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A' Famosa: What really happened

I refer to your article on Malacca, entitled "Relics of a golden era" (StarEducation, Nov 2).

Referring to the A' Famosa, it said: "The Dutch wanted to destroy it but timely intervention by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1808 saved what remains of the fort today."

Anyone reading this will think that the Dutch are to blame for the destruction of the Malacca fort, and that it was only because of the British that a small section of the fort was saved.

Unfortunately, the aforesaid statement is not only blatantly inaccurate but also defames the Malacca Dutch community and their descendants who can still be found in Malaysia today.

The fact of the matter is that in 1795, Dutch Malacca fell to the British and Malacca came under the Penang authority. The British occupied Malacca in the name of the Dutch Stadholder William Prince of Orange, for fear that the Dutch colonies in the East would be used by Napoleon and the French Revolutionary armies.

In early 1807, while Malacca was still under British control, the Penang authorities began contemplating the destruction of the Malacca fort, the mobilisation of all the occupants of the town and the withdrawal of the British garrison there.

The British wanted to completely destroy Malacca so that their old enemy - the Dutch - would not be able to retain possession of "so important a station in the Straits" (Strait Settlement Records), and to compete against their trade with China.

In August 1807, under instructions from Penang, William Farquhar, who was then Resident of Malacca, began demolishing the Malacca fort. The British wanted the whole fortification, including arsenals, storehouses and public buildings of all denominations to be destroyed. Anything of value, including teak wood, iron and stone works, was ordered to be looted and shipped to Penang. The formidable stone walls of the fort were blown up using explosives.

Abdullah Abdul Kadir, in his Hikayat Abdullah, gives us an excellent first-hand account of the destruction of the fort. Since the beginning of the fort's demolition, the Dutch community in Malacca and native inhabitants had lodged vigorous protests against the destruction. They declared that the destruction process had caused "general consternation" throughout the community (Holding the Fort: Melaka Under Two Flags, 1795 to 1845, by Brian Harrison.)

However, the protests by the Malacca Dutch community were condemned by the British Governor in Penang, Colonel Norman Macalister, and even Farquhar himself was reprimanded for having forwarded their protest to the British administration. In October 1807, Farquhar reported to his superiors that "a very considerable portion of the works are now blown up or otherwise destroyed" (Strait Settlement Records).

Munshi Abdullah tells us that it was Farquhar's own hand which lit the explosives that blew up the walls of the fort. By a curious coincidence, Stamford Raffles, who was on sick leave in Malacca at that time, witnessed the destruction and represented to the Governor General the disadvantages of such a policy. And accurately, "timely intervention by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1808 saved what (little) remains of the fort today."

Raffles saved the Old Gateway in Malacca from his own fellow British officers. Lord Minto himself, upon visiting Malacca later, described the destruction of the fort as "a most useless piece of gratuitous mischief."

Munshi Abdullah wrote that "the fort was the pride of Malacca, and after its destruction the place lost its glory like a woman bereaved of her husband." Imagine how the people of Malacca felt back then. Imagine how the Malacca Dutch community felt, too. Imagine how the Dutch authorities felt when they returned to reoccupy Malacca in September 1818 only to find their fort levelled to the ground.

Now, imagine how we feel when, 200 years later, our ancestors are being erroneously blamed for this senseless destruction. It gravely offends my community, my ancestors and me. Hence, I feel it is necessary to set the record straight.

Dennis De Witt
A Malaysian Dutch Eurasian
Co-ordinator of the Malaysian Dutch Descendants Project

Editor's Note: In the article 'Relics of a golden era', our writer obtained the information in question from a Tourism Malaysia brochure, entitled 'Melaka, Malaysia's Historic City'.

According to a Tourism Malaysia officer, state authorities design and create their own brochures. Hence, the Malacca brochure was done by the Malacca State Development Corporation.

A note in the brochure states that "every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this publication is correct at the time of production. Malacca State Development Corporation is not responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur."

A check with renowned historian Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim confirms that the facts stated by Dennis De Witt in his letter are accurate.

Source: The Star (Education).
Author: ---.
Published: 30-11-2003

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Official website of the Malaysian Dutch Descendants Project

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