Ban on Keris

rahman · 7th February 2005, 08:06 AM

Yes, it was from the Hikayat Abdullah. Raffles decided to ban the wearing of sidearms following frequent fights between the followers of Tengku Hussein and the Temenggong. He partly solved the problem by relocating the Temenggong's followers from the town centre (by the Singapore River) to Telok Blangah.

Interestingly, it was Sultan Hussein who remarked that a Malay would be naked without his keris. Apparently, that quote came to be attributed later to Raffles.

"Tuan, ini-lah pusaka raja-raja Melayu yang tidak boleh tidak. Ada pun jikalau tiada bersenjata itu seperti orang yang tiada berkain rasa-nya," he said when Raffles broached the idea of banning the wearning of sidearms.

My source is Hikayat Abdullah published by Pustaka Antara (1963). It's supposed to be in 2 volumes but I only have vol. II

7th February 2005, 08:06 AM	#2
rahman Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 84	Yes, it was from the Hikayat Abdullah. Raffles decided to ban the wearing of sidearms following frequent fights between the followers of Tengku Hussein and the Temenggong. He partly solved the problem by relocating the Temenggong's followers from the town centre (by the Singapore River) to Telok Blangah. Interestingly, it was Sultan Hussein who remarked that a Malay would be naked without his keris. Apparently, that quote came to be attributed later to Raffles. "Tuan, ini-lah pusaka raja-raja Melayu yang tidak boleh tidak. Ada pun jikalau tiada bersenjata itu seperti orang yang tiada berkain rasa-nya," he said when Raffles broached the idea of banning the wearning of sidearms. My source is Hikayat Abdullah published by Pustaka Antara (1963). It's supposed to be in 2 volumes but I only have vol. II Last edited by rahman; 7th February 2005 at 03:36 PM.