The Big Four in Melaka

English laws, apparently, love fairness.

Which sounds nice in theory, but in practice is a bit silly: Everyone gets treated the same. 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.

. . . then Nila Pahlawan told several tales: the marriage of Raja Iskandar إسكندر to the daughter of Raja Kida Hindi, and the descent of Raja Suran into the sea, et cetera. Mpu ꦩ꧀ꦥꦸ and Malini मालिनी asked what proofs they could produce of the truth of this relation. “Ladies," said Nila Pahlawan, “this crown is an evidence of descent from Raja Iskandar. If any farther evidence is wanting, consider the phenomenon which you have seen on your rice-grounds in coming hither." Then the girls were rejoiced, and invited them to their house, whither they proceeded, he of the centre being mounted on the white steer. Then Mpu and Malini returned, and cut the paddy for their food. The name of the prince they changed into Sang Suprabha is the name given to the prince on the bull by Mpu and Malini. The name can be decomposed into: Sang (honorific marker applied to an exalted person) + suprabha (handsome).

Plainly, Sang Suprabha means ‘The Handsome' and this is in line with the fact that Mpu and Malini was astounded by the physical appearance of the young men. In the Ciri, Sang Suprabha is spelt: সু + পু + ভ + ন্ব = SU + PU + BHA + NVA. ন্ব is a nominalizing suffix added to convert the adjective সুপুভ to noun. Note that the word in the Ciri does not conform to the standard spelling of SUPRABHA সুপ্রভ, in which the phonem প্র (PRA) is approximated by the PU-sound (পু).Sangsapurba. The bull which was his conveyance, vomited foam, from which emerged a man named Bat'h, with an immense turban, who immediately stood up, and began to recite the praises of Sangsapurba, which he does very ingeniously in the Sanskrit language . . .

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 resident in Bukit Damansara, a knight, a baron, a viscount, an earl, a marquess, a court officer, or the children of these people. So, basically, anyone who sounds like they belong in a medieval catalogue. Meanwhile, the Temenggong, the Type B Judge, is given the slightly less glamorous job of handling ordinary crime: investigating it, catching the criminals, and making sure people do not just wander around doing whatever they like.

The Shahbandar, the Type C Judge, on the other hand, got to deal with everyone else who did not fall under Type A or Type B. So, basically, if you were a foreign merchant trying to sell something suspicious, an orphan who had been wronged, or anyone who just really needed someone to sort out a mess, that was his problem. And he also had to worry about boats, junks, cargo ships, and basically anything that floated. So, if a vessel decided to misbehave on the water, the Shahbandar was on it. Think of him as part mayor, part social worker, and part traffic controller for ships.

The caption given by the textbook is: Pembesar berempat merupakan pembesar peringkat pusat yang merupakan tonggak utama pentadbiran Kesultanan Melayu Melaka. Mereka terdiri daripada Bendahara, Penghulu Bendahari, Temenggong, dan Laksamana. Mereka juga dikenali sebagai Orang Kaya Berempat. Note that the job descriptions given by the textbook are not 100% consistent with the descriptions given in the Undang-undang Melaka (e.g. It is known that the Temenggong does not involve himself in affairs of the royal court, as that is the responsibility of the Bendahara; The Bendahara was not the chief judge, as his authority was limited; the Sultan held the position of chief judge; The Penghulu Bendahari and the Shahbandar were two distinct roles, but the textbook mistakenly conflated them; Laksamana is unlikely to be bodyguard of the Sultan since he was enfiefed or based in Bintan, etc). See Suffian Mansor et al. (2017) Sejarah Tingkatan 2, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur, p. 77.

Notice something very strange: the Laksamana does not appear anywhere in the Undang-undang Melaka.

Not once.

Apparently, this job was never part of the four great lords (pembesar berempat) at the Melaka power pyramid. Basically, everything your textbook told you about the Laksamana? Wrong. It is like someone trying to sell you a story that insists a whale is a fish.

When the young Bilal first entered the city of Mecca in Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (2015), he saw the al-Ka‘bah draped in fine cloth, with a statue of Alexander the Great (b. 356BC, d. 323BC, about 1,000 years before 1 AH), depicted with the horns of Zeus-Amon (i.e. Iskandar Dhu al-Karnain إسكندر ذو القرنين, Alexander, the owner of two horns, Καρναιν) placed atop the cube. After casting down the Persians (Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid Empire), Alexander III entered Egypt, and the people received him not as a conqueror but as a liberator. In Memphis he took the ancient crown of the Pharaohs, binding himself to the line of kings who ruled as gods upon the Nile. Yet it was in the far reaches of the desert, at the sacred Siwa Oasis, that his destiny was sealed. There the oracle of Amon hailed him as no mere man, but the very son of the god himself.

Head of Alexander III of Macedon (the Great), diademed and wearing the horns of Zeus-Amon (British Museum 1994,0915.76)

The opening lines of Undang-undang Melaka, largely based on the English translation by Liaw (1976)

^(a)In the name of ʾLH, the most merciful, the ever-merciful. Praise be to ʾLH, the Lord of the Worlds. And good fortune to those who trust in ʾLH. And prayers and peace for his Messenger, our Lord Muhammad, and his family and his friends altogether.

^(b)Now following that (salutation), this is a treatise on the Kanun law (adhered to) in all large lands and by all great rulers and their viziers and on the customs in the dependent areas and villages, in the hope that it will benefit the land and the rulers.

^(c)Every ruler must appoint high dignitaries to act on his behalf so that he need not concern himself (with trivial matters).

^(d)Every king must, in the first place, appoint a Bendahara, secondly, a Temenggong, thirdly, a Penghulu Bendahari and fourthly, a Shahbandar, (and if he does so) both the ruler and his subjects can live in peace and security.

^(e)The law is divided into three divisions, firstly, that of the Bendahara; secondly, that of the Temenggong; and thirdly, that of the Shahbandar.

1. The Bendahara is given jurisdiction for instance over those who are holding office, and those who rank as tuan, the sida (court-officers) and the children of high dignitaries.
2. The Temenggong is given jurisdiction over crimes committed in the country and (matters) such as the investigation (of crime) and the apprehension of criminals in the land.
3. The Shahbandar is given jurisdiction over all matters concerning foreign merchants, orphans and all who have suffered injustice and furthermore, the regulations pertaining to junks, cargo-boats and other vessels.

^(f)Let it be known to you that these customs have come down to us from the time of Sultan Iskandar Dhu al-Karnain who rule over mankind till the time of his son, Sultan Iskandar Shah. He was the first ruler to open up the land of Melaka, bearing the title of Sultan Mahmud Shah, the Shadow of God on Earth. He was the first ruler to embrace Islam and to codify royal customs and rules, and rules pertaining to high dignitaries. (It was he too) who laid down the laws and rules of the land, handed down through the generations to His Majesty Sultan Muzaffar Shah, and then to Sultan Mansur Shah, and then to Sultan Ala al-Din Riayat Shah, and then to Sultan Mahmud Shah, the Caliph of the Faithul, the Shadow of God on Earth. It is he who has the highest authority with regard to these customs and rules (of law) until the present day. May these laws serve as an example for those who act on the ruler's behalf in administering these (above-mentioned) rules which have been compiled in the office of every minister. These laws are collected together to deal with matters which should be brough to court.

1. Liaw Yock Fang (1976) Undang-undang Melaka: A critical edition. PhD Thesis, Leiden University. See also Liaw Yock Fang (1976) Undang-undang Melaka, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague and Liaw Yock Fang (2003) Undang-undang Melaka dan Undang-undang Laut, Yayasan Karyawan, Kuala Lumpur.
   
   
   
   Liaw Yock Fang 廖裕芳 (b. 1936, d. 2016). He was a lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, Nanyang University. The department was founded in 1968 to promote cultural and language exchange, as envisioned by Wang Gungwu's Report (1965 University Curriculum Review Committee Report). He became the teaching staff of NUS when the two universities were merged in 1980. In a interview conducted in 2008, Pak Liaw lamented that he was not recognized by the Malay writers although he considered himself as Malay writer:
   
   . . . I have participated in Chinese Writers Association before, and even headed some of them, but I did not have any works that were published. I would consdier myself to be a Malay writer as my works all published in the Malay language, but I was not recognized by the Malays. Two years ago, the Malay Writers Association produced a Singapore's Malay Writers Collection, but my name was not even included in there. Even though my name was mentioned some time ago, and I was nominated for the literary award, but I was not chosen in the end. My name was not even included in some collections. I would say that there exists a sort of racial chauvinism. I was the one who wrote the most Malay publications since 1966. I have written for many years. It was a collaboration between the National Library and the Malay community. They should have interfered and not let the Malays decide on everything by themselves . . .
   
   
2. Hyang ᬳ᭛ᬂ is a Javanese word. It is title used to decorate the name of a Javanese or Hindu deity. Kahyangan is literally the place of the hyangs or the abode of the gods. Another common Malay loanword formed from hyang is sembahyang or sembah-hyang سمبهيڠ, which means worship the hyang. In Semitic languages, the triglyph ʾ-L-H (e.g. אלה) means god, the orthography is faithfully preserved in Arabic and the name is spelt إِلٰه.
   
   
3. The text in romanized Malay is given as follows:
   
   
   1. Bismillahi al-Rahmani al-Rahim, al-Hamdulillah rabbi al-‘Alamin. Wa li al-Qibatu li al-Muttaqin. Wa al-Salat wa al-Salam ‘ala Rasulih Sayyidina Muhammad wa alih wa sahabih ajma‘in.
      
      
   2. Amma ba‘du hadhihi risalah fi bayan hukum al-Kanun fi bilad al-Malik al-Kabir wa wuzara'ihi. Wa ba‘dahu, adapun kemudian daripada itu, maka inilah suatu risalat pada menyatakan hukum kanun iaitu pada segala negeri yang besar-besar dan pada segala raja-raja yang besar-besar dan wazir dan pada adat yang takluk dan dusun supaya manfaat atas negeri dan raja-raja.
      
      
   3. Maka hendaklah raja-raja itu menjadikan orang besar-besar akan gantinya, supaya tiada datang masyghul kepadanya.
      
      
   4. Adapun pada segala raja-raja itu, pertama-tama menjadikan bendahara, kedua menjadikan temenggong, ketiga menjadikan penghulu bendahari, keempat menjadikan shahbandar, maka terpeliharalah segala raja-raja itu dengan segala rakyatnya.
      
      
   5. Adapun maka dibahagi hukum itu atas tiga bahagi. Pertama kepada bendahara, kedua pada temenggong, ketiga pada shahbandar.
      1. Adapun hukum yang diserahkan kepada bendahara itu, seperti hukum orang yang berjabatan dan segala tuan-tuan dan segala sida-sida dan anak orang besar-besar.
      2. Adapun hukum yang diserahkan kepada temenggong itu barang yang dihukumkan di dalam negeri seperti tafahus-menafahus dan seperti tangkap-menangkap orang yang jahat di dalam negeri itu.
      3. Adapun hukum yang diserahkan kepada shahbandar itu iaitu menghukumkan segala dagang dan anak yatim dan segala yang teraniaya dan adat segala jong dan baluk dan barang sebagainya itu.
      
      
   6. Adapun ketahuilah olehmu sekalian akan adat ini turun-temurun daripada zaman Sultan Iskandar Dhu al-Karnain إسكندر ذو القرنين yang memerintahkan segala manusia datang kepada zaman puteranya Sultan Iskandar Shah إسكندر شاه, ialah raja yang pertama menyusuk negeri Melaka, ialah yang bergelar Sultan Mahmud Shah zillullahi fi al-Alam ظل الله في العالم, ialah raja yang pertama masuk agama Islam dan meletakkan adat perintah raja-raja dan perintah segala orang besar-besar dan meletakkan hukum dan perintah negeri lalu turun kepada baginda Sultan Muzaffar Shah مظفر شاه dan turun kepada baginda Sultan Mansur Shah منصور شاه dan turun kepada bagin Sultan Ala al-Din Riayat Shah dan turun kepada putera baginda Sultan Mahmud Shah محمود شاه, kalifat al-Mukminin خليفة المؤمنين, zillullahi fi al-Alam, ialah yang mempunyai adat dan hukum dan perintah datang sekarang ini. Maka adalah iaitu akan teladan ganti raja-raja pada hal memerintahkan segala adat yang tersebut ini, terhimpun pada segala menteri.
      
      Maka dihimpunkan hukum ini atas barang patutnya yang dihukumkan.
   
   
   
   
   Raja Kida Hindi, Kidara I (circa 350 - 385), the first major ruler of the Kidarite Kingdom, northwestern India.
   
   
   
4. In the Vat. Ind. IV manuscript (dated 1676), the In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to God, the Trustworthy Lord, and for the guidance of the pious. All praise is due to God, the Trustworthy Lord. This is a clarification of the treatise on the laws in the lands of Hindustan under the great kings and their ministers. To proceed: This is a treatise explaining the law, namely concerning all the major territories, all the great kings, and their customary practices and jurisdictions, so that the benefit of the state, the king, and the ministers will be maintained over all their subjects. As for all these kings, they must appoint their principal officials so that no confusion or disorder arises in their realm . . . Know that this customary law has been handed down from generation to generation since the time of Sultan Iskandar Dhu al-Karnain until now, and it serves as an example and guidance for the ruler in administering all the customs over his ministers. Therefore, these laws have been compiled into nine main laws and sections . . .opening paragraphs are slightly different (e.g. the reference to Hindustani land was preserved) and it does not contain the names of the kings (e.g. Iskandar Shah = Mahmud Shah as the first king, then followed by Muzaffar, Mansur, Alauddin, Mahmud). In the Sejarah Melayu, the name ‘Raja Kida Hindi' is curiously preserved. The name is likely a reference to the Bactrian king named Kidara.
   
   . . . Bismillahi al-Rahmani al-Rahim al-Hamdulillah rabbi al-‘Alamin wa li al-Qibatu li al-Muttaqin, al-Hamdulillah rabbi al-‘Alamin, hadha fi bayan al-Risalat bi-Hukum al-Qanun fi al-Bilad Hindustan fi muluk al-Kabir wa wazir. Amma ba‘du, kemudian dari itu, ini suatu risalah pada menyatakan hukum kanun iaitu segala negeri yang besar-besar dan pada segala raja-raja yang besar-besar dan pada adatnya yang takluknya dan dusun supaya manfaat atas negeri dan raja dan menteri akan memeliharakan segala rakyatnya. Adapun adan segala raja-raja itu hendaklah menjadikan orang besar akan gantinya itu supaya tiada datang masyghul kepadanya lagi . . . Adapun ketahuilah olehmu aka adat ini turun-temurun daripada zaman Sultan Iskandar Dhu al-Karnain datang sekarang, maka adalah ia itu akan teladan dan akan ganti raja pada hal memerintah segala adat tuannya atas segala menteri itu, maka atas dihimpunkan hukum ini atas sembilan hukum dan fasal . . .
   Since the older Vatican manuscript does not include the king list, it is unclear whether the names of the kings were later inserted during copying, or if the list itself may have been shaped by the list compiled by the Portuguese, notably Eredia (1602). Eredia's list contains the names of six kings and is apparently an incomplete list: (a) Parameswara (b) Iskandar Shah (c) Muzaffar Shah (d) Mansur Shah (e) Alauddin (f) Mahmud.
   
   See, for example, Wang Gungwu (1968) The first three rulers of Malacca, JMBRAS 41, pp. 11 - 22. Two names (Sri Maharaja 西里馬哈剌者 and Sri Parameswara 息力八密息瓦兒丟八沙) are to be inserted between Megat Iskandar Shah 母干撒于的兒沙 and Muzaffar Shah 無答佛哪沙. The penultimate king in Eredia's list is problematic since the father of Mahmud is unlikely to be Alauddin but Mansur Shah. The name of Mahmud Shah was explicitly mentioned as the son of Mansur Shah in 1478 in the Imperial Record of the Foreign Languages and of Translation 皇明象胥錄: 十四年，復因其嗣王馬哈木沙請封，命給事中林榮，行人黃乾亨往冊，還抵洋嶼，遭風溺海死。In the fourteenth year (of Chenghua), at the request of Mahmud Shah, the successor (of Mansur Shah), for a conferment, Lin Rong, an auditor in the Ministry of Rites, and the envoy Huang Qianheng were sent to present the investiture. Unfortunately, they encountered a storm and were both drowned near Champa on 12 February 1483. Also, in In Suma Oriental, the king who sneaked out at night was Mansur Shah and not Alauddin: . . . The Moors of Malacca say that Mamsursa was a better king than all his predecessors. He granted liberties to the foreign merchants; he was always a fervent lover of justice. The say that at night he used to go about the city in person . . .