A page from the manuscript entitled 'Megat Terawih MS130', currently held at the DBP LIbrary. This manuscript was donated by Teh Fatimah.
Megat Terawis was the first Bendahara of Perak and was known by the title Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Raja. He was the son of the Daulat Yang Dipertuan Pagar Ruyung, a scion of the great imperial house of Minangkabau. In the army of the Sultan Muzaffar Shah, the first Sultan of Perak, Megat Terawis was a soldier of fortune.
It was said that Sultan Muzaffar had asked for the hand of Tun Merah, daughter of Tun Saban, but was refused. One day, Sultan Muzaffar instructed Tun Saban to look for materials in the jungle so as to build a palace for the Sultan. When Tun Saban was away, Sultan Muzaffar abducted Tun Merah and kept her in his palace. This so angered Tun Saban that he declared war on Sultan Muzaffar. Tun Saban built a fort at Kuala Temong from where he defied the forces of Sultan. Secure in the fact that his skin could not be pierced by any bullets (kebal), he used to laugh at the efforts made to shoot him down. It was described that he made a missile from a tualang tree which caused great damage to the istana of Sultan Muzaffar Shah.
Sultan Muzaffar then issued a proclamation that whoever could kill Tun Saban would be awarded with the highest chieftaincy in the state. Megat Terawis who was born with a silver bullet in each hand (each bullet bearing the inscription: “This is the bullet of the prince’s son of Pagar Ruyong: wherever this bullet falls, its owner will be made a chief.”), fired the bullets (using an istinggar) to strike Tun Saban but they fell to the ground without piercing Tun Saban’s skin. Tun Saban picked it up, read the inscription and knew that his hour of doom had come. He then named Megat Terawis as his heir, expressed regret for his past hostility to Sultan Muzaffar Shah and married Megat Terawis to one of his daughters, Tun Bongsu Bangsawan, after which, Tun Saban met his demise.
Megat Terawis was rewarded with the highest chieftaincy in the state by Sultan Muzaffar Shah, carrying the title Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Raja. His descendants were holders of the Bendaharaship of Perak for 200 years. One of his descendants, Megat Menjanas (Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Seri Maharaja), married Raja Shah Alam Sayong, a daughter of Sultan Muzaffar Shah II of Perak.
Some notable members of the Megat Terawis family include Dato’ Seri Dr Megat Khas Bin Megat Omar, Dato’ Megat Yunus Bin Megat Mohd Isa, Dato’ Seri Megat Jaafar Bin Megat Yunus and Tan Sri Megat Junid Bin Megat Ayub.
A manuscript about the story of Megat Abdullah, grandson of Megat Terawis, written in jawi entitled Megat Terawih[sic] is currently held at the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka can be viewed here.
Reference:
1. Wikipedia
2. SembangKuala: 1st sultan of Perak – Sultan Muzaffar Shah
3. Portal Raja Kita Perak Darul Ridzwan
SembangKuala 
Dear Engku,
I apologise for the long silence – sibuk sikit ngan kerja outstation. Anyway, about the DBP Manuscript “Megat Terawis”, it is not the story of Megat Terawis. It is in fact the story of Megat Abdullah – grandson of Megat Terawis. This Megat Abdullah was given the title Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Raja. He is also known as Bendahara Garang. He was the Bendahara responsible for the rescue of Puteri Limau Purut – daughter of Sultan Mukaddam Shah.
Another error in that manuscript is about the Perak Royal Family itself. In the manuscript, Puteri Limau Purut is said to be the daughter of the Perak Sultan reigning in Perak. As you all are aware and historical facts have shown, the father of Puteri Limau Purut is Sultan Mukaddam Shah. The Sultan of Perak and the royal family of Perak were captured by the Acheh Invasion Force on the orders of Sultan Iskandar Mahkota Alam of Acheh.
After the invasion, Perak was left without a government. Then the Seri Nara Diraja went to Johor to fetch Raja Mansur – son of Raja Inu Raja Kechil Lasa to be made the new Sultan of Perak. This Raja Mansur is the fiance of Puteri Limau Purut. It was this Sultan Mansur who ordered Megat Abdullah the Bendahara Garang to lead the rescue mission.
This clearly contradicts with the writings in the DBP manuscript! The manuscript says that the Sultan who ordered the rescue mission was the father of Puteri Limau Purut. In actual fact, it was her fiance who ordered the rescue mission.
The genealogy of Megat Terawis – written in Jawi is kept in SOAS, London. The reference number is MS 40333(2). For pre-Perak Sultanate genealogy of Megat Terawis i.e. the Pagar Ruyung link, the research by Dt Rj Sampono A Chaniago should be consulted. As for post-Pangkor Treaty genealogy, 4 works of genealogical research should be consulted –
1)Wan Ismail Bin Wan Muhammad Aqib (1938)
father of the late Dato’ Wan Salaiddin, grandfather of the present Toh Muda Temenggong
2)Megat Ismail Bin Megat Ahmad (1954 & 1969)
a retired police officer. died in 2004.
3)Megat Ramli Bin Megat Jaafar (1985)
grand uncle of the late Tan Sri Megat Junid Bin Megat Ayub Bin Megat Aman Bin Megat Jaafar.
4)Megat Osman Bin Megat Abu Bakar (1993)
grandson of the late Dato’ Seri Dr Megat Khas, nephew of Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin and younger brother to the late Dato’ Megat Abdul Wahab – founder of Mariwasa Kraftangan (kilang buat pingat yang kat kuala tu)
And, I have compiled the complete Megat Terawis genealogy based on the above works. After the formation of the Clan Association, we have been updating the genealogy from time to time.
SO, to conclude, the DBP manuscript is not the story of Megat Terawis but his grandson. The story too has several errors. If one wants to do a research on the genealogy of Megat Terawis, it is not the DBP manuscript to be consulted but the sources I’ve mentioned above.
I’ll send a pdf file of the genealogy (general lineage) when I’m back in KL. (malam raya baru nak balik…..)
Regards,
MEGAT ISKANDAR BIN MEGAT ZAHARUDDIN
Salam Megat Iskandar – was hoping that you would pop by and drop a comment! Thanks for the heads up, and we would be looking forward to reading the .pdf file. Perhaps with your consent we could publish it so as to share this with our readers?
Wassalam.
-M.
Salam Megat Iskandar,
I would like to enquire the diference between Megat Terawis and Megat Terawih, I understand that Megat Terawis came to Perak during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I and Megat Terawih only known during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah III.There was a time line between this two Sultans, 1500 to 1700.
Wassalam.
Dear Andi,
Megat Terawis and Megat Terawih / Teraweh is the same person. Just like Habis = habih, or Kobis = kobih, Keris = kerih….slang orang Perak..
Indeed the first Bendahara was Megat Terawis during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I. However, during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah III, there was another Megat Terawis (great grandson of the first Megat Terawis. In fact, this Megat Terawis II became the Bendahara before the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah III.
The Genealogy displayed in Winstedt’s History of Perak, Wilkinson’s Papers on Malay Subjects and Fawzi Basri’s Cempaka Sari is from Megat Terawis II. InsyaAllah, by tonight I can email the editors of SembangKuala the pdf file of the Megat Terawis genealogy.
Regards,
MEGAT ISKANDAR
I would like to add to Megat Iskandar’s comprehensive reply that the misspelling of the written Perak-sounding dialect of ‘Terawih’ is left as it is, hence the notation [sic] as you can see in the main post.
Thanks for visiting!
-M.
Dear Megat Iskandar,
Thanks for the response. Still, I would like to know the real identity of the Megat Terawis II, is it true that some called him Panglima Kukut? He came from Pagaruyung and he had links to ‘Dato Maharajalela Tan Lela Putera Pancung Tak Bertanya’ @ Daeng Selili.
Wassalam.
Nope, Kukut is associated to Megat Menjanas (father of Megat Terawis II) His title is Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Seri Maharaja a.k.a. Bendahara Kukut.
This Megat Menjanas married Raja Kenayan Shah Alam Sayong – daughter of Sultan Muzaffar Shah II. Which means, Megat Terawis II and the royal brothers are first cousins – Raja Radin (Sultan Alauddin Mughayat Shah), Raja Inu (Sultan Muzaffar Shah III), Raja Bisnu (Sultan Muhammad Shah) are sons of Yang Dipertuan Muda Mansur (brother to Raja Kenayan)
About the link with Daeng Selili, you are absolutely correct about the link. One of the sisters of the 3-Brother-Sultans mentioned above was Raja Su. This Raja Su married Daeng Selili.
So, in other words, Daeng Selili’s wife is Megat Terawis’ cousin. Similarly, we could say that Daeng Selili married to the niece of Megat Menjanas.
I have emailed my personal lineage (does not include complete info from other branches of the family) to the editors. Maybe by consulting the diagram is more helpful than reading in paragraphs.
So, to answer your query – Bendahara Kukut is Megat Menjanas – father of Megat Terawis II. And yes they are related to Daeng Selili through marriage.
Let’s wait for the genealogical diagram on SembangKuala.
Regards,
MEGAT ISKANDAR
Thanks, Megat, for helping out. Rest assured the Megat Terawis genealogy chart you sent us (with thanks) is in the works for an entry soon. Watch this space!
Dear Megat Iskandar,
Thank you for the information given. Actually I have a lot of questions. I hope it is not a burden for you. Please help me confirm this linkage: Megat Mentaha ibni Megat Pendia ibni Megat Menjanas @ Bendahara Kukut????
Wassalam.
Dear Andi,
InsyaAllah, not a burden.
Megat Mentaha
(Orang Kaya Besar Maharaja Diraja)
Tok Kaya Megat Lambat Makan di Kuala Kenas
s/o
Megat Omar
(Bendahara Muda – ni macam Toh Muda lah…)
Tok Bendahara Muda Megat Shahid
s/o
Megat Pendia
(Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Dewa Raja)
Bendahara Hilang di Padang
s/o
Megat Terawis II
(Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Maharaja)
s/o
Megat Menjanas
(Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Seri Maharaja)
Bendahara Kukut
s/o
Megat Abdullah
(Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Raja)
Bendahara Garang
s/o
Megat Biajad Mustafa
(Bendahara Muda)
Megat Sulung
s/o
Megat Terawis I
(Orang Kaya Bendahara Paduka Raja)
yang lepas ni semua Pagar Ruyung Royal lineage dah….(of which, I tak memorise!!!! nama nak sebut pun susah…)
To the editors of SembangKuala, please accept my apologies for using this site to answer questions which are outside the topic of the Perak Royal Family.
Regards,
MEGAT ISKANDAR
No worries as long as its beneficial to others.
Thank you so much Pak Megat for sharing the info.
Rgds,
-C
Dear Megat Iskandar,
Thank you so much with all the info, and I will e-mail to you again when needed. This info has been very useful as I am from the Megat Mentaha lineage, from his son named Ngah Jaya. He ran away with his sisters and also with a few of Megat Abu Kassim’s family to Kg Kepayang, Sg. Raya, Perak after the assassination of JWW Birch.
And to the Editor – thank you for allowing us this discussion.
Wassalam.
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Assalam En. Megat Iskandar,
I have in my hand that Megat Terawis married to one of Tun Saban daughter. May I know the name of wife of Megat Terawis.
And also Megat Terawis have daughter (Maharaja Suri, may be title) married to Dato Seri Nara Diraja Muda of Kuala Kangsar.
1) May I know how many children Megat Terawis had ?
2) From my data, The daughter of Megat Terawis has 8 or 9 children (Tun Sulung Ahmad – Makam at Kg Bekor, Dato Maharaja Lambor Kanan, Dato Paduka Kuala Senggang, Tun Ngaing of Sayong, Tun Sulaiman of Kelebor, Tun Majid of Ketior, Tun Panjang Kurau of Kuala Kurau, and last unknown). Does this relationship shown in your family tree ?
My ancestor from line Tun Sulung Ahmad of Senggang.