Daeng Parani

Sultan Mahmud Shah II of Johor had died in 1699 without an heir, but the succession problem had been quickly solved when the viceroy, Bendahara Abdul Jalil, declared himself the new sultan, styling himself Sultan Abdul Jalil IV.

Many, however, feel that the declaration had been illegal.

Daing Parani, a leader of adventurers from the Celebes, has spearheaded the political penetration of the Malay Peninsula by the Buginese.

Apart from the Malays, another influential faction in Johor at this time is the Minangkabau.

Both the Bugis and the Minangkabau had realized that the death of Sultan Mahmud II had provided them with the chance to exert power in Johor.

The Minangkabau had introduced a Minangkabau prince, Raja Kecil from Siak, who claims he is the posthumous son of Sultan Mahmud II.

The prince had met with the Daing Parani and promised the Bugis wealth and political power if they helped the prince to win the throne.

However, Raja Kecil had broken his promise and installed himself as the new sultan of Johor (Sultan Abdul Jalil Rahmat Shah) without the knowledge of the Bugis.

Sultan Abdul Jalil IV had fled to Pahang where he was later killed by an assassin hired by Raja Kecil.

Daing Parani had in 1722 shifted allegiance and aided Sulaiman, son of the deposed sultan, in winning back his father's throne.

In return, the Buginese had been put in control of a specially created office of under-king, a post that has made them effective rulers of Johor.

Daing Parani is killed in 1726 while interfering in a dynastic conflict in the northern Malay state of Kedah, but his family and followers will continue to expand their influence throughout the Malay Peninsula in the eighteenth century until the only groups that remain free of Buginese control are the Dutch at Malacca and the Minangkabau people in the area that will become the state of Negri Sembilan.