international law and the relative importance of
Treaties, Agreements, Declarations, or Conventions
will recognize the difference between a Treaty and
an Agreement when both are in present force, and
if only for this reason we should prefer to pin our
contentions to the Treaty in preference to the
Agreement. J
* As late as October of this year was told on excellent authority
that the government still held to this view.
44 Siam and the Malays.
\Bxit there is another point which must not be
lost sight ■ of and which , still further invalidates the
yalue of that Agrepmentj and that is that with
Kelantan and Tringganu is bracketed Kedah. Now
it is absurd to contend that Kedah is in the same
position as Kelantan and Tringganu^ as any Siamese
official knows, for Kedah has for years and years
bfeen to all intents and purposes, whether rightly
er wrongly, under Siamese occupation,, with, it may
be incidentally noted, not particularly happy results.
Thus if Kelantan is to be. considered in the same
light as Kedah, then one cannot heip seeing that
the value of the 'definition which embraces all three
is considerably shaken.
Now let us turn to the only other substantial
ground on which Siam could claim any pretence
to have anything to do with the internal manage-
ment of the Government of Kelantan. This is
of course contained in the implied meaning of the
sending of the Bunga Mas to Bangkok. The
custom of the Bunga Mas or Flower of Gold is
very old and no doubt first originated in a personal
gift from one prince to another. But owing to the
obscurity which veils its origin it has come in
some circles to be regarded as being a tribute pure
and simple. This it is not, as can be ascertained
by reference to old writers, but allowing for the
moment that it is in a sense a tribute, then there
are several interesting points to be considered in
connection with this view of the case. In the
first place Siam has for many years been in the
custom of sending this present of the , Bunga Mas
to China, and yet we never heard in modern times
that Siam allowed China any voice in her Govern-
ment. Again, turn to Vattell, one of the most
eminent jurists of his time, and we shall find it
recorded by him, that even if a nation goes the
length of procuring protection from oppression or
insult by soliciting the assistance of another State
Siam'a Pretensions, 45
by engg,ging to perform certain articles or to pay
tribute " she still reserTes to herself the right of
administering he^ own government." Again he
says " If the move powerful nation should assume
a greater authority .... than the 'I'reaty or
submission allows, the latter may consider the Treaty
as broken and may provide for its safety according
to its discretion." ,
Siam cartnot '^pretend that she has even the
hold of submission or Treaty over Kelantan, as
witness the Raja's letter to the King of Siam in
which he says that the King of Siam has never
entered his country to govern it. In fact when
the matter is sifted to the bottom we find only
two grains of genuine contention, and those are
the Bunga Mas and the letter of the Raja written
to the King of Siam before the Raja ascended the
throne, in which he asked for the. King's help as
he feard opposition to his accession from several
quarters. The claim on the strength of the Bunga
Mas is view of the facts I have stated above
obviously untenable, the claim on the strength of
the Raja's letter is impossible in that the Raja
wrote several times to the King to have the
Siamese removed from his town, and also from the
fact that to ask as a reward for the loan of a
few hundred troops who never had the chance to
be of any use, the right to deal with the Govern-
ment of the country is a request absurdly out of
comparison with any services whether actually
rendftred or not^ Thus it is quite useless to con-
tend that Siam has any legal right to be in
Kelantan at all, and if a moral right is claimed
then. I say that the way her officials have behaved
heretofore has proved that International moral
dealing has but a small place in her code of
philosophy, ^
Leaving Kelantan we will next turn our at-
tention to Patani and as I took Kelantan as represent-
46 Siam and the Malaya,
ing Tringganu as well, so I propose to take Patani
as representative of the seven States into ■which
the old kingdom of Patani was^Sivided.
Now. it is to be at 'once admitted that Patani
stands on a very different footing to Kelantan. In
the first place Siam undoubtedly conquered it in
the olden days, in the second pla^e it has always
been recognized as belonging to Siam, in the third
place the Siamese have ventured* to p;b much farther
there than they have dared to go in Kelantan.
Let us observe carefully the conditions under which
Siam was to hold the country she had conquered.
In spite of the most painstaking questioning I
have been unable to find that there is any written
document which lays down the conditions insisted
upon by Siam at the time of the conquest. But
the one thing that does appear certain is that Siam
divided the country up into petty States, accepted
practically any man of birth who came forward in
the capacity of a' would-be ruler, and laid down
this one condition, that the Eajas should every year
swear not to wage war upon Siam. This accomp-
lished, Siam left the Rajas to their own devices
and they, probably with the idea of propitiating
the King, ' got into the custom of sending the Bunga
Mas to Bangkok.
^^ It is useless to traverse again all the ar^^-u-
\ments to show that the Bunga Mas cannot be
considered as carrying any right on the part of
'the receiver to interfere in the Government of the
State sending it. It is merely a token of friend-
ship and not to be considered as homage. The
other regulation, however deserves some thought.
On the face of it a nation which conquers another
and , then sajs "the only thing we require you to
do is to promise not to attack us again," cannot
be held to be strong enough to maintain her rule
in that country, but merely extracts the promise
with the idea of getting rid of a troublesome
Siam'a Pretensions. 47
neighbour. That is what Siam's conditions look remark
ably like, and upon the strength of it after a
lapse of nearly seventy years Siam lays it down
as a right that she is to manage the government
of Patani. "Why even her own land laws would
allow that her claim had practically lapsed through
the effluxion of .time.
On the streng^ of that condition one fails
absolutely to see how Siam can claim that it gives
her any right to interfere in the government of the
country, and I have never yet, heard any argu-
ments based on it which were convincing in any
respect^'
There remains however yet one point, which is
in one's view the strongest link in a marvellously
weak chain, and that, is one that has passed to an
extent unnoticed save for an occasional reference.
The point is that the Rajas in these States are
simply governors appointed directly by Siam, and
that without that appointment they have neither
authority nor position. It may be stated clearly
that no pe'^son with any intimate knowledge of the
situation will deny that the Rajas on their accession
receive from Siam a letter confirming their appoint-
ment; as to the value and meaning of that con-
firmation there is something to be said. In the
first place it is well to note that the people of the
country choose who is to be the next Raja before
any reference is made to Bangkok, a fact which
argues that they at any rate imagine that their
ruler is not solely a Siamese official. As to their
choice being confirmed by Siam, we take it that
that is a custom which has grown up in the same
way that the custom of sending the Bunga Mas has
grown up. If this is not so, then one seeks in vain
for any authority which justifies it, for it is certain
that it was not a condition imposed by Siam when
she conquered Patani. Thus it will be seen that
although this is apparently one of the strongest
48 Sicm and the Malays,
links in the chain of claim, yet it is one for which no
authority can be quoted and of which there exists no
evidence as to how it originatedr.
These points are the only ones we have heard
advanced in support of Sialm's right to be in this
part of the Peninsula, but underlying them all there
has of course always been the uuuttered thought
that might is right. In some cg^ses this ruling of
a weak race by a strong race has been justified
by results, and then there is little to be urged
au:ainst it, but this is not so in the present case,
for I imagine I have shown fairly plainly that the
Siamese have not been successful administrators in
the past and at present show but little prospect of
becoming so in the future. Moreover >they have
displayed an utter lack of ability to gain either
the sympathy or respect of the natives, without
which the colonizing of a country is foredoomed to
failure. Siam can point to no improvement in the
condition of the natives whilst the country has been
under her care. It is idle to refer to the increased
revenue derived from these States, for when one
comes to examine it one finds that it is simply the
result of increased taxation and more thorough methods
of collection. Could Siam tell us that in any of
the staple industries there had been a large increase
of production and an impovement in quality in
consequence of -her efforts, or that money had been
spent in attempts to improve the condition of the
people, or that the population was growing instead
of men leaving the country as they undoubtedly are,
one could put more faith in her reiterated assertions
as to her good intentions towards the people ; but as
it is these facts stare one in the face and no serious
attempt has been made to refute them.
Under all these circumstances the conclusion is
orced on one that unless Siam alters her methods
marvellously she cannot expect to be allowed to go
on her way unchecked. It is futile to criticise without
Siam's Pretensions. 49
trying to offer a remedy and much as it may go
against ^he grain, Siam, as for as one can see, would
do well to accustom, herself to the idea that affairs in this
particular part of theVorld will have to undergo[alteration.
There is an idea prevalent we believe amongst Foreign
OfRce officials that any step on the part of England
towards Siamese Malayia will throw Siam at once into the
hands of France* Like many another bogey which
has been dissipated Jjy the. first person who has had
the strength of mind to grapple with it, that has been
a Foreign Office tradition for many years, but there
can be no reasonable doubt that in like manner to
many others this bogey will vanish into thin air the
moment any serious attempt is made to test its reality.
In the 1896 Treaty there was a tacit, if unexpressed,
understanding that England was to be given a free
hand in dealing with this part of the peninsula so far
as France was concerned, and there should therefore
be no hesitation on our part in regard to taking such
steps as will assure to us a fair and proper share of
the trade of these countries, which we can have no
hope of getting whilst Siam has the controlling hand.
Let iSiam continue to hold the sovereign power
she claims over these States in matters pertaining
to their foreign policy, but let the internal
administration be conducted by Malay Rajas assisted
by competent and experienced British ofiicers, who have
had the opportunity of gaining experience in dealing
with native races in a practical sohool ; open the
country to free trade and enterprise, and finally lay
it down that the revenues of the country shall be
spent in the country for its development and
administration .
These seem simple remedies but they are very
sovereign ones, and would go far to effect a complete
and effectual cure of what is fast becoming an
intolerable situation. Siam will not suffer, save
that she may lose a certain amount of money
which at present comes into her treasury, but that
50 Siam and the Malays.
loss would he the price of an assured peace on
her ■western borders, and probably of an assured
friendship on the part of Great Britain, whilst to
the Malays it would spell that q<{iet and prosperity
which is at present is enjoyed by their compatriots
in the Federated Malay States.
The Positio7i- at the Close of 1W2. 51
CHAPTER VIII.
THE POSITION AT THE CLOSE OF 1902.
• Since the last words of these articles were written
several developments have laken place which will have
a great effect on the condition of affairs. Much has
been written and claimed for Siam on the strength of
the annual financial report which shows an increase in
the budget of Siam of very considerable dimensions.
This has been brought forward by her friends as indis-
putable evidence of the prosperity of the Siamese Malay
8tateSj and of the peace and happiness in which the
inhabitants live under her rule. The contention how-
ever falls to the ground if a serious analysis is made of
the returns. Mr. A R. Golquohon has written in the
Morning Post an article in which he rightly attributes
the increase not so much to continued prosperity as to
improved and more thorough methods of collection of
taxes, under the saperinteiidanoe of European oificials.
In the old days of the total amount collected only a
percentage ever reached the Treasury, now that has
been altered with the consequent benefit to the Treasury.
Bat even Mr. Golquohon owing to a lack of recent local
knowledge has missed another very important reason
and one which has a very pertinent, bearing on the
question. The Rajah of Patani was deposed in February
of this year and the revenues of the State were at
once taken over by the Siamese. These at a low esti-
mate should be worth ■If 100,000. Besides that it must
be borne in mind that the Siamese at the same time took
possessions of the salt wells at Patani, whether they
belonged to private owners or not, and this should
bring in, again at a low estimate; thirty thousand dollars,
52 Siam and the Malays.
as four million gantangs were produced in the season
and sold say at an average price of fifteen dollars per
thousand gantangs. Then again one has to take into
account the fact that the Raja.h of Xegeh has been in
the hands of the Siamese a virtual prisoner at Singgora
since the early part of the year and his State has been
entirely in the Siamese control and the revenues have
come to them. This State is the one in.which are situ-
ated the extensive gold workings at Tomoh and else-
where which though they have proved a death trap to
European enterprise, are still under Chinese work, and
there are a good many tin mines working under the
same conditions. It is therefore reasonable to suppose
that the revenues from this State nve at least equal if
not considerably greater than tliose of Palani, a country
of less than obe third the size of Legeh. RTnembering
also that it was in this year that the triennial Bunga
Mas tax was collected in the States, and one sees that it
is pevfectly fensible and in no way overstating the case
to suppose, that the amount of what may for conveni-
ence be termed the " extraordinary receipts" of the past
year financial year amounted to 8r4O(),0OO if no more.
Working this out at the present difference between ticals
and we have nearly 6''0,000 ticalsa. no inconsiderable sum
when it is taken from the surplus of which so much has
lieen made. This 's an estimate wliich I believe under-
states the case considerably, but it is so difficult to get
at the actual revenue of these native countries that 1
have preferred to under- rather than overestimate the
probabilities. When liowever one considers even this
sum in conjunction with the improved methods of col-
lection mentioned by Mr. C'olqnolion the evidence of
growing prosperity becomes a trifle threadbare.
Whilst dealing with this section I wish to add one
more word on the revenue question. It has been strenu-
ously maintained by Siam, and was as far as memory
serves, made a point of in the financial Report, that
arrangements had been made for spendinir the revenue
gathered in these States on works in the States, in other
The Position at the Close of 1902. 53
words that Siam would gain no direct benefit from their
increased prosperity, beyond that which necessarily
follows from having wealthy and well governed colonies
with which to trad\ This was in fact stated so defi-
nitely, andso constantly, that theimpressionwasproduoed
_ that the arrangement was already in force. In no single
instance however, and I paid particular attention
to the questioi* has any considerable sum of money
been set aside fjom these revenues for the well
being of these States, unless,, and I would wish to
emphasize this, it is for police and Governmental
administration. You may expend millions on these
branches, not that one supposes Siam does, and
never advance the social well being and national
prosperity of the country, and as an example of
what can be done on the other side. I would
quote the case of the Federated Malay States where
with a regularly constituted service the administration
expenses otily amount to about seventeen per cent. This
shows how much can be done for a very little,
where the intention is to act on the lines of
improving the general condition of the natives.
As an example of what might be done in the
Malay Peninsula I give the following figures taken
from official repoi'ts, of the advancement under
British guidance of native States. The revenue of
Perak rose from $226,000 in 1875, to «], 522,000 in
1885, to .f4,000,000 in 1 895, and to $8,532,000 in
1901. Over tlje same period tal^en in the same years
the Revenues of Selangor rose from $115,000, to
$566,000, to $3,805,000, to $6,544,000 last year. In
Pahang the bordering State on Tringganu, the revenue
rose from «30,000 in 1889 to $994,000 in 1901.
The returns of imports and exports which are the
figures to look for indications of prosperity are even
more remarkable. In Perak the imports rose from
$831,000 in 1876, to $16,000,000 last year, and
the exports from 739,000 in 1876 to $28,264,000 in
1901. In Selangor the figures were from $1,000,000
54 Siam and the Malays.
in 1882 to |24,520,000 in 1901. In Pahang from
$331,000 in 1892 to |2,656,000 in 1901. These figures
indicate the rescources of the countries once they were
freed from disturbance and given dKfinterested govern-
ment, and it must also be remembered that though
it is not advisable for Government to do mining and
agricultural work itself, it is a paramount duty of
Grovernment to construct roads, a,iid' encourage' in
every way private enterprise by oi^Eering any facility
possible which is likely to attract sound capital and
open a country.
I have already endeavoured in a previous chapter
to give some indication' of the present trade of
Kelantan but it may be interesting to note further
that the imports into Singapore last year from Pataui
were valued at !li>-489,000 from Tringganu at $1,737,000
and the exports to these States from Singapore were
respectively Patani |363,000 and Tringganu §906,000.
Both in the imports and exports these States like
Kelantan showed increases amounting to "over twenty
per cent, in nearly every case. 'J'he question then,
arises is it not reasonable to suppose that under
sound administration these countries could become as
prosperous as their neighbours have done in the sliort
space of a quarter of a centui-y. That administration
I contend cannot be expected from Siam if we are
to judge by her past conduct, and I also contend that
Britain has a right to expect that she shall at any
rate be allowed to have a fair chance in developing
this infant trade more particularly in Kelantan and
i'ringganu. That chance she has' not had hitherto,
as Siam has put every possible obstacle in the way
of British undertakings there, and in modern days it
has become impossible for any Nation to thrive or
maintain her position the world, if she adopts the
dog in the manger policy of preventing the admis-
sion of outside industry, and at the same time
doing nothing on her own part' to encourage deve-
lopment,
The Position at the Close of 1902. 55
There is yet one more aspect of the Siamese question
which Reserves a word or two. I refer to the recent Treaty
with France the terms of which have been published,
and the recent ne^tiations between Great Britain and
Siam of which nothing is as yet public. As regards the
former it is impossible to go into the matter at length
but briefly Prance has extended her area of protection
up the left banlf of the Mekong taking in the previnces
of Melprouey and^assacand establishing herself on the
Great lakes, and has got an undertaking from Siam
that in works of construction such as railways, canals,
harbours^ etc., on the Mekong, Siam shall consult and
give preference to French advice and assistance. For
that she agrees to evacuate Cliantabun and allows Siam
to keep Siamese troops officered by Siamese in the old
twenty-five kilometie neutral zone on the right bank of
the Mekong. Those are the main points and it can be
fnir]y taken that Siam has not come out of the deal
badly, a fact which is emphasized by the news that a
number of the French residents and subjects in Siam
have presented an influential petition to Pa^-is asking
Governmesit to go to the extreme length of reconsidering
the Treaty. It has also been state,d that an interpel-
jation would be hadrescource to in the French Chamber
on the subject, but whether thi" is to be carried out
does not appear at the date of writing (November 19th,
1'902);
The position of affairs as regards Great Britain
is more difficult to deal with from the fact that no
authoritative .statement has been' made, either officially
or unofficially at Home as to' the progress of events.
It is known that H. E. Phya Sri spent some time in
London in October, and it was generally accepted that
his visit to Europe would comprise an endeavour to
come to terms on some of the questions which have
ai-isen between the two countries with regard to
Keiantan more particularly. Absolutely the only indi-
cation of what occurred came from Bangkok, when two
of the Bangkok papers one day published what they
56 Siam and the Malaya.
claimed was the gist of a Treaty between England- and
Siam. One at least of these papers is recognized as the
Government organ and it commented qn the arrangement
which it said would,put a stop to the Citations, as it wfis
pleased to term them, of the 'Singapore " Expansionist
Party." Briefly the arrangement afs forshadowed there,
was that Great Britain had recognized the claim of Siam
over Kelantan and Tringganu under Treaty, but that
Siam had undertaken to ensure 9, sound form of
Government and free openings for trade. It was also
suggested, in a way that was as good as an oiRcial
statement, "that British officials would be obta,ined to
undertake the Government under Siamese authority.
The extraordinary part of the whole business was that
after some days the same paper published what was
evidently an inspired paragraph, in which it went back
on all the previous statements, and practically said that
it ha.d been misinformed.
This was a peculiar state of affairs, but personally
I believe the truth lies in the fact that the original
statements were correct as far as they went, though
there, was a good deal more behind, but that the
Siamese Government betrayed a trust when it allowed
the facts to come from Government sources, and that
the paragraph of withdrawal was an effort to retrieve
the fault, on representations from Great Britain and to
pass the statements off as incorrect. In any case it is
fajrly certain that an agreement has been come to and,
though it does not at present disturb Siam's wrongful
claim over Kelantan, it certainly will go far to open the
country to outside influences, and it may be safely
asserted that Great Britain will not allow any other
nation to oust her from a position which, con-
sidering the present state of the Peninsula, she rightly
enjoys.
Prom the latest advices I have had from the north
it would appear that Slain is preparing the way quietly
for a graceful retreat as far as interference in the
interuai management of Kelantan is concerned, but
The Position at the Close of 190S. 57
time EBione will stow what has really been effected.
/The great disappointment of course is contained in the
fact that the worl^of the last few years has produced
so little result and has simply shelved the main question
till a later date.
SiNGAPOKE,
November I9th, 1902.
I Library of George B. MoFarland
