Administrative jurisdictions of the Bendahara and the Temenggong in Melaka
English laws, apparently, love fairness. Which sounds nice in theory, but in practice is a bit silly: Everyone gets treated the same, whether you are a duke, a baker, or someone who just fell over a chicken. No priority lounges, no special privileges. Just the cold, relentless hand of the law, judging you like a very serious referee who does not like fun. Meanwhile, in Melaka, things were a bit different. The rules were quite straightforward and unhypocritical: If you were in kahyangan or held a high office, you got one set of treatments. If you were just a normal person, you got another. Which, frankly, is how most of us already experience life anyway. The non-overlapping domains were clearly outlined in the Undang-undang Melaka. For instance, the Bendahara, the Type A Judge, is basically in charge of anyone who holds an office, a minister, a knight, a baron, a viscount, an earl, a duke, a marquess, a court office...