All with a true knowledge of natives, to whom his remarks may be said to apply generally, as well as to the Malays, will agree with Sir Frank Swettenham:—
That when you take the Malay, Sultan, Haji, chief, or simple village headman into your confidence, when you consult him on all questions affecting his country, you can carry him with you, secure his keen interest and co-operation, and he will travel quite as fast as is expedient along the path of progress. If, however, he is neglected and ignored, he will resent treatment to which he is not accustomed, and which he is conscious is undeserved. If such a mistake were ever made (and the Malay is not a person who is always asserting himself, airing grievances, and clamouring for rights) it would be found that the administration had gone too fast, had left the Malay behind, left him discontented, perhaps offended, and that would mean trouble and many years of effort to set matters right again.[[351]]
Sir Frank Swettenham pays a high tribute to the Malays of rank of the Malay Peninsula, quite as justly have those of Sarawak earned the same praise. Foremost amongst these latter stood the old Datu Patinggi Ali, the champion of his people's cause, before the deliverer from oppression came in the person of the late Rajah, in whose service he gallantly sacrificed his life. Of a different type was his eldest son, the Datu Bandar Muhammad Lana, whose courage was masked by a gentle and retiring disposition, though it flashed forth on many occasions, notably at the time of the Chinese rebellion. His brother, who succeeded him on his death, the late Datu Bandar Haji Bua Hasan, previously the Datu Imaum, was one of the most trustworthy and faithful chiefs the Government has had. By his long and faithful service of over fifty years he had won the most honoured place amongst those chiefs who so nobly assisted the two Rajahs in their work in laying the foundation of law, order, and civilisation in Sarawak. He was held in esteem and respect by all people, and his dignified and familiar figure is greatly missed. He died on October 6, 1906, over one hundred years of age, another example of longevity of life amongst Malays. As his descendants number exactly one hundred and fifty, the continuity of old Rajah Jarom's line is ensured. Two of his sons, Muhammad Kasim and Muhammad Ali, are now respectively the Datu Bandar and the Datu Hakim. The third son of Datu Patinggi Ali, Haji Muhammad Aim, became the Datu Imaum in 1877. He died in 1898, justly loved by all for his kindly nature and strict probity; no truer or more courteous gentleman could be found.
Of another family and of a very different type was the bluff old Datu Temanggong Mersal, with the reputation of having been a pirate in the bad old days, but who had "a fine spirit of chivalry which made up for a hundred faults."[[352]] He was a stout and staunch servant. Of him the late Rajah, referring to the Datu's Court, humorously wrote:—
The old Temanggong is likewise a judge in Israel, and sometimes he breaks into the Court, upsets the gravity of all present by laying down his law for a quarter of an hour—Krising and hanging, flogging and fining all offenders, past, present or future, and after creating a strong impression vanishes for a month or two.
Absolutely fearless as himself were his sons Abang Pata and Muhammad Hasan. How the former distinguished himself we have already noticed. On the death of his father in 1863 the latter succeeded him as Datu Temanggong. He was a tall, handsome man of a distinct Arab type. Though a good Muhammadan, he was the least bigoted of a broad-minded class, and owing to his liking for their society he was probably the most popular with Europeans of all the datus, and at their club he was a constant and welcome guest. He died on the haj at Mecca in October, 1883.
Other native officials, whose names will ever live in the annals of Sarawak, are some who served in the out-stations, and these have been already noticed. The qualities which distinguished these men, and which brought them to the fore, were grit, sound common-sense and fearlessness, and upon their shoulders fell the hardest task of managing the Sea-Dayaks and other interior tribes, a task fraught with danger and discomfort, and one that gave them little rest, but which they shared with their white leaders faithfully and without a murmur.
Sarawak has been exceptionally fortunate in having been able to draw upon a good class of men capable of supplying the State with servants fitted by intelligence and rank to become native officers. Though, autre temps, autre mœurs, the type is changing, yet the people generally are jealous of their country, and honour its traditions. Contented, they seek no change, and they are ready to uphold their Rajah and to maintain their independence as vigorously now as they have done in the past—an independence which Lord John Russell had many years ago graciously intimated they were at liberty to achieve and maintain as far as it lay in their power; though he declined to hold out a helping hand. These are wholesome and promising indications that good men will always be found worthy to take the places which their forefathers so nobly filled.
