William Wallace, that's first thing that came to my mind when Braveheart is mention... this historical person was made a movie by. It is one of the best movies I've seen featuring Mel Gibson the aussie actor who played william wallace, a freedom fighter of Scotland. From the movie and thru historical records that I've read, he is a hero of commoners and defender of the land, living an adventurer life, what all boys dream about.
What actually I want to mention here is that what has happen in the movie braveheart or william wallace history has actually happen here in our own country. It happen in 1831 and 1838 when Kedah state was under the occupying force of the siamese army.
On 12 November 1821, a large fleet of siamese army sailed into Kuala Kedah. Unaware of the siamese evil intention, they were welcome by Bendahara with great ceremony as Kedah at that time was under Siamese protectorate and had paid 'ufti' / homage to the king of Siam. Suddenly, Raja Ligor of Siam ordered his men to attack and a massacred was assured.
1831, Tunku Kudin, the son of Sultan Kedah at that time led 3000 pahlawan Melayu in a holy war/jihad to free kedah from oppression, slavery and tyranny againts the siamese army and drove the siamese army back where there crawl out from. They succeed with unexpected result, the siamese occupying force was crush and driven back to siam. But victory and freedom was shortly to celebrate as with the assistant of British navy, the siamese army retaliate by sending 7500 regulars with the latest muskets (rifle at that time) and 3000 war elephants. Tunku Kudin was taken by suprise and was beaten back and beseige in the famous Fort Kuala Kedah with only a few hundred men left. With this few hundred men, he manage to repelled multiple assaulted by the siamese. Angry for unable to stormed the fort, the siamese build wooden seige tower overlooking the fort wall and use it to kill the brave defender using musket one by one. This one sided seige lasted for 3 month and then the siamese army stormed the fort. Tunku Kudin with a handful these brave and outstanding malay warriors tired, starving and lack of weaponary stood firm and fight off the brutal siamese army until the last man. These awesome display of courage, braveries and companionship among Tunku Kudin and his mujahideens has anger the siamese general. The body was mutilated and Tunku Kudin head was chop off and sent to Bangkok.
Among the cruelty the siamese were prone to are cooking human alive, using nipah palm to pierce the intestines from the buttock and the siamese army gamble on whether a pregnent woman is having a boy or girl by gutter open the women to see the result.
These siamese army at that time was cruel and behave more that animal, even to the horror of their ally, the British.
Well, this is the story of 1831... for 1838, wait for my next posting... I will tell you how awesome was the fighting malay warriors was and they even gain the respacts of the occupier and it's allies.
