Abdullah Hanafi
Abdullah bin Hanafi[a] (born 1880s), commonly known as Inche Awang, was an aristocrat and administrator who played a crucial role in shaping the region during the early to mid-20th century.
[2] Abdullah bin Raden Mas Haji Hanafi was born in the Crown Colony of Labuan sometime in the 1880s[b] and came from a wealthy family in Samarang, Dutch East Indies.
A devout and hardworking man, his father, Raden Mas Haji Hanafi, immigrated to Brunei in 1871 and worked as a goldsmith.
It should come as no surprise that he served in a variety of capacities over his lifetime, gaining the confidence of British authorities in charge of North Borneo and Brunei at the time.
In 1895, he shifted his career to become a sailor, travelling extensively across East Kalimantan, the Zamboanga Islands, Serangkani, Cotabato, Davao, Cebu, Pilu-Pilu, Basilan, Kinti, Madura, Kudat, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, and Tawau.
During this period, Kaesberry entrusted him with organising the Api-Api settlement in Sabah to establish Jesselton town and relocating government offices from Gaya Island—destroyed during Mat Salleh Rebellion—to Kebago in Kuala Menggatal.
Abdullah supervised the construction of a bridge in Api-Api District for large ships to dock, employing 50 labourers from Labuan and Brunei alongside 190 Dusun and Bajau workers from Sabah, who transported stones from Tanjong Liadan, Likas, Kuala Inanam, and Gaya Island.
The Brunei government later utilised his extensive expertise and knowledge, gained in Sabah and Labuan, for building water dams, highways, and urban planning.
[6] On 1 January 1910, Abdullah officially joined the Brunei government as a senior surveyor and cartographer in the land department, leveraging his extensive prior work experience across Borneo.
British resident Geoffrey Cator tasked Abdullah with retrieving the victim's body from Batu II, Jalan Tutong.
The next morning, Abdullah, accompanied by Cator, Chief Police Officer McAffee, 17 Sikh policemen, and two Malays, Lance Corporal Daud and Sergeant Kadir, proceeded to the location.
[7] The following year, in 1918, another act of resistance by the Kedayan community emerged in Kampong Pengkalan Gadong, led by Orang Kaya Dollah, who claimed authority over the area.
Police guarded the house for two weeks, during which time Abdullah engaged with Orang Kaya Dollah and persuaded him to surrender to Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam II.
Early in his tenure, he captured two murderers involved in an incident in Kampong Tanjong Maya, where Abdul Rashid bin Salleh and another killed three Chinese individuals and injured two others on 23 January 1927.
[11] On 31 December 1935, Abdullah retired from government service and was subsequently appointed a member of the State Council from 1938 to 1939,[c] carrying the title Yang Berhormat (The Honourable), before serving as the deputy kadhi for the Tutong District from 1939 to 1940.
A few years later, in 1950, he was appointed Datu Penghulu by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, a prestigious role in which he oversaw all penghulus and village heads.
