Sultan Muzaffar Shah II (10th Sultan of Perak)
In 1636, the renowned Sultan of Aceh, Sultan Iskandar Muda Mahkota Alam, passed away in Aceh, and his son-in-law, Raja Mughal, was installed as the Sultan of Aceh with the title Sultan Iskandar Thani.
In the same year, Sultan Iskandar Thani sent his cousin, Raja Sulong, to become the Sultan of Perak, as Perak was then under the suzerainty of the Aceh Sultanate. Upon arriving in Perak, Raja Sulong was installed as the 10th Sultan of Perak following the passing of the 9th Sultan, and he adopted the title Sultan Muzaffar Shah II. Sultan Iskandar Thani was the son of Sultan Ahmad ibni Abdul Kadir, the 11th Sultan of Pahang, who carried the royal lineage of the Melaka Sultanate. When Sultan Iskandar Muda Mahkota Alam attacked and defeated Pahang in 1618, Sultan Ahmad (the 11th Sultan of Pahang), his son Raja Mughal, and many others from Pahang were captured and taken to Aceh.
Sketch of Sultan Iskandar Muda Mahkota Alam
Among those held captive in Aceh was a royal prince named Raja Sulong, the son of Raja Mahmud ibni Raja Kasab, the Raja of Siak. The wife of Raja Kasab and mother of Raja Mahmud was Raja Puteh, the daughter of Sultan Mansur Shah II, the 8th Sultan of Pahang. Raja Sulong was a cousin of Sultan Iskandar Thani (Raja Mughal) because Raja Mughal's mother was a sibling of Raja Mahmud, Raja Sulong's father. Sultan Muzaffar Shah II (Raja Sulong), the 10th Sultan of Perak, married the granddaughter of Sultan Mansur Shah II, who was the 2nd Sultan of Perak. Before the Dutch conquered Melaka in 1639, while Aceh was under the rule of Sultan Iskandar Thani, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) arrived in Aceh. They came to seek permission from Sultan Iskandar Thani to purchase tin in Perak. Sultan Iskandar Thani granted this permission to the Dutch. Subsequently, the Dutch met with Sultan Muzaffar Shah II to inform him that the permission to purchase tin in Perak had been approved by Sultan Iskandar Thani. Consequently, Sultan Muzaffar Shah II allowed the Dutch company to trade and purchase tin in Perak. The Dutch built a house at their trading site near the mouth of the Perak River. From then on, Dutch trade in Perak proceeded well until 1641. In 1641, Sultan Iskandar Thani passed away, and his widow, Puteri Safiatuddin—the daughter of Sultan Iskandar Muda Mahkota Alam—was installed as the Queen of Aceh to succeed her husband. Puteri Safiatuddin became the Queen of Aceh with the title Sultanah Tajul Alam Safiatuddin Shah. However, the golden age of the Aceh Sultanate began to decline and weaken due to having a female ruler who may have lacked experience.
Sketch of Sultanah Tajul Alam Safiatuddin Shah
From that point on, the power and territories of the Aceh Sultanate in the Malay Peninsula began to weaken and were released one by one, until only Perak remained under Aceh's protection for many years. In mid-1641, a Dutch merchant named Jan Dircxen Puijit arrived in Perak with a large quantity of trade goods. Jan Dircxen Puijit was granted an audience with Sultan Muzaffar Shah II and presented a letter and gifts from the Dutch Governor (Johan van Twist) in Melaka. In the letter, the Dutch Governor proposed that the Sultan of Perak prevent merchants from other nations from coming to purchase tin in Perak. Furthermore, the Dutch Governor suggested that Perak sell its tin exclusively to the Dutch. Sultan Muzaffar Shah II welcomed the proposal and reciprocated the gifts brought by Jan Dircxen Puijit with a sword and a kris, and bestowed upon him the title Seri Johan Pahlawan. Not stopping there, Sultan Muzaffar Shah II also provided a house to the Dutch to replace their old, dilapidated one at their trading site. Sultan Muzaffar Shah II also expressed his pleasure in purchasing goods from the Dutch, provided that credit was allowed for every purchase. However, the Dutch Governor's proposal to ban other nations from purchasing tin remained unresolved. The Sultan of Perak stated that the matter would first be brought to a meeting with the Perak state dignitaries. After much time had passed and the Sultan of Perak continued to be pressured by the Dutch Governor to block other nations from buying tin, Sultan Muzaffar Shah II remained firm in his stance not to do so. It reached a point where the Sultan of Perak threatened to reclaim the house that had been provided to the Dutch during the time of Jan Dircxen Puijit. Because the Sultan of Perak would not yield to Dutch demands, the Dutch began seeking ways to block the Javanese, Chinese, and Indians from coming to trade in Perak. Several Dutch ships were stationed at the mouth of the Perak River solely to block other nations from entering Perak to trade. The blockade imposed by the Dutch at the mouth of the Perak River was subsequently protested by the Perak government. Furthermore, the Dutch went to Aceh to explain their blockade in Perak and their proposal to restrict other nations from buying tin. The Aceh government did not order the Perak government to stop other nations from buying tin, as the Dutch were still able to purchase the largest share of tin from Perak compared to others. In 1650, the Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia, Cornelis van de Lijn, sent a representative named Joan Truijtman to Aceh. When the Dutch representative arrived in Aceh, the Dutch forced Sultanah Tajul Alam Safiatuddin Shah to sign an agreement allowing only the Dutch to purchase tin in Perak.
Air Mati near the Tomb of Sultan Muzaffar Shah II
Sultanah Tajul Alam Safiatuddin Shah accepted the agreement and ordered the Perak government to comply with her command. At that time, Perak, still under the suzerainty of Aceh, had to obey the demands of the Aceh government. The agreement was signed by both parties on August 15, 1650. A year later, the Dutch factory at Kuala Perak was attacked and destroyed by the local Malays. Furthermore, many Dutch personnel were killed in the attack. It was at that moment that the Dutch Company ceased trading in Perak.
Sultan Muzaffar Shah II (10th Sultan of Perak) ruled Perak for 17 years. He passed away (given the title Marhum Jalilulah) in 1653 and was laid to rest at Air Mati, Perak Tengah. References:
- Sejarah Perak, Buyung Adil, p. 16
