[4]Malacca Sarawak Negeri Sembilan Perak Pahang Sabah Kelantan Terengganu The exceptional valor demonstrated by Mat Kilau in the uprising have gained him a place in popular memory as one of the heroes of Malay nationalism.
[5] The uprising however, was gradually suppressed by the British colonial government, with important leaders, including Mat Kilau, were forced to flee to the neighboring Terengganu and Kelantan.
[citation needed] Based on the description of his contemporaries, Mat Kilau was a man of moderate stature, strongly built, with light skin tone and handsome face[9] He was said to be a master in Silat and believed to possesses magical powers.
Among others who involved were Panglima Muda of Jempul who was to overrun Pekan, while Mat Kilau of Budu and the Jelai Chief to annihilate Clifford's small force at Kuala Lipis.
[15] The general uprising spearheaded by Mat Kilau reached its most dangerous point when he and a hundred of his followers armed with swords, spears and muskets, sacked Kuala Lipis on 10 April 1892[16] and later threatened the gold mines at Raub.
The suggestion appeared satisfactory to the British, but Sultan Ahmad's plan was to allow Tok Gajah to escape into Kelantan-Terengganu borders via Tembeling, where he was later joined by Mat Kilau.
[23] Determined to put down the uprising from their bases, Clifford undertook an expedition to Kelantan and Terengganu on 17 July 1894, but met with little success initially due to the sympathy of local chiefs and population to the rebels' cause.
[26] William Linehan, in his book History of Pahang written in 1936, probably used Wise's report as his reference, mentioned that Mat Kilau and Tok Gajah died and buried in Terengganu.
Although it turns out that this assumption was true for Tok Gajah who was buried in Pasir Nering, Ulu Terengganu, the exact location of Mat Kilau's burial remains unknown.
[28] In an article by the Singapore Free Press dated 22 October 1895, Mat Kilau was reported severely wounded in a fight and was brought to Kota Bharu where he died from blood loss.
[34] The story tallied with the account of Haji Sulaiman bin Hussain, a Qadi of Kuantan, who studied at Bunut Payong, and personally heard the rumours from his teacher in 1935 about a grave which contained the bark of a banana tree.
[38] On 16 August 1970, ten days after his identity was formally confirmed by the state government, Mat Kilau died of old age at his house in Kampung Batu Lima, Jalan Gambang, Kuantan.
He was honoured with a state funeral and was buried near to the grave of his late mother, Teh Mahda, at Kampung Kedondong, Jerantut, close to his native Pulau Tawar.