Who Was the Real Tok Kaduk in Perak History?
When discussing the history of Bandor related to Pulau Indra Sakti, not far from there is a settlement called PALOH (now Kampung Paloh Lambor Kanan).
According to Tok Ku Duan (the real name of Y.M Raja Dato’ Seri Mohd Ridhuan Siff Sayyid), a keeper of stories and his family genealogy as one of the descendants of Tok Genta Wahab or Haji Wahab, who is said to have founded Kampung Parit Haji Wahab, there is a close family connection to Tok Paloh Genta, who founded and named Paloh (not the Paloh located in Ipoh).
According to him, this Kampong Paloh or Paloh in Lambor Kanan was the place that once saved the fate of a royal prince who was unfortunate due to a regrettable mistake.
It was because of this one mistake that, to this day, he has become a subject of jokes and turned into a fairy tale as well as a moral story. In reality, it is a historical story that truly happened in the State of Perak. The prince referred to is Tok Kaduk.
He was the one who founded and named this Paloh. According to Tok Ku Duan, from oral stories written down by his ancestors, this Tok Kaduk was known as Tok Paloh Genta (Sir Hugh Low called him Tok Paloh Panglima Kinta), because he was granted control over the Genta district by the Sultan at that time.
According to the story from Tok Ku Duan, the account he possesses is very different from the stories told by people in the olden days, which are closely related to the tale of a Bendahara who was ill and treated by Tok Batin, saving Puteri Limau Purut and the Sultan who was held captive in Acheh.
He also mentioned that, according to the oral tradition of his ancestors, after he (Tok Kaduk) gained prosperity, he was also blessed with the ability to cure people's illnesses.
The story of his ability to heal people reached the ears of Datuk Bendahara, so Datuk Bendahara sought an audience with him to request treatment for the illness he was suffering from.
Not long after that, the news of the Sultan and the Princess being taken to Acheh was conveyed to Datuk Bendahara, who was undergoing treatment, but the Datuk Bendahara was unable to serve or save the Sultan and the Princess due to his illness.
When he (Tok Kaduk) heard the news, he could not bear it. It is said that if he followed his heart, he would not have wanted to help because of his history, which had caused his village to be mortgaged.
However, he did not follow his heart, and he told Datuk Bendahara that he would help him negotiate with the King in Acheh to release his captives, because his father had a very good relationship with the King of Acheh.
To make a long story short, he left for Acheh and brought back the captives from Acheh along with the King of Acheh's entourage to the State of Perak. That is why it is mentioned by people that when the Acheh entourage came to the State of Perak to return the royal family of Perak who were held captive by Acheh, they were not opposed by the people in the State of Perak.
Because of his services, he was granted by the Sultan the right to collect taxes in Genta, which was under the authority of Raja Barohan. It is said that he also married his daughter to the son of Raja Barohan, and it is from that lineage that the descendants of Tok Ku Duan exist today.
After that, he was titled Tok Paloh Genta (the Dato' who founded Paloh and received a grant in Kinta). The name Tok Kaduk, which became a satire and a common joke among the society at that time, was only used as material for a fairy tale. Later, he was also bestowed the title Tok Tua Tan Dewa Sakti.
It is highly likely that because the title he held, Tok Tua Tan Dewa Sakti, was used more often, the name Dato' Paloh or Tok Paloh Kinta was not spoken of much, and some were confused, thinking that the Dato' Paloh who founded Ipoh as stated by Hugh Low, or Tok Ku Paloh, the Lord of Terengganu, were the same person; here it is clear there is absolutely no connection.
The historical information possessed by Tok Ku Duan, which has been passed down through his family, can be used to solve the puzzles that seem to have no answers for researchers and lovers of our beloved country's history.
Tok Kaduk is not a fairy tale, Tok Kaduk is not a subject that can be turned into a joke, but Tok Kaduk was Tok Paloh, who held the title Tok Tua Tan Dewa Sakti, a royal figure who once served and contributed to the land of Perak a long time ago.
In honor of the entire legacy of the Tok Kaduk and Tok Ku Duan family, there is a verse (pantun) recited in one of the stories collected by Tok Ku Duan's family that interested the author to include it in this writing, as shown below in the Perak dialect.
Cucumbers and durians, how can they be the same,
If they clash, the cucumber will be crushed,
Just let it be, it's not going anywhere,
The cucumber becomes tempoyak (fermented durian) dip.
-tokchangkatlanggor-
