A patriot’s memorial in Kuching
Mubin Sheppard’s 1991 article traces the arc from the 1946 Cession of Sarawak to Britain through the 1949 assassination of Governor Sir Duncan Stewart by the Malay youth Rosli bin Dhobi, to the 1990 laying of a foundation stone for a Patriots’ Memorial in Kuching — an act driven by the personal determination of Tunku Abdul Rahman to ensure that Sarawak’s early independence pioneers were not forgotten. The piece functions as both a corrective to the historical neglect of Sarawak’s anti-cession resistance and a commemorative account of Tunku’s final public act.
Summary
The article opens with a brief account of the Brooke dynasty in Sarawak, from James Brooke’s installation in 1841 through the cession of the territory to Britain in 1946. The Cession Bill, presented by Sir Charles Vyner Brooke to the Council Negeri on 17 May 1946, passed by a narrow margin of 19 to 16, ending 105 years of Brooke rule. Opposition mounted rapidly, galvanised in part by the parallel anti-Malayan Union movement on the Peninsula, and by December 1946 some 400 Malay and Dayak government servants had resigned in protest. Among the opposition groups formed was “Rukun Tigabelas,” a cell of thirteen young Malays who swore to kill senior British administrators.
The narrative then focuses on the assassination of the second British Governor, Sir Duncan Stewart, on 3 December 1949. Rosli bin Dhobi, an 18-year-old Malay youth selected by lot from among the Rukun Tigabelas, stabbed Stewart in the lower abdomen as the Governor walked between rows of schoolchildren. Stewart died days later in Singapore. Rosli and two accomplices, Morshidi Sidek and Bujang Suntong, were tried in Sibu and hanged. Sheppard notes that the executions received little publicity on the Malay Peninsula, where attention was absorbed by the Malayan Union controversy.
The article’s central concern is the long gap between these events and their eventual commemoration. Tunku Abdul Rahman first learned of Rosli’s action during a visit to Sarawak in mid-1963, and it evidently made a lasting impression. By 1988, Tunku — by then gravely ill with diabetes, kidney impairment, and glaucoma — resolved to press for a memorial. He commissioned a draft design from his architect nephew in 1989 and secured the cooperation of Dato Patinggi Taib Mahmud, Chief Minister of Sarawak. Despite deteriorating health and the rainy season, Tunku insisted on attending the foundation stone ceremony. He flew from Penang Hospital to Kuching on 28 November 1990 and delivered an emotional speech the following morning, punctuated three times with the cry “Merdeka.” He died on 5 December 1990.
Key Findings
- The Cession Bill was passed by the Council Negeri on 17 May 1946 by a vote of 19 in favour to 16 against, ending the Brooke regime after 105 years (p. 119).
- By December 1946, approximately 400 Malay and Dayak government servants had resigned in protest against the cession, precipitated by a government circular forbidding participation in the anti-cession movement (p. 119).
- Rosli bin Dhobi, aged 18, stabbed Governor Sir Duncan Stewart on 3 December 1949; Stewart died days later in Singapore. Rosli, Morshidi Sidek, and Bujang Suntong were subsequently hanged (pp. 119–120).
- Tunku Abdul Rahman first learned of Rosli’s action during a visit to Sarawak in mid-1963, while occupied with United Nations observers preparing a report in favour of Malaysia’s formation (p. 120).
- Tunku commissioned a draft memorial design from his architect nephew in 1989 and arranged a special fundraising tour of his film Mahsuri II as a first step toward financing the memorial (p. 122).
- Tunku flew from Penang Hospital to Kuching on 28 November 1990 against medical advice and delivered the foundation stone speech on 29 November; he died on the night of 5 December 1990 (pp. 123–126).
Conclusion
Sheppard’s definitive takeaway is that the Sarawak anti-cession patriots were historically overlooked in the national narrative of Malaysian independence, and that it was Tunku Abdul Rahman’s personal moral conviction — expressed in his final months of life — that ensured their sacrifice would be formally commemorated. The memorial stands as a testament to Tunku’s recognition that courage “takes many forms, not always widely recognised” (p. 122).
Context
- The article draws on Sheppard’s personal knowledge of Tunku Abdul Rahman and the Sarawak political establishment rather than on a specific archival collection; it functions as a commemorative narrative with limited primary-source documentation.
- Historiographically, the piece contributes to the underexplored history of Sarawak’s anti-cession resistance and its relationship to the broader Malayan independence movement, a topic that received comparatively little attention in Malaysian historiography at the time of writing.