Rentap's battle cry was Agi Idup, Agi Ngelaban!!
which means I will fight as long as I will live!!.This legendary battle cry
later became Malaysia's Royal Ranger Regiment motto.
Rentap or Libau (died 1863) was a Dayak (Iban) rebel
leader in Sarawak, Malaysia during the Brooke White Rajahs era.
"Rentap" in Iban means "Worldshaker". He was known as
"Raja Darat" or "Raja Ulu".
[Rentap's
Monument at Bukit Sadok.
Beneath
the cloth is the replica of
the
"Bujang Timpang Berang" cannon used against Brooke
Source:
Jabatan Penerangan, Sarawak]
Rentap's rebellion was due to James Brooke's action of eliminating the Ibans in Skrang. Being a leader of the Ibans there, Rentap took the subsequent action of attacking James Brooke's fort Nanga Skrang on the Skrang River. In retaliation the Iban leader Gassang, who was a close ally of Brooke, then burnt Rentap's village.
Rentap retreated to Sungai Lang, but was defeated
there in 1854 by 7000-strong force led by Iban leader Datu Tumanggong Mersal
and Brooke's commander Henry Steele. Rentap retreated to Bukit Sadok and built
himself a fort there. Here he was joined and supported by the Batu Lingtang
community who farmed the area.
Brooke's forces stormed and overthrew the hill fort
in 1857, at which point Rentap and his companions fled into the jungle.
Two years later, Rentap offered his surrender, but
his terms were refused by the Brooke administration, which felt that Rentap had
become too much of a figurehead for resistance to be allowed to live. By 1861,
Rentap's support had waned, and expedition headed by Charles Johnson was sent
to capture him at Sadok. Rentap again offered his surrender, but was rebuffed.
Sadok fell after a three-hour cannon bombardment, but Rentap escaped and fled
into the jungle near Bukit Sibau. He died a few years later, still in hiding.
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