History of pirates in SEA

Dr Toh explaining the history of pirates in Southeast Asia

The final stop of the “Ocean World: Past and Future” virtual study tour took place on 29 April 2023 via Zoom and Facebook Live. It was organised by UTAR Division of Community and International Networking (DCInterNet), along with three partner universities, namely Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia; De La Salle University, Philippines, and Hainan University, China.

UTAR Division of Corporate Communication and Public Relations Assistant Manager Dr Toh Chen Chun was invited to give a talk. The title of the talk was “A brief history of pirates in Southeast Asia”. The talk was moderated by DCInterNet Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn.

Dr Lai moderating the session

Dr Toh obtained his bachelor’s degree from Cheng Kung University, and his master’s degree and PhD from Nanjing University, China. His PhD thesis topic was related to Piracy in Southeast Asia. After completing his doctoral studies, he worked as a Postdoctoral research fellow at the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies at UTAR. His research areas include the history of Southeast Asia, maritime history in the Malay Archipelago, and Malaysian Chinese studies.

Dr Toh began the talk by first describing the current state of piracy in Southeast Asia and explaining why pirates still exist in Southeast Asia today. He also explained how the word “pirate” came about in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia. “In Bahasa Malaysia, the pirates are called Lanun, which originated from the word Iranun— an ethnic group from the Sulu Archipelago, who were famous pirates in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. On the other hand, the term Bajak Laut in Bahasa Indonesia traces back to the maritime people, Sea Bajau,” said Dr Toh.

Dr Toh explaining the current piracy cases in the world

The mention of piracy in old Chinese records in Southeast Asia

Next, Dr Toh introduced the groups who engaged with the pirates in the 19^th century in Southeast Asia. They were Orang Laut, Iranun, Balangingi, and the Chinese. The Orang Laut referred to a maritime ethnic group living in East Sumatra, Southern Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Riau Islands. They were a group of people who lived on boats. They were actively involved with pirates in the history of Southeast Asia. They supported the Malay kingdoms, such as Srivijaya, Malacca, Johor, etc., with their remarkable knowledge of the seas.

The maritime people in Southeast Asia (left) and the record of Orang Laut in Suma Oriental (right)

Iranun and Balangingi were famous pirate groups in the 19^th century, who originated from the Sulu Archipelago. With the prosperity of the Sino-Sulu trade, manpower was needed in Sulu to exploit the sea products; Iranun and Balangingi became slave raiders to hunt the slaves from the coastal area. Their raiding expeditions and bases were established throughout the Malay Archipelago. According to historical records, around 200,000 to 300,000 slaves were moved to the Sulu Sultanate in Iranun and Balangingi’s vessels from the period 1770-1870. After the Opium War, piracy was rampant in the China Sea and it moved to Southeast Asia after 1850.

Iranun Warrior and Iranun ships

Map of Sulu Archipelago

(Source: James F.  Warren, Iranun and Balangingi: Globalization, Maritime Raiding and the Birth of Ethnicity. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 2002)

Routes and settlements of the Iranun and Balangingi in the Malay Archipelago

(Source: James F.  Warren, Iranun and Balangingi: Globalization, Maritime Raiding and the Birth of Ethnicity. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 2002)

The talk ended with an insightful Q&A and group photography session. The closing ceremony of the Virtual Study Tour saw Dr Lai delivering a closing speech, thanking all the parties involved. 

Q&A session

A group photo at the end of the event