Ch. 14–5: Why the Bendahara Mentions Royal Horniness on His Deathbed

The final part of this chapter starts with Sultan Ibrahim, who is the Raja of Siak. There is a Siak man who commits a wrong against him, and the king asks Tun Jana Fakil to put him to death. So Tun Jana Fakil executes him.

Word reaches Melaka that this execution took place without Melaka’s consent. So Sultan ‘Alauddin sends the Laksamana to Siak with a letter. When the ship arrives in Siak, Sultan Ibrahim receives the letter with the same level of ceremony that the Raja of Pahang had done. The elephant parks itself in the hall, and the letter is read out. Once this is done, the Laksamana asks Tun Jana Fakil, “Did you really kill Tun Anak?” And Tun Jana Fakil replies, “I sure did! On the orders of my king.” And the Laksamana turns away from Sultan Ibrahim (a deliberate insult) and points to Tun Jana Fakil with his left hand (another insult), while saying: “You have no manners! Are you a creature of the jungle (‘orang hutan’) with no culture? Are you allowed to execute people without Melaka’s consent? Are you in Siak creating your own laws?” And Sultan Ibrahim and all the chiefs are struck dumb, unable to reply.

After some time in Siak, the Laksamana takes his leave. Sultan Ibrahim gives him robes of honour and a letter for the king of Melaka, which starts with, “The elder brother pays homage to the younger brother. If I committed any wrong (‘khilaf’), I beg a thousand apologies.” The letter is borne with ceremony, and the Laksamana returns. In Melaka, the letter is brought to the palace, where it is read out. After this is done, the Laksamana does his obeisance and sits down. Sultan ‘Alauddin asks him to describe what happened. And the Laksamana tells everything, and Sultan ‘Alauddin is thrilled to bits, and gives rewards to the Laksamana.

And Bendahara Paduka Raja becomes very ill. He sends for all his children and grand­children, even those who would need to travel for a day or two. Once they are all gathered, he gives his final injunctions (‘berwasiat’). He says, “My children and grand­children, don’t ever neglect your religion for the sake of the world, because everything in this world is only temporary. You must purify your hearts to serve Almighty God and His Prophet (may God bless him) and to serve the king; don’t ever forget that a good king is joined with the Prophet of God as if they were two gem-​stones in a ring. The Raja is like a proxy for (‘umpama ganti’) God. When you serve the Prophet of God, it is like you are serving God Himself, as He says in the Quran: أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ that is: Obey Allah and obey His Messenger (and those in authority among you). These are my last injunctions. Remember them and you will attain glory in this world and the next.”

The Bendahara then turns to Seri Nara Aldiraja, Seri Maharaja Muzahir, and says, “Muzahir, you will soon be a great man, greater than me. But don’t behave like the king’s uncle. If you think of yourself as the king’s uncle, you will be killed.” (Muzahir is the brother-​in-​law of Sultan ‘Alauddin and therefore the uncle of the current king’s son, Raja Mahmud, so this ‘warning’ can be seen as a projection into the future.)

The Bendahara then turns to Tun Zainal Abidin, “If you fail to obtain a good job in the palace, go and live in the jungle, because the shoots and leaves there are enough for a man with a small appetite (‘perut panjang sejengkal’)”.

The Bendahara then turns to Tun Pauh … yes, for someone who’s about to kick the bucket, he sure has a lot to say! It reminds me of:

Anyway, the Bendahara says to Tun Pauh, “Pauh, don’t live in the city. Go live further out there, where you may transform even garbage into gold.”

And then the Bendahara says to Tun Isak, “Isak, don’t seek your livelihood in the king’s audience hall.”

That is an example of what the Bendahara had to say to his descendants; he never repeated himself, as each of them received a specialised greeting.

When Sultan ‘Alauddin hears that the Bendahara Paduka Raja is gravely ill, he comes to see him. The Bendahara did obeisance to him and says, “I feel this world slipping from my grasp, and I place my hopes on the afterlife. I hope Your Majesty does not heed the words of those who are deceitful; if you do so, you will surely regret it. And don’t obey the lusts of the flesh, because many kings in the past had been destroyed by Almighty God for being horny.”

After this, the Bendahara returns to God’s mercy; and he is buried by Sultan ‘Alauddin with due custom. Tun Perpatih Putih, younger brother of the Bendahara, is made the new Bendahara by Sultan ‘Alauddin, and he is known as Bendahara Putih. And then Bendahara Putih has a son, Tun Abu Sayit, who is very handsome. And then Tun Abu Sayit has two sons, Seri Amar Bangsa being the elder and Tun Muhammad being the younger. We are not told if they are handsome, but we know that Tun Muhammad, by Malay standards (“jikalau duduk pada jumlah Melayu”), is quite pious and learned; he knows a bit of Arabic grammar and syntax (“saraf nahu”), a bit of juris­prudence (“ilmu fiqah”), and a bit of theology (“ilmu usul”).

Sep 28, 2010 – 11:20 AM | By Amir Muhammad | Posted in Blog Post | Comments (639)

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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