Salleh Masri

Salleh bin Masri (1919 – December 1997), pen name H. M. Salleh, was a Bruneian nobleman, nationalist politician, activist and an experience teacher who was among the founding members of the Brunei Youth Front (Malay: Barisan Pemuda Brunei) and Brunei People's Party (Parti Rakyat Brunei). Him alongside Yura Halim were considered to be the country's first novelists.[1] He was the initial head of the Brunei Nationalist Movement in the 1940s and 1950s.[2]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Masri is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Mohd Salleh. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Shahbandar Dato Seri Paduka
Salleh Masri
SPMB SLJ
Salleh in 1961
Member of Legislative Council
In office
1981–1984
In office
1970–1974
In office
1962–1964
MonarchsHassanal Bolkiah
Omar Ali Saifuddien III
Personal details
Born
Mohd Salleh

1919
Brunei
DiedDecember 1997 (aged 78)
Brunei
ChildrenHayati and Rosli
Alma materSultan Idris Education University
OccupationPolitician, writer and teacher
Known forFounder of Barisan Pemuda Brunei and Parti Rakyat Brunei

H. M. Salleh was the author of the book Tunangan Pemimpin Bangsa, which he authored while spending 100 days in government custody in Kuala Belait, describing his experiences during the battle. He regularly discussed the struggles endured by Bruneians who were subjected to prejudice in their own country and were deprived of their own heritage and sovereignty.[3]

Biography

Early life and career

Salleh attended the Sultan Idris Training College (SITC), Tanjung Malim, Malaysia, from 1934 to 1937. After his return, the First Scout troop in the Belait District was opened in 1939 and was led by him. Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin received his early education in the palace prior attending formal school, Salleh was one of the teachers assigned to teach him.[4] He was then employed as a teacher at the Kuala Belait Malay School and the Brunei Town Malay School between 1940 and 1941 before being named headmaster. In actuality, he co-founded the Brunei Youth Front (BARIP) in 1939 with Pengiran Yusof and Jamil Umar, and served as its president until 1941. He also served as the head of the Belait Youth Association.[5]

Political career

Salleh Masri was designated an officer with the Japanese Propaganda Unit in Brunei during the Japanese occupation, for which he was punished by the British government in 1946 with a six-month prison sentence for cooperating with the Japanese. The Japanese national anthem served as the inspiration for his theatrical production Kami Gayu, which was written during the Prohibition period.[6] After the Japanese occupation, he went back to the classroom and, between 1954 and 1955, was appointed supervisor of the School Feeding Program. He served as the BARIP's president from 1947 to 1948 during the time it was reconstituted. In 1947, Salleh Masri, who was president at the time, issued a message to Malcolm MacDonald, the governor general of Singapore, pleading for the country to get closer to independence with some kind of representative governance.[5] He published a piece named Tangisan Terjajah. The British prohibited the piece because it was primarily anti-colonialist in nature.[2]

On 21 January 1956, A. M. Azahari and H.M. Salleh launched PRB as a division of Partai Rakyat Malaya.[7] The PRB's first meeting was held in his home at Kampong Kianggeh.[8] Furthermore, he served as the PRB's vice president from 1956 to 1958 and was one of the organization's founding members in August 1956. Salleh Masri, Azahari, and a number of other PRB leaders were punished in 1958 for failing to provide the Registrar of Societies with the PRB's yearly financial records. Midway through 1958, he was sentenced to a few months in prison once more after being accused of drinking too much at a social event at the capital's Brunei Hotel.[5]

Salleh Masri submitted his resignation from the PRB after being released from prison in September 1958. After the revolt in 1962, he further distanced himself from the PRB and is reported to have collaborated closely with the government. As a result of Azahari's actions, Salleh was already under tension and no longer on the same page with his plans for achieving Brunei's independence.[9] After 1962, he had a number of high-ranking positions in the government, including chief information officer from 1974 to 1980 and commissioner of social welfare from 1961 to 1974. In addition, he served as a member of the Legislative Council from 1962 to 1964, 1970 to 1974, and 1981 to 1984. From 1981 to 1983, he also served as a member of the Majlis Menteri-Menteri, the Council of Ministers. In 1986, when the Brunei National Solidarity Party (BNSP) was established, Salleh Masri allegedly returned to politics. When Haji Abdul Latif Bin Chuchu resigned from his position as the BNSP's president in April 1996, Salleh Masri—at the time the vice president—was chosen to fill the vacancy.[5]

According to the Brunel Government's chief information officer, H.M Salleh, in March 1976, PRB leaders who were in exile and desired to return to their native country should request a meeting with the sultan and ask for a pardon. He invited attendees of an anti-PRB gathering in Bangar, Temburong to return if they could obtain a pardon. He was responding to an information from Kuching that stated PRB leaders would be released and allowed to return if the sultan agreed to hold elections. In keeping with this theme, Salleh and other speakers asserted that Brunei was not a colony and that any PRB leaders outside of Brunei who claimed otherwise were lying. He yelled "Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!" at one state. The audience erupted in fervor.[10]

Death

Salleh Masri died in December 1997, a little over a year after taking up the position.[5]

Evaluation

According to a 1991 interview with Azahari, the decision to revolt was made in Azahari's absence. When it was suggested that Salleh might have been an informant, Azahari responded that it was strange that Salleh was not detained during the Brunei Film Company, that he was only briefly imprisoned during the Brunei rebellion, and that HM. Salleh was now a "big-shot" in Brunei. Azahari made no additional remarks. There were parallels between the current situation and those in 1946, when Saleh Umar was freed from a British prison and soon after led the pemuda in the murder of the kerajaan. Was a secure location like the British prison used for pre-operational briefings? H.M. Salleh had already been detained by the British in 1945 on suspicion of collaborating with the Japanese during the war.[11]

Personal life

Mohd Salleh notably has a daughter named, Hayati is the first female Attorney General of Brunei.[5] In addition to another son of his, Rosli was the Acting Commissioner of Police.[12]

Bibliography
  • Salleh, H. M. (1950). Tunangan pemimpin bangsa (in Malay). Malay Press.
  • Salleh, H. M. (1988). Esok bukan sebuah rindu (in Malay). Mastika Publisher.
  • Salleh, H. M. (1988). Harga sebuah tragedi (in Malay). Mastika Publisher.
  • Salleh, Zainab H. M. (2006). Poligami dalam Islam (in Malay). Bekas pelawat mubalighah Majlis Agama Islam.

Titles and honours

Titles

Upon taking up as one of the manteri-manteri of Brunei, he was bestowed the title of Yang Dimuliakan (The Exalted One) Pehin Orang Kaya Shahbandar on 29 August 1992. Prior to this on 8 August 1968, he had the title of Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wangsa.[13]

Honours

Salleh has earned the following honours;[14]

References
  1. Gin, Ooi Keat; King, Victor T. (2022-07-29). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-56864-6.
  2. Melayong, Muhammad Hadi bin Muhammad (2010). The Catalyst Towards Victory. Brunei History Centre, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. p. 54. ISBN 978-99917-34-71-2.
  3. "The Revival of Brunei Nationalism (MIB Series)". The Revival of Brunei Nationalism (MIB Series). Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  4. Mohamed, Muhaimin. SULTAN AHMAD TAJUDDIN 1924–1950: HUBUNGAN RAJA DENGAN PENASIHAT (PDF). Pusat Sejarah Brunei.
  5. Sidhu, Jatswan S. (2009-12-22). Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam. Scarecrow Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-8108-7078-9.
  6. Modern Literature of ASEAN. ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information. 2000. p. 11. ISBN 978-979-8080-72-2.
  7. Asbol, Awang (2015-05-20). Persejarahan Brunei (in Malay). PTS Publications & Distributors Sdn Bhd. p. 132. ISBN 978-967-0444-30-7.
  8. Gunn, Geoffrey C. (1997). Language, Power, and Ideology in Brunei Darussalam. Ohio University Center for International Studies. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-89680-192-9.
  9. Awang.), Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri (Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Diraja Dato Seri Utama Haji (2003). 8 Disember: dalangnya siapa? (in Malay). Pusat Sejarah Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan. p. 27. ISBN 978-99917-34-28-6.
  10. Translations on South and East Asia. Joint Publications Research Service. pp. 1–5.
  11. Poulgrain, Greg (1998). The Genesis of Konfrontasi: Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, 1945–1965. Crawford House. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-85065-513-8.
  12. "Seramai 35 orang menerima Bintang Kebesaran NBD". Pelita Brunei. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  13. "Rengkasan Perkhidmatan Ahli2 Majlis Pemangku Raja" (PDF). Pelita Brunei. 1960-05-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  14. Brunei (1972). Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of Brunei. Printed at the Brunei Press. p. 410.
  15. "National Heroes of Brunei Darussalam: Allahyarham Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wangsa Dato Paduka Haji Mohammad Salleh bin Masri". National Heroes of Brunei Darussalam. 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  16. "121 Orang Di-Korniakan Pingat Kehormatan Negeri Brunei" (PDF). Pelita Brunei. 1976-06-02. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
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