Mat Salleh

Mat Salleh is a Malay term used as a colloquial expression to refer to white people.

The colonial officials, not wishing the Malay image of them to dissipate, dismissed them as mere "mad sailors".

[3][4] In the Malaysian state of Sabah, the term Mat Salleh was an utterance of defiance by Sabahans to remind the Orang Puteh (White People) of the Mat Salleh Rebellion against the military forces of the British North Borneo Chartered Company from 1895 to circa 1905.

The enigmatic Mat Salleh led the 1897 attack on the Company's fort on Gaya island burning it to the ground.

After 6 years of insurrection, his fort at Tambunan was shelled by artillery and destroyed in 1900 and he died by machine-gun fire.

A group of white sailors drinking. The phrase "mat salleh" possibly derives from "mad sailors", a dismissive term applied to white sailors on leave in Malaysia. [ 1 ]
Memorial Stone near Tambunan, Sabah, Malaysia. The inscription reads: This place marks the site of Mat Salleh's Fort which was captured by the North Borneo Armed Constabulary on the 1st February 1900. During the engagement, Mat Salleh, who for six years had led a rebellion against the Chartered Company administration, met his death.