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.
This blog post is written in utter disgust but had to be blogged nonetheless to set the record straight and, of course, as a sign of protest.
Who was Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar?
Haji Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar was a Universiti Malaya graduate who hailed from Kg. Chulek, Gopeng. He is considered by some as one of the prominent sons of Kg. Chulek. He was a teacher1 who passed away a few years ago. His last known address was somewhere at Hala Tasek Timur 10, Kampung Tersusun Tasek.
He submitted a thesis in 1977. In the process of completing it, he interviewed two individuals who provided questionable content for his research:
Shaharuddin bin Haji Isa
Abu Hassan Ashaari bin Haji Ahmad
The preparations for and eventual submission of Haji Abdul Rahim's thesis coincided with the time when Haji Abdul Wahab bin Abu Bakar, another prominent son of Kg. Chulek, became the private secretary to the then Sultan of Perak, Sultan Idris Shah II.2
Shaharuddin bin Haji Isa
Shaharuddin bin Haji Isa was born in the year 1918 and went to school at Sekolah Melayu Gopeng. His paternal family were early pioneers who came all the way from Sumatra. When he was interviewed by Abdul Rahim on May 28th, 1976, Shaharuddin was the headman of Kampung Gunung Mesah Hulu, Gopeng. He also made a living by selling groceries and buying tin.3
Shaharuddin and his elephant transportation tale
“Salah seorang yang mempunyai gajah pada tahun-tahun 1800an itu ialah Tok Lembang yang telah menjadi golongan orang berada Melayu ditempatnya di Tambun. Dialah yang mengangkut bijih timah dan membawa bekalan-bekalan barang diantara Tanjong Rambutan dan Ipoh ketika itu. Seorang En. Zakaria pula menjadi dukat kereta kuda menjalankan pengangkutan diantara Gopeng dan Kota Baharu. Tetapi pengangkutan tradisional ini kemudiannya mendapat cabaran apabila kereta telah mula digunakan.”4
Shaharuddin bin Haji Isa was the first to concoct the ridiculous tale that described Kulup Lembang as an elephant-powered transportation provider.
While Kulup Lembang may have used elephants to transport tin from his vast mining properties, there is no evidence suggesting he ever provided elephant transportation services.
Abu Hassan Ashaari bin Haji Ahmad
Abu Hassan Ashaari bin Haji Ahmad, who came from the Panglima Kinta family, was born in 1909 in Tambun. I don't know how Abdul Rahim got to know Abu Hassan Ashaari, but when the former interviewed the latter on May 29th, 1976, Abu Hassan Ashaari was the sitting headman of Tambun. He was also the local UMNO leader in the 1960s, and his grandfather, Panjang Osman, was the headman of Tambun Ulu, which is present-day Tanjung Rambutan.5
Looking back at my late uncle’s recompilation of various genealogical charts, Abu Hassan Shaari (Shaari or Ashaari?) is shown to be the uncle of Dato Tak bin Haji Daud.6 Dato Tak was bestowed with the title of Orang Besar Enam Belas, Toh Sedewa Raja, in 1960.7 The Dato passed away in 1964 and was interred at the burial ground of Masjid Paloh.8 Even to this very day, the late Dato is better known on paper by residents of Canning Garden as the foster father of the late Sultan of Perak.9
Abu Hassan Ashaari and the pioneer of Tambun tale
“Namun begitu ada juga yang datang bersendirian kerana didapati pada masa Tok Lembang membuka Tambun ramai orang-orang Jawa mengerjakan tanah disekitar bukit-bukit dekat Tambun itu. Mereka berhuma (menanam padi bukit) ditanah tinggi dikaki gunung disitu. Kononnya orang Jawa yang menjadi kuli kepada Kulup Lembang lah yang memulakan penanaman limau bali Tambun yang mashor itu.”10
So, it was Abu Hassan Ashaari who first came up with the idea that Kulup Lembang was the pioneer of Tambun.
“a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.”11
As a successful mining landlord, Kulup Lembang had many coolies working on his mining properties, and it is of course possible that some were Javanese. However, there is not one shred of evidence that indicates the man who hid behind the alias Kulup Lembang was the pioneer of Tambun. Even though Kulup Lembang once owned many shophouses in the town of Tambun, those shophouses were not his brainchild in the first place. Without any concrete evidence, I don’t think descendants of Kulup Lembang should blindly approve of any unsubstantiated claims regarding our common ancestor.
The trail that leads to Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar’s thesis
Let me be clear today that bits and pieces of information regarding Kulup Lembang, his past responsibilities, his mining properties, and many other details about him can be found in various records and newspaper articles kept at our Arkib Negara Malaysia and the National Library Board of Singapore.
It is still out there!
It is indeed suspicious when other researchers, book authors, and bloggers continue to cite and refer to Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar’s thesis over and over again, as if there is no other better source of information when it comes to Tambun or Kulup Lembang.
Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Haji Mohamad Azizuddin’s ‘Salasilah keluarga kita’
“Saya tumpukan Salasilah Keluarga Kita kepada ninda Alang Lembang atau dikenali juga dengan nama Kulub Lembang. Beliau ialah pengasas pekan Tambun pada akhir-akhir kurun ke-19.”12
Although my late uncle did not explicitly cite or refer to Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar's thesis in his work, the way he described Kulup Lembang is strikingly similar and quite frankly, pathetic.
Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia's Modern Development
“As tin mining spread radially outwards from Ipoh, the tin rush spread to Tambun. An entrepreneur named Toh Lembang made money by renting out elephants for transporting tin and provisions between Tanjong Rambutan and Ipoh.”13
Khoo Salma Nasution and Abdur-Razzaq Lubis unfortunately cited and referred to Abdul Rahim’s thesis in this case, but credit must be given to both of them for having the decency to mention some of Kulup Lembang’s past, well-documented endeavours and responsibilities such as saudagar kelian and magistrate’s adjutant.14 The correct term, however, is kapit majistret or assessor, not magistrate’s adjutant.
Hairi Yahya’s blog post
“Signifikannya kajian ringkas tersebut adalah untuk menobatkan Tok Lembang sebagai pengasas kepada kewujudan pekan Tambun dan sebagai orang yang pertama memperkenalkan tanaman limau tambun atau limau bali di daerah Kinta ini.”15
Hairi Yahya once wrote a book about Tambun, an endeavour that was made possible after collaborating with a few descendants of Kulup Lembang. Despite the collaboration, his short mentions of Kulup Lembang on his blog are also somewhat similar to what Abdul Rahim had written many years ago.
Sunway City Ipoh’s ‘The 7 Wonders of Tambun’
“The most successful of the traders was a man called Kulup Limbang. He was a very rich man who lived in Tambun having made his fortune transporting tin ore from the local mines up the river from where it was sent for smelting and refining.”16
“It was perhaps the inevitable march of progress that brought about the downfall of Kulup Limbang and his elephants.”17
“There was thus less and less need for the elephants of Kulup Limbang and all trading activity aound the Needle of Tambun eventually came to an end.”18
I really couldn't put my finger on this peculiar book titled "The 7 Wonders of Tambun." It is stuck in limbo, caught between fiction and local Tambun history, but the existence of its breathtaking dedication page, prepared by the late Sultan of Perak himself, has certainly caught my attention.19 Kulup Lembang is mentioned a number of times in the book, but there is really nothing new in each and every mention. It is just repeating what Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar mentioned back in 1977.
I do wonder how in the world the people behind Sunway City Ipoh gained possession of a few photos that are supposed to be private.20 Who shared them with Sunway City Ipoh, and what have they gained from it?
Interestingly, a number of descendants and relatives of Kulup Lembang, including the late Haji Mohamad Azizuddin's son, have acquired various properties at the integrated township of Sunway City Ipoh. But that is another story that can be told together with the success story of the late Tan Sri Ir. Talha bin Haji Mohamed Hashim.
Behind the connections and interests in Tambun?
Both Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar and Shaharuddin bin Haji Isa share one thing in common: they both had connections to Gopeng. Given this, it’s understandable why one might wonder if there were any historical connections between Gopeng and Tambun.
Indeed, there were a few, and the following examples are just the tip of the iceberg.
Rashid Mydin
Rashid Maidin was born sometime in November 1917 at Kampung Gunung Mesah, Gopeng. Both of his parents were Sumatran Rawa (Rao) migrants who probably landed in Klang right after migration but moved to Gopeng later in life. Rashid Maidin was not entirely alien to the tin mining industry. In his memoirs, he did mention that he once worked for Talam Mines Company and Kinta Consolidated Company Limited over at Kampar. Rashid Maidin had a life-changing experience after meeting Lai Raifel or Toh Lung San and he became the first Malay to join the Communist Party of Malaya soon after.21
On September 1st, 1942, Japanese troops launched a pre-dawn ambush that totally surprised a number of communists at Batu Caves. Reportedly, 92 of them were killed.22 Only a few managed to escape the senseless bloodbath, including Rashid Mydin, who fled all the way to Tambun.23
Whoever was behind the publication of the book titled "The 7 Wonders of Tambun" believed that the communists discovered the hidden tunnel now better known as the 6th Mile tunnel in 1942. The 6th Mile tunnel today is one of The Lost World of Tambun theme park's major attractions. The communists who made camp at the 6th Mile tunnel also developed a close relationship with the local Orang Asli community.24
“Another theory is that the tunnel was once used as a communist hideout because the names of A.Wahab and Rashid Mydin have been found scribbled on the wall in red ink. You can still make it out although the ink is quickly fading.”25
Rashid Maidin never mentioned Tambun in his memoirs, but he did say something about his adventures over at Ulu Kinta and the existence of a huge rocky cave that could accommodate more than 30 people. It was the same cave where communists once spent the night alongside the local Orang Asli.26
Tan Sri Abdul Aziz bin Shamsuddin
“Dato’ Seri Abdul Aziz mula berkecimpung dalam arena politik setelah beliau menyertai UMNO di Cawangan Pelabuhan Kelang pada tahun 1969. Pada tahun 1980, Dato’ Seri Abdul Aziz telah dipilih sebagai Ahli Jawatankuasa UMNO Bahagian Tambun iaitu pada tahun yang sama beliau dipilih sebagai Naib Pengerusi UMNO Cawangan Gunung Mesah. Beliau yang pernah dilantik sebagai Senator dan Timbalan Menteri Pendidikan dari tahun 1999 hingga 2004 kini memegang jawatan sebagai ketua UMNO Bahagian Gopeng.”27
Tan Sri Abdul Aziz bin Shamsuddin was one of the most prominent sons of Gopeng and, if I'm not mistaken, was also Abdul Rashid bin Madin's first cousin, three times removed. I find it intriguing that many years ago, he was a well-regarded official of the UMNO Tambun division.
Tan Sri Abdul Aziz bin Shamsuddin passed away at the age of 82 in 2020 and was laid to rest at the Gunung Mesah Muslim burial ground, Gopeng. He was best remembered not only as the Special Officer to Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (nowadays Tun Dr. Mahathir) when the latter was Minister of Education but also the Private Secretary to the latter when the latter became Prime Minister.28
Ongoing conspiracy to hide the truth and dumb down everyone else
I have seen enough and I am convinced that somewhere out there, there is an ongoing conspiracy hell-bent on making sure that every single research that dives into the history of Tambun and Kulup Lembang will adhere to a standard operating procedure: the complete referral to Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar's thesis.
To those descendants of Kulup Lembang who secretly participated in this diabolical conspiracy, you guys should be ashamed of yourselves. This is regarding our ancestral history, this is about our ancestral bloodlines. This is about our family, for goodness' sake! How dare you spin facts and hide things from the rest of us! No matter how sensitive it might be!
I hereby invite other descendants of Kulup Lembang to find out who were the hidden hands behind the transfer of Abdul Rahim's thesis from the archives of Universiti Malaya to Arkib Negara Malaysia. This is something that you have to see with your own eyes.
1Mohd Hanip Sulaiman, “CHULEK - DOLU & NYAREA,” Blog, Kg Chulek, Gopeng (blog), February 15, 2016, http://kgchulek.blogspot.com/2016/02/chulek-dolu-nyarea.html.
2Koperasi Sumbangan Bakti Batang Padang Berhad, “Tentang Kami,” Website, Koperasi Sumbangan Bakti Batang Padang Berhad, 2022, https://koperasisumbakti.wixsite.com/koperasi-sumbangan-b/about-9; Sulaiman, “CHULEK - DOLU & NYAREA.”
3Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar, “Perkembangan Penduduk Melayu di Daerah Kinta (Perak), 1880-1930an” (Thesis, Kuala Lumpur, Universiti Malaya, 1977), 93–94.
4Abu Bakar, 63.
5Abu Bakar, 93–94.
6Haji Mohamad Azizuddin Haji Abd Aziz, Salasilah keluarga kita (Ipoh: Haji Mohamad Azizuddin bin Haji Abd Aziz, 1998), 22.
7The Straits Times, “PERAK GOVT. APPOINTS THREE NEW ORANG BESARS,” The Straits Times, November 28, 1960, 4, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19601128-1.2.40.
8Berita Harian, “Dato’ Tak meninggal,” Berita Harian, August 27, 1964, 3, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/beritaharian19640827-1.2.35.
9The Straits Times, “Prince Weds Girl He Met as Student,” The Straits Times, December 12, 1955, 7, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19551212-1.2.102.
10Abu Bakar, “Perkembangan Penduduk Melayu di Daerah Kinta (Perak), 1880-1930an,” 35.
11Dictionary.com, “Pioneer,” Dictionary, Dictionary.com, 2024, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pioneer.
12Haji Abd Aziz, Salasilah keluarga kita, Foreword section, para. 1.
13Khoo Salma Nasution Khoo and Abdur-Razzaq Lubis, Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development (Perak Academy, 2005), 176.
14Nasution Khoo and Lubis, 176.
15Hairi Yahya, “Hairi Yahya,” Blog, Tok Lembang : Pengasas Pekan Tambun (blog), November 12, 2014, http://hairiyahya.blogspot.com/2014/11/tok-lembang-pengasas-pekan-tambun.html.
16Sunway City Ipoh, The 7 Wonders of Tambun (Ipoh: Sunway City Ipoh, 2010), 153.
17Sunway City Ipoh, 153.
18Sunway City Ipoh, 153.
19Sunway City Ipoh, Dedication page.
20Sunway City Ipoh, 153–54.
21Rashid Maidin, The Memoirs of Rashid Maidin: From Armed Struggle to Peace (Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2009), 1–2, 6, 8–9, 13.
22Bryan C. Cooper, Decade of Change: Malaya and the Straits Settlements 1936-1945 (Singapore: Graham Brash (Pte.) Ltd, 2001), 442.
23Sunway City Ipoh, The 7 Wonders of Tambun, 164.
24Sunway City Ipoh, 9, 165, 167.
25Revathi Murugappan, “Travel into the Lost World Valley,” News, The Star Online, August 20, 2011, https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/archive/2011/08/20/travel-into-the-lost-world-valley.
26Maidin, The Memoirs of Rashid Maidin: From Armed Struggle to Peace, 58.
27MYKMU.NET, “Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin Kembali Ke Rahmatullah,” News, MYKMU.NET, October 17, 2020, https://mykmu.net/2020/10/17/tan-sri-dato-seri-abdul-aziz-shamsuddin-kembali-ke-rahmatullah/.
28BERNAMA, “Former Minister Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin Dies,” News, BERNAMA, October 17, 2020, https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=1890830.
Bibliography
Abu Bakar, Abdul Rahim. “Perkembangan Penduduk Melayu di Daerah Kinta (Perak), 1880-1930an.” Thesis, Universiti Malaya, 1977.
Berita Harian. “Dato’ Tak meninggal.” Berita Harian, August 27, 1964. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/beritaharian19640827-1.2.35.
BERNAMA. “Former Minister Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin Dies.” News. BERNAMA, October 17, 2020. https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=1890830.
Cooper, Bryan C. Decade of Change: Malaya and the Straits Settlements 1936-1945. Singapore: Graham Brash (Pte.) Ltd, 2001.
Dictionary.com. “Pioneer.” Dictionary. Dictionary.com, 2024. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pioneer.
Haji Abd Aziz, Haji Mohamad Azizuddin. Salasilah keluarga kita. Ipoh: Haji Mohamad Azizuddin bin Haji Abd Aziz, 1998.
Koperasi Sumbangan Bakti Batang Padang Berhad. “Tentang Kami.” Website. Koperasi Sumbangan Bakti Batang Padang Berhad, 2022. https://koperasisumbakti.wixsite.com/koperasi-sumbangan-b/about-9.
Maidin, Rashid. The Memoirs of Rashid Maidin: From Armed Struggle to Peace. Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2009.
Murugappan, Revathi. “Travel into the Lost World Valley.” News. The Star Online, August 20, 2011. https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/archive/2011/08/20/travel-into-the-lost-world-valley.
MYKMU.NET. “Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin Kembali Ke Rahmatullah.” News. MYKMU.NET, October 17, 2020. https://mykmu.net/2020/10/17/tan-sri-dato-seri-abdul-aziz-shamsuddin-kembali-ke-rahmatullah/.
Nasution Khoo, Khoo Salma, and Abdur-Razzaq Lubis. Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development. Perak Academy, 2005.
Sulaiman, Mohd Hanip. “CHULEK - DOLU & NYAREA.” Blog. Kg Chulek, Gopeng (blog), February 15, 2016. http://kgchulek.blogspot.com/2016/02/chulek-dolu-nyarea.html.
Sunway City Ipoh. The 7 Wonders of Tambun. Ipoh: Sunway City Ipoh, 2010.
The Straits Times. “PERAK GOVT. APPOINTS THREE NEW ORANG BESARS.” The Straits Times, November 28, 1960. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19601128-1.2.40.
———. “Prince Weds Girl He Met as Student.” The Straits Times, December 12, 1955. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19551212-1.2.102.
Yahya, Hairi. “Hairi Yahya.” Blog. Tok Lembang : Pengasas Pekan Tambun (blog), November 12, 2014. http://hairiyahya.blogspot.com/2014/11/tok-lembang-pengasas-pekan-tambun.html.
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