Perak's Hero: Ngah Ibrahim, Amin Home and laid to rest.

Via NST, By Jaspal Singh and Shahrul Hafeez, 10 Sep 2006

TAIPING: At long last, Tengku Menteri Ngah Ibrahim Long Jaafar and Laksamana Mohd Amin Alang Duakap are back where they truly belong — in Perak.

After being interred on foreign soil for more than 100 years, the two heroes who were exiled from Perak have found their eternal resting place on home soil. Yesterday was a homecoming befitting their status as Malay chiefs and heroes who had contributed immensely to the annals of Perak.

At exactly 12.30pm, the remains of Mohd Amin were buried at the Royal Mausoleum at Bukit Chandan in Kuala Kangsar, less than 10 metres from the grave of his compatriot Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah.

At the Matang Museum Complex, Ngah Ibrahim’s remains were interred at 2pm. The museum complex was once the home, office and fort from where Ngah Ibrahim, the richest Malay in the 19th century, administered Larut.

On hand at the burial places were Raja diHilir Raja Datuk Seri Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, second in line to the Perak throne, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali and heads of government departments and agencies.

In keeping with tradition when burying Perak’s Malay chiefs and also for their contributions to the history of Perak, they were given state funerals.

Earlier yesterday, the Royal Malaysian Navy corvette KD Laksamana Mohd Amin, transporting the remains of the heroes from the Tanjung Pelepas Port in Johor, arrived in Lumut at 4am.

Thousands greeted the homecoming about 9am. Among them was the Raja Muda of Perak Dr Raja Nazrin Shah. KD Laksamana had arrived after a 16-hour journey and was escorted by KD Kinabalu and a CB90 assault craft to the Air Cetek jetty here for the ceremony. The boxes, draped in Jalur Gemilang, were then placed by officers from KD Laksamana into two coffins.

These too were covered with the Malaysian flag before being carried to two vans for the transfer to the respective burial sites.

The homecoming of Ngah Ibrahim and Mohd Amin has nearly completed the return of the four major personalities banished to the Seychelles in 1877 for their alleged role in the murder of Perak’s first British resident J.W.W. Birch in November 1875.

Sultan Abdullah, Ngah Ibrahim, Mohd Amin and Shahbandar Uda Kediti were exiled without trial.

When they were asked to go to Singapore in 1876 to answer charges for their involvement in the murder of Birch, they were instead put in prison for almost 10 months and then exiled to Seychelles.

In 1878, they wrote to Queen Victoria seeking her indulgence to release them on the grounds that they were not tried and to send them back to Perak. Only Sultan Abdullah was allowed to return to Perak, after spending 16 years in exile.

Sri Kandeh says: Congratulations to Pak Lah. This is the right move. The two Malay Warriors died for fighting the British colonialist. There are yet still many colonial vestiges and stooges around. It warrants us to rectifying and continues fighting them, like returning Penang to Kedah and perhaps of reinstall the Sultan of Melaka. Many more!