Hang Jebat ( Jawi: هڠ جيبت) was the closest companion of the legendary Malaccan hero Hang Tuah. Regarded in Malaysia as one of the greatest

silat is the collective term for a class of indigenous martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Phil ...

exponents in history, he is well known for his vengeful rebellion against the Malacca Sultan whom he served. He can also be regarded as an early Malay

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

following his rebellion against the ruler.

Story

After Hang Tuah was sentenced to death, Hang Jebat was conferred the coveted

Taming Sari Taming Sari (which means "flower shield", "beautiful shield" or "the main shield" in Malay is a famous kris in Malay folklore. It is believed to have been wielded by the legendary Malaccan warrior Hang Tuah, and is fabled to grant physical invul ...

kris, a weapon formerly used by Hang Tuah. Believing that Hang Tuah was unjustly murdered by the sultan he served, Hang Jebat turned against the ruler to avenge his friend's death. No one knew that the ''bendahara'' (chief minister) went against the royal decree and hid Hang Tuah in a remote area. With the kris in his possession, Hang Jebat was undefeatable and there was not one person in the palace who was capable of killing him. Hang Jebat's revenge allegedly became a palace killing spree or furious rebellion against the sultan (sources differ as to what actually occurred). It remains consistent, however, that Hang Jebat wreaked havoc onto the royal court, and the sultan was unable to stop him, as none of the warriors dared to challenge the more ferocious and skilled Hang Jebat. After learning from the bendahara that Hang Tuah was still alive, the sultan had him recall the warrior and gave him full amnesty. The sultan then ordered Hang Tuah to kill Hang Jebat. Being unquestionably loyal to the ruler, Hang Tuah obeyed the sultan's bidding and went on to challenge Hang Jebat. After fighting in a battle that lasted for seven days, Hang Tuah eventually managed to reclaim the Taming Sari by tricking Hang Jebat. Although stabbed by Tuah, Hang Jebat bandaged his wounds and ran amok in the city square for three days, killing thousands of people before retreating to Tuah's house and dying in his friend's arms. Hang Jebat's famous quote during the fight was "''Raja adil raja disembah, raja zalim raja disanggah''" meaning "A fair king is a king saluted, a tyrant king is a king disputed." This went against Tuah's philosophy of loyalty without question. After the fight, the sultan ordered his men to tear down, burn and throw the ashes of the house into the sea. Two months later, when a lady of the

bendahara Bendahara ( Jawi: بنداهارا) is an administrative position within classical Malay kingdoms comparable to a vizier before the intervention of European powers during the 19th century. A bendahara was appointed by a sultan and was a heredi ...

's retinue, Dang Wangi gave birth to Jebat's son, the sultan ordered Hang Tuah to throw the baby into the sea as well. Instead, the

laksamana The Laksamana ( Jawi: ) is a position within the armed forces, similar to the position of admiral in Malay sultanates and in present-day countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. Since South East Asia was part of Indosphere of Greater India since ...

entrusted the child, Hang Nadim, to the bendahara. The child was then taken to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

where he was raised.

Namesakes

KD ''Jebat'' (FFG29), a ''Lekiu''-class frigate in the

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defense operations. RMN's area of op ...

, is named after him. The decommissioned

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

KD ''Rahmat'' was to be called KD ''Hang Jebat'', but engine problems during building trials caused the navy to change her name to ''Rahmat''. One of the oldest engines that pulls the trains along the Singapore-Malaysia rail route is also named after him. In

, there exists a minor road off Portsdown Avenue named "Jalan Hang Jebat" and a namesake mosque,

Masjid Hang Jebat Masjid Hang Jebat ( Jawi: مسجد هڠ جيبت) is a mosque in Queenstown, Singapore. It is one of the few old-generation kampung mosques left in Singapore. The mosque was iconic for its close proximity to the former KTM railway tracks. Hist ...

at the road's end.

Story

Namesakes

See also