The Extraordinary Rise of Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor

Abu Bakar (1833-1895) was the son of Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim and grandson of Temenggong Abdul Rahman. Temenggong Abdul Rahman was, famously, one the two Malay signatories to the 1819 treaties with the British that allowed them to establish a trading base in Singapore. By the time Abu Bakar succeeded his father as Temenggong in 1862 the other Malay signatory, Tengku Long, had faded into obscurity. That sad fate was not to happen to Abu Bakar: quite the opposite in fact.

When Abu Bakar makes his tectonic and far reaching debut appearance in chapter five of Palace of Ghosts he is just an eighteen year old youth. Over the course of the next four decades or so he became the highest profile, most charismatic and most wealthy individual that lived in the second half of 19th century Southeast Asia. He eventually founded a new royal dynasty that still exists today (see the recent news articles below).

Abu Bakar as a young man

Chapter 5 of Palace of Ghosts, A Royal Quest, tells the parallel stories of his relentless search for entry into European aristocratic and royal social circles, but with an unwavering purpose to be recognised as one himself. Among the pantheon of European royal families he visited and befriended there was one above all others that drove his ambition: that of the British monarch Queen Victoria.


Abu Bakar dressed in traditional Scottish attire. The tartan was designed by Gordon & Sons, Glasgow, and presented to Abu Bakar by Queen Victoria during his visit to the Queen's Scottish home Balmoral Castle in 1880. 


Sultan Abu Bakar, from an album of photographs presented to Queen Victoria in 1887


Sultan Abu Bakar, considered an Anglophile, was frequently seen in western dress


Abu Bakar on the occasion of his coronation as Sultan of Johor in 1886. He is wearing a gold embroidered jacket and four Order Stars and a hat with a crescent and star motive. He also wears a gold coloured cloak. The portrait was acquired by Queen Victoria and is part of the Royal Collection Trust


Sultan Abu Bakar in his later years

Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor, who reigned as such from 13 February 1886 to 4 June 1895, is the great-great grandfather of current Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskander, who hit the global headlines this week when it was announced that he would be the next King of Malaysia.





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