Tok Gajah a Hero or Villain?

The history of Pahang is full with heroes and villains.One of such a hero was Tok Gajah. It is sad and unfortunate that most of the fightings were among the peoples in power, and I dragged the whole populations into chaos. This situation provided a perfect opportunities for the British to move in.

Tok Gajah or his real name was Imam Rasul bin Shahrum was born in Pulau Tawar, Jeruntut. His birth place and that of his son, Mat Kilau will be gazetted as Pahang heritage in honor for his effort to fight the British. Even though Tok Gajah lost the war and the British set in in Pahang. The new Sultan was given salary by the British. Tok Gajah and the freedom fighters move out to Kelantan and the British put a price to his head and accused him as 'terrorist' much the like of the accusation made by USA now.

Tok-Shahrom-Tok Gajah-Mat Ki lau Descendants Association chairman Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad said it was about time Pahang commemorate the memory of both heroes who fought against the British in the 1800s.

Happy family: Descendants of Mat Kilau, Tok Gajah and Tok Shahrom posing for a group photograph after their reunion at the Dewan Konvensyen in Pekan

Zulkifli said besides being their birthplace, Pulau Tawar has a number of other historical sites.

“Here, there are the Mat Kilau’s grave, a 100-year-old mosque, the houses they had stayed in and others,” he said, adding that these sites were not being well maintained at present.

Zulkifli said the association had sent a proposal for Pulau Tawar to be gazetted as a heritage town to the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry, when it was still known as the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry.

The effort done by the association is commendable, as it will allow the younger generation to appreciate the struggle the other had to go through to gain the peace of today.

Resource:

-thestar.com,my

taken from abdullatif.blogspot
makam di pulau tawar