10/03/2026
Perjanjian Bangkok & Kesultanan Terengganu Islamiah Melayuwiah - 10 Mac 1909.
10 Mac 1909 - Kerajaan Siam dengan Kerajaan British memeterai satu perjanjian di kota Bangkok dengan persetujuan di capai bagi menyerahkan hak naungan Kesultanan Terengganu Islamiah Melayuwiah berserta seluruh jajahannya yang sebelum ini di kategorikan sebagai “Siamese Malay Tributary States” kepada British bersama dengan Kesultanan Perlis, Kedah & Kelantan menjadi sebahagian dari negeri-negeri melayu tidak bersekutu di semenanjung.
Sultan Zainal Abidin III Sultan Ahmad II, Sultan of Terengganu di laporkan; “He had jealously opposed Siamese encroachment over his State and proved himself 'A much harder nut to crack' than the sultans of Kedah and Kelantan”
-F.O. 371/736, Campbell’s note on Beckett’s letter to Grey of April l9, 1909.
“Sultan castigated the Siamese as Thieves who were giving away that did not belong to them and complained bitterly against the British Government for entering into such arrangements without consulting him”
-F.O. 422/64, Beckett- Grey, April 19, 1909.
Walaupun Baginda tidak berpuashati dan tetap enggan menerima keputusan Raja Chulalongkorn, Siam namun masih meneruskan tradisi kiriman utusan “Bunga Mas & Perak” ke Kota Bangkok sebagaimana kebiasaannya setiap 3 tahun sekali sehinggakan yang terakhir pada tahun 1909.
Namun pada masa yang sama baginda masih sanggup ke Singapura bertemu Gabenor Negeri-Negeri Selat, Sir John Anderson bagi menyampaikan bantahan di atas tindakan ini, sementelahan tiada langsung penglibatan dan restunya.
Walau apa sekali tindakan Sultan Terengganu namun ianya tidak di endahkan oleh kerajaan Siam. Apa yang agak mendukacitakan apabila Raja Chulalongkorn sendiri membuat tuduhan yang tidak benar sama sekali:
“The one thing which the Sultan required and would always require, was MONEY…….. A loan of ready cash on reasonable terms would pave the way to friendly understanding in the future”
-F.O. 422/64, Beckett-Grey, April 26, 1909.
Hakikatnya berdasarkan rujuk silang dari rekod-rekod British di Bangkok, Singapura, India ataupun London serta kerajaan Siam sendiri, Sultan Zainal Abidin III tidak pernah sama sekali memohon ataupun menerima sebarang tawaran pinjaman walaupun pernah cuba di ajukan oleh Kerajaan Siam sebelum ini.
“The Federated Malay States Government paid the whole of the indebtedness of Kedah, Kelantan and Perlis to the Siamese Government, in two installments, on July 1, 1909, and January 1, 1910, making a total of nearly 400,000 (British Pound)”
-F.O. 371/737, Phraya Visuti Kosa - Grey, July 23, 1909.
kerajaan Siam sebenarnya hanya mempergunakan negeri-negeri Melayu di bahagian utara Semenanjung sebagai bidak catur dengan British demi mendapatkan pinjaman bernilai 4,000,000.00 (British Pound) dengan kadar bayaran 4% setahun bagi menyiapkan pembinaan landasan keretapi dari Bangkok ke Singapura. Walhal sumber pinjaman itu sendiri dari hasil kewangan di Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu atau Malay Protected States yang terdiri dari Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan & Pahang.
Semenjak awal lagi kerajaan Siam sudah berhasrat ingin melepaskan penguasaannya di negeri -negeri melayu berikutan fokus keutamaan hanya ingin di tumpukan kepada pemodenan dan pembangunan di Bangkok beserta wilayah jajahan asalnya.
Himpitan dari Perancis di bahagian utara sungai Mekong serta tekanan dan campurtangan beterusan British di Singapura melalui tindakan Sir Frank Swettenham secara terbuka berbaik-baik serta kerap berhubung dan berutus warkah dengan Kesultanan Patani, Kelantan, Kedah dan Terengganu yang menjadi asbab kepada Perjanjian Bangkok di percepatkan lagi.
"Will you approve of my endeavouring to obtain for Britain (Tanah Melayu), by public or secret Treaty, all islands south of 7th degree north latitude, including Langkawi and Redang Island?"
Telegram Frank Swettenham kepada Chamberlain, February 14, 1902.
Strobel served as the General Adviser to the King of Siam from 1903 until his death in 1908. Westengard was appointed Assistant General Adviser to the King of Siam under Professor Edward H. Strobel, LL.B. 1882 in 1903. Served as Acting General Adviser Dec. 1905-Feb. 1907 and Feb. 1908-April 1909; appointed General Adviser in April 1909 serving in this position until September 1915. Sahadheb was the Vice Minister of the Interior of Siam.
Thesis PhD: Numnonda, Thamsook.1966. The Anglo-Siamese Negotiations 1900-1909. SOAS, University of London.
Dua watak penting penasihat Kerajaan Siam yang mana merupakan warganegara Amerika Syarikat terdiri dari pakar undang-undang di Universiti Harvard iaitu Edward Henry Strobel yang mula-mula dilantik sebagai “General Adviser” pada tahun 1902 dengan di bantu oleh Jens Iverson Westengard sebagai “Assistant Adviser” sejak tahun 1903. 15 Januari 1908 Strobel meninggal dunia pada usia 52 tahun dan tugasannya di teruskan oleh Westengard sehingga 1915.
Edward Henry Strobel di lahirkan di Charleston, South Carolina pada 7 Disember 1855. Lulusan Harvard College and Harvard Law School pada tahun 1882 dan New York bar pada tahun 1883. 1885 sehingga 1890 beliau pernah di tugaskan sebagai Secretary of the Legation Amerika Syarikat ke Sepanyol dan memangku sebagai Charge d’Affaires. 1888 pernah di hantar ke Maghribi bagi misi khas kerajaan. 1893 di lantik oleh Presiden Cleveland sebagai Third Assistant Secretary of State dan sebagai Menteri ke Ecuador dan kemudian ke Chile. 1897 sehingga 1901 beliau di lantik sebagai Bemis Professorship of International Law di Harvard Law School. 1902 Strobel di tawarkan jawatan sebagai General Adviser yang mana pada peringkat awal beliau banyak menghabiskan masa di Eropah sebagai wakil kerajaan Siam. 13 Feb 1904 beliau mula bertolak ke Bangkok bagi meneruskan tugasannya selepas Perjanjian di tandatangani dengan kerajaan Perancis.
Westengard di lahirkan Chicago pada tahun 1863 dengan berketurunan Denmark dari sebelah bapanya. 1898 memperolehi kelulusan ijazah Undang-undang dari Harvard Law School dengan kelulusan cemerlang, kedudukan kedua dari 129 graduan dengan mengikuti Massachusetts bar pada tahun yang sama. 13 Mei 1899 di lantik sebagai Assistant Professor di Harvard Law School sehingga tahun 1903. Beliau bertemu dengan Strobel ketika masih bertugas di Harvard dan di pelawa jawatan sebagai Assistant Adviser kepada kerajaan Siam.
Kedua-duanya menjadi watak penting dalam proses rundingan ke arah Perjanjian Bangkok dalam menentukan persempadan baru setimpal dengan nilai pinjaman kewangan bagi menyiapkan landasan keretapi dari Bangkok ke Tanah Melayu.
Antara alasan utama Penyerahan Negeri-Negeri Melayu Utara kepada British:
“These (Malay States) remote states were a source of Weakness,
Danger, and Annoyance rather than of Profit. Kelantan and TRENGGANU had never formed an integral part of Siam. The Court of Siam could not trust the Sultan’s loyalty”
– Strobel.
“After his trip to the Malay Peninsula in 1906, also supported the idea that Siam should forego her interests in this territory”
– Westengard.
Rundingan ini melibatkan beberapa pasukan dengan lokasi berbeza iaitu di antara pegawai penasihat berbangsa Eropah (beserta pegawai Siam) wakil kerajaan Siam dengan pegawai British di Bangkok, Negeri-Negeri Selat, India dan Pejabat Tanah Jajahan di London.
Apa yang menyedihkan tiada langsung wakil ataupun utusan dari negeri-negeri melayu yang terlibat dan mereka hanya bergantung harap kepada laporan akhbar ataupun cakap-cakap dari kalangan pedagang-pedagang eropah yang singgah di negeri-negeri terlibat.
“Perjanjian Bangkok bukan sahaja menurunkan Kerajaan Kedah dari takhta malahan keseluruhan Negeri Kedah telah di jual kepada Britain oleh Siam. Sultan Kedah murka sebab baginda tidak pernah di bawa masuk sebagai pihak kepada Perjanjian tersebut di mana negerinya telah di jual walaupun baginda tidak pernah memberikan kuasa kepada Kerajaan Siam ataupun Britain. Persoalan yang timbul ialah kenapa Kerajaan Siam bertanggapan bahawa boleh bertindak sebagai wakil Baginda Sultan Kedah? Kemungkinan besar Kerajaan Siam bertindak sedemikian sebab negeri Kedah menghantar bunga emas sebagai ufti kepada Kerajaan Siam. Tetapi tanggapan Kerajaan Siam adalah salah sebab amalan menghantar bunga emas sebagai ufti bukan boleh dimaksudkan sebagai memberikan kuasa untuk bertindak bagi pihak Kerajaan negeri Kedah”.
- Perjanjian Bangkok 1909. Dr. Bashirun Begum Mobarak Ali & Dr.Ainul Jaria Maidin. Kuliyyah Undang-Undang Ahmad Ibrahim, UIA. – 12-13 Ogos 2009 Auditorium Arkib Negara Malaysia.
“My country and my people have been sold as one sells a bullock. I can forgive the buyer who had no obligation to me, but I cannot forget the seller”.
- Thamsook Numnonda, (1966) The Anglo-Siamese Negotiation 1900-09. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis submitted to the University of London
Sekukuh mana sekalipun keakraban hubungan Kerajaan Kedah dengan Kerajaan Siam, akhirnya di serahkan tanpa kerelaan kepada British. Ini bukti yang amat nyata dan terakam dalam Lipatan Sejarah, Kedah dan Negeri-Negeri Melayu Utara Semenanjung Tanah Melayu yang lain laksana “Bidak Catur” dalam memastikan kedaulatan Siam sendiri kekal walaupun terus di himpit oleh British dan Perancis.
“The Siamese asked that Pattani should be excluded from the discussion because the state was well under the control of Siam. He arrest of Abdul Iadel (Tengku Abdul Kadir Kamaruddin), the Sultan of Pattani (Patani), by Phraya Si Sahadeb on February 20, 1902, on the grounds of gross disobedience proved the existence of some sort of Siamese authority. Traditionally, the matter of Pattani was directly related to the Siamese King, so it should be kept apart from the negotiations. The Foreign Office in London agreed.”
-F.O. 69/228, Tower-Lansdowne, March 24, 1902.
-F.O. 69/226, Lansdowne-Tower, April 9, 1902.
Semenjak awal rundingan lagi Raja Chulalongkorn menitahkan agar Kesultanan Patani di kecualikan dari sebarang terma perjanjian. Sebahagian dari kronologi rundingan di antara wakil Kerajaan Siam dengan British:
Sir John Anderson (British, Singapore) made an even stronger demand, writing to Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas (Colonial Office, London) that: If it was impossible to obtain the whole area south of latitude seven, an effort should be made to secure Legeh, Rahman, Pattani, Perlis and Setul, the latter two being dependencies of Kedah.
-C.O. 273/33, Anderson-Elgin, August 31, 1907.
Paget firmly and insistently kept pushing for more territory. His argument was based on the fact that, on a racial basis, not only the states of Kelantan, Kedah and Trengganu, but also other portions of the Malay Peninsula such as Perlis, Setul and Pattani should be transferred to England. Perlis and Setul were geographically, ethnically, and culturally a part of Kedah.
-Sir Ralph Spencer Paget, Consulate British (bertaraf menteri) di Bangkok.
These remote states were a source of weakness, danger and annoyance rather than of profit Kelantan and Trengganu had never formed an integral part of Siam. In spite of the King's policy of strengthening Siam's administrative control by appointing Royal Commissioners, Phraya Tipakosa to station in Kelantan and Trengganu in year 1894.
Strobel convinced the King (King Chulalongkorn, Rama V) and his ministers that with the cession of these states to England all recurring difficulties and numerous sources of friction would
automatically disappear. Though the loss of territory would undoubtedly be galling to the nation, she must realise that, with the Siamese exercising only ineffective control over them, the day would inevitably come when Siam would lose all her Malay possessions to England without getting any return. Strobel reminded the King of the medical doctrine that amputation of diseased limbs was often necessary to save the trunk of the body from disease. Such amputation was necessary to Siam in order to rid her of those diseased and unhealthy portions of the kingdom which served no other purpose than to weaken the rest of the State.
- Phraya Maha-Ammattayadhibbodi, Ruang Mahatthai (Interior Administration), (Bangkok, 1952), pp. 134-136.
Paget had to keep in mind the hope expressed by the Colonial Office officials in London and in the Federated Malay States that more territory might be ceded.
-F.O.371/3301, F.O. note, April 27, 1907. F.O. 422/61, Anderson-Elgin, August 31, 1907.
Strobel replied boldly:
If that is to be the game, I think we had better abandon the negotiations at once. I am having sufficient difficulty with the King about Kedah and am not prepared to go further.
-F. O.371/521, Paget-Campbell, Private, February 28, 1908.
Considerable settlements of Siamese in Setul, and it might not be possible to include that state. As for Pattani it is out of the question, as the Siamese Government will never consent to its cession.
-F.O. 422/61, Beckett-Paget, September 13 and 15, 1907.
The Siamese agreed to cede the Langkawi Islands and Rahman (Reman) if they could have the railway loan at 3¾ per cent instead of a 4% per cent fixed rate.
- F.O- 422/62, Paget interviewed Westengard, January 28, 1908.
The proposal met with different reactions from Sir John Anderson and Paget. The former was extremely pleased with a 3¾ per cent interest in return for two more pieces of land. But, were Langkawi and Rahman worth l per cent of the Railway loan? To balance the reduction of the interest Sir John Anderson thought that Legeh, another small state next to Kelantan, should also join British Malaya.
- C.O.273/253, Anderson-Paget, January 29, 1908.
Rundingan antara kerajaan Siam dengan British bagi mendapat pinjaman kewangan sebanyak £4 Juta dengan kadar bayaran lebih rendah iaitu sekitar 3¾ sehingga 4 % bertimbal balas dengan tawar menawar pemilikan wilayah dalam negeri-negeri Melayu yang terlibat.
Prince Damrong put forward a request for an additional loan of £500,000 from the Federated Malay States for the construction of a branch line from Patalung to Trang but Sir John Anderson turned a deaf ear “
- F.O.422/Paget-Grey, February 20, 1909.
He compensated with a promise to pay the whole of the indebtedness of Kedah, Kelantan and Perlis to the Siamese Government, in two instalments, on July 1 and January 1 respectively. This would give the Siamese Government a sum of some £380,000, GO in hand which it night devote to the construction of the Patalung Trang line or not according to it wishes.
- F. O. 422/64, Paget - Grey, January 22, 1909.
Penetapan Persempadanan – 1909 – 1912
Penentuan sempadan ini bermula dari pantai barat di lembah Sungai Kerian, Perak iaitu selepas Wellesley (Seberang Perai) memanjang merentasi Kedah (Sai Buri), Perak, Reman (Negeri Melayu Jajahan Siam), Kelantan dan Trengganu di Tanjung Geliga di sebelah pantai timur.
Sepanjang isu persempadanan ini mula di tentukan di antara British dan Siam, Sultan Idris Murshidul Azzam Shah (29 Julai 1887 - 14 Januari 1916) Sultan Perak melalui Sir Hugh Low, Residen British yang ke -4 (1 April 1877 – 31 Mei 1889) berterusan bertindak menuntut serta berusaha mendapatkan kembali Reman menjadi sebahagian dari wilayah Kesultanan Perak.
Tuntutan Sultan Perak ini disokong kuat berpandukan rujukan dan rekod-rekod awal tanah dan jajahan Kesultanan Perak. Hasil galian bijih Timah menjadi daya penarik kepada British memberi tekanan serta desakan kuat dalam rundingan dengan Siam. Agak mendukacita apabila sebahagian dari tanah dan wilayah Kesultanan Kelantan di Tabal (Tak Bai) terpaksa di lepaskan kepada Kerajaan Siam. Situasi yang sama turut berlaku ke atas tanah dan jajahan Kesultanan Kedah dan Perlis yang kehilangan sebahagian dari wilayahnya.
“Commencing from the most seaward point of -the northern bank of the estuary of the Perlis River and thence north to the range of hills which is the watershed between the Perlis River on the one side and the Pujoh River on the other; then following the watershed formed by the said range of hills until it reaches the main watershed or dividing line between those rivers which flow into the Gulf of Siam on the one side and into the Indian Ocean on the other; following this main watershed so as to pass the sources of the Sungei Patani, Sungei Telubin and Sungei Perak, to a point which is the som·ce of the Sungei Pergau; then leaving the main watershed and going along the watershed separating the waters of the Sungei Pergau from the Sungei Telubin, to the hill called Bukit Jeli or the source of the main stream of the Sungei Golok. Thence the frontier follows the thalweg of the main stream of the Sungei Golok to the sea at a place called Kuala Tabar.
This line will leave the valleys of the Sungei Patani, Sungei Telubin, and Sungei Tanjung Mas and the valley on the left or west bank of the Golok to Siam and the whole valley of the Perak River and the valley on the right or east bank of the Golok to Great Britain. Subjects of each of the parties may navigate the whole of the waters of the Sungei Golok and its affluents. The island known as Pulo Langkawi, together with all the islets south of mid-channel between Terutau and Langkawi and all the islands south of Langkawi shall become British. Terutau and the islets to the north of mid-channel shall remain to Siam.With regard to the islands close to the west coast, those lying to the north of the parallel of latitude where the most seaward point of the North bank of the estuary of the Perlis River touches the sea shall remain to Siam, and those lying to the south of that parallel shall become British. All islands adjacent to the eastern States of Kelantan and Tringganu, south of a parallel of latitude drawn from the point where the Sungei Golok reaches the coast at a place called Kuala Tabar shall be transferred to Great Britain, and all islands to the north of that parallel shall remain to Siam"
- Boundary Protocol, Siam Treaty with Great Britain – 1909.
I Phya Raj Phinitchai duty authorised by and acting on behalf of His Siamese Majesty Government, do hereby formally transfer to William Lance Conlay as representative of His Britannic Majesty’s Government whatover right of suzerainty, protection, administration and control, as are possessed by His Siamese Majesty’s Government over the state of Tringganu, and adjacent islands in accordance with the terms contained in Article of the Treaty between Siam and Great Britain dated the 10th March 1909.
Dated Tringganu this fourteenth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and nine.
(signed)
PHYA RAJ PHINITCHAI.
พระยาราชพินิจจัย (อุไทยวรรณ อมาตยกุล) Phraya Rajapinitchai (Uthaiwan Amatayakul) bertindak sebagai wakil kerajaan Siam yang mana beliau merupakan General Secretary, Ministry of the Interior.
25 Julai 1909 Sir John Anderson (1858 -1918) Gabenor Inggeris di Singapura selamat tiba di Kuala Trengganu dengan kapal HMS Cadmus (1903) yang di ketuai Komander Hugh Lindsay Patrick Heard (1869 –1934) , Tentera Laut Diraja Inggeris dari Kota Bahru, Kelantan.
Ketibaan Sir John Anderson di sambut dengan pebarisan “ Guard of Honour” oleh 30 orang anak kapal HMS Cadmus yang di susuli dengan iringan pengawal dan pembesar yang mewakili Sultan Trengganu ke Istana Maziah. Kesemua kelasi kapal ini mengenakan seragam Tentera Laut Diraja Inggeris era Edwardian (Raja Edward VII England) versi rantau Asia Pasific. Selain itu rakyat jelata turut serta berkumpul dalam majlis sambutan ini berhampiran Jeti Kuala Trengganu.
Kunjungan Sir John Anderson ke istana Maziah mengadap Sultan Zainal Abidin III bertujuan memaklumkan status Kesultanan Trengganu telah bertukar dari naungan Kerajaan Siam kepada negeri-negeri melayu di bawah kawalan British di semenanjung Tanah Melayu selepas perjanjian Bangkok di tandatangani pada 10 Mac 1909.
Walaupun peristiwa ini sudah berlalu 117 tahun namun kesan serta natijahnya masih dirasai sehingga kini oleh masyarat setempat.
Kuasa serta hak raja-raja melayu dalam menentukan persempadanan negeri dan wilayahnya di nafikan serta tidak di akui sama sekali samada oleh British ataupun Siam.
Tiada kesepakatan dan penyatuan di kalangan raja-raja melayu menyukarkan dan tidak bisa sama sekali berupaya menghalang samada Siam ataupun British dengan tindakan "Pecah & Perintah" wilayah dan tanahair kelahiran bangsa melayu ini.
