Author: James Alexander Ritchie

A young virgin and downfall of Rentap

When you take risks, you learn that there will be times when you succeed, and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important. – Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian One factor against Rentap was that he had committed a ‘pemali’ or ritual prohibition by marrying a girl

Losing the ‘spiritual’ war

You cannot prevent and prepare for war at the same time. – Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist On June 2, 1857, on the eve of his 27th birthday, Charles Brooke and his army commander Abang Aing advanced on Rentap’s fort at Bukit Sadok. Leading the way was Brooke’s chief guide

Rentap’s supernatural birth

Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence

Journey to the Land of Hornbills

Police officers put the badge on every morning, not knowing for sure if they’ll come home at night to take it off. –Thomas Bryant Cotton, American politician and former military officer In March 1967, my father John Ritchie was sent to Sarawak by Tunku Abdul Rahman to reform the British

With kings, princes and commoners

The worst part of life is when the person who gave you the best memories becomes a memory. –  Invajy.com Two minutes before midnight on August 30, 1957, thousands were gathered in the dark at Kuala Lumpur’s Selangor Club as the British anthem rung out for the last time. As

Double agents and assassins

There are those who are two-faced, changeable, and deceitful, and who are always sitting on the fence. As far as all such are concerned you can secretly inquire after their welfare, reward them liberally with gold and silk, and so tie them to you. – Sun Tze, The Art of

Cat and mouse game of survival

The violence and wanton destruction caused by the CPM showed that the group was disloyal towards the king and country, and that they did not respect the Constitution, as well as the rule of law.  – Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam, historian  The communist violence reached its height with the assassination

Post-war years and Malayan Insurgency

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. — Joseph Campbell, American writer In January 1946, my father was reinstated by the British Military Administration (BMA) and sent back to Penang in charge of the Crime Branch. At this time, the crime rate

A Eurasian ‘Scotsman’ who spoke Mandarin

Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things. – Flora Lewis, American journalist On February 15, 1942, the Allied Command surrendered and days later the Japanese arrived in Singapore. My father, Datuk John Ritchie, recalled that he

In search of my English-Scottish-Welsh-Malay roots

To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root. – Chinese Proverb ——————-   Looking back, I can attribute my 50-year career as a journalist to three people — my English grandfather and Eurasian parents. My maternal grandfather British Major Leopold James