Sulalatus Salatin and Tun Perak's Charisma in the Practice of the Laws of Nusantara Multiethnic Society
Authors:   School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Harun Jelani 
Published: May 2021

In the 15th century, Malacca emerged as a city that became the focus of traders and travellers from all corners of the Nusantara. At that time, the states under the protection of Malacca and anyone who came to Malacca were subject to the laws of the Malacca Sultanate. This has been referred to many times by the author of Sulalatus Salatin , in the narration of events involving Malacca’s relations with other states in the Nusantara world, and at the same time highlighting the practice of laws which took place in the multiethnic society residing in Malacca. Harshness is the general characteristic in the implementation of laws and this view is supported by works on Malay governance such as Taj -Salatin , Bustan al- Salatin and Thamarat -Muhimmah . However, harshness not accompanied by fairness and wisdom can lead to cruelty. This issue became part of the focus of Sulalatus Salatin ’s author’s thinking while describing several myths, conflicts and philosophies of justice of the Malay rulers in Singapore and Malacca which is closely linked to attitude, leadership and knowledge of the rulers and leaders. This article will reevaluate the issue by drawing attention to the charisma of Tun Perak in the implementation of laws of the Malay sultanate, either towards the multiethnic society in the Nusantara or in the context of those residing in Malacca, in which the issues of harshness of laws are entangled, counterbalanced and intertwined with many incidents of slander, sedition and corruption that could destroy the history of Malay culture. Keywords: Tun Perak, laws, governance, historiography, philosophy, slander, corruption Abstrak Pada abad ke-15 yang lalu, Melaka muncul sebagai sebuah negara kota tumpuan kedatangan para pedagang dan penghijrah dari seluruh pelosok rantau alam Nusantara. Ketika itu, semua negeri yang berada di bawah naungan Melaka dan sesiapa sahaja yang datang ke Melaka akan tertakluk di bawah perintah undang-undang adat Kesultanan Melaka. Hal ini banyak disuratkan oleh pengarang Sulalatus Salatin melalui peristiwa perhubungan Melaka dengan kerajaan-kerajaan yang berada di alam Nusantara, di samping memusatkan perhatian kepada amalan undang-undang yang berlaku dalam kalangan masyarakat pelbagai etnik yang tinggal di Melaka. Kekerasan menjadi satu ciri umum pelaksanaan undang-undang yang turut mendapat dukungan dalam karya-karya ketatanegaraan Melayu seperti Taj al-Salatin , Bustan al-Salatin dan Thamarat al-Muhimmah . Walau bagaimanapun, kekerasan tanpa diikuti dengan keadilan dan kebijaksanaan akan menjurus kepada perbuatan kezaliman. Persoalan ini menjadi sebahagian daripada pusat pemikiran pengarang Sulalatus Salatin ketika memerikan beberapa mitos, konflik dan falsafah keadilan istana raja-raja Melayu di Singapura dan Melaka yang bertaut rapat dengan sikap, kepimpinan dan keilmuan raja- raja dan para pembesarnya. Makalah akan menilai semula persoalan ini dengan memusatkan perbincangan kepada karisma Tun Perak dalam amalan undang-undang kesultanan Melayu, sama ada terhadap masyarakat pelbagai etnik Nusantara ataupun dalam konteks masyarakat yang tinggal di Melaka, dan dalam isu-isu tentang kekerasan undang-undang yang bercampur-baur, bertimbang-tara dan berselirat dengan pelbagai peristiwa fitnah, hasutan dan rasuah yang boleh meruntuhkan sejarah peradaban Melayu. Kata kunci: Tun Perak, undang-undang, ketatanegaraan, historiografi, falsafah, fitnah, rasuah