Muar (Muarian dialect: Muo), officially known by the sobriquet Bandar Maharani ("Empress Town"), is a historical town and the capital of Muar District, Johor, Malaysia, situated by the estuary of the eponymous Muar River. It is the fourth largest urban area in Johor, after Johor Bahru, Batu Pahat and Kluang.
On 5 February 2012, Muar was declared as the royal town of Johor by Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
Muar is one of the cleanest cities in Southeast Asia, having won the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard Award in 2017 and 2022. It is regarded as one of the most popular tourist attractions in Malaysia to be visited and explored for its cuisine, culture and historical prewar buildings.
Toponymy
While Muar was historically recognized by other names, contemporary etymological theories generally attribute the origin of its current name to its strategic location at the mouth of the Muar River:
Teluk Dalam: Muar was formerly known as Teluk Dalam ("deep bay"), attributing to its location at the estuary or the structure of the mouth of the Muar River which is wide open and deep; based on an excerpt in one part of Hikayat Malim Deman:
Muar belum bernama Muar, Muar bernama Teluk Dalam
"Muar has not been named Muar, Muar was called Teluk Dalam"
Muara: The name Muar is said to be the contracted form of the word muara (Malay for estuary). Muak: Means "bored" or "tired", alluding to the tediousness of paddling the boat along the river, which is large and curvy by the local people in the early days. The people started calling the river and place Muar, deriving from the adjective "muak" after a long time since then. Bukit Mor: There is a hill not far from the town near Parit Jawa in the south by the name of Bukit Mor, which is thought to be the origin of the name Muar.
On 12 August 1887, Maharaja Abu Bakar officially founded the modern township of Muar and bestowed the name Bandar Maharani ("Town of the Empress") to honour Maharani Fatimah. The Maharani attended the grand inauguration ceremony, which symbolised Muar's status as Johor's second major urban centre and district after the state capital, Johor Bahru.
History
Early history Muar is rich in history as mentioned in many historical records and archaeological works. It is believed that the history of Muar began much earlier, predating the establishment of the Sultanate of Malacca.
In 1361, it was claimed that Muar was a part of the Majapahit Empire. Another account also stated that Parameswara, upon his exile from Singapura before proceeding to found Malacca, had established several settlements at Kota Buruk, Pagoh, Ulu Muar and Muar before reaching the place that would become Malacca. Historically, Muar was also where the deposed heir of the Malacca Sultanate escaped to in 1511 following the Portuguese invasion launched from Goa by Afonso de Albuquerque. Muar played a role in resisting the Portuguese occupation of Malacca; the Kubu Bentayan fortress was erected by Sultan Mahmud Shah to repel seaborne invasions, before he was defeated and retreated further inland to Pagoh, this time witnessing the fall of his empire.
The Portuguese occupied Muar soon after and built a fortress, Fortaleza de Muar, to defend the colony against the attacks from the Dutch and Aceh instead at the same strategic site of Bentayan. The British did just about the same thing at the Muar River site near Bentayan in defence against the advance of the Japanese Imperial Army in the Battle of Muar in World War II.
During the time of the beginning of Bugis immigration from Sulawesi and their influence in the Johor Sultanate, the five Bugis warrior princes – Daeng Marewah, Daeng Parani, Daeng Chelak, Daeng Menambun and Daeng Kemasi – said to have come to settle in Liang Batu, Lenga, before they and their descendants became influential Temenggungs and even rulers later.
Muar was also attested in many historical sources, varying from old maps, poems, epics, manuscripts and books :
Mpu Prapanca (Nagarakertagama, 1361) : written in 1361 by Mpu Prapanca, a Buddhist monk and royal priest of the Majapahit court, mentions Muar as a colony under Majapahit subdued by Hayam Wuruk and his prime minister, Gajah Mada (1350 to 1389).The story is recorded in JMBRAS magazine, October 1935, Volume XIII Part 2, page 15 to 16. João de Barros (Decades of Asia, 1553) : João de Barros, who wrote in 1553 in his second Décadas da Ásia ("Decades of Asia"), a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia, stated that Paramicura (Parameswara), who was driven away from Temasik after he assassinated the representative of the King of Ayutthaya, Temagi; had escaped in exile and stopped in Muar, establishing a settlement named Pagoh. Tun Sri Lanang (Malay Annals, Shellabear version): It states that Temasik – also went by Singapura – during the reign of Parameswara was defeated by Majapahit, forcing him and his family, including his followers, to flee northwards to Pagoh and set up two fortresses on the banks of the Muar River, the Biawak Busuk and Kota Buruk. After that, they moved further inland to Sening Ujong and finally established the Malacca Sultanate. In 1488, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah I (1477–1488) has died and laid to rest in Pagoh during a visit, earning him the posthumous title Sultan Mangkat Di Muar ("The Sultan Who Died in Muar"). Tomé Pires (Suma Oriental, 1512–1515) :Tomé Pires wrote a landmark book on Asian trade, the Suma Oriental que trata do Mar Roxo até aos Chins ("Summa of the East, from the Red Sea up to the Chinese") in Malacca and India between 1512 and 1515, completed before the death of Afonso de Albuquerque (December 1515), which highlighted the emergence of Parameswara replacing his father, Raja Sam Agi as the ruler of Palembang and later attacked by the king of Majapahit, King Batara Tamavill for declaring himself as 'Mjeura' (those who dare) before fled to Temasik (present day Singapore) where he killed King of Ayutthaya's representative, Temagi, and he secretly ruled Temasik for 5 years. Fearing of a retaliatory attack by the King of Ayutthaya, he abdicated and fled to Pagoh with his 1,000 followers, living there for 6 years when the Seletar people were still occupying Malacca. An old Portuguese map shows that Muar had a second Portuguese fort besides Malacca. From the map, it was named Fortaleza de Muar, built in a triangular layout to defend the colony against attacks from the Dutch and Aceh, at the mouth of the Bentayan River near the Muar River. The fort has since ceased to exist but it is believed to be located at the present location of Bentayan Express Bus Station in Jalan Maharani, downtown Muar. Several cartographic records such as maps by Abraham Ortelius (1584) and Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1595) depicts Muar as a city situated south of Malacca.
Sultan Ali's rule and cession to Johor
A civil war broke off between Tengku Ali, the issue of Sultan Hussein Shah, and Dato' Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim, which was later settled by a treaty of agreement signed in Singapore between the British and Tengku Ali. Consequently, Tengku Ali formally cedes the rest of Johor but Muar to Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim in returns of the "Sultan" title, with the condition that the title is not hereditary. Tengku Ali was invested as the Sultan of Muar, with an annual pension from the British Government under the terms of the treaty. The sovereign state of Muar, also known as Kesang, covers an area between the Muar and Kesang rivers.
Although Sultan Ali was in fact the real heir of the Johor Sultanate through the Bendahara lineage, but due to his weakness, the Temenggong was named the de facto ruler instead, founding the current ruling House of Temenggong. Sultan Ali delegated the administrative affairs of Muar to the Raja Temenggung of Muar(Tun) Suzana (Tun) Othman, Ahlul-bait (keluarga) Rasulullah SAW & raja-raja Melayu, pg 182 (also known by the title of Temenggong Paduka Tuan of Muar)R. O. Winstedt, A History of Johore (1365–1941), pg 129 and rather spent most of his time in Malacca.
Muar was sparsely populated in 1855 with a population of 800 people, and no formal structure of government was formed. In 1860, Sultan Ali reportedly borrowed $53,600 from a Chettiar money lender, Kavana Chana Shellapah and signed an agreement with him to contribute a portion of his monthly allowance to repay his debt. However, Sultan Ali found himself unable to pay settle his debts in time, and a frustrated Shellapah wrote to the British government in 1866. Pressured to liquidate his debts in time, Sultan Ali granted Shellapah the right to trade off Muar to the Raja Temenggung as mortgage if he is unable to do so.Studer, American and British Claims Arbitration: William Webster: Appendix to the Memorial of the United States, Vol. III, p. 311-12 His relations with Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim remained strained; in 1860, Sultan Ali allowed a Bugis adventurer, Suliwatang, and the Negri chiefs of Rembau and Sungei Ujong to settle in Muar and prepare themselves for an attack on Johor.Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (1937), p. 74 Such bad blood between the Sultan Ali and Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim passed down to the Temenggong's son, Abu Bakar, who succeeded his father after the former died in 1862. Shortly after Abu Bakar became the Temenggong of Johor, he sent a letter to Sultan Ali to reassert of Johor's sovereignty over Segamat. Continued disputes over the sovereignty of Segamat has culminated into an outbreak of a war between the Temenggong's faction with the Sultan's. Eleven years later in 1873, attempts made by Suliwatang to collect custom taxes from inhabitants at the Muar estuary further soured the relationship with Temenggong Abu Bakar's men.Winstedt, A History of Johore (1365–1941), p. 128-29 Temenggong Abu Bakar became the Maharaja of Johor in 1868, and eventually Sultan in 1885.
Upon Sultan Ali's death in Umbai, Malacca in 1877, his 11-year-old youngest son, Tengku Mahmood, was named his successor, fuelling anger and dissatisfaction of his eldest son, Tengku Alam Shah. The Raja Temenggung of Muar and the village chieftains voted in favour of a merger of Muar with Johor following the succession dispute between the two of Sultan Ali's issues. Tengku Alam Shah, who questioned the legitimacy of the chieftains' wishes and staked his hereditary claims over Muar, went on to instigate the 1879 Jementah Civil War in a bid to reclaim Muar, but was easily vanquished by Maharaja Abu Bakar's forces. Muar was finally annexed as part of the modern state of Johor on 30 December 1879.