TRENGGANU

 

BRIEF HISTORY

The Royal house of Trengganu represents one of the junior male lines of the Bendahara family of Johor. They trace their descent from one Aidarus of Aceh, in Sumatra, a Sayyid originating from the Hadramaut in Southern Arabia. His descendants came to rule over four different states, Johor, Trengganu and Pahang in Malaysia and Lingga in Indonesia. In 1717, Zainal-Abidin, the younger brother of the Sultan 'Abdu'l Jalil IV Ri'ayat Shah of Johor established control over the eastern provinces of the kingdom with the title of Maharaja. He secured recognition as the first Sultan of Trengganu from his nephew Sultan Sulaiman I Badr ul-'Alam Shah of Johor in 1725. His descendants claim to be the senior male-line descendants of the Johor sultans, and thus the rightful heirs to the honours of that kingdom.

For a brief period during the late eighteenth century, Trengganu dominated the East Coast of the peninsular, including Kelantan. The sultanate fell under nominal Siamese influence during the early nineteenth century, but suffered from several periods of fratricidal civil war. The Siamese were powerless at achieving either political or economic stability. By the end of the century some accomodation had been reached between the various parties, resulting in a form of joint rule where power was shared amongst them. At one time a reigning Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan Besar, sharing power with a deputy or Yang di-Pertuan Muda. State debts continued to grow at an alarming rate, causing considerable difficulty to the Siamese Treasury. Eventually, Trengganu, along with Kedah, Kelantan and Perlis, were transferred to British protection under the terms of the Anglo-Siamese treaty of 1909. Britain paying all th Sultan's outstanding debts and assuming responsibility for them from 1911.

The state remained one of the unfederated Malay States until the Second World War. The Japanese invaded in 1941, deposed the reigning Sultan in favour of their own candidate, and transferred the state back to Thai control in 1943. The state was freed from Japanese occupation and the rightful Sultan was restored onthe return of British troops in 1945. The inhabitants of the state opposed plans for the Malay Union in 1946 and the state joined the new federation of states on 1st February 1948. It joined the other states of the peninsular to form the independent Federation of Malaya on 31st August 1957 and became a state of Malaysia on 16th September 1963.
STYLES & TITLES:
The ruling prince: Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan dan Yang di-Pertuan Besar Terengganu Dar ul-Iman, i.e. Sultan and Head of the State of Trengganu, with the style of His Royal Highness.
The Royal consort of the ruling prince: Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tengku Ampuan Besar, i.e. the Tengku Ampuan Besar, with the style of Her Royal Highness.
The non-Royal consort of the ruling prince: Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Inche' Puan, with the style of Her Highness.
The Heir Apparent: Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Yang di-Pertuan Muda Terengganu Dar ul-Iman, i.e. the Heir Apparent of Trengganu, with the style of His Highness.
The Royal consort of the Heir Apparent: Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Puan Muda Terengganu Dar ul-Iman, i.e. the Tengku Puan Muda of Trengganu, with the style of Her Highness.
The non-Royal consort of the Heir Apparent: Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Inche' Puan Muda Terengganu Dar ul-Iman, i.e. the Tengku Inche' Muda of Trengganu, with the style of Her Highness.
The Regent: Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Pemangku Raja Terengganu Dar ul-Iman, i.e. the Prince Regent of Trengganu, with the style of His Highness.
Other male members of the Royal family, descended in the male line: Yang Mulia Tengku (personal name) bin (father's title and name).
Other female members of the Royal family, descended in the male line: Yang Mulia Tengku (personal name) binti (father's title and name).
The junior wives of the ruling prince, the Heir Apparent and other princes: Yang Mulia Inche' (personal name) binti (father's title and name).

The senior male members of the Royal family usually receive a princely title of honour in addition to those by right of birth. The order of precedence of such titles is as follows:
1. (Duli) Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Sri Bendahara Raja.
2. (Duli) Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Sri Panglima Raja.
3. (Duli) Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Sri Temenggong Raja.
4. (Duli) Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Sri Raja.
5. Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Sri Paduka Raja.
6. Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Sri Laksamana Raja.
7. Tengku Sri Indera di-Raja.
8. Tengku Sri Pekerma Raja.
9. Tengku Sri Wa Raja.
10. Tengku Sri Kelana Raja.
11. Tengku Sri Setia Raja.
12. Tengku Sri Wangsa Raja.
13. Tengku Sri Kemala.
14. Tengku Sri Aria Raja.
15. Tengku Sri Utama Raja.
16. Tengku Sri Ismara Raja.
17. Tengku Sri Bijaya Raja.
18. Tengku Bentara di-Raja.
19. Tengku Kemala Puri.
20. Tengku Indera Segara.
21. Tengku Bentara Dalam.
22. Tengku Bentara Muda.
23. Tengku Puan Muda.
24. Tengku Bendahari.
25. Tengku Bentara Puan.
26. Tengku Kesukma Puri.
27. Tengku Nila Rakna.
28. Tengku Nara Wangsa.
29. Tengku Lela Segara.
There are also thirty-four non-hereditary noble titles, conferred for life on aristocrats, senior office holders and distinguished people within the state. These are, in order of precedence:
1. Dato' Andika Indera
2. To' Puan Sri Nala (female)
3. Dato' Bijaya di-Raja
4. Dato' Wira Jaya
5. Dato' Bentara Dalam
6. Dato' Perwira Negara
7. Dato' Setia Wangsa
8. Dato' Bentara Luar
9. Dato' Kaya Pati
10. Dato' Setia Bakti
11. Dato' Indera Guru
12. Dato' Lela Perkasa
13. Dato' Kaya Jasa
14. Dato' Sri Amar di-Raja
15. Dato' Maha Kurnia
16. Kelana Setia
17. Dato' Setia Bakti
18. Dato' Senara Muda
19. Dato' Maha Jasa
20. Dato' Kaya Setia
21. Dato' Setia Jaya
22. Dato' Rakna Bijaya
23. Dato' Bentara Setia
24. Dato' Bentara Muda
25. Dato' Sang Segara
26. Dato' Kurnia Jasa
27. Dato' Lela Berida
28. Dato' Indera Pahlawan
29. Dato' Aria Pura
30. Dato' Aria Negara
31. Dato' Kurnia Bakti
32. Dato' Dewa Bakti
33. Dato' Senara Bakti
34. Dato' Nara Setia
RULES OF SUCCESSION:
Male primogeniture in the family of Sultan Zainal Abidin I.

ORDERS & DECORATIONS:
See link below.

GLOSSARY:
See under Malaysia, main page.

SOURCES:
Haji Buyong Adil, Sejarah Terengganu. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 1974.
Ensiklopedia Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 1995.
Tengku Ismail bin Tengku Su, Tuhfat al-Nafis Naskhah Trengganu, The House of Tengku Ismail Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Trengganu, 1991.
The Leaders of Malaya and Who's Who 1957-1958, J. Victor Morais, Kuala Lumpur, 1958.
Shaharil Talib Robert, The Trengganu Ruling Class in the late Nineteenth Century. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume L, Part 2, 1977.
Dato' Mubbin Sheppard, A Brief History of Trengganu, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume XXII, Part 3, 1949.
Haji Muhammad Saleh bin Haji Awang, Trengganu dari Bentuk Sejarah, hingga tahun 1918m (1337), Utusan Publications & Distributors, Kuala Lumpur, 1978.
Wan Ramli Wan Mohamad, Pengakuan Tengku Ali, Mengapa Saya Diturunkan dari Takhta Trengganu? Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, 1993.
Sejarah Trengganu. Mansor Priting Press, Trengganu, 1968.
Shaharil Talib, After its own Image, The Trengganu Experience 1881-1941. Oxford University Press, Singapore, 1984.
Who's Who in Malaysia and guide to Singapore, J. Victor Morais, Kuala Lumpur, 1967-1978.
Who's Who in Malaysia and Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, 1979-1980.
R.O. Winstedt. A History of Johore (1365-1895), Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume X, Part 3, 1932.

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Tengku 'Abdu'l-Rahman bin Tengku Muhammad Yusuf, Head of the Royal House of Lingga.
Ricky Chua.
Kartina Paris.
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