Raja Haji Fisabilillah (full name Raja Haji Fisabilillah ibni Daeng Chelak) (1727–1784) was a

Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...

warrior, and also the Yang Dipertuan Muda (Crown Prince) of the

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

Sultanate from 1777 to 1784.

Early life

Born in Ulusungai, Riau in 1727, he was a younger brother of

Raja Lumu Sultan Salehuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Daeng Celak ( Jawi: سلطان صالح الدين شاه ابن المرحوم داءيڠ چلق ; born Raja Lumu bin Daeng Celak, 1705–1778) was the first Sultan of Selangor. He was the son of the famous ...

(who later became Sultan Salehuddin Shah of Selangor) and his grandchild,

Raja Ali Haji Raja Ali Haji bin Raja Haji Ahmad (1808–1873) was a 19th-century Bugis- Malay historian, poet and scholar. He was elevated to the status of National Hero of Indonesia in 2004. Haji has been described as one of the most important Malay writ ...

bin Raja Haji Ahmad bin Raja Haji Fisabilillah would be later became a renowned historian, poet, and scholar.

Death and burial

Raja Haji led a series of raids on

A Famosa A Famosa ( ms, Kota A Famosa; "The Famous" in Portuguese, also known as ''Fortaleza Velha'' Portuguese: the old fortress, and Dutch: ''Slavenburgh'' (slave castle) & ''De Misericorde'' (Our Lady of Mercy, from French: ''Notre Dame de Misér ...

, a Dutch fortress in Melacca. On the verge of victory after surrounding the Dutch forces in one of her forts, he was, however, shot from a distance, killing him instantly. He died in 1784 at Teluk Ketapang, Melaka in modern-day Malaysia. According to famed Malayan writer

Munshi Abdullah Abdullah bin Abdul al Kadir (1796–1854) ( ar, عبد الله بن عبد القادر ') also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malay Peninsula, Malayan writer of mixed ancestry. He was a famous Malacca-born munshi of Singapore and died in Jedd ...

, Raja Haji was rumoured to have been buried in a pig farm by the Dutch.Hamdani, H. (2007). Hikayat Abdullah. PTS Pop. See page 47 It was not until the Englishmen conquered Melacca, the royal family requested Raja Haji's body to be removed from the pig farm. He was subsequently given a proper Muslim burial at Pulau Penyengat, Indera Sakti, Riau. The effect of the war has infuriated his nephew, Raja Ibrahim, as it has caused Selangor to be involved non-directly in the war between the Dutch and Johor.

Legacy

His bravery was remembered by the Indonesians, as the Indonesian Government has posthumously proclaimed him as the "Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia" (

National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia ( id, Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia) is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual deeds which can b ...

), and an Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport was renamed in honor of him in 2008. In Malaysia, there is a mosque in

Cyberjaya Cyberjaya (a portmanteau of ''cyber'' and ''Putrajaya'') is a city with a science park as the core that forms a key part of the Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia. It is located in Sepang District, Selangor. Cyberjaya is adjacent to, and deve ...

in the state of

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

Raja Haji Fisabilillah Mosque The Raja Haji Fisabilillah Mosque or Cyberjaya Mosque is a principal mosque in Cyberjaya, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. This modern futuristic mosque was named after Raja Haji Fisabilillah ibni Daeng Chelak, a Bugis warrior from Penyengat Islan ...

was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raja Haji Fisabilillah 1727 births 1784 deaths Bugis people History of Johor National Heroes of Indonesia 18th-century Indonesian people