While his travels were intended to publicise both himself and the name of his kingdom, Sultan Abu Bakar realised that no amount of recognition could help him as long as his state was seen in the same light as the ill-fated Malay kingdoms that had succumbed to British intervention.

The Sultan was painfully aware of the enormous differences between the socio-political conditions of the Malay Sultanates and the British Straits Settlements. Having been brought up in Singapore under the British flag, he had seen how great the differences between the British colonies and the Malay Sultanates were.