KUALUH & LEIDONG

BRIEF HISTORY

The rulers of Kualuh and Leidong represent the senior male line of the Royal House of Asahan. The state was established in 1868 for Tuanku Namatu'llah, grandson of Raja Musa Shah of Asahan. The Dutch had made him ruler of Asahan after they had deposed his brother-in-law, Sultan Ahmad Shah. Tuanku Ni'matu'llah was not able to establish his authority, so they removed him in 1868. The appanage territories loyal to Ni'matu'llah became the new state of Kualuh and Leidong.

Tuanku Muhammad Shah succeeded his father in 1882 and enjoyed a long reign of sixty-four years. His reign witnessed economic and political changes at an unprecedented level. In later years, he resigned most of his powers into the hands of his eldest son, Tengku Mansur Shah. Both father and son disappeared during the bloody, so-called, "social revolution" in 1946. Tengku Mansur fled from the insurgents with his aged father on his back. Within a few days, they were discovered in a ditch at a Chinese cemetery with multiple stab wounds received from knives and bamboo spikes. They were then put in a truck, and "taken to hospital" by the pemuda, but were never seen again. Virtually every senior servant of the state government were similarly dispatched.

The sultanate was not restored after the restoration of lawful authority.

STYLES & TITLES:
The ruling prince: Sri Paduka Tuanku (reign name) ibni al-Marhum (father's title and name), Yang di-Pertuan of Kualuh and Leidong, with the style of His Highness.
The principal Royal consort of the ruling prince: Tengku Ampuan, with the style of Her Highness.
The Heir Apparent: Tengku Besar.
The sons, grandsons and other male descendants in the male line, up to the fifth generation: Tengku (personal name).
The daughters, granddaughters and other female descendants in the male line, up to the fifth generation: Tengku (personal name).

RULES OF SUCCESSION:
Male primogeniture, the sons of Royal wives taking precedence over those of commoners.

ORDERS & DECORATIONS:
None.

GLOSSARY:
See under Malaysia main page.

SOURCES:
C A Kroesen, "Geschiedenis van Asahan", Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, Deel XXXI, Batavia, 1886, pp. 82-139.
Dada Meuraxa, Sejarah Kebudayaan Suku-Suku di Sumatera Utara. Sasterawan, Medan, 1973.
Oostkust van Sumatra-Instituut : kroniek, 1925 to 1940, 1941-1946, & 1948 en 1949. Oostkust van Sumatra Instituut, Amsterdam, 1926-1950.

Copyright©Christopher Buyers, January 2002 - April 2005