| Dato Maharaja Lela | |
| Death Place: | Taiping, Perak |
| Death Cause: | Execution by hanging |
| Known For: | Involvement in the Perak War |
Dato Maharaja Lela or Lela Pandak Lam (died on 20 January 1877) was a chief and nationalist from Perak.[1] He was a leader who later led the struggle against British forces in Perak. Together with other leaders such as Dato' Sagor, he planned an alliance to assassinate James W. W. Birch, the British Resident of Perak. His decision was approved in a meeting at Durian Sebatang, chaired by Sultan Abdullah on 21 July 1875.
A descendant of Daeng Salili, Pandak Lam was the son of a Bugis king from Luwuk District, Sulawesi. During the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah III, he came to Perak and was appointed Mufti and awarded the title "Dato Maharaja Lela".
Dato Maharaja Lela and his assistant Sepuntum speared British Resident of Perak, James W. W. Birch to death on 2 November 1875, as Birch was taking his bath by a river near Pasir Salak, which is located somewhere around today's Teluk Intan (Teluk Anson).
Birch's murder led the British army to attack Pasir Salak, and following several days of battle, the leaders of the rebellion surrendered. In a subsequent trial held between 14 and 22 December in Matang, Sultan Abdullah and Ngah Ibrahim was deposed and sent to exile in Seychelles. Dato Maharaja Lela meanwhile was found guilty for the murder of Birch and sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging on 20 January 1877 in Taiping. In the wake of the incident, the British administration was shifted to Taiping.
There is debate over the reason for Birch's assassination. One view is that he was assassinated because he outlawed slavery in Perak. Dato Maharaja Lela, whose income depended on capturing and selling the natives of Perak or Orang Asli as slaves, was then incensed and plotted with some of the slave-traders to kill Birch by spearing him when he was taking his bath in the river.[2] [3] [4] The more popular view among right-wing Malay historians is that Birch was assassinated because of his disrespect for the local customs and traditions, which raised tensions with local Malay chiefs. He is generally celebrated as a folk hero by Malay nationalists, and seen as a symbol of the Malay resistance against British colonialism[5] and the first stirrings of early nationalism.[6]
The terms Dato Maharaja Lela (in Malay language), and merajalela (in Indonesian language), to describe tyrannical rule, stem from his name.