By virtue of a mutual agreement made in 1902 Siam appointed a resident commissioner to Kelantan and consented, so long as the advice of that officer should be followed, to leave internal affairs to be conducted locally. Under this arrangement a council of state was appointed, departments of government were organized, penal, civil and revenue laws were passed and enforced, courts were established and a police force was raised. Though formerly of an evil reputation, the people were found to be naturally peaceful and law-abiding, and serious crime is rare. The state revenue, which was practically nothing in 1902, amounted to $320,000 in 1907. Islamism was adopted about 300 years ago but the old animistic superstitions are still strong. The state is divided into mukim or parishes, but the imam no longer exercise temporal authority. There are three schools at Kota Bharu, education in the interior being in the hands of the imam assisted with government grants.
No historical records of Kelantan exist, and the state was not noticed by the European merchants of the 16th and 17th centuries. Consequently little is known of its early history beyond what is to be gathered from brief references in the Malay annals and the old chronicles of Siam. The sites of ancient towns and the remains of former gold diggings are visible here and there, but all knowledge of the men who made these marks has been lost. The present ruling family dates from about 1790. Siam was frequently called upon to maintain internal peace and in 1892 a royal prince was sent to reside in Kelantan as commissioner. Complications brought about by the incapacity of the ruler led to the making of the agreement of 1902 above mentioned, to the fixing of a regular tribute in money to Siam, and ultimately to the merging of the state from chaotic lawlessness into the path of reform. On the 15th of July 1909 the state came under British suzerainty and the commissioner of Siam was replaced by a British adviser, from which date the liability to payment of tribute ceased, though in all other respects the administrative arrangements of Siam remained unaltered.
Trengganu.—This state on the east coast, bounded N. and N.E. by the China Sea, S. by Pahang and W. by Pahang and Kelantan, lies between parallels 4° 4′ and 4° 46′ N. and 102° 30′ and 103° 26′ E. The greatest length from north to south is 120 m., and the greatest breadth from east to west 50 m. It has a coast-line of 130 m. and an estimated area of about 5000 sq. m. There are several islands off the coast, some of which are inhabited. The surface is generally mountainous.
Principal rivers are the Besut, Stiu, Trengganu, Dungun and Kmamun, none of which is navigable for any distance. The climate is mild and fairly healthy. The population numbers about 180,000, almost all Malays, and mostly clusters round the mouths and lower reaches of the rivers. The capital, which is situated at the mouth of the Trengganu River, contains, with its suburbs, not less than 30,000 people. Difficulty of access by river and by land render the interior districts almost uninhabitable. Communication is maintained by boat along the coast. There are no roads and no postal or telegraphic communications.
The majority of the people are sailors and fishermen. Rice is grown, but not in sufficient quantities to supply local needs. Much pepper and gambier were at one time grown and exported, but about the year 1903 agriculture began to fall off owing to prevailing insecurity of life and property. Not much livestock is raised, the few head of cattle exported from Besut being mostly stolen from across the neighbouring Kelantan border. A successful tin mine under European control exists in the Kmamun district, but as everything possible was done in the past to discourage all foreign enterprise, the probable mineral wealth of the country is still practically untouched. Silk-weaving, carried on entirely by the women, is a considerable industry. The silk is imported raw and is re-exported in the form of Malay clothing (sarongs) of patterns and quality which are widely celebrated. The manufacture of native weapons and of brassware was at one time brisk but is declining. The trade of Trengganu is not increasing. It is valued roughly at about one and a half million dollars a year, is chiefly with Singapore, and is to a great extent carried in Trengganu-built ships, which latter also do some carrying trade for other states on the east coast.
The Trengganu sultanate is one of the most ancient in the peninsula and ranks with that of Riau. The state was feudatory to Malacca in the 13th century and during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries its possession was frequently disputed between Malacca and Siam. The present sultan is the descendant of an ancient family, the members of which have quarrelled and fought with each other for the succession from time immemorial. The last serious disturbance was in 1837 when the grandfather of the present sultan stole the throne from his nephew. Until the acquisition of the state by Great Britain a triennial tribute of gold flowers was paid to Siam, and this with occasional letters of instructions and advice, constituted almost the only tangible evidence of Siamese suzerainty. Of government there was practically none. The sultan, having alienated most of his powers and prerogatives to his relatives, passed his life in religious seclusion and was ruler in no more than name. The revenues were devoured by the relatives, a small part of those accruing from the capital sufficing for the sultan’s needs. There were no written laws, no courts and no police. All manner of crime was rampant, the peasantry was mercilessly downtrodden, but the land was full of holy men and the cries of the miserable were drowned in the noise of ostentatious prayer. In fine, Trengganu presented in the beginning of the year 1909 the type of untrammelled Malay rule which had fortunately disappeared from every other state in the peninsula. In July of that year, however, the first British adviser or agent arrived in the state, which was shortly afterwards visited by the governor of the Straits Settlements, who discussed with the sultan the changed conditions consequent upon the Anglo-Siamese treaty and laid the foundations of future reform.
Kedah.—This state, on the west coast of the peninsula, lies between parallels 5° 20′ and 6° 42′ N., and is bounded, N. by Palit and Songkla, E. by Songkla and Raman, S. by Province Wellesley and Perak, and W. by the sea. The coast-line is 65 m. long, the greatest distance from north to south is 115 m. and the greatest breadth 46 m. Off the coast lies a group of islands, the largest of which is Langkawi, well peopled and forming a district of the state.
The total area of Kedah is about 4000 sq. m. The land is low-lying and swampy near the coast except towards the south where the height known as Kedah Hill rises from the shore opposite Penang, flat and fertile farther inland, and mountainous towards the eastern border. The rivers are small, the Sungei Kedah, navigable for a few miles for vessels of 50 tons, and the S. Muda, which forms the boundary with Province Wellesley, being the only streams worthy of notice. The plains are formed of marine deposit, and in the mountains limestone and granite preponderate. The population is estimated at 220,000, of whom about 100,000 are Malays, 50,000 Siamese and Samsams and 70,000 Chinese and Madrassis (Klings). There are three towns of importance. Alor Star, the capital, on the Kedah river, 10 miles from the sea, in a flat, unhealthy, but fertile locality, is a well laid out town with good streets, many handsome public and private buildings, and good wharfage for small vessels. The population is about 20,000, of whom more than half are Chinese and the remainder government servants and retainers of the local aristocracy. Kuala Muda (pop. 10,000) and Kulim (pop. 8000) situated in the south, are unimposing collections of small birch houses and thatched bamboo huts; the latter is the centre of the Kedah tin mining industry. The bulk of the population is scattered over the plains in small villages. A good road runs north from Alor Star to the border of the state, a distance of 40 miles, and other roads are being constructed. The state has 185 miles of telegraph line and 75 miles of telephone line. Mails are closed daily at Alor Star for Penang and there is a good internal postal service. The chief industry is rice cultivation. Coco-nut, betel-nut and fruit plantations are many, and the cultivation of rubber has recently been taken up with prospects of success. The estimated area under cultivation is about 300,000 acres. There are rice-mills at Alor Star and at Kuala Muda. The principal exports are rice, cattle and tin. The chief imports are cotton goods, provisions, hardware and raw silk. Accurate trade statistics are not available. The ruler holds the rank of sultan and is assisted in the government by a council and by the British adviser who since the state passed from Siamese to British protection in 1909, has replaced the officer formerly appointed by Siam. The sultan comes of a family long recognized by Siam as having hereditary right to the rulership. The penal and civil laws are administered in accordance with the precepts of Islamism, the official religion of the state. Though much has been done to improve the courts, justice is not easily obtainable. A land registration system is in force but is in a state of confusion, though a land law passed in 1905 gives security of tenure over lands newly acquired. The mining laws are similar to those of Siam. In 1905 the Siamese government advanced two and a half million dollars to Kedah, to pay the debts of the state, which sum was refunded by the British Government on assuming the position of protector. The annual revenue is $1,000,000 and the expenditure about the same. Chief heads of revenue are opium and land tax. Many revenue monopolies, created in the past, have not yet expired; but for this the revenue would be greater than it is. There is no army. In 1906 the police service was reorganized under British officers, resulting in great improvement to this department. The state is divided into a number of administrative districts under Malay officials. Each district comprises several mukim or parishes, the imam of which exercise both spiritual and temporal control. There are schools in the chief towns, but education has not yet been seriously undertaken.
Kedah was founded by colonists from India in A.D. 1200, about which time the Siamese had subdued Nakhon Sri Tammarat and claimed the whole Malay Peninsula. When the rise of Malacca shook Siamese authority in the peninsula, Kedah oscillated between them, and on the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese, fell to Siam, though the capital was raided and burnt by the Europeans. The ruler and his people were converted to Islam in the 15th century. In 1768, the Siamese kingdom being disorganized, the sultan of Kedah entered into direct political relations with the Hon. East India Company, leasing the island of Penang to the latter. Further treaties followed in 1791 and 1802, but in 1821 Siam reasserted her control, expelling the rebellious sultan after a sanguinary war. The sultan made several fruitless efforts to recover the state, and at length made full submission, when he was reinstated. In 1868 an agreement between Great Britain and Siam was substituted for the treaties of the East India Company with the sultan. The present sultan succeeded in 1881, and for 14 years governed well, but in 1895 he began to contract debts and to leave the government to his minions. The result was chaos, and in 1905 the Siamese government had to intervene to avert a condition of bankruptcy, adjusting the finances and reorganizing the general administration to such effect that when, four years later, the state became a British dependency, a government was found established on a sound basis and requiring nothing but the presence of a firm and experienced officer as adviser to maintain its efficiency and assist its further advance.
Perlis (Palit).—This small state, consisting of the left bank drainage area of the Perlis River, lies between Setul and Kedah, which bound it on the N. and W. and on the E. respectively. It touches the sea only round the mouth of the river.