Malaysian Warrior; MAT KILAU

Anyone who heard the name of Mat Kilau would have knew about his resistance against British in Pahang. He was one of the many Malay warriors that fight for the love of their motherland between the 1880s and 1890s when the colonial masters extended their rule in Pahang.

Besides that, he was also the only one of Malay warriors that lived to witness with his very own eyes the nation’s independence on 31^st August 1957. On that day, he even had the opportunity to shout the word ‘Merdeka” with others Malaysia citizen something that his comradeship did not live to do which were Datuk Bahaman, Haji Abdul Rahman Limbong, Tok Janggut, Datuk Maharaja Lela and Dol Said.

Mat Kilau bin Imam Rasu (Tok Gajah) was a famous Malay warrior in Pahang, Malaysia during the period of British protectorate which was before the Japanese protectorate. His father was Imam Perang Rasu or most famous known as Tok Gajah whose was a local chieftain. This brave warrior was believed to be born in 1847 in Kampung Masjid Pulau Tawar, near Jerantut, Pahang.

He married to Yang Chik binti Imam Daud when he was 20 years old, had three children which one of them was Omar, the one that help him to re-emerged from silence in 1969 to reveal his true identity. According to Pahang Delight.com, only after his marriage, Mat Kilau had learnt the finer art of silat and spiritual knowledge and one of his masters was his father, Tok Gajah.

During his resistance against British, Mat Kilau had form a formidable resistance group that scared the British. The group had attacked a police post which was set up by British and conquered Temerloh. The name of Mat Kilau and Datuk Bahaman are recorded in the national annals as those are responsible for the attack.

However, their resistances are not for long as their strengths had decreased when a clever ply had been executed by British as the group had been accused for betraying the Sultan. Therefore, Mat Kilau had taken refuges under lots of different names like Mat Dahan, Mat Dadu and Mat Siam.

On December 16, 1969, Mat Kilau had decided to re-emerge from his sanctuary and come out into the open where he himself made a declaration of his real identity at Pulau Tawar mosque in Jerantut. After months of research and investigations, the Pahang state government finally confirmed that he was indeed Mat Kilau.

Regrettably, Mat Kilau had died after 10 days of the approval of his identity which on August 16, 1970 at his home, Kampung Batu 5 that it was believed he had died at the age of 122 based on his estimated birth year of 1847. 







Sources:

1. Tuan Sharipah Shahani, Mohd Shukri Ishak (January 29, 2007), Mat Kilau the Malay Warrior. Retrieved on September 23, 2013 from theStar online website: Mat Kilau, the Malay Warrior
2. Pahang Delights.com. Pahang Warrior and Patriot. Retrieved on September 23, 2013 from Pahang Delights.com website: Mat Kilau