Siniawan Rebellion (Kebangkitan Siniawan)

Until the 1820’s, Brunei’s interest in Sarawak had been limited to the collection of annual tribute. It was the chance discovery of antimony ore by some Brunei pengirans on their way to Singapore in 1823 that  made Sarawak a focus of interest. Pengiran Indera Mahkota was appointed governor of Sarawak by the Sultan of Brunei who was anxious to obtain revenue from the export of antimony. Mahkota established a new capital at Kuching where a number of other Brunei pengirans also took up residence. One of these, Pengiran Usup, grandson of the Sultan, negotiated the sale of Sarawak to the brother of the Sultan of Sambas in about 1836. When Muda Hashim, then the effective ruler of Brunei, would not agree, Usup fomented a rebellion against Brunei authority by the Sarawak datus and the Bidayuh antimony miners. They were probably already disaffected due to the monopolization of the antimony trade by the pengirans . . .

It is interesting to note that the rebellion is not really an "us-versus-them" (read: nationalistic) story as painted in the textbook, but rather a "us-versus-us" situation: Datu Patinggi Ali and Indera Mahkota were both considered Malays, while Pangeran Usop and Indera Mahkota are both Bruneian royalty.

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After stopping the rebellion, James Brooke demands the position as the Sarawak Governor as promised by Muda Hashim. Indera Mahkota persuades Muda Hashim to stall on the promise, and James Brooke gets angry. Knowing how Indera Mahkota is standing in his way, Brooke was finally obliged to use naked force to achieve his ambition His yatch the Royalist was brought up the river to Muda Hashim’s palace and all guns were trained on it. Declaring vengeance on Pengiran Mahkota whom he accused of an attempt to poison him, Brooke forced Muda Mashim and his people to choose between himself and the Pengiran for their loyalty. Of course, they choose James Brooke to save their lives. Muda Hashim immediately ratifies the agreement (the 1841 agreement between Muda Hashim and James Brooke is attached in another post).

As Brooke recorded it,

“This demonstration tested public opinion, and two hundred of the natives immediately joined me, and not a single man joined Mahkota . . . henceforward I was to hold the government. I expounded my principles to them, and really believe they are well pleased.”

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1. Our Sarawak – Persatuan Kesusasteraan Sarawak, 1983