Together with other leaders such as Dato' Sagor, he planned an alliance to assassinate James W. W. Birch and resist the British in Perak.
During the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah III, he came to Perak and was appointed Mufti and awarded the title "Dato Maharaja Lela".
Birch's murder led the British army to attack Pasir Salak, and following several days of battle, the leaders of the rebellion surrendered.
In a subsequent trial held between 14 and 22 December in Matang, Sultan Abdullah and Ngah Ibrahim was deposed and sent to exile in Seychelles.
Dato Maharaja Lela, whose income depended on capturing and selling the natives of Perak or Orang Asli as slaves, was then incensed and plotted with some of the slave-traders to kill Birch by spearing him when he was taking his bath in the river.