Go BackJementah (GPS: 2.4403, 102.68496) is a small town in the Segamat District in Johor. It is on Route 23, which goes all the way to Muar in the south, via Tangkak, and northwards to Segamat. Jementah has a population of about 10,000, with ethnic Chinese making up the majority.
Jementah is 
on the Map of Johor
Jementah is the site of the Jementah Civil War that pitted Tengku Alam Shah against Sultan Abu Bakar. Let me share a little bit of background. Tengku Alam Shah is the heir to Sultan Ali1, who was the 19th Sultan of Johor. However, Sultan Ali was very much a puppet ruler, as the de facto power behind the throne was Temenggong Daing Ibrahim. Sultan Ali put himself into this corner due to three things: a) his reluctance to be involved in the affairs of the state, such as collecting taxes, b) his lavish spending and extravagant lifestyle, and c) his running up a huge personal debt. In 1855, Sultan Ali was forced to cede the title of sultan to Temenggong Daing Ibrahim, in exchange for a monthly allowance. He got to keep Muar District under his rule, whereas the rest of Johor went to Tun Daeng Ibrahim.
When Sultan Ali died in 1877, he willed the Kessang Territory, where Muar District, to his 11-year-old son, Tengku Mahmood, and made him his successor, instead of to his eldest son, 31-year-old Tengku Alam. Tengku Alam had himself proclaimed the Sultan of Johor and Pahang. After his repeated claim to Kesang Territory went unrecognised, Tengku Alam launched a war by attacking Jementah on 25 October, 1879 and taking over the town. Maharaja Abu Bakar responded by sending troops commandered by his cousin Ungku Ahmad, who achieved rapid victory.
Notes
- Sultan Ali traces his line to Bendahara Abdul Jalil, who declared himself Sultan of Johor after the murder of Sultan Mahmud Shah II (1685-1699). This line is known as the Bendahara Dynasty, and ends at Sultan Ali (1835-1877)
- Sultan Mahmud Shah II is the last ruler descended directly from the Sultans of Malacca.
- The present rulers of Johor are from the Temenggong Dynasty. It starts with Temenggong Daing Ibrahim, who became Raja Temenggong Tun Ibrahim (1855-1862) and included Sultan Abu Bakar (1862-1895), acknowledged as the Father of Modern Johor, right up to the present ruler, Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Al-Haj (1981-present).
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