Telok Mas, Malacca

Telok Mas, Malacca (16 September 2016)


Telok Mas (GPS: 2.17005, 102.32634) is a small town in the district of Melaka Tengah, Malacca. It is approximately 11km to the east of the Malacca city centre. The town is located between two rivers: Sungai Umbai to the east and Sungai Punggor to the west.

The area that has now developed into Telok Mas was first settled by the Bugis whose legacy remains in the form of road names such as Jalan Raja Haji, Jalan Daing Tawi, Kampung Tambak Bugis and Batu Bugis.¹ According to legend, there was once a fisherman who discovered gold nuggets in his net, causing a minor gold rush of fishermen from Bandar Hilir to come over in search of gold. They loaded a prahu with the gold nuggets, but in their greed overloaded the boat that it sank into the sea, carrying the gold with it. It was from that incident that the place was renamed Telok Mas, meaning "gold bay".

The original name for Telok Mas was Telok Ketapang (literally, Bay of Indian Almond). In historical context, Telok Mas was where the local ruler Raja Haji Fisabilillah was killed in battle against the ruler. Leading up to that incident, relations between the Dutch and the Bugis settlers had been strained when the spoils pillaged from the English vessel Betsy, which was carrying 1,154 boxes of opium, was divided between the Dutch and the French, without the knowledge of the Bugis. This was against the agreement that the Dutch had with the Bugis to divide pillaged items equally, especially where the raid was done in Riau waters.

From then on, Raja Haji Fisabilillah began attacking Dutch vessels on the Straits of Malacca. The Dutch governor in Malacca sought the help from the Dutch Governor General in Batavia, who responded by sending a fleet of Dutch battleships under the command of Admiral Jacobs Pieter Van Braam. The armada comprising six large ships and several smaller ones, carrying 2,130 soldiers and 326 heads of cannon arrived and launched an attack on the Bugis at their stronghold at Tanjung Palas in Telok Ketapang. In the ensuing warfare, Raja Haji was killed along with his warriors Arong Lenga, Daing Salikang and Raja Ahmad. Although the Bugis put up a fierce fight, they were unable to defeat the Dutch which had superior weaponry. The attack by the Dutch on Tanjung Palas started a series of warfares between the Dutch and the Bugis in and around the Straits of Malacca.

Today, Telok Mas is a quiet town. Its call to fame, or notoriety, is that it is the location of Sekolah Henry Gurney, the prison school for juvenile delinquents.

Map of Telok Mas

Sights in Telok Mas

Telok Mas is on the Map of Towns in Malacca

Telok Mas on Google Street View

The main road in Telok Mas, Malacca (Nov 2020)

References

Discover Malacca; list of Towns in Malacca and Towns in Malaysia

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