Beting Beras Basah Bears Witness to the Arrival of the First Sultan of Perak
The history of the Perak Sultanate began in the early 16th century, in 1528, when the first Sultan of Perak, Paduka Seri Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, was installed at Beting Beras Basah, located at the mouth of the Perak River near the town of Bagan Datoh.
It is said that it was on this shore that the first Sultan of Perak first set foot on Perak soil after disembarking from his vessel, which had sailed from Kampar. Raja Muzaffar Shah was the second son of Sultan Mahmud Shah, the 8th Sultan of Malacca. Before Sultan Muzaffar Shah I departed for Perak from Kampar, two Perak dignitaries named Tun Saban and Nakhoda Kassim had sought an audience with Sultan Mahmud Shah, who was residing in Kampar, to request that one of his sons be made the Sultan of Perak. Sultan Mahmud Shah granted the request and directed his second son to proceed to Perak.
According to accounts, as Sultan Muzaffar Shah I's vessel approached the mouth of the Perak River and reached the Beting Beras Basah area, the ship was struck by massive waves and suddenly ran aground on a sandbar in the middle of the sea. He ordered heavy items to be thrown overboard, yet the sea remained turbulent. He then proclaimed, "Sekongkong Tanah Minangkabau, Selilit Pulau Perca, Di lengkong ular Saktimuna, Perpisahan Beta di Selat Melaka, Jika Sah Beta Raja berdaulat, Lepaslah sekalian malapetaka" (A stretch of Minangkabau land, a circle of Perca Island, encircled by the Saktimuna snake, my departure in the Straits of Malacca, if I am truly a sovereign King, let all calamities be released). Sultan Muzaffar then took his crown and cast it into the sea. Suddenly, the turbulent sea calmed. His vessel was able to sail again as usual. Following this event, Tun Saban and his followers proclaimed his sovereignty, and Sultan Muzaffar Shah was installed as the first Sultan of Perak at Beting Beras Basah. Because of this event, he decided to land at Beting Beras Basah and was installed there before continuing his journey.
Since then, every Sultan of Perak to be installed has been required to visit Beting Beras Basah for traditional installation ceremonies, the royal bathing ritual (bersiram tabal), and other rites performed by the Royal Shaman (Pawang Diraja). In addition to the Sultan, the Raja Perempuan must also undergo the same ceremony. The last time the royal installation ceremony was held there was during the installation of Sultan Azlan Shah and Raja Perempuan Bainun at the end of 1985. According to elders in Bagan Datuk, when the late Sultan Idris was to be installed as the 33rd Sultan of Perak in 1963, he traveled by small boat to the exact site where Sultan Muzaffar Shah had landed in 1528. For your information, the tomb of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I is located in Kampung Padang Marhum, Lambor.
