The conclusion of Mat Kilau, Will the villagers join the fight for their freedom?
This Malaysian nationalist film, Mat Kilau has finally made it to Netflix, and it’s an action-packed film about the indigenous people fighting for their independence from British colonization. The film was directed by Syamsul Yusof and features a cast that includes Adi Putra, Beto Kusyairy, Fattah Amin and Yayan Ruhian, among others.
The inspiration for the film’s plot is provided by Malaysian historical figure Mat Kilau, who fought British colonists in Pahang prior to Malaysia’s independence.
Explanation of the Mat Kilau conclusion
As the final scene of the film Mat Kilau approaches, the film’s protagonist encourages the locals to band together and resist the colonists so they can achieve their goal of gaining freedom. However, people have decided that they are not ready to risk their lives and have left the meeting to move on with their lives.
Mat Kilau is not yet ready to give up his trust in these individuals, and he continues to prepare for the approaching conflict. On the other hand, he quickly learns that one of the commanders is a traitor, and that this traitor is the one responsible for the death of Wahid’s wife. Once the squad makes the connection, they discover the person who made the decision to betray them.
First Life of Mat Kilau
According to his contemporaries, Mat Kilau was a man of average height and build, with fair skin, an attractive face, and a fair complexion. [Citation needed] It was rumored that he was a master of silat martial arts and possessed mystical abilities. He married Yang Chik binti Imam Daud who was from Kampung Kedondong when he was only 20 years old. Yang Chik binti Imam Daud was the daughter of a religion teacher. From this union four of his descendants were born.
Hugh Clifford, who was serving as a British agent in Pahang at the time, traveled to Pulau Tawar in 1888. There he met Mat Kilau and Awang Long, two of Tok Gajah’s sons, and formed warm relationships with them. This happened in the early years of the British engagement in Pahang.
It has been said that Clifford affectionately referred to Mat Kilau as Adik Mat, which literally means “little brother Mat”. Compared to his father, according to Clifford’s description of Mat, Mat Kilau is said to be a diplomatic young man who is easier to work with.
The riot
The initial phase of the Pahang Rebellion, which began in 1891, was mainly limited to the region around Semantan and Temerloh. During the conflict, also known as the Semantan War, it was commanded by Dato’ Bahaman, then chief of Semantan. As the unrest spread to other districts in Pahang state, more and more local leaders joined the fight. Between the months of April and June of 1892, a figure named Mat Kilau emerged as a more controversial figure.
His ascension came at the same time as rumors began to circulate about Tok Gajah plotting to overpower British strategic points. Panglima Muda of Jempul was one of the other players involved and he was the one who would conquer Pekan. Meanwhile, Budu’s Mat Kilau and the Jelai Chief were to wipe out Clifford’s relatively small force in Kuala Lipis.
The mass rebellion led by Mat Kilau reached its most dangerous point when he and a hundred of his men, armed with swords, spears and muskets, attacked Kuala Lipis on April 10, 1892 and later threatened the gold mines with robbery.
On May 21, 1892, a group of British soldiers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Sandilands Frowd Walker and consisting of one hundred and five Sikhs, including thirteen gunners, attacked and burned Mat Kilau’s fortress in Budu. Hugh Clifford served as political adviser to the expedition and they were accompanied by three European inspectors, two jemadars and three European inspectors.
Mat Kilau and his band of sixty warriors, along with their wives and children, managed to escape and eventually joined the Bahamas at Ulu Cheka. His actions gathered momentum in June 1892, when fighting had already spread to Bera further south.
As soon as Mat Kilau began behaving aggressively, the British began to suspect Tok Gajah of involvement in orchestrating the rebellion. The resident, John Pickersgill Rodger, suggested he be arrested; However, Sultan Ahmad prevented this. The ruler vowed to take him to Pekan and then transport him to Mecca. However, Sultan Ahmad’s intention was to allow Tok Gajah to escape to the Kelantan-Terengganu borders via Tembeling, where he was later joined by Mat Kilau. The proposal appeared to satisfy the British, but Sultan Ahmad’s aim was to do so. On October 16, 1892, a general amnesty was proclaimed to include all dissidents except Tok Gajah and Dato’ Bahaman.
This was done in an effort to further isolate the rebels from society. According to a report by Rodger, the total strength of the rebels who fled to the neighboring state of Kelantan-Terengganu was reduced to sixty men commanded by Dato’ Bahaman and thirty-five men commanded by Mat Kilau and Tok Gajah. All of these individuals are fully armed with weapons.
On June 14, 1894, insurgents, aided by local reinforcements, attacked and took control of a British stockade at Kuala Tembeling. The British launched a counterattack against the insurgents on June 29, 1894, which resulted in the rebels being victorious at their palisade at Jeram Ampai. As a result of the victory, the British were able to increase their forces in preparation for future attacks on the rebels. It seems that the British could easily have exterminated the rebels after Jeram Ampai was overthrown; However, despite the large following the rebels had gained among the local population, a series of attacks continued. This was because the British did not take this into account. Clifford launched an expedition to Kelantan and Terengganu on July 17, 1894 with the intention of putting down the revolt from their bases. However, he had very little success at first, as the local population and chiefs were sympathetic to the rebels and their cause.
Since Kelantan and Terengganu were feudal states of Siam at the time, the British received a pledge from Siamese Foreign Minister Prince Devawongse to prevent either state from harboring the dissidents. This was in response to the fact that Kelantan and Terengganu were under Siamese control at the time. The indigenous people had to surrender and betray the dissidents as the rebellion lasted for a long time and was accompanied by a number of difficult circumstances. In the end, the Siamese commissioner Phya Dhib Kosa managed to arrest several important ring leaders between October and November 1895. These key leaders included Bahaman, Awang Nong Yusoh, Teh Ibrahim, Haji Mat Wahid, and Mat Lela. They were all deported to Chiang Mai.
Instead of punishing the man, he decides to give him a chance before leaving. Elsewhere in the ship, Captain Syers desperately searches for Kilau and his companions so he can finally prove his worth. Soon after, he receives the information from the spy he had placed among the leaders and is immediately ready to launch an attack on Kilau.
The next day, British forces enter the forest where Kilau and his companions have set traps, and one by one, each of the men is killed by the ingenious traps Kilau and his friends have constructed. Before beginning the attack on the colonists, the force even sends a badly injured soldier back to Syers for medical attention.
However, Syers is prepared for them as he unleashes the cannons on the group, and just when it looks like things are about to get worse for Kilau, the villagers emerged from hiding and ran into the fight.
And soon, between the thunder of cannons and the rattle of rifles, the fight for freedom will have begun. The fierce conflict is still ongoing, and when Toga and the other pirates saw that Kilau’s side would not be easy to defeat, they decided to join the fight to launch a counterattack.
Mat Kilau’s conclusion
Although they manage to inflict serious wounds on the villagers, Syers’ survival is not guaranteed and he quickly flees the battlefield. Kilau is aware of this and chases after him with Toga hot on his heels. On the other hand, Wahid plots revenge on the person responsible for his wife’s death.
Kilau runs after Syers but is quickly stopped by Toga, who then engages in a fight with him; Despite this, the former fails to bring the latter down until Wahid steps in to help. The two decide to work together, but Toga kills Wahid and Kilau kills Toga afterwards.
The independence fighters manage to defeat the British troops on the battlefield; Yet, despite the significant number of lives lost, the spirit of liberty soared again despite this setback.
Will there be a second part of Mat Kilau?
Considering the film’s success in the domestic market, Mat Kilau has undoubtedly left the door open for a sequel. It’s common knowledge that the producers were already working on a sequel, which was a foregone conclusion considering this film became the highest-grossing Malaysian film.
Let’s hold off on any decisions regarding Mat Kilau 2 until we get more information.
