Ch. 14–3: How the Sultan of Melaka Turned into a Kick-​ass Vigilante

The chapter continues by saying there is a time when robbers are rampant in Melaka, with people getting getting robbed night after night! Sultan ‘Alauddin is very distressed (“masyghul”) to hear of these violent thieves. So one night, he dresses like a thief and goes out, in this disguise, with Hang Isak and Hang Isap to find out what’s going on in the city. (We are not, however, told how a thief in 15th-​century Melaka would dress like.)

On reaching a place, the king comes across five thieves (did he recognise them by their attire?) who are carrying a chest. When he sees them, he chases them; they are startled and run away, leaving the chest behind. Sultan ‘Alauddin tells Hang Isak, “Stay here by the chest” and Hang Isak says, “OK.” Sultan ‘Alauddin and Hang Siak (which seems to be an alternate, and less lewd-​sounding, name for Hang Isap) run after the five thieves, who go up a hill. They continue the chase up the hill and catch up with them under a bodhi tree. Sultan ‘Alauddin gives a shout (“bertampik”) and slashes one of the thieves, and the thief gets sliced in half, at the waist, as if he were a cucumber! The remaining four thieves run to a bridge, where they are hotly pursued by the king. When they come to the end of the bridge, the king kills one of them, and the other three jump into the river and swim across. After this, Sultan ‘Alauddin walks back. Upon reaching Hang Isak, he says, “Take this chest to your house.” And Hang Isak says, “OK.” And so Sultan ‘Alauddin goes back to his palace, but we are not told if he uses this:

The next morning, Sultan ‘Alauddin has an audience in his hall, and all the chiefs, women (the manuscript says “perempuan” — although this is most likely a mistake, as the scribe probably meant “para menteri” [ministers], which is more logical for this patri­archal setting), officers, heralds (“abentara”) and warriors are there. Sultan ‘Alauddin addresses Seri Maharaja, as he happens to be the Temenggong (which is like the Internal Security Minister), and asks: “Were there guards last night?” And Seri Maharaja says, “There were.” And Sultan ‘Alauddin says, “I hear that there was a man killed on the hill and another killed at the end of the bridge. Who was it who did the killing?” And Seri Maharaja says, “I have no idea.” And so Sultan ‘Alauddin says, “Your guards are useless, as I hear our city is being overrun by thieves!”

He then sends for Hang Isak and Hang Siak, and tells them to bring the chest. So they enter the hall with the chest. Sultan ‘Alauddin asks both of them: “What did you hear about last night? Tell Bendahara Paduka Raja and all the other bigwigs here.” Hang Isak and Hang Siak then recount what happened. And so all the chiefs fearfully bow to Sultan ‘Alauddin, as if to say, “We’re not worthy!” Sultan ‘Alauddin then orders an inquiry (“tafahhus”) to be made for the owner of the chest. This is done and a merchant named Ki Tirubalam is identified as the owner. Sultan ‘Alauddin orders for the chest to be returned to him. Then Sultan ‘Alauddin leaves the hall, and all the chiefs go back home.

That very night, Seri Maharaja becomes a very strict guard. And he comes across a thief and slashes him, severing the thief’s arm from his shoulder! The severed arm is then flung on the crossbar (“alang”) of a shop. The next morning, the shopkeeper is about to open the shop. The shopkeeper sees the severed arm, is shocked and gives out a shriek. And from that day onwards, there are no more thieves in Melaka. This is how Sultan ‘Alauddin rules Melaka.

Sep 19, 2010 – 1:21 PM | By Amir Muhammad | Posted in Blog Post | Comments (883)

Previous Chapters

  • CH 15–2: How Kampar Got Steamrolled by Melaka
  • CH. 15–1: How a Melakan Warrior Had to Wait Before Kicking Haru Asses
  • Ch. 14–5: Why the Bendahara Mentions Royal Horniness on His Deathbed
  • Ch. 14–4: How Melaka Delivered a Smackdown to Pahang
  • Ch. 14–3: How the Sultan of Melaka Turned into a Kick-​ass Vigilante
  • Ch. 14–2: How a Grandmother From Hell is Stopped from Committing Regicide
  • Ch 14–1: How the People of Campa Ended Up in Melaka
  • Ch. 13: How the Pasai King’s Uppity Words Lost Him a Valuable Ally
  • Ch. 12–3: How the Sultan of Melaka Got Cock-​Blocked
  • Ch 12–2: How The Pasai Philosopher Answers (or Not) a Riddle from Melaka
  • Ch. 12–1: Why the Horny Prince of Mengkasar Goes on a Destructive Spree
  • Ch. 11: How a Game of Sepak Raga Turned Deadly
  • Ch. 10: How the Raja of China Cured His Skin Problem
  • Ch. 9–5: How the Sultan of Melaka Got His Elephant Back
  • Ch. 9–4: How the Raja of China’s Daughter Came to Melaka
  • Ch. 9–3: How Hang Tuah Killed Hang Kasturi
  • Ch. 9–2: How the Melakans Responded to the King of Majapahit’s Practical Jokes
  • Ch. 9–1: How the Queen of Majapahit Chose Her Husband
  • Ch. 8–2: How Melaka Became Siam’s BFF
  • Ch. 8–1: How the Siamese Were Fooled
  • Ch. 7: Why The Bendahara of Melaka Committed Suicide
  • Ch. 6–3: How Melaka was Founded, and Then Became Muslim
  • Ch. 6–2: How a King’s Horniness Got Him into Trouble with His Brother
  • Ch. 6–1: How Islam Came to the Malay World
  • Ch. 5: How Eating Vomit Can Make You A Superman
  • Ch. 4: How Singapura Repaid Majapahit’s Insult
  • Ch. 3: How Singapore Got Its Name
  • Ch. 2: How China Saved Itself
  • Ch. 1: Alexander?

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