PEMERINTAHAN TRADISIONAL SEMASA ZAMAN SULTAN ABDUL MOMIN DI SUNGAI TUARAN (1877-1885)
Authors: YUSRY SULAIMAN  , MOSLI TARSAT  , RIZAL ZAMANI IDRIS  
Published: January 2023

Sungai Tuaran terletak di sebelah pantai barat Borneo Utara sejak dua atau tiga abad yang lalu. Nama Sungai Tuaran telah wujud pada era pemerintahan Sultan Abdul Momin seperti dijelaskan dalam dokumentasi surat geran perjanjian di antara “Maharajah Overbeck” dengan baginda pada 29 Disember 1877. Sungai Tuaran telah ditadbir oleh golongan pembesar Brunei yang dilantik oleh Sultan Abdul Momin berdasarkan sistem dan struktur pentadbirannya. Antara golongan pembesar yang dimaksudkan ialah Pengiran Muda Muhammad Hassan, Pengiran Muda Muhammad, Pengiran Siti Anak Khatijah dan Pengiran Abdul Rauf. Dalam konteks kepimpinan di Sungai Tuaran, mereka memimpin kelompok masyarakat tersendiri, terutama masyarakat Bajau yang mana kebanyakan mereka berkampung di pinggir Sungai Tuaran. Mengikut sistem pemilikan wilayah tradisional Brunei, Sungai Tuaran merupakan kawasan tunggal kerana berstatus “Sungai Kuripan” di pantai barat Borneo Utara. Hal ini menunjukkan bahawa Sungai Tuaran ditadbir oleh golongan pembesar Brunei yang dilantik oleh Sultan Abdul Momin. Terdapat beberapa sumber yang dicatatkan oleh golongan orientalis yang menyatakan bahawa Sungai Tuaran merupakan pusat pertemuan di antara pelbagai etnik sama ada di darat mahupun laut. Sebagai contoh, masyarakat Bajau dan Dusun. Perkara ini bukanlah asing kerana Sungai Tuaran merupakan sungai yang paling dominan bagi kedua-dua masyarakat ini memandangkan masyarakat Bajau dan Dusun saling memerlukan antara satu sama lain bagi memenuhi keperluan harian mereka. Penempatan di Sungai Tuaran didominasi oleh golongan masyarakatBajau kerana mereka merupakan penduduk asal, terutamanya kawasan di sepanjang pinggir Sungai Tuaran. Menariknya, pada 5 April 1884, semasa pemerintahan Sultan Abdul Momin, baginda telah menyerahkan Sungai Tuaran kepada British North Borneo Company. Metode kajian ini berbentuk deskriptif melibatkan kajian perpustakaan yang menampilkan arkib sebagai sumber rujukan utama. Kajian ini membincangkan sistem pemerintahan tradisional Sultan Abdul Momin di Sungai Tuaran (1877 – 1885).

Since two or three centuries ago, Tuaran River has been located on the west coast of North Borneo. The name Tuaran River existed during the reign of Sultan Abdul Momin as explained in the grant agreement documentation between “Maharajah Overbeck” and Sultan Abdul Momin on 29 December 1877. Tuaran River was administered based on Sultan Abdul Momin’s system and structure of the administration by a group of Brunei officials appointed by the Sultan, namely Pengiran Muda Muhammad Hassan, Pengiran Muda Muhammad, Pengiran Siti Anak Khatijah and Pengiran Abdul Rauf. In the context of leadership in Tuaran River, they led their own community groups, especially the Bajau community where most of them live in the village on the banks of Tuaran River. According to Brunei’s traditional territorial ownership system, the Tuaran River is a unique area due to its status as the “Kuripan River” on the west coast of North Borneo. This shows that the Tuaran River was administered by Brunei’s nobles appointed by Sultan Abdul Momin. There are several sources recorded by orientalists that state that Tuaran River is a meeting point between various ethnic groups whether on land or sea. For example, the Bajau and Dusun communities. This is common because Tuaran River is the most dominant river for both communities as the Bajau and Dusun communities depended on each other to meet their daily needs. The settlement in Tuaran River was dominated by Bajau people because they are the original inhabitants, especially the area along the banks of Tuaran River. More interestingly, on 5 April 1884, during the reign of Sultan Abdul Momin, Tuaran River was handed over to the British North Borneo Company. This research method is descriptive and involved library research that features archives as the main reference source. This study discusses the traditional government system of Sultan Abdul Momin in Tuaran River (1877 - 1885).