Research on Raja Melewar route enters phase two

SEREMBAN: The research on the legendary route taken by the first Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Raja Melawar, by the State Museum Board (LMNS) has entered its second phase.
LMNS acting director, Aziz Mohd Gorip said this time around the research was focusing more on the passage taken by the ruler from Pagaruyung in West Sumatra, Indonesia to Kuala Linggi, Negri Sembilan back in 1773, apart from identifying the relevant documents and historical records.
"The research team comprises 20 participants from LMNS, the Negri Sembilan chapter of the Malaysian Historical Society, the National Department of Culture and Arts (Negri Sembilan) and Friends of the Museum – headed by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) former lecturer, Dr Nadzan Harun.
"We went to Pagaruyung and Riau to complete the previous research and to track down the places where Raja Melewar had transited along the route before he crossed the Straits of Malacca to reach Negri Sembilan," he told Bernama, here today.
Aziz said, among others, the six-day expedition from Dec 13 covered Batu Sangkar, Paya Kumbuh, Bukit Barisan, Kampar, Bangkinang, Pekan Baru, Siak and Bengkalis.
The first phase of the research was conducted in 2014 by LMNS and 40 students from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), covering the route from Kuala Linggi to Seri Menanti, he said.
Aziz also said the journey by the team in the second phase would be documented in a book.
"All the gathered information will be compiled first before we come out with a book entitled The Raja Melewar Passage: Pagaruyung-Seri Menanti.
"However, we will go back to Padang, Sumatra to obtain additional material from the museum and archives over there before publishing the book, latest by early 2019," he added.
Aziz said based on history, Negri Sembilan was initially ruled under the Johor empire before the government became weak due to the triangular war with Acheh and the Dutch.
It was then that a council of leaders, known as "Penghulu-Penghulu Luak", invited the son of a Minangkabau ruler from the then Pagaruyung government to become the first ruler of Negri Sembilan, he added.
With that, Raja Melewar made his journey to Negri Sembilan and installed as the state's first Yang Dipertuan Besar. — Bernama