Dol Said, national hero, and the Naning War (1831-32)

Introduction

Dol Said is celebrated as a national hero in Malaysia for standing up to the might of the British military in a conflict over the right to levy taxation on his state of Naning near Malacca. His resistance on the battlefield has passed into folklore and is celebrated in movies and literature.

Dol Said was the penghulu or headman of Naning which was a territory situated 20 miles from Malacca. In 1643 the Dutch, who occupied Malacca at the time, had signed a treaty with Naning requiring it to pay 10% of its produce to them by way of tribute but which was later reduced instead to only a supply of rice.

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824

This arrangement for payment of the rice tribute appeared to work satisfactorily until in 1824 the Dutch handed over Malacca to the British under the terms of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. The British were seeking means to increase their revenues at this time and believed the rice tribute to be insufficient.

They demanded that Naning pay the 10% of their produce to them under the terms of the original Dutch agreement of 1643. Dol Said refused stating correctly that the over 100-year-old agreement had never been enforced and the terms had lapsed long ago, whilst agreeing to continue to pay to the British the rice tribute which he had previously paid to the Dutch.

First engagement

After several requests by the British to discuss the matter, Dol Said stood his ground and in 1831 the British decided to send troops to Naning to punish him. The expedition, consisting of around 150 sepoy Indian troops, their British officers and artillery, turned into a disaster, the British underestimating the will of the defenders who used guerilla tactics to harass them. In addition their supplies soon ran out because the boats carrying them foundered in the mud. After a few weeks, leaving their artillery behind, they returned defeated to Malacca.

Second engagement

Over the next year the British received substantial reinforcements from India numbering around 1,500 men. A second invasion was planned this time with more preparation. One of Dol Said’s main allies in the first battle, the territory of neighbouring Rembau, who had contributed to the defeat of the British by supplying fighters was “turned” by the British and agreed to remain neutral or to actively support them against Dol Said, in return for future concessions. In addition, a supply route was secured by the building of new roads to avoid the need to use boats.

Capture of Dol Said

As a result, the second invasion a year later in 1832 resulted in victory for the British, Dol Said being heavily outnumbered and let down by his allies. After Tamboh, the main town, was captured resistance ended and Dol Said fled. After he was later captured he was well treated and given a pension and a house in Malacca where he lived for the next 17 years until his death in 1849.