The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

REVIEWS 427
The third selection, by Ibrahim Nik Mahmood, another young
Kelantanese historian educated in the Federation, is a narrative of the
To' Janggut rebellion. This movement was the first open expression of
popular sentiment against the bureaucratic changes which bad resulted
from tbe introduction of British rule. It provides an introduction to a
consistent theme in Kelanta n's history; that of a kind of"traditionalistic';
resistance to alien influences. It is unfortunate that Ibrahim was forced
to rely so heavily on official accounts of the rebellion written by those
who suppressed the movement. As a result one gets little information
about how the rebels saw themselves, or what they thought they were
doing.
This piece is followed by a short biography of To' Kenali one of
Kelantan's most prestigious religious leaders and reformers. The author,
Abdullah AI-Qari b. Haji Salleh, is a well-known Malay literary figure
and this is the first appearance of his work in English. This departure
from formal history is a valuable social document. To' Kenali surely
had a more significant impact on the life of the people than did the
actual rulers. He was one of the first of the highly influential Kelantan
ulama who today dominate hundreds of Kelantan communities.
William Roff's study of the origins of the Majlis Ugama dan Isti'
adat Melayu (Council of Religion and Malay Custom) takes us back to
formal history, but continues the religious theme. In Kelantan, lacking
all other avenues to power, members of the state's traditional aristocracy
established a religious bureaucracy by which they could levy taxes, and
exercise certain police and judicial functions. The Majlis Ugama was
founded as an attempt to circumvent the power of the Shari Courts and
to act as an agency of the Sultan. Its organizer, Haji Ni~ Mohamed,
was able to gain sweeping powers for the Majlis and within a few years
it had taken over the collection of the fitrah, a religious tax, and
had launched an ambitious program of school-building and publishing.