According to belief, he was descended from Daeng Selili, the son of the Bugis Raja from the Luwuk District in Sulawesi.
During the reign of Sultan Mudzaffar Shah III, he came to Perak and was appointed as a mufti, bestowed with the title "Dato' Maharaja Lela Tan Lela," granting him the authority to carry out beheadings without questioning.
On the 24th of July 1875, the British coerced Sultan Abdullah into signing a declaration that allowed them to impose taxes. Sultan Abdullah faced the threat of dethronement if he refused to comply. As a consequence of continuing to collect tin taxes in Bidor, the British burned down Raja Ngah Orang Besar Perak's house.
Under immense pressure, Sultan Abdullah signed the declaration, ceding power to the British, and the administration of the state was handed over to the Resident.
Dato' Maharaja Lela, together with other leaders like Orang Kaya-kaya Seri Agar Diraja (commonly known as Dato Sagor) and Ngah Kandin, strategized and formed an alliance to resist British interference in Perak, culminating in the assassination of the British Resident, James Wheller Woodfird Birch (J.W.W. Birch).
This decision was approved during the Durian Sebatang meeting, chaired by Sultan Abdullah and attended by his nobles, on the 21st of July 1875.
Consequently, Birch was killed with the cooperation of Dato Maharaja Lela and his associates, including Datuk Sagor, Siputum, Pandak Endut, Laksamana Mohamad Amin, Ngah Ibrahim, Ngah Jabor, and others.
After the assassination of J.W.W. Birch in Pasir Salak on the 2nd of November 1875, Pandak Lam became one of the most sought-after individuals for capture.
Dato' Maharaja Lela faced a court trial from the 14th to the 22nd of December 1876 in Matang, Perak, and was found guilty of the murder of J.W.W. Birch. As a result, he was sentenced to death by hanging and executed on the 20th of January 1877 in Taiping, Perak.
Dato' Maharaja Lela
