An account by Mr R.K. Hardwick of his
encounter with a Moro that almost ended his life. Hardwick was the
Assistant District Officer of the Labuk and Sugut District in 1908 in
the then British North Borneo.
In 1908, an appeal from the Panglima of
the Tigabu Island was sent to the Resident of Kudat. Tigabu is an
island about 20 miles north of the Paitan River. Hardwick described
the inhabitants of the island as a mixture of sea Bajaus and
Binadans.
In that same year, a Moro from Tawi
Tawi group of islands in the Sulu Sea escaped from the American
authority and fled to Tigabu. He was wanted for several murders by
the American and a price was put on his head. He was wanted 'dead or
alive'. This Moro's name was Si Kisi or
just Kisi.
While
in Tigabu, instead of being grateful for the islanders' generosity in
providing refuge for him, Si Kisi started
terrorizing the local inhabitants and reportedly committed more
murders in the island. Apparently even the local chieftain, the
Panglima, was not able to reign him in. Si Kisi
had a few followers and supporters in that island. Perhaps this was
why the Panglima was powerless against him. Nothing was mentioned of
this followers, whether they were locals or Moros themselves.
Pak
Musa's rebellion in Paitan
The
Resident of Kudat gave the task of apprehending Si Kisi
to Hardwick. When Hardwick received the instruction, he was already
engaged in a punitive expedition against another local rebel, Pak
Musa, in the Paitan area. Pak Musa was a rebel leader from the Orang
Sungai community. He would be later, exiled and chose to resettle in
Membakut, as a consequence of his and his followers rebellion in
Paitan.
Pak
Musa and his men raided the village of Paitan and killed four
policemen. Afterwards, they went on a looting spree and burned
Chinese shophouses. In the punitive expedition, Hardwick and his men,
managed to surprise Pak Musa's camp and killed some of Pak Musa's
men, including his second in command, Kalakau. Kalakau was said to be
the cause of this conflict. It was reported that the altercations
between the Government and Pak Musa were due to the former trying to
arrest Kalakau.
In the
punitive expedition, Hardwick, saved an infant girl from among Pak
Musa's entourage whom had all scattered into the jungle. The baby's
mother had been decapitated by the Dayaks from among Hardwick's men.
The baby would have perished it seemed if not for Hardwick's
intervention.
After
the successful expedition, Hardwick proceeded directly to Paitan
village, where he was told to board the government vessel, the S.L.
Chantek. S.L. Chantek was a small vessel of some 12 tons. From
Paitan, they launched the vessel towards the Tigabu Island.
Accompanying Hardwick were his 'boy' (government official normally
travel with a 'page' in those days) of about 14 years old, the baby
girl which he had rescued earlier, a Chinese engineer and three Dayak
policemen; two of whom were armed with rifles and all three carrying
parangs.
Arresting
Si Kisi
The
following day, Hardwick and his entourage, set off from Janbongan
Island where they had stayed overnight. They reached Tigabu Island at
8am and anchored offshore. The Panglima was summoned to the vessel to
provide further intelligence. The Panglima arrived and appeared
distressed. He reported that three men from Tawi Tawi had arrived and
joined Si Kisi.
He said they were in Si
Kisi's
dwelling which was heavily protected by a stout stockade.
The
Panglima said they would never surrender and would go 'amok' in the
village. The last thing Hardwick wanted was an inquiry into his
conduct in the arrest should Si Kisi really
went 'amok' and they had to use violence. Furthermore, the Panglima
cautioned that Si Kisi
did have sympathizers and he did not know what would happened if
Hardwick was attacked. In other words, I think, the Panglima could
not guarantee that he could assist Hardwick if the latter was
attacked.
Hardwick
sent his Dayak Orderly and Dayak policeman to serve the warrant of
arrest on Si Kisi with
strict instruction to never accept any invitation to enter Si
Kisi's abode should he asked
them so. Hardwick suspected if they had done so, they would be cut
down by Si Kisi and
his companion. A while later, the two Dayaks returned and reported
they were indeed asked by Si Kisi
to enter his home for coffee but they declined. They nailed the
warrant of arrest on one of the timbers. As they did so, Si
Kisi called out and told them
that he and his three companions would board the vessel an hour
later.
As
they anxiously waited for Si Kisi
and his companions, the Panglima became more and more nervous as the
vessel was gradually surrounded by 'dapangs'
– narrow double outrigger boats – filled with sullen and
forbidding looking sea Bajaus.
Hardwick
observed that the natives were gathering near the shorelines and many
of them were carrying spears. To make matters worse, his policemen
told him that there were not any handcuffs onboard. Si Kisi
and his companions arrived about two hours later. Unarmed and wearing
white suits. Their heads looked like they were recently shaved which
to Hardwick's experience, was an ominous. Hardwick read out the
charges to Si Kisi and
told him he would shoot him right then and there if he was to create
problem. Si Kisi told
him that he alone should be arrested while his companions were to be
released as only he did all the murders. Hardwick said Si Kisi was
powerfully built but thought that his three armed policemen could
handle four unarmed men. Hardwick ordered his men to tie the four
with ropes since they did not have any handcuffs and he himself
proceeded to the engine room hatch to have his breakfast.
Amok
In a
flash, Si Kisi grabbed
the 'ilang' of a Dayak
policeman from its scabbard and slashed the policeman; He died
instantly. The remaining two Dayak policemen unceremoniously jumped
overboard and remained hanging to the rudder and anchor chain
throughout the unfolding event.
Si Kisi's
second kill was the baby girl which Hardwick had rescued from Pak
Musa's party. The baby girl was lying in the deck and Si
Kisi almost cut the girl in
halves. Next he attacked Pak Musa's boy, severing his right arm from
the shoulder. The poor boy jumped into the sea and died later through
loss of blood.
Hardwick
in a self deprecating manner described how a bad shot he was and how
he managed to miss Si Kisi
while discharging his revolver at a range of only a few feet. He
fired six shots and all of them missed Si Kisi.
Hardwick then turned to get his Carbine but Si Kisi
caught up with him and slashed him at the top of his head, exposing
his brain, he said. Hardwick toppled from the blow to his head and he
credited Si Kisi's
unfamiliarity with the 'Ilang'
that kept him alive. Had it been a 'bolo'
– a weapon of his race – Hardwick said he would had been cut to
his chin.
Hardwick
lay stunned on the floor for a few seconds and later gained
consciousness when his hand touched the red hot door of a furnace. He
staggered to his feet and armed himself with a heavy spanner. In the
engine room with him then was the Chinese engineer. He proposed with
the Chinese engineer that when Si Kisi
came to finish him off, they should work together. A concerted attack
by both of them might be able to overwhelm the 'amoker'.
However, the Chinese man said he was a man of peace and why should he
get involved in the melee when it was obvious that Hardwick was Si
Kisi's target. The man than
proceeded to hide himself inside a wooden bunker that could hardly
contained his whole person, resulting in which, his buttock remained
exposed.
Hardwick
tried to get to the deck to get his carbine by climbing the steel
ladder but Si Kisi stopped
him in his track resulting in which, the top of Hardwick's index
finger was sliced off. After forty five minutes of trying to stay
conscious as by now he had lost a lot of blood from his head injury,
Hardwick decided to make a run for it, his only concern was that Si
Kisi who was at the lower deck
would slash his legs from below. Si Kisi
made a leap onto the floor of the engine room and as he did so, he
got interested with the Chinese engineer's buttocks which were
jutting out from the wooden bunker. He started slashing the poor
man's backside. Hardwick took the opportunity to run out from the
engine room and jumped into the sea where he drifted some 200 yards.
Si Kisi
was unaware that Hardwick had jumped into the sea and continued
searching for Hardwick onboard the vessel. After a while, he gave up
and went into hiding inside the vessel. Perhaps thinking that he
would ambush Hardwick should he decide to come out from his hiding
place.
Hardwick
regrouped with his Dayak Orderly, arming themselves with fresh
ammunition and weapons, they boarded the vessel. Not finding Si
Kisi, Hardwick took a random
shot at a canvass covered bathroom fixed over the side of the vessel.
A pure fluke he said but it worked well because out came Si
Kisi wounded at the shoulder.
More bullets were shot and it ended with Si Kisi
dropping dead on the deck with a bullet in his head.
Hardwick
by then was in a rage thinking of the senseless killing of his 'boy'
and the baby girl. In his own word he said he was in a demented rage.
He turned on Si Kisi's
corpse and hacked off the head. He threw the headless body to the sea
in full view of the onlookers on the shore, among them were some with
evil intentions on him.
He
then got the Panglima to come on board and had him tied up to
accompany him to Kudat. Perhaps Hardwick was angry that the Panglima
did not come to his aid when the whole exercise was due to his
calling for aid from the government. In retrospect, Hardwick said it
was unnecessary for him to do that but he said such was the condition
of his mind then and that it was just senseless rage on his part.
Exacerbated by fatigue, his wound and the excitement of the melee.
They
steamed into Kudat that afternoon and were met by a great crowd. On
board, three dead victims of Si Kisi
and his head lying beside Hardwick's campbed. The Resident, Mr E.H.
Barraut came on board the vessel and upon seeing Si Kisi's
head, he flung the head into the sea with disgust. Hardwick said he
lay semi-conscious and sometimes delirious while the district Medical
Officer looked at his wound.
Such
was the live of an Officer of the government in those dangerous days
and to certain extend, I am glad that the British came. They freed us
from pirates, slave traders and head hunters. The live of a human
being was given scant regards in those days. They came and brought
law and order to the land. And yes of course, they also left some of
their mistakes which we are now left to clean up.
As to
the Chinese Engineer, he was indeed a man of peace. For he offered
his cheeks to the person who was out to do him harm. However, I think
Jesus was thinking of a different kind of cheek.
Source
: The Straits Time 12 October 1952 – A Fight to the death
