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SUNGAI UJONG. 
Malay historians give few dates. Dato’ Klana Kawal’s first 
war followed the death of Yamtuan Lenggang in A.D. 1824; his 
last war included Baja Eadin’s arbitration in 1849. The date of 
his death is not recorded. 
He was succeeded by his brother, Dato’ Klana Sanding. It 
was during the reign of this — the fifth — Klana that Yamtuan 
Bad in died and Tengku Antah, his son, claimed the throne of 
Xegri Sembilan. The claim was disputed by Eaja Alang Sohor, 
son of Yamtuan Beringin. The Dato’ Klana set aside both claim- 
ants and nominated Yamtuan Imam to the vacant throne. 
The next Klana, Saiyid Am an or Abdu’r-Bahman, had con- 
tinual wars and troubles with Dato’ Bandar. He was an Arab, 
while the Bandar was a Malay; he was clear-sighted enough to 
desire the pax Britannica, while the Bandar and his friends wel- 
comed every Selangor freebooter who sought asylum in the country. 
Such a state of affairs could not last. The British intervened; 
and the Klana sacrificed his popularity by supporting them. It is 
to Saiyid Aman we owe the introduction of the Eesidential system 
into Sungai Ujong in 1874. 
Part II. 
Ceremonially the Dato’ Klana of Sungai Ujong counts for 
little when compared with the Yamtuan. 
Sa-kechil-keclnl anak putercb, sama besar dengan undang ; 
Sa-kech il-kechil anak undang, sama besar dengan lembaga; 
Sa-kechil-kechil anak lembaga, sama besar dengan ibu bapa, 
“ A prince’s child however small ranks as high as a territorial 
chief ”. So runs a royalist saying, hardly consonant with Minang- 
kabau custom which traces descent through the mother. Only 
when dealing with ceremonial should the non-royal status of the 
Klana be emphasized. He had the office of a Eaja Muda but was 
not personally sacrosanct. He was wakil kerajaan, Begent; when 
a Yamtuan died, it was the Dato’ Klana who sent the envoys to 
Siak to ask for a successor: — 
I Ulan g raja, berganti raja ; tnenjem put ka-M in an g ka b a u . 
It was a Klana (I)ato’ Klana Ivawal) who broke the "tie 
with Siak ” and stopped the missions to Minangkabau. To this 
day it is the Euler of Sungai Ujong who formally nominates a 
Yamtuan. He is the " Imam ” of the four great chiefs, the pillars 
of the State; he is their leader and their spokesman. 
Within his own territories the Dato’ Klana used to be an ab- 
solute ruler. He still claims to be berundang berkeadxlan, techni- 
cal terms implying hat he is head of the legal systems of the country. 
He was not berkeadilan under the constitution of A.D. 1773; the 
head of the courts was the Yamtuan. But Sungai Ujong ceased 
to recognize the supremacy of the Yamtuan after the death of 
Tengku Imam and did not give up its autonomy under the treaty 
Jour. Straits Branch 
