The “Unruly” Space: Tanjong Piandang, a Pirates’ Haven to a Fishing Village

Abstract

Tanjong Piandang is a Chinese fishing village in Krian, Perak, Malaysia. It first appeared in Anderson’s work in 1824 as a favorite resort for pirates. The people in Tanjong Piandang had the reputation of being a lawless and turbulent lot, and the British colonial government tried to demolish the settlement twice by burning it down after riots. Each time, villagers gathered together and rebuilt their houses. This paper investigates how the colonial government tried to maintain law and order in this space, and the local resistance that attempted, though ultimately failed, to keep the colonial power out their village. Most of the studies on the grassroots resistance against British rule in Malaya are concentrated on the local Malay communities, not on the Chinese who are considered as a migrant community. Therefore, Tanjong Piandang is a good case study of Chinese resistance against the British.