Rundum Rebellion (1915) — The Murut Uprising Against Chartered Company Rule
What was the Rundum Rebellion?
The Rundum Rebellion was an armed uprising by Murut communities in the interior of North Borneo (now Sabah) against the British North Borneo Chartered Company in 1915. It was led by Ontoros Antanom. Historian Callistus Fernandez, working from colonial records and Murut oral accounts, dates the outbreak to February 1915 and the end of the main fighting to April 1915, not 1916 as some older accounts say (Kajian Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, checked 7 October 2026).
The rebellion was large. A district officer at the time estimated that not less than 60 villages were hostile, spread across the Dalit, Telekoson and Rundum river areas, and wrote that the Company did not have a single friendly native in the district to act as a guide (Kajian Malaysia, USM, checked 7 October 2026). Rundum itself was a Company station in the interior. Today Kampung Rundum is a village in the interior district of Tenom (The Vibes, checked 7 October 2026).
The rebellion's significance lies not only in its military side but in what it showed: river-based Murut communities that had long feuded with each other came together against the Company. It is one of several uprisings against Chartered Company rule in North Borneo, alongside the earlier Mat Salleh Rebellion.
Who was Ontoros Antanom?
Ontoros Antanom (also written Antanum or Onteros) was a Murut leader from the Rundum area. Little about his early life is recorded in colonial documents. Murut accounts describe him as a warrior believed to have magical protection, a quality Murut tradition linked with great warriors (Kajian Malaysia, USM, checked 7 October 2026).
According to Murut oral accounts gathered by Fernandez, Ontoros brought together Murut communities from different rivers, and elders recalled their parents or grandparents travelling to help build his fort on the Silangit River. Colonial officers saw it differently: one report put the rebellion down to Ontoros's "opportunism" rather than to Company policy.
Ontoros was executed in April 1915, after the surrender of his fort. His full story is told on our Ontoros Antanom page.
What caused the Murut people to rebel?
The causes are debated, and the colonial and Murut versions differ. Records and studies cited by Fernandez point to several grievances (Kajian Malaysia, USM, checked 7 October 2026):
- Forced labour on the bridle path. The Company built a bridle path into the interior from 1901, reaching Rundum and Pensiangan by 1907. Murut communities were made to build and maintain sections of it. A 1915 Company memorandum named this forced labour as the probable cause of the rebellion, as it had been for the Blayong revolt of 1914.
- Taxes. A poll tax and a Native Liquor Tax had been introduced. Murut accounts name taxes among the main causes, but Company officers argued the poll tax had not been enforced in the interior.
- Rules on farming land. The Ladang Ordinance of 1913 required natives to get permits before clearing forest for shifting cultivation.
- Treatment by traders and police. Trade with outsiders left many Murut in debt, and Dayak police brought into the interior were accused of abuses against Murut communities.
The Blayong rising of mid-1914, when Murut road workers walked off a construction site and built a fort at Bukit Ulu Tagol, came only months earlier. A Company officer wrote after it that "the rising is universal" (The Vibes, checked 7 October 2026).
What happened during the Rundum Rebellion?
Colonial records summarised by Fernandez give this sequence (Kajian Malaysia, USM, checked 7 October 2026):
- February 1915: the interior rose in revolt. The first attack was on Rundum station, where Company forces under N.B. Babaneau and C.H. Pearson were attacked by not less than 600 to 700 Murut warriors. The attackers were driven off with about 12 killed and 20 to 30 wounded.
- February to April 1915: the Company gathered a larger force over the following two months.
- 14 April 1915: the expedition attacked Ontoros's fort on the Silangit River. The assault did little damage, but a blockade cut the fort's water and food supply.
- 16 to 17 April 1915: the Murut sent word they would surrender, raised white flags and released hostages. Ontoros came out with his lieutenants Kalur and Ansakul and they were handcuffed.
How did the British suppress the rebellion?
After a brief inquiry, the Resident, Bunbury, had Ontoros and his two lieutenants executed. That night fighting broke out again as the Murut tried to escape the fort. An estimated 350 to 400 Murut were killed and about 300 escaped (Kajian Malaysia, USM, checked 7 October 2026).
Resistance did not stop at once. Later in April 1915, eight telegraph linesmen were killed and the Company station at Keningau was threatened. The first surrenders came only in September 1915, and it took some months more before the region was fully pacified.
How does the Rundum Rebellion compare to the Mat Salleh Rebellion?
Both were uprisings against the British North Borneo Chartered Company, about two decades apart:
| Characteristic | Mat Salleh Rebellion | Rundum Rebellion |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 1890s to 1900 | February to April 1915 (first surrenders September 1915; full pacification a few months later) |
| Leader | Datu Muhammad Salleh (Mat Salleh) | Ontoros Antanom |
| Area | Several districts, including Gaya Island, Ranau and Tambunan | Interior Murut country around Rundum and the Silangit River |
| Main grievances | Company settlement rules and taxation | Forced labour, taxes, farming rules |
| How it ended | Mat Salleh killed at his fort at Tibabar, Tambunan, in 1900 | Fort surrendered April 1915; Ontoros executed |
| Memorial today | Muzium Monumen Peringatan Mat Salleh, Tambunan | Muzium Antanom, Tenom |
Sources for the table: the Mat Salleh column draws on the Fitzwilliam Museum and Sabah Museum; the Rundum column draws on Kajian Malaysia and Sabah Museum (all checked 7 October 2026).
Both rebellions were defeated and both leaders died at the hands of the Company. Today both men are honoured in Sabah, each with a memorial site run by the Sabah Museum Department.
How is Ontoros Antanom remembered today?
Ontoros Antanom is remembered as a Murut hero who fought against Chartered Company rule. In Tenom town, the Sabah Museum Department opened Muzium Antanom in 2009 on the site of the old European cemetery. It is named after "Antanom or Ontoros", whom the museum describes as a Murut warrior who resisted British colonial rule over the head tax. It displays Murut artefacts and crafts, is open daily from 9am to 5pm, and entry is free (Sabah Museum, checked 7 October 2026).
Historians still debate how the rebellion should be told. Fernandez argued that some published accounts relied too much on legend, while colonial records reflect the Company's own view. Reading both sources together gives the fullest picture.
The rebellion is also part of a longer story of resistance in Sabah, from Mat Salleh in the 1890s to Ontoros Antanom in 1915 and Albert Kwok's Kinabalu Guerrillas during the Japanese occupation.
Frequently asked questions
Q Who were the Murut people and where do they live today?
Q When exactly did the Rundum Rebellion take place?
Q How did Ontoros Antanom die?
Q How many people died in the Rundum Rebellion?
Q Are there any places I can visit to learn about the Rundum Rebellion?
Resources
- Callistus Fernandez, "The Legend by Sue Harris: A Critique of the Rundum Rebellion", Kajian Malaysia (USM), December 2001: detailed account based on colonial records and Murut narratives
- Sabah Museum: Muzium Antanom, Tenom: the museum named after Ontoros Antanom
- The Vibes: Blayong, the Murut warrior who gave Brits the slip: the 1914 rising that came before Rundum