Cermin_Island

Cermin Island

Cermin Island

Islet at the mouth of the Brunei River

Cermin Island (Malay: Pulau Cermin) is an islet at the mouth of Brunei River in the Mukim Kota Batu, Brunei-Muara District, Brunei.[1][2] During the Brunei Civil War, a battle unfolded on the island and it's sometimes referred to as the Peperangan Pulau Cermin (Chermin Island War).[3] A proposal for an 5 hectares (12 acres) protection status to be implemented on the island.[4] The island is home to sundry vegetation and swamp forests.[4]

Quick Facts Native name: Pulau Cermin, Geography ...

Geography

The island sits at an estimated distance of 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of Kaingaran Island and also 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Kampong Tanjong Kindana.[5] Moreover, it is filled with a dense woodland with the presence of snakes and crocodiles being recorded.[5] A noticeable rock known as Cermin Rock lies 183 metres (600 ft) north west of the island and due to its navigational hazardous position, a red and white painted beacon was placed to alert ships passing through the Pulau Cermin Channel.[6][7]

It can be noted that due to the island's close proximity to the city of Brunei, Cermin was sometimes mistaken for it.[8]

History

During Sultan Hassan's reign from 1582 until 1598, he was the architect of the Pulau Cermin Fortress and the bridge linking from Tanjong Kindana or also known as Tanjong Chendana, to the island.[9] During the construction of the fortress, at least 40 boats were sunk while carrying stones across the Brunei River.[10][11] A palace was defended by a fortress consisted of several cannons and connected with a long bridge.

A palace and several houses were proposed by the Pengiran Bendahara (First Minister) and later ordered by the Pehin Orang Kaya Digadong Seri Nara.[12][13] Sultan Abdul Mubin then relocated the administrative capital from Kota Batu to the island during his reign from 1660 to 1673,[14] while the Pengiran Bendahara did not.[12][15] It was intended for Abdul Mubin to wait out the crisis taking place prior to the Brunei Civil War, the relocation was under the guidance of the newly appointed Bendahara (Chief Minister) Muhyiddin.[15] After relocation to the island, Muhyiddin declared himself as the 14th Sultan of Brunei with his authority around Kampong Ayer thus sparking the only civil war in the country.[16][14]

Abdul Mubin initially fled to Kinarut and stayed there for ten years until a battle was lost by the forces of Sultan Muhyiddin, this in turn caused the fight to move back into Brunei and Abdul Mubin to move back into Cermin Island.[17][15] Muhyiddin then sought help from the Sultan of Sulu and requested additional forces from Sulu and negotiated that the land of eastern Sabah will be rewarded.[15] Once forces from Sulu arrived, preparations to attack the Cermin island immediately began.[18][19] As the forces from Sultan Muhyiddin landed on the island, no fighting has taken place as most fortifications were destroyed by bombardment from Tanjong Kindana,[20] and Sultan Abdul Mubin has been executed, thus putting an end to the civil war.[19] Prior to his execution, he has sent most of the regalia into the Brunei Bay with cannons.[21] Abdul Mubin was buried at the Pulau Chermin Royal Cemetery on the island.[22]

Several stories place Sultan Muhammad Alam's death in or around 1824, which the following adjustments to Brunei's laws seem to confirm. Whatever the cause, he was despised and had a bad reputation. On Pulau Chermin, his sister Raja Nur Alam and those who supported her son's legal arguments strangled him to death.[23]

According to a 1970 journal by the Brunei Museum, potshards were collected from a small stretch beach on the island and later taken to the research headquarters in Kota Batu.[24] Several lamellibranchs were discovered on the island in 1976.[25]

References

  1. [1]
    Names, United States Board on Geographic (1952). Decision List - United States Board on Geographic Names. The Board. p. 20.
  2. [2]
    "Brunei-River-Heritage-Trail_compressed" (PDF). bruneitourism.com. 2019.
  3. [3]
    Zain, Shukri (1988). Sumbangsih Shukri Zain: kumpulan sebahagian dari ucapan, ceramah, drama televisyen, drama radio, drama tatu, sajak, lirik, dan langgam suara Pehin Orang Kaya Ratna Diraja Dato Seri Utama Dr. Md. Zain bin Haji Serudin (in Malay). Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan Belia dan Sukan. p. 206.
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    Silvestre, Geronimo (1992). The Coastal Resources of Brunei Darussalam: Status, Utilization and Management. WorldFish. p. 151. ISBN 978-971-8709-11-5.
  5. [5]
    Office, United States Hydrographic (1949). Publication. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 360.
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    Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Borneo, Jawa, Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara Enroute. ProStar Publications. 2005. p. 339. ISBN 978-1-57785-654-2.
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    Office, United States Hydrographic (1955). Publications ... U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 262.
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    Haji), Mohammad bin Pengiran Haji Abd Rahman (Pengiran (2007). Islam di Brunei Darussalam zaman British, 1774-1984 (in Malay). Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan Belia dan Sukan. p. 97. ISBN 978-99917-0-557-6.
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    Brunei (1977). Annual Report - State of Brunei. p. 494.
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    Haji.), Awang Abdul Aziz bin Awang Juned (Pehin Tuan Imam Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz (1992). Islam di Brunei: zaman pemerintahan Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzuddin Waddaulah, Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam (in Malay). Jabatan Pusat Sejarah Brunei Darussalam. pp. XXXII.
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    Awang.), Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri (Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Diraja Dato Seri Utama Haji (2007). Brunei Darussalam: negara Melayu Islam Beraja (in Malay). Pusat Sejarah Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan Belia dan Sukan. p. 36. ISBN 978-99917-34-53-8.
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    Duraman (Haji), Sulaiman Haji (2009). Kenali negara kita (in Malay). Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan. p. 18. ISBN 978-99917-0-638-2.
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    Papers Relating to Brunei. Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 1998. p. 10. ISBN 978-967-9948-14-1.
  14. [14]
    Gin, Ooi Keat; King, Victor T. (29 July 2022). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-56864-6.
  15. [15]
    "Civil war wrecks chaos in the country". The Brunei Times. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  16. [16]
    History for Brunei Darussalm. EPB Pan Pacific. 2008. p. 44. ISBN 978-99917-2-545-1.
  17. [17]
    "Pulau Cermin - Brunei's Historic Island". Pulau Cermin - Brunei's Historic Island. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  18. [18]
    Awang.), Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri (Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Diraja Dato Seri Utama Haji (2005). Rampai sejarah: meniti sejarah silam (in Malay). Pusat Sejarah Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan. p. 146. ISBN 978-99917-34-44-6.
  19. [19]
    Awang.), Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri (Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Diraja Dato Seri Utama Haji (1997). Tarsilah Brunei: Zaman kegemilangan dan kemasyhuran (in Malay). Jabatan Pusat Sejarah, Kementerian Kebudayaan Belia dan Sukan. pp. 193–194.
  20. [20]
    Rahman, Muhammad A. (1966). Rangkaian tawarikh negeri sabah (in Malay). Al-Ahmadiah Press. p. 55.
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    Vienne, Marie-Sybille de (9 March 2015). Brunei: From the Age of Commerce to the 21st Century. NUS Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-9971-69-818-8.
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    Singapore, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Malaysian Branch (1965). Journal of the Straits Branch. p. 28.
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    Saunders, Graham E. (1994). A History of Brunei. Oxford University Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-967-65-3049-3.
  24. [24]
    Brunei, Muzium (1970). Brunei Museum Journal. Brunei Museum. p. 203.
  25. [25]
    Hallegraeff, Gustaaf M. (1 January 1989). Biology, Epidemiology, and Management of Pyrodinium Red Tides: Proceedings of the Management and Training Workshop, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, 23-30 May 1989. WorldFish. p. 12. ISBN 978-971-10-2264-8.
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