Bendahara Paduka Raja Tun Perak (died 1498) was the fifth and most famous

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 ...

, a Malay rank similar to a

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, of the Sultanate of Malacca. He served under four

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

s ( Sultan Muzzafar Shah, Sultan Mansur Shah, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah and

Sultan Mahmud Shah Sultan Mahmud Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah (died 1528) ruled the Sultanate of Malacca from 1488 to 1511, and again as pretender to the throne from 1513 to 1528. He was son to Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah. As a monarch, he was k ...

) from 1456 to 1498. Early in his life, Perak was a soldier-statesman for Malaccan rulers. In 1445, he led the Malaccan army to victory by defeating

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

ese invaders. As a result, he was made ''bendahara'' in 1456. Tun Perak was the son of Malacca's first bendahara, Sri Wak Raja Tun Perpatih Besar. In 1445, he was appointed as Malacca's representative in Klang. Tun Perak was then appointed as bendahara in 1456 after he upset the

ese attack against Malacca. He stopped another Siamese

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing ...

in 1456 as well. Tun Perak was also instrumental in colonising

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith") ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a 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 to the northwest. Johor shares mariti ...

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. Accordi ...

, Lingga,

Bengkalis Bengkalis (''Kota Bengkalis'') was the seat (capital) of Bengkalis Regency in the Riau province of Indonesia until 8 July 2013, when it became an independent city. It is located on Bengkalis Island. The city had a population of 66,211. Bengkalis h ...

, Karimon, Rokan, Siak, Kampar,

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3 ...

, Inderagiri and Aru. The rulers of these

governments A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

due to Malaccan influence. Tun Perak was very loyal towards the Malaccan Sultanate. When his son, Tun Besar was killed by Sultan Mahmud Shah's son Raja Muhammad due to a misunderstanding, he did not seek

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

against the sultan. Instead, he requested Raja Muhammad to be crowned elsewhere. The sultan honored Tun Perak's request, therefore Raja Muhammad was made a sultan in Pahang. He died in 1498 and was replaced by his younger brother Tun Perpatih Putih. His death signified what is widely held to be the beginning of the Malaccan Empire's decline.

Awards and recognitions

Places named after him

Several places were named after him, including: * Kolej Tun Perak, a residential college at Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor * Kolej Tun Perak, a residential college at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Alor Gajah, Malacca * SMK Tun Perak, a secondary school in Jasin, Malacca * SMK Tun Perak, a secondary school in Padang Rengas, Perak * SMK Tun Perak, a secondary school at Jalan Salleh in Muar, Johor Darul Takzim * SMK Agama Tun Perak, a secondary school in Jasin, Malacca * SRA Taman Tun Perak, a primary school in Kajang, Selangor * Taman Tun Perak, a residential area in Cheras, Singapore *

Jalan Tun Perak Jalan Tun Perak, formerly Jalan Mountbatten (1961–1981) Mountbatten Road (1946–1961) and Java Street (1889–1946), is a major road located in the historic centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was a major commercial street of early Kuala Lu ...

in Kuala Lumpur * Jalan Tun Perak in Malacca * Jalan Tun Perak in Ipoh, Perak

References

Bibliography

*Ahmad Fauzi bin Mohd Basri, Mohd Fo'ad bin Sakdan and Azami bin Man, 2004. ''Sejarah Tingkatan 1'',

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, DBP. *https://web.archive.org/web/20060413202402/http://sejarahmalaysia.pnm.my/ History of Malacca People from Malacca Malay people 1498 deaths Year of birth unknown {{SEAsia-hist-stub