Photograph of ex-Panglima Kinta Zainal Abidin?

Zainal Abidin was probably the greatest Panglima Kinta, or territorial chief of Kinta, in the history of Perak before he was deposed from office by the British. He witnessed everything: the blissful tranquility, the turmoils of war, and the sudden growth of Kinta. He saw it all in Kinta, from before and after the mass arrival of Europeans, or white men, that was bound to happen right after the conclusion of the Perak War. He was not known to be fabulously rich like other Kinta territorial chiefs, but nobody can deny that he led Kinta through her finest and darkest hours right before his unfortunate deposition.

I often wonder what he actually looks like.

The real Gunung Datok of Tambun

Is it true that the famous Gunung Datok has been commercially exploited (Editor: exploited, not conquered or ‘kongkek’) by the operator of the highly acclaimed Lost World of Tambun theme park?

Is it true that the famous Datoh of Kinta, also known as "Datoh Hilang di Jalan", and his companion, "Puteri Bendang Ayer Hangat", are enjoying their afterlife in the spiritual realm, perhaps even at the Lost World of Tambun theme park?

Why did they hide Kulup Lembang’s mining endeavours?

Kulup Lembang, Panjang Osman, and Harun were some of Tambun’s and Tanjung Rambutan’s well-known mining landlords or entrepreneurs during the heyday of Kinta tin mining. They were the real deal, real-life local Malay mining icons.

But why in the world did Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar not mention Kulup Lembang’s mining endeavours in his 1977 thesis?

How could Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar mention Panjang Osman’s and Harun’s mining endeavours in his thesis but not Kulup Lembang’s?

Undoing the damage caused by Abdul Rahim’s thesis

As the second great-grandson of a mysterious man who hid behind the alias Kulup Lembang, a few years ago, I was eager to undo the damage caused by a thesis submitted by Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar.

It all changed when I began to realize that the issues behind the questionable thesis were no longer about ignorance or blatant factual omissions but, in reality, had become an instrument of conspiracy to hide the truth regarding Kulup Lembang. A conspiracy that involved not only so-called relatives but also some descendants of Kulup Lembang themselves.

Kepayang and the longing for the title of Panglima Kinta

“to supersede (another) especially by force or treachery”¹

By force or treachery?

Those are very strong words, but that's how Merriam-Webster defines the meaning of "supplant." This is a subject that needs to be looked into because it might explain why a mysterious man chose to change his identity and hide behind the alias we all know today as Kulup Lembang.

The return of Dato Maharaja Lela

I find it quite perplexing that a major event involving the office, which had been put in cold storage for so many years—the office that has been the subject of passionate and emotional discussions by many Perakians of Bugis descent—has come and gone without any fanfare at all. Even our local social media scene is awfully quiet, and no trace of it being mentioned can be found anywhere!

The well-hidden Ngah Jabor at Kepayang

I have always found some, if not all, claims brought forward by folks from Kepayang to be not only rather bizarre but also quite outrageous. Unfortunately, in the last few years, very few people share my views, mainly because the Malays in this part of the world simply do not have the courage to question local mainstream history, no matter how preposterous it could be.