Upon hearing of
Ali's rebellion, Pengiran Muda Hashim was dispatched to
Sarawak by the Sultan in the early 1835s to bring about order. According to some sources, Mahkota was a stern guy who had the natives in Sarawak labor as slaves to harvest
antimony from the mines. Hence the
revolt. Even yet, for a few years after Pengiran Muda Hashim's arrival in Sarawak, not much transpired and neither side made much headway. Additionally, it looks like he and Pengiran Indera Mahkota were at odds with one another, which led to some friction between them.
Arrival of James Brooke James Brooke, an English explorer, learned that Hashim, the monarch of Sarawak, had demonstrated his friendliness toward Europeans when he arrived in Singapore on his expedition to the Far East. Some British sailors who had been
shipwrecked in Sarawak's coastal waters before had been welcomed by him, who even sent them back to Singapore. James Brooke was interested in learning more about the rumored
Borneo. Additionally,
George Bonham, the
British Governor of Singapore, requested that James convey to Pengiran Muda Hashim a letter of appreciation and some gifts for his kind treatment of the seamen. Brooke sailed his
schooner "
Royalist" up the
Sarawak River and moored off
Kuching on 15 August 1839, and James was welcomed by him warmly. Pengiran Muda Hashim's initial encounter was described by one author as follows: "His appearance was not imposing but his manners were a pattern of courtesy and he maintained a certain shabby dignity. He returned the Royalist's salute of
21 guns with a
salute of 17 and received his visitor with some pomp in the palm-leaf shed which went by the name of audience hall". Overall, their interactions were cordial enough that Hashim did solicit his assistance in putting down the rebels, but James Brooke declined since he didn't want to become involved. He stayed just briefly before leaving. He decided to help this time when Pengiran Muda Hashim requested. James was able to put an end to the
Datu Patinggi Ali-led uprising with the help of his powerful cannons and skillful
military strategies. As a return for his accomplishments, Hashim signed a contract on 24 September 1841, giving Brooke the position of
Raj of Sarawak and land from the westernmost point of Sarawak,
Tanjung Datu, to the
Samarahan river. He had fallen from grace at home while he was in Sarawak as a result of a palace
coup in Brunei. In his absence, his rival Pengiran Muhammad Yusuf (Usop) had become
Bendahara. During that visit, Hashim was re-installed as the new Bendahara by Brooke and the
British Naval Forces. Additionally, he received official approval to succeed the current Sultan of Brunei.
Pengiran Temenggong Pengiran Anak Hashim, the son of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II, was enraged by this, and he subsequently planned to assassinate Pengiran Muda Hashim. == Death ==