Yapahloyv1 04

The History of Yap Ah Loy,
Kapitan Cina of Kuala

Lumpur and Klang (18671885)
A Production by Kongsi NetWorks in the year 2000
Content
Page
Introduction
Our Mission
How was Yap Ah Loy as a person?
The History of Yap Ah Loy
Before Malaya (1837-1854)
Humble Beginnings (1854-1860)
Hiu Siew and Yap Ah Sze set up shop in Kuala Lumpur
12
Yap Ah Loy inherits the Kapitanship
13
The Selangor Civil War
16
The Death of Sultan Muhammad
16
Raja Mahdi regained Klang
18
Raja Mahdi is ousted from Klang
18
The Death of Yap Ah Sze
19
The Defection of Syed Mashhor
22
The First Attack on Kuala Lumpur: The Battle of Ampang
22
The Second attempt to capture Kuala Lumpur: The Battle of

Rawang
25
The Betrayal of Raja Asal and the Fall of Kuala Lumpur
30
The Recapture of Kuala Lumpur and the End of the Selangor

Civil War
34
Rebuilding Kuala Lumpur
37
The Adminstration of Yap Ah Loy
39
The Death of Yap Ah Loy
42
Life in early Kuala Lumpur

Produced by Kongsi NetWorks
yapahloyv1.04
45
What does Kapitan Cina mean?
45
Weapons and Armours used
46
The Camps
46
How the Chinese mined tin
46
The Sin Sze Si Ya Temple of Kuala Lumpur
47
The Mystery of Kuala Lumpurs name
50
Why are Junks called Junks?
51
The Dictionary
53
References
54
The Project Team
55

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Introduction
This site is about the story of Kapitan Cina
(Chinese Captain) Yap Ah Loy, the man who
governed the city of Kuala Lumpur during
her founding years and laid the foundations
of her development to become the capital of
Malaysia and an international city.
He was one of thousands of Chinese who
had left China for foreign shores in search of
better
lives.
entrepreneurship
Through
and
hard
work,
perseverance,
he
became a rich and powerful person in

Malaya. He also contributed to Malaya, and
Yap Ah Loy in Qing Dynasty

Costume
specifically to Kuala Lumpur by building

many public amenities, like schools, hospitals, temples, home for the aged etc.
We have put together many interesting articles and pictures in this site about the
life and times of Yap Ah Loy and life in Kuala Lumpur in the late 19th century.
Please feel free to browse through what we have compiled for you. You will
probably find that Malaya then was just like the Wild West in America, with its
share of tales of adventure, romance (maybe) and enterprise!

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Our Mission
Our objectives in publicizing Yap Ah Loy's contributions to the development of
Kuala Lumpur, is to highlight to the world and Malaysians in particular, the
achievements of our ancestors, including Yap Ah Loy, in building a prosperous
and civil nation. They worked under the sun, in a hot, humid and new
environment to have a better living. Their working conditions can hardly be
imagined by our generation.
Yap Ah Loy's contributions were extraordinary in that not only did he built Kuala
Lumpur, he was also a good example in economic cooperation between the
Malays, Indians and Chinese.
He encouraged the Malay population to migrate to Kuala Lumpur and convert the
undeveloped land around Kuala Lumpur into rice fields and other farms, so as to
provide the Kuala Lumpur population with a stable source of food.
After gaining his wealth, Yap Ah Loy and many other Chinese tycoons, did not
forget the others. They built many schools, hospitals, temples etc as a service to
society.
Despite Yap Ah Loy's contributions, there is no mention of his role nor those of
the early Chinese immigrants in the development of Kuala Lumpur and Malaya in
modern Malaysian history school books. Hence, our intention is to highlight their
achievements and concrete contributions to the people of Malaya.

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How was Yap Ah Loy as a person?

Yap Ah Loy's family name is Yap. His father's name was Yap Luan Hoi, and his
mother's name was Fan Shi.
Yap Ah Loy's official name given at birth was Yap Tet Loy. His other names Yap
Mao Lan and Yap Ah Loy were informal names used by his family and peers.
According to records, he used the name Yap Tet Loy in his correspondence.
Yap Ah Loy was physically described as of
medium height but was exceptionally strong.
He had a scar between his eyebrows like the
Chinese character "man" which was the
result of a childhood incident.
He was the third and most prominent
Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur. Under his
administration, Kuala Lumpur grew from a
collection of attap houses to become a major
town in Malaya. After his death, the power of
the next two Kapitan Cinas was further cut
Wife of Yap Ah Loy, Kok Kang
Kweon
back by the British to the extent that the Kapitan no longer had overall authority
in Kuala Lumpur, but was merely a figurehead of the local Chinese population.
Yap Ah Loy was known for his indefatigable energy, his generous hospitality and
his adventurous spirit. He seemed to be genuinely liked by people who knew
him.
Swettenham, the Resident of Selangor, who on a visit to Kuala Lumpur in the last
months of Yap Ah Loy's administration of Kuala Lumpur reported to Singapore as
follows:

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"The Capitan China, Ah Loi, is still the leading spirit in Selangor, his energy and
enterprise are extraordinary. During the disturbances before the inauguration of
the Residential System, this town was three times burnt down by the Malays and
rebuilt by the Capitan China, who in spite of disaster held the place at the earnest
request of Tunku Dia Udin. The Capitan China has connected the chief mines
with Kuala Lumpur by long roads, his perseverance alone, I believe, has kept the
Chinese in the country, and until quite recently, his exertions have kept the peace
in Kuala Lumpur and the vicinity without, the Superintendent of Police informs
me, one single serious crime being committed. He has provided the sick with an
Asylum, administered justice to the satisfaction of his countrymen, opened a
brickfield where he is doing excellent work and planted a tapioca estate larger
than any in the Colony (i.e. Straits Settlement), the flour being obtained by
machinery put up at Kuala Lumpur and now under the supervision of an English
engineer.
I have mentioned these matters to show
that there is prosperity and progress in
Kuala Lumpur, to show to whose efforts
this is mainly due, and to record the past
history of the place......"
He was a leader of the local Hai San gang,
which had members in major Chinese
settlements in Malaya. This part of his
history has remained controversial in that
he was a member of a secret society,
however his contributions to the building of
Sir Frank Swettenham
Kuala Lumpur remained undisputed despite

his shady background.
At Yap Ah Loy's death, the then acting Resident, Rodger, reported to Singapore
that:
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"by his death the Government has lost one of its most able and faithful officers;
personally I have lost a friend for whom I had the most sincere liking and
esteem."

yapahloyv1.04

The history of Yap Ah Loy is intrically related to the history of Kuala Lumpur. On
one hand, Yap Ah Loy was an inexhaustible personality who was committed to
the development of a thriving mining establishment and commercial centre in
Kuala Lumpur, on the other hand, the rich tin-fields of Kuala Lumpur provided a
stage for Yap Ah loy to make history as the most influencial man in Kuala
Lumpur, Klang and the state of Selangor.
Before Malaya (1837-1854)

Yap Ah Loy was born in Tam Shui village in the Kwai Yap district of the Fui Chui
prefecture in the Southern Chinese province of Guangdong, on the eighth day of
the second moon of the seventeenth year of the Emperor Tao Kong. that is on
14th March 1837. He was therefore by descent, a Hakka of the Fui Chui clan.
At this time, the Qing Dynasty was already in its decline. Yap Ah Loy was 3 years
old when the Opium War broke out between China and Great Britain at the
battlefield of Dongyuan Wumen, not far from his village. When he was 15 years
old, worsening poverty and limited fertile land fueled the Taiping uprising in the
Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. The put down of the uprising by the Qing
army was particularly bloody, and few families were left unscathed.
In the midst of this tumultuous time, thousands of Chinese left their home to
escape in search of better lives in foreign lands. In 1854, Yap Ah Loy left for
Malacca in Malaya from Macao with 80 bronze coins.
His journey was described as follows:
"At Macao, he embarked in a junk, and voyaged out over the deep, wide ocean.
The junk sailed southwards to Malaya. He was full of hope, though his property
consisted of no more than eighty dollars in Chinese currency and a few cheap
pieces of luggage. The junk sailed for more than a month, and passed through
many dangers, before it reached Malacca. When at last he landed he found
himself in a place very different from China. The scenery, with the tall coconut
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and betel palms and the small attap houses, was new and attractive to him. The
unhappy time he had experienced during the long voyage was totally forgotten.
He was as peaceful and at ease as the blue sky over the Southern Ocean."
Humble Beginnings (1854-1860)
When Yap Ah Loy landed in Malacca, he was received by a distant relative, Yap
Ket Si. It was usual for the Chinese to help their newly-arrived relatives or
clansmen settle down in a foreign land, they would accommodate them until they
had found a job. If their passage money was unpaid, the passengers were not
allowed onshore, and the relatives would have to pay for the passage money on
their kinsmen's behalf. With eighty dollars, Yap Ah Loy probably had enough to
pay for his passage money.
Yap Ket Si found Yap Ah Loy a job at a tin mine in Durian Tunggal, Malacca.
Trade however was bad in Durian Tunggal, and after 4 months, Yap Ah Loy went
to Kesang to work in a shop owned by another distant relative, Yap Ng. Yap Ah
Loy remained in Kesang for a year. Then, either business was not good or Yap
Ah Loy was not a good shop assistant, Yap Ng gave Yap Ah Loy his own savings
of about one hundred dollars, and instructed him to return to China. Yap Ah Loy
dared not disobey the commands and sailed for Singapore to catch a ship back
to China.
On his way to Singapore, Yap Ah Loy lost his money in gambling. Unable to
return to China and too ashamed to seek further help from his relatives, he
walked with Yap Fook, a cousin of Yap Ng's, to Lukut in the state of Selangor in
search of a living.
At that time, Lukut was the busiest town in Selangor. In the 1840s, rich tin fields
were found in Lukut. Raja Jumaat, a Riau royalty and son-in-law to Sultan
Muhammad, allowed the mining of the area and with the arrival of Chinese
workers, tin mines were opened and Lukut flourished. In 1860, Captain
Macpherson, Resident Councillor of Malacca described Lukut as follows:

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"The contrast between Lukut and Selangor is very striking; indeed the former can
well bear comparison with any European Settlement; and it is equally striking and
gratifying in the midst of a dense jungle to come suddenly upon the footprints of
advanced civilisation. The roads are well formed and macadamized; the only
street of China town is uniformly built of brick and tiled roof, kept scrupulously
clean and well-drained; the godowns on the river's banks are large and massively
built, and both the people and the place have an air of contentment and
prosperity."
This description would not be applicable to Kuala Lumpur even twenty years
later.
Yap Ah Loy reached Lukut in 1856 and found work as a cook and handyman
under Chong Chong, a Fei Chew Hakka who was to become Yap Ah Loy's chief
opponent in the early stages of the Selangor Civil War. Working as a cook had its
advantages, besides free food and a wage, he received a commission on all the
food he bought on behalf of his employer. In addition, it was the custom for the
mine workers to give a few cents extra to the cook when they received their
wages. After 3 years, he managed to save some money and with financial help
from Yap Fook, he started a small business. He bought pigs to sell in the tin
mines in exchange for tin, which he in turn sold to tin merchants.
Yap Ah Loys trading prospered and he extended his business to nearby Sungei
Ujong and eventually to Rasah (part of present day Seremban in Negri
Sembilan). Whenever he went to Rasah, he lived with Liu Ngim Kong, a Fei
Chew Hakka and one of the two panglimas to Shin Kap, the Kapitan Cina of
Sungei Ujong. It was also this time that he met Yap Ah Shak, who was to
become an important ally and his succeeding Kapitan Cina. With the
recommendation of Yap Ah Shak, Yap Ah Loy became an assistant panglima
under Liu Ngim Kong, and thus joined Shin Kaps clique.

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10
In early 1860, a conflict between 2 Malay chieftains on local mining rights erupted
into open warfare. The Chinese became divided into 2 cliques, each allied with a
Malay chieftain. Shin Kap was a leader of one of the cliques.
Shin Kaps clique was poorly armed, and was soundly routed in the ensuing
warfare. Many of his supporters were killed, the fortunate ones escaped to Lukut
where they found refuge with Raja Jumaat. Liu Ngim Kong was wounded in the
leg by cannon shot, and took refuge in Yap Fook's Kongsi house for several
weeks to nurse his wounds.
Kapitan Shin Kap and a few of his men got lost in the jungle and run out of food.
He decided to return to Sungei Ujong to seek help from Malays who had been
friendly to him, but unfortunately he was captured by the enemy chieftain and
was beheaded. It was reputed that when he was beheaded, the blood that
gushed out was white in colour. Upon seeing this miracle, his Malay enemies
begged for forgiveness. Kapitan Shin Kap's headless body was later found by his
clansmen and brought back to Malacca for burial.
When it was clear that his Kapitan would be defeated, Yap Ah Loy escaped into
the jungle and found refuge with a family of charcoal burners. A gang of Malays
found him and attacked the hut at night with their guns, Yap Ah Loy was
wounded in the thigh but managed to escape into the forest. He was found the
next day by his friends, badly injured and weak from loss of blood. When it was
safe, they escaped to Lukut guided by gong beaters sent out by Raja Jumaat to
help the fugitives.
During this war, as many as four thousand Chinese were killed within six months.
After the battles had ended, the Malay chieftains and the Chinese made peace.
An election for the next Kapitan Cina of Sungai Ujong was made, and Yap Ah
Shak was unanimously elected. However, Yap Ah Shak wanted to concentrate
on his businesses and soon made Yap Ah Loy his successor.

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11
Hence, in the short span of 7 years, Yap Ah Loy rose from an unknown
immigrant to become a Kapitan Cina and the headman of a settlement of several
hundred Chinese inhabitants.
Hiu Siew and Yap Ah Sze set up shop in Kuala Lumpur
Before Kuala Lumpur was successfully prospected for tin, the Selangor chiefs
had been prospecting for tin in other parts of Selangor. They had seen Raja
Jumaat's success at Lukut, and thus were keen to prospect in their own
territories and have a share of the profits. Sultan Muhammad's attempts in the
late 1840s to prospect the Klang River met little success. The ventures of Raja
Abdul Samad (nephew and son-in-law of Sultan Muhammad) in the Kanching
Hills were more successful. He was given the Selangor River to administer upon
his marriage to the Sultan's youngest daughter. He had decided on the location
after knowing that Chinese were also prospecting the area. Within a short time,
many mines were opened and Kanching became a mining centre.
At this time, the Klang
River
was
under
the
of
Raja
administration
Abdullah, brother of the

successful Raja Jumaat
of Lukut, and husband of
the
Sultan's
daughter.
second
The
Klang
River was originally under

Raja
Sulaiman's
(the
Hiu Siew and Yap Ah Sze's shop was on the right bank of
the Klang River (R).
Sultan's eldest son and

father of Raja Mahdi) administration. The gift was for life, but when Raja
Sulaiman did nothing to develop his territory, the Sultan revoked the gift and
gave the Klang River to Raja Abdullah, since the Sultan was entitled to a share of
the profits of the mines.
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12
Raja Abdullah was keen to prospect his Klang River, and in 1857 he partnered
with Raja Jumaat and managed to borrow $30,000 from two Malaccan Chinese
merchants, Chee Yam Chuan and Lim Say Hoe.
With this money, the two Rajas transferred 87 Chinese miners from the Lukut
mines to prospect on a piece of land 40 miles from River Gombak, a tributary of
Klang River, where tin was known to exist. The headman of the miners decided
on a place called Ampang. The jungle was cleared and the ground searched for
tin, but conditions were tough, and soon fever struck the miners and left 18 of
them surviving. The Rajas were determined to carry on, and sent a further 150
Chinese men to Ampang. After 2 years, their determination paid off and the first
tin was exported.
The success at Ampang attracted traders to the area, they sold provisions to the
miners in exchange for tin. The first 2 traders to arrive were Hiu Siew and Yap Ah
Sze They were mine owners at Lukut and had decided to supply provisions to
these new mines. They set up a shop near the confluence of the Klang and
Gombak Rivers, on the right bank of the Klang River, where they could go no
further inland to Ampang via the river. This spot is where Kuala Lumpur
originated from, it is now known as Medan Pasar (formally known as Market
Square).
Within a short time, Kuala Lumpur became a thriving settlement and a headman
was needed to administer her. Hiu Siew was duly elected as her first Kapitan
Cina.
Yap Ah Loy inherits the Kapitanship (1862-1868)
In 1861, Liu Ngim Kong (the former panglima of Kapitan Shin Kap of Sungei
Ujong) arrived in Kuala Lumpur and became Hiu Siew's head panglima. He was
not known to be a popular person, his nickname "Pah Loh Tsi" implied rapacity
and ingratitude.

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13
Liu Ngim Kong had arrived less than a year when Hiu Siew died. Liu Ngim Kong
took over both the Kapitancy and Hiu Siew's private property, even though Hiu
Siew had a son to inherit the family's properties.
After Liu Ngim Kong became the Kapitan, he invited Yap Ah Loy who was now
the Kapitan Cina of Sungei Ujong, to be his panglima and manager of his
business. Yap Ah Loy realized Kuala Lumpur's potential was greater than that of
Sungei Ujong's, thus he resigned from his Kapitancy in Sungei Ujong to take up
Liu Ngim Kong's offer. He brought along three men, Teng Sam, Tung Khoon and
Wong Poh. The first two men were to remain in Yap Ah Loy's service until their
death during the Selangor Civil War.
In Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy soon became a wealthy man. Besides his salary
as a panglima, he had opened 2 mines and a Chinese medicine shop. In the
same year the medicine shop was opened, he married Kok Kang Keown, a Baba
girl from Malacca, under Liu Ngim Kong's arrangement. In 1864, Yap Ah Loy led
the locals in building the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple in Kuala Lumpur, in memory of
Kapitan Shin Kap.
In the meantime, Kapitan Liu Ngim Kong had become a sickly man, and he knew
his death was near. He tried to persuade Yap Ah Sze to take over the Kapitancy
as Yap Ah Sze was known for his honesty. However, Yap Ah Sze was a shy
man, and was more interested in taking care of his business. Hence, they
decided that Yap Ah Loy should take over the Kapitancy. At this time, Yap Ah
Loy was managing Liu Ngim Kong's businesses in Klang. After the decision was
made, Liu Ngim Kong sought the support of the local Malays, including Sutan
Puasa, the leading Sumatran trader of Kuala Lumpur and the local landowners,
from whom the Chinese rented the land to mine. After their support were
obtained, Liu Ngim Kong visited the Sultan to seek his approval, which the Sultan
duly agreed.
In August 1868, when Liu Ngim Kong's death was near, he called Yap Ah Loy to
his bedside and told him of the arrangements to make Yap Ah Loy the next
yapahloyv1.04
14
Kapitan Cina. He knew Yap Ah Loy to be a faithful man and told Yap Ah Loy to
take care of his son, to manage his estate on his behalf and gave Yap Ah Loy his
keys. He also told Yap Ah Loy to move his remains to Malacca for burial. Liu
Ngim Kong died the next month.
Yap Ah Loy signs an official document in Qing Dynasty costume.
As soon as Kapitan Liu died, his clansmen, those with the surnames of Liu, Kon
and Chong, all clamoured for the Kapitancy and the family property. Yap Ah Loy
promptly returned to Kuala Lumpur to carry out the late Kapitan's wishes. The
late Kapitan's clansmen became annoyed with the arrangements and made
trouble not only over the succession, but also seized some furniture and personal
belongings of the late Kapitan. After Sutan Puasa explained that the
arrangements had the blessings of the Sultan and the local chiefs, the dispute
was settled.
Thus, Yap Ah Loy became the third Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur.

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15
The Selangor Civil War (1866-1873)

After the death of Sultan Muhammad in 1857, Selangor slowly slided into chaos.
The Selangor Civil War began in Klang in 1867, and spreaded to the whole of
Selangor, including Kuala Lumpur. Initially, it was a struggle for control of the tax
revenues from the trade goods up and down the rivers of Selangor, then it
became a war over the direct control of the state's tin mines. By then, the fighting
was concentrated in the areas around Kuala Lumpur. The victor of Kuala Lumpur
would be ensured of dominance over the rest of the state.
The Death of Sultan Muhammad
In 1857, Sultan Muhammad died without appointing an heir to the throne, this
raised the tricky issue of finding an heir to the throne from amongst the members
of the royal family. By the Malay custom of the son of a royal wife taking
(Circa 1880) Sultan Abdul Samad (in the centre) and his retinue. The little boy to the left of
the Sultan is Raja Sulaiman. Syed Mashhor is third from right.
precedence over the sons of other wives, Raja Mahmud would be the legitimate
heir. However, he was only a young boy then and was unable to exert his right.
Sultan Muhammad's older and more competent sons, Raja Laut and Raja
Sulaiman were sons of concubines, the Sultan's sons-in-law, Raja Jumaat and
Raja Abdullah, were from the Riau branch of the family, hence they were all
yapahloyv1.04
16
ineligible. This left Raja Abdul Samad, the nephew and son-in-law of the late
Sultan, as the candidate with the strongest contention.
Raja Mahmud's mother, Tunku Puan Basik, pressed her son's claim, saying that
the Sultan wanted Raja Mahmud to take the throne, while Raja Abdullah and
Malay soldiers in battle
Raja Abdul Samad be appointed the Raja Muda and the Panglima Besar
respectively. This dispute lasted for 3 years.
Raja Jumaat and Raja Abdullah became convinced that they could become the
power behind the throne if they supported Raja Abdul Samad to take the throne.
In 1859, with the two Rajas' support, Raja Abdul Samad became the next Sultan
of Selangor, though unlike his predecessors, he was not installed formally by the
Sultan of Perak.
By now, Sultan Abdul Samad was an old man, and was contented with retiring to
Ulu Langat. He left his son Raja Musa, who was 15 year old, in charge of Kuala
Selangor. Meanwhile Raja Jumaat died in 1864, leaving two weak sons, Raja Bot
and Raja Yahya, to inherit Lukut and keep peace in Selangor.

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17
Raja Mahdi regained Klang

From then on, peace in Selangor deterriorated until 1866, when open fighting
broke out in Klang between Raja Abdullah and Raja Mahdi. Raja Mahdi had
returned to Klang as a trader in opium and other goods. He became unhappy
over the small monthly allowance given by Raja Abdullah to him. Since he was
the son of the former ruler of Klang and grandson of Sultan Muhammad, he
thought he should have at least half of the revenue of the district.
The final spark came when Raja Mahdi imported two chests of opium to sell to
the miners in Kuala Lumpur. Raja Abdullah levied a tax of a hundred dollars on it,
but Raja Mahdi claimed he had paid it to the Raja's tax collector. In addition, Raja
Abdullah had also infuriated Dato Dagang, Raja Abdullah refused to pay blood
money when a Bugis Malay killed a Sumatran Malay over a quarrel.
Raja Abdullah, like the Sultan and other chiefs was a Bugis Malay, he occupied
the coast and the lower reaches of the Klang River, beyond that, the river was
controlled by the Sumatran Malays under Dato Dagang. Dato Dagang controlled
the trading in the interior, but his goods were liable to taxes by the Bugis chiefs
who resided at the river mouth. Moreover, the two groups harboured an old feud,
the ancestors of the Sumatran Malays had fought the Bugis over the control of
the Selangor state during the long wars of the 18th century.
When Raja Abdullah did not settle the grievance, Dato Dagang appealed to Raja
Mahdi for assistance, they soon combined forces to attack Klang. The fighting
lasted for 5 months, and ended with Raja Mahdi taking control of Klang, while
Raja Abdullah and his family were allowed to leave Klang for Malacca.
Raja Mahdi is ousted from Klang

After winning Klang, Raja Mahdi discontinued the $500 per month tribute to
Sultan Abdul Samad, much to the Sultan's displeasure. He had also rescinded
his promise of giving Dato Dagang the control of the whole of the interior. In
addition, like Raja Abdullah, he refused to pay blood money when one of his
brothers killed one of Dato Dagang's followers. Sultan Abdul Samad's youngest
yapahloyv1.04
18
daughter, Raja Arfah, was supposed to be wedded to Raja Mahdi, but the
wedding was cancelled when Raja Mahdi's tributes stopped. Instead, Raja Arfah
was wedded to the younger brother of the Kedah Sultan, Tengku Kudin, who was
later appointed as the Viceroy of Selangor. Meanwhile, Raja Abdullah had died in
exile in Ketapang, leaving his son, Raja Ismail, the task of regaining Klang from
Raja Mahdi. Raja Ismail borrowed money from a Malaccan Chinese merchant
and began recruiting men in Malacca. By July 1869, Raja Ismail sailed for Klang
with his force, and reached Klang's river mouth at dusk. Under the cover of
darkness, they took one of Raja Mahdi's fort with little trouble.
The Batu Bahara Malays in the stockade at the opposite bank of Klang River
then surrendered to Raja Ismail, as they had grievances against Raja Mahdi.
Two months later, Tengku Kudin arrived from Kedah with 500 of his fellowcountrymen, and joined Raja Ismail in the seige of Klang.
The siege lasted until March 1870. Before Klang was overrun by Raja Ismail and
his allies, Raja Mahdi fled to Sungei Buloh, which belonged to Raja Ali of Jeram.
Having lost his revenue with the loss of Klang, Raja Mahdi obtained the support
of Raja Ali of Jeram and Raja Hitam of Bernam, and attacked the fort at Kuala
Selangor. Raja Muda Musa was defeated, and was allowed to leave Kuala
Selangor.
The Death of Yap Ah Sze
The contention between the Chinese (primarily the Hakkas) started with the
death of Kapitan Liu Ngim Kong, then Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur. When
Kapitan Liu was dying of sickness he had wanted Yap Ah Sze to take over his
position but the latter declined the offer. Kapitan Liu wanted Yap Ah Sze for the
position was because he was reputed for honesty and straight dealings, and
commanded great influence with the miners. However, Yap Ah Sze declined the
offer. After due consideration, they decided that Yap Ah Loy (a Fei Chew Hakka)
should be the new Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, this decision
was not well accepted by Kapitan Lius relatives (which included clansmen of the
yapahloyv1.04
19
surnames Liu, Kon and Chong). Soon quarrel broke out between the two factions
and the bitterness lasted for some time until Sutan Puasa came forward to
explain that it was the Sultans intention to see Yap Ah Loy become the next
Kapitan. This explanation had silenced the quarrel but not the enmity between
the two sides. This showed that right from the start, Yap Ah Loys Kapitanship
was challenged.
Knowing the fact that Yap Ah Sze played a role in the decision of Kapitanship,
his popularity among the Lius relatives as well as the Hakkas (of Kah Yeng
Chews) in Kanching had declined considerably. Furthermore, Yap Ah Sze was
appointed the nominal headman in Kanching. In February, 1869 (during
Chinese New Year), about five months after Yap Ah Loy became Kapitan China,
Chong Chong arrived in Kuala Lumpur. Chong Chong was a mining headman
who had given employment to Yap Ah Loy at Lukut nearly fifteen years earlier.
Chong Chong like Yap Ah Loy was a Fei Chew Hakka and he came with the
intention of challenging the Kapitanship of Yap Ah Loy. Kapitan Yap had
suspected his intention of coming to Kuala Lumpur but gave him a warm
reception anyway. When Chong Chong was staying in the town, news reached
Kapitan Yap that Chong Chong and his men wanted to create disturbance and
assassinate him that night. Thus, Kapitan Yap took full precaution by placing
thirty special guards around the town. Nothing happened that night. But trouble
soon broke out when Chong Chong and his men caused some disturbance in
Sutan Puasas residence with the intention of wanting the Kapitan to arrest him
so that he could cause an uprising from his people. Ever tactful and clever was
the Kapitan, he did not do so, instead he compensated Sutan Puasa on Chong
Chong's behalf, and told Sutan Puasa that the compensation was from Chong
Chong. Seeing this, Chong Chong left Kuala Lumpur for Kanching. From this
point onwards it becomes very clear that Chong Chong was not only the leader
of the late Kapitans dissatisfied relatives but also the Kah Yeng Chew Hakkas at
Kanching.

yapahloyv1.04
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The Kah Yeng Chews frequently created trouble for Yap Ah Sze in Kanching.
The fact that Yap Ah Sze had a mild disposition and was only interested in trade
did not affect their attitude. They resented the fact that a Fei Chew (Yap Ah Sze)
was their commanding chief, instead of one from their own clan. Knowing this
hostility towards himslef, on the twelfth day of the Chinese New Year, Yap Ah
Sze left Kanching secretly on horseback, accompanied by a servant with the
hope of escaping. However, his departure was known. As soon as he reached
the hills outside Kanching, he was set upon by Chong Chongs men and
murdered. The horse he was riding subsequently arrived in the market place
opposite Kapitan Yaps house in Kuala Lumpur. Its empty saddle brought news
of its masters death. It was said that the horse neighed loudly three times and
wept for its master. With the murder of Yap Ah Sze, Chong Chong had removed
Kapitan Yaps most important friend and ally.
Kapitan Yap took the necessary steps he could to investigate the circumstances
of the murder. He assembled a large force including Sutan Puasa's men, and
advanced to Kanching to demand an explanation as well as to recover the body
of Yap Ah Sze. The Kah Yeng Chews denied involvement and simply said that
they knew nothing about the matter. As they had no proof, the Kapitan was
compelled to let them go. Kapitan Yap then sent a messenger to Chong Chong
requesting for a meeting. But Chong Chong refused to come and merely replied
that he knew nothing about Yap Ah Sze's death. Kapitan Yap had no choice but
to moved to Chong Chongs camp. As soon as the Kapitans men were near the
camp, Chong Chong and his men fired their guns and fled into the jungle.
Kapitan Yaps men went in pursuit but failed to capture Chong Chong.
The
Kapitan and Sutan Puasa then went back to Kanching to demand debts owed to
Yap Ah Szes widow but the Kah Yeng Chews refused to hand in the dues. This
frustration resulted in fighting between the two sides that ended up in the death
of more than 100 Kah Yeng Chews. This incident was known as the Massacre of
Kanching and is considered a dark chapter in Kapitan Yap Ah Loys history. Ever
since then, the enmity between Kapitan Yap Ah Loy and Chong Chong widened
and soon ended up in open conflict.
yapahloyv1.04
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The Defection of Syed Mashhor

Syed Mashhor was a famous Malay fighter of that time.
The name Syed denotes part-Arab blood and a
descendant of the Prophet Mohammad. Syed Mashhor
was born in Pontianak in Borneo, but at the time he and
his brother, Abdullah, had settled in Langat He was
initially under Tengku Kudin's command, and was ordered
to go to Kuala Selangor to aid Raja Muda Musa in the
defence of Kuala Selangor. When he was there, he
received news that his brother was killed by Raja Yaakob,
a son of the Sultan and full brother of Raja Arfah.
Although Tengku Kudin was not likely to be involved in the
killing, Syed Mashhor nevertheless blamed him and
abandoned the defence of Kuala Selangor. From then
onwards, he was to remain a bitter and powerful enemy of
Tengku Kudin's forces, and will feature prominently in the
Syed Mashhor
subsequent episodes of the Selangor Civil War.

The First Attack on Kuala Lumpur (September-October 1870):
The Battle of Ampang
Chong Chong who had personal grievances against Yap Ah Loy had entered into
an alliance with Syed Mashhor. They had started collecting men, provisions, and
materials for the purpose of attacking Kuala Lumpur. News of this alliance
reached Yap Ah Loy in June. He immediately got in touch with the Viceroy,
Tunku Kudin, who was at Klang and at the same time increased the recruitment
of his forces. His brother Yap Tet Fong, was sent to Singapore to engage men
and buy arms, ammunition and provisions. Chung Piang and Hiu Fatt (two of his
most able panglimas) were appointed local recruiting agents. By the end of
September that year, they had recruited well over 1,000 men.
By 12 September 1870, Chong Chong and his army had arrived at Sa Phiang
(Ampang Road 4th Mile) and had encamped there. It is believed that the exact
yapahloyv1.04
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camp should have been near the present village of Batu Ampat. There they built
a well-fortified position, defended by bamboo stockades. Meanwhile, Mashhors
men remained at Ulu Klang. The disposition of the camps, and the subsequent
course of the fighting suggests that Chong Chong and his allies had intended to
attack from the north side of Kuala Lumpur. Chong Chong and Mashhor began
with a force of about 400 troops. While they encamped in Ampang, it is said that
the number of troops had further swelled to a few thousand, largely due to the
joining in of local militia. Through this account it is believed that Chong Chongs
army was well over 2,500 men. Kapitan Yap is said to have fewer, about 2,000
men (in addition to the Malays who joined him later under the leadership of Raja
Asal and Sutan Puasa).
Kapitan Yap directed the fighting from Kuala Lumpur and did not take to the field
himself. As soon as he learnt that Chong Chong was digging himself in near
Ampang, he sent a force of 600 men under Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon to Ulu
Klang with the intention of cutting Chong Chong's line of retreat and threatening
the right flank of his position. Immediately after arriving at Ulu Klang, Hiu Fatts
men established contact with Mashhors contingent. The next day, they started to
attack Mashhors army. Fighting began at about 10 or 11 in the morning and
lasted until late in the afternoon. By then, Mashhors men were routed and
suffered heavy losses. Mashhor himself made his way to Chong Chongs camp
near Batu Ampat and suggested an immediate counter-attack, before Kapitan
Yaps men could consolidate their postion. Chong Chong agreed with the
proposal, and on the same night, he led a force of about 2,000 men (from the
combined force) towards Ulu Klang.
In the meantime, Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon had returned to their improvised
camp at Ulu Klang. During the night, much to the surprised of Hiu Fatt and his
men, they were woken up by sounds of firearms and shouting, and discovered
that Mashhors force were in front of their position. Without hesitation, Hiu Fatt
immediately gave orders for a direct attack to be made on the enemy. While the
fighting was in progress, Chong Chongs army emerged from the rear of Hiu
yapahloyv1.04
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Fatt's position (presumably along the north flank of Bukit Dinding and down the
valley of the Sungei Gisir), thus Hiu Fatt and his men were trapped between two
larger units of enemy forces.
Fortunately, Kapitan Yap had decided that evening to reinforce his troops at Ulu
Klang, and had sent Chung Piang with 400 men to Hiu Fatt's camp. They arrived
in the middle of the battle, and presumably at the rear of Chong Chongs
encircling force. After a long struggle, Chong Chong was forced to retreat to his
stockade at Ampang. The Kapitan's force lost 40 men with another 100 wounded,
but Chong Chong's force suffered heavier losses.
At this stage Kapitan Yap realized that the men at his disposal were not sufficient
to dislodge Chong Chong and Mashhor from their positions in Ampang. He
decided to ask Raja Asal, who was at Damansara, for help. Raja Asal responded
immediately and joined the three Chinese leaders at Ulu Klang. After
consultation, it was agreed that they would move their combined forces down the
valley to take up positions opposite Chong Chongs stockade. On learning this,
Chong Chong proposed to Syed Mashhor that they should harass the Kapitans
fighters before they could settle down in their new positions. Daily skirmishes
therefore took place and continued for about a month with varying success but
without definite results.
The Kapitan further dispatched another 600 men to Chung Piang to reinforce the
troops there. This force consisted of 400 Malay fighters under Sutan Puasa and
200 Chinese fighters under Ten Sam. On their arrival in Ampang, they adopted
the following plan:
Raja Asal and Sutan Puasa together with their men will watch the outlet to
Ulu Klang and to strike at the enemy's rear when opportunity arises.
Ten Sam with 300 of Kapitan's men will defend Sungei Puteh.
Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon with 500 men will open up the attack on Chong
Chong's position.

yapahloyv1.04
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Chung Piang with the remaining men will follow up Hiu Fatt at the proper
time.
The forces had encircled Chong Chong's position, but they left two outlets
uncovered. Kapitan Yap could have devised the strategy of Dont force a dog
over the wall knowing that the main purpose of this attack was to dislodge
Chong Chongs camp in Ampang as well as not to let him retreat to any strategic
position that can in future threaten Kuala Lumpur. Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon were
attacking from the west, along the line of the present road from Kuala Lumpur to
Ampang. Raja Asal and Sutan Puasa to the north-east prevented a retreat to Ulu
Klang, while the small force under Ten Sam covered the way over to Ulu Langat.
The battle began at about 10 in the morning; an early start never seemed to have
been popular. By the late afternoon Chong Chongs forces were routed with the
loss of more than 500 men. This was due to the fact that he could not defend
both directions. Many of his men became wounded from the fight. By nightfall
Chong Chong and Syed Mashhor realized that they had been beaten, thus they
fled in the direction of Batu Caves by way of Gonggang (Setapak). The defeat
was described by Hiu Fatt (writen by Lee Ke Nan) as:
The dead bodies of men and horses lay in piles in the waste, and blood was
flowing like streams. Both had the intense hatred for the defeat ..
From Batu Caves, Mashhor made his escape to Ulu Selangor, and Chong Chong
to Kuala Langat. Having won the Battle of Ampang, Chung Piang gave orders to
break up the camp and returned to Kuala Lumpur. On his arrival, he was
welcomed by Voon Siew and was brought to the hall of the Kapitans residence.
Voon Siew was asked by the Kapitan to reward the surviving fighters suitably,
and make arrangements for the wounded.
The Second Attempt to capture Kuala Lumpur (May-June 1871):
The Battle of Rawang
After being defeated in the battle at Ampang, Syed Mashhor took refuge in Ulu
Selangor and began at once to devise a new plan to take revenge. Within a short
yapahloyv1.04
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period of time he succeeded in gathering a new force of about 1,000 armed men.
Many of the latter troops came from Langat, but at Mashhorss suggestion the
forces were assembled in Ulu Selangor. At the same time, Yap Ah Loy had
instituted additional protective measures more thorough than those in operation
in September of the previous year. The different approaches to Kuala Lumpur
were guarded, and advance positions were maintained some distance from the
town.
Kapitan Yaps troops were reorganized into five companies, each with a
headman or captain, and all under the direct command of Chung Piang. As we
have seen, Capitan Yap fought the Battle of Ampang from Kuala Lumpur. It was
established that although he continued to direct the general strategy, Chung
Piang was in charge of the troops in the field and was responsible for any
immediate measures needed to be taken.
The northern gateway to Kuala Lumpur was defended by a camp of about 500
men under Yap Voon Lung and the camp was situated near Rawang. Mashhor
and Chong Chong advanced towards Kuala Lumpur independently. When
Mashhor was within a mile from the Rawang camp, he established contact with a
small unit of Yap Voon Lungs men, and thereupon halted for the night. On
learning that an army much larger than his own was marching towards him, Yap
Voon Lung immediately sent word to Kuala Lumpur asking for reinforcements.
The next day Mashhor launched a fierce attack against his position. Yap Voon
Lung managed to hold on to his position for some time. In the midst of fighting,
Chong Chongs forces appeared on the battleground. With the additional
numbers against him, Yap Voon Lung was forced to retreat to a second position
further to his rear. In this second stockade, he was able to hold off the enemy
until nightfall. By this time, he had lost over 40 men with another 40 seriously
wounded.
Immediately after Yap Voon Lungs message was received in Kuala Lumpur,
arrangements were made to go to his aid. Hiu Fatt set out for Rawang with 500
men at dawn, but due to the bad road conditions, he only managed to reached
yapahloyv1.04
26
Rawang at about 7 p.m. (even though the distance was only 20 miles from Kuala
Lumpur). Without delay, the leaders held a council of war, and agreed on the
following plan of action:
Yap Voon Lung was to draw the enemy out by a ruse and lead them
towards Hiu Fatt's camp.
Chong Fung with 200 men was to ambush about half way between the
two camps.
Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon were to tackle Chong Chong.
The plan of action was put into operation the following morning. Yap Voon Lung
advanced to attack Mashhors forces, and after a short struggle, he feigned
defeat and retreated rapidly. The Malays thought Yap Voon Lungs army was in
trouble and gave chase. Suddenly Chong Fungs men emerged from their hiding
place and caught them in the rear. At the same time Yap Voon Lungs force
turned back and began to attack, thus trapping Mashhors men between two
fires. In the meantime, Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon were keeping Chong Chong
pinned down in his camp. Mashhor managed to reach his base safely, but he had
suffered severe losses.
Mashhor was so depressed at his second defeat at the hands of the Chinese that
he tried to commit suicide. But Chong Chong prevented him from doing so. After
a short while he recovered and went to Ulu Selangor to obtain further help from
his brother Che Dollah. Chong Chong was charged with the command of the
remaining forces in Rawang with instructions on no account to court
engagement with the enemy until his return. In spite of numerous attempts by
Yap Voon Lung to lure Chong Chong out for a fight, Chong Chong refused to be
drawn out.
News of the victory was sent to Kuala Lumpur. Kapitan Yap replied with presents
of food and drink for his troops. He also sent Chung Piang with reinforcements,
with the intention of destroying Chong Chongs army before Mashhor could gain
yapahloyv1.04
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any ground and come back to help. As soon as Chung Piang had taken over
command of the troops at Rawang, he issued the following orders,
Yap Voon Lung with 200 men and sufficient provisions will proceed to
Serendah in order to cut off the retreat of Chong Chong
Tung Khoon and Chong Fung with 200 men will attack on the right flank.
Hiu Fatt and Yong Kui with 200 men will attack on the left.
While Chung Piang himself with the remaining troops (about 300 men) will
do a frontal assault.
When Chong Chong learnt of their intention to take his camp by direct assault, he
redoubled efforts to strengthen his defenses, in the hopes of holding out until
Mashhor's return. Chung Piang launched his attack as soon as his arrangements
were completed.
After many days of fighting, no impression, however, was made on the defense.
Meanwhile, through a scout, Chung Piang learned that the enemys weakest
point was his left wing, which was feebly defended by raw Malay recruits. He
therefore modified his plan of attack and one day (after) fighting had continued till
10 oclock in the morning, he suddenly concentrated his thrust in that quarter with
an additional 200 gunmen. After a short contest it gave way and, within a short
time, the whole of Chong Chongs camp was over-run by Chung Piangs braves
with frightful loss to the enemy. The casualties on Chung Piangs side were
mustered at 70 killed and over 100 wounded.
In the chaos, Chong Chong and about 90 of his men managed to escape to
Serendah. There his party was intercepted by Yap Voon Lungs men and in a
short period of time his troops were completely routed. However, Yap Voon Lung
failed to capture Chong Chong. Some of Chong Chongs men reached Ulu
Selangor and reported the disaster to Mashhor. From this point onwards, Chong
Chong disappeared without any trace. It is thought that he was killed in Serendah
but Yap Voon Lungs men did not manage to identify his body.
yapahloyv1.04
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Syed Mashhor was said to have returned to Ulu Selangor to raise his third army.
He certainly came back and began another, and this time ultimately successful,
attack on Kuala Lumpur.
In August 1871, the Viceroy of Selangor Tunku Kudin had stationed two officers,
Van Hagen (a Dutchman) and Cavalieri (an Italian) with 80 sepoys and some
non-commissioned officers, at Kuala Lumpur. As he could not get much support
from the local Malays, mercenaries instead were recruited. His intention was to
strengthen his position in the field but it displeased
Kapitan Yap. Kapitan Yap did not like the idea of his
men put under the command of Van Hagen but he could
not afford to disagree with the Viceroy at this time,
knowing that he still needed the Viceroy's support.
At the same time, the Viceroy and Kapitan Yap decided
to destroy Mashhor before his forces could be rebuilt.
Their intention was good but it was executed badly. Thus
Tengku Kudin
far, one of the reasons for Kapitan Yaps success against his foe had been that
he was on the defensive and his enemies were encamped in temporary
stockades. In this expedition, Kapitan Yap and the Viceroy sent troops well into
Ulu Selangor, a stronghold of Syed Mashhor. In addition they did not send
enough men and supplies. Hence, their first attempt to eradicate Mashhor from
his base at Kuala Kubu in Ulu Selangor failed and as a result they were unable to
deploy a rapid counter-attack in overwhelming strength after their victory at
Rawang. This mistake was possibly due to Tunku Kudin changing his mind in
midstream. He seemed to have been prone to sudden changes of military plans.
For example, at the siege of Klang he had attacked precipitately on the day after
his arrival from Kedah. Then after some time of fighting, he abandoned the idea
of an assault and sat down to starve Mahdis garrison into surrendering.

yapahloyv1.04
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The Betrayal of Raja Asal and the Fall of Kuala Lumpur (April
August 1872)
The failure to capture Kuala Kubu in August 1871 had weakened Kapitan Yaps
forces under Chung Piang's command considerably. By the beginning of May,
Chung Piang was in retreat, meanwhile Mashhor and his allies had surrounded
Kuala Lumpur. When Chung Piang was badly in need of supplies such as rice,
ammunition, liquor and other foodstuff; attempts were made to get provisions
from Kuala Lumpur and Klang. The Viceroy attempted to send materials up to
him. He had sent Raja Asal and Sutan Puasa together with the provisions to
Chung Piang in the Ulu Yam camp. However, Syed Mashhor came to know
about the plan and thus proceeded to intercept them and to try to win them over.
Syed Mashhor succeeded in persuading Raja Asal to join him by promising
liberal rewards. As soon as the deal was done, Raja Asal diverted the supplies to
Klang where he was joined by Raja Laut, an ally of Syed Mashhor. Meanwhile,
Sutan Puasa who was transporting the supplies overland, was also intercepted
and agreed to join forces with Syed Mashhor, he was to join him in the
subsequent attack on Kuala Lumpur.
When Raja Asal reached Klang, they immediately marched to Petaling Batu
(about 3 miles from Kuala Lumpur on the Sungai Besi Road) and encamped
there. Only when Raja Asal appeared at Petaling Batu was his treachery
revealed to Kapitan Yap and his allies. Raja Asal and his allies had more than
2,000 troops while Kapitan Yap had only about 200 men (inclusive of 80 sepoys
and 15-20 European and Eurasian non-commissioned officers) in Kuala Lumpur.
All of Kapitan Yaps troops in Kuala Lumpur were under the command of Van
Hagen. Van Hagen was over-confident and quickly advanced to Petaling Batu
with the object of defeating the enemy forces. The next morning, Van Hagen
started to attack Raja Asals position and the fighting lasted for three days. (The
battle was fought just beyond the Chinese cemetery about a mile south of Pudu).
Van Hagen failed to dislodge the enemy from their base and suffered heavy
casualties. Under this circumstance, he was compelled to retreat to Kuala
Lumpur.
yapahloyv1.04
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The situation was now critical. Kapitan Yap had no choice but to ask Chung
Piang and Mat Akil (Viceroys man) to withdraw from Ulu Yam and return to
Kuala Lumpur to defend it. Throughout the retreat, Chung Piang's forces were
constantly harassed by Mashhors men. Soon, Mashhor arrived near Kuala
Lumpur and joined Raja Asal. At this point Sutan Puasa went over to Mashhors
side. There could have been several reasons why Sutan Puasa should have
done so, for exmaple like Kapitan Yap, he was a mine-owner and trader, and
there must inevitably have been a clash of commercial interests between them.
Besides that, a distorted account of the Viceroy being held captive by the British
government in Singapore also convinced him to joined Mashhors forces.
As soon as Sutan Puasa joined him, Mashhor lead the combined forces to attack
Kapitan Yaps positions. Kapitan Yap now had taken the field in person. He had
arranged his men in a crescent formation with one wing directly under his
command and the other under Van Hagen. Mashhor attacked fiercely from 10
oclock in the morning till about 3 in the afternoon, but the defenders managed to
hold their ground. The next day Mashhor threw all his men against Van Hagens
contingent, but again failed to make any headway. After this, the fighting
gradually settled into a deadlock which lasted for more than two months.
Throughout this period Kapitan Yap remained in contact with Klang, presumably
by the hill path of Bukit Arang and Penchala to Damansara, thus supplies
reached him regularly. Sensing the great danger they were in, Kapitan Yap
started evacuating his family and other children and women down to Klang
escorted by Yap Voon Lung and Tung Khoon. As soon as the children and
women were safe in Klang, the two panglimas returned to Kuala Lumpur to help
Yap Ah Loy defend the town.
By the beginning of July 1872, Raja Asal and Mashhor had devised a plan to end
it all. They suggested that Mashhor kept the defenders busy while Raja Asal
crossed the Klang river to Seputeh to cut Kapitan Yaps lifeline. The plan was
approved and was carried out successfully. At this juncture, Raja Mahdi, Raja

yapahloyv1.04
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Mahmud and several other Selangor chiefs (who had gone on hiding) appeared
and joined the besieging army.
By August 1872, Kapitan Yap and Van Hagen were seriously short of supplies.
Nothing was reaching them from Klang and they had only a handful of troops to
hold Kuala Lumpur from the much larger forces of Mashhor. Van Hagen decided
that they should abandon the town and try to cut their way through to the coast.
In retrospect, had they held on for another week or two, they would have been
safe when reinforcements arrived. In December 1871, the Viceroy had gotten a
favour from the Sultan of Pahang in which the Sultan will provide troops to assist
the Viceroy in quelling the rebels. By July, an army of 1,000 men from Pahang
was mobilizing in Bentong. And in early August 1872, the Pahang troops under
Raja Rasu and the Orang Kaya of Chenor had started attacking Raja Asals forts
in Ulu Klang. Raja Rasus forces were stopped by Raja Asals men but the chief
of Chenor made it to Kepong. An attempt was made to establish contact with the
forces besieged in Kuala Lumpur urging them to retreat to Kepong if they could
not hold the town. Unfortunately, Van Hagen never received the message from
the Pahang men at Kepong or he may have mistrusted it.
Instead of trying to withdraw in that direction he attempted to cut through to the
coast by way of Petaling and Damansara. He started his plan at night with only
his party of sepoys and the non-commissioned officers, leaving Kapitan Yap and
his men to defend Kuala Lumpur. Probably due to ignorance, Van Hagen and his
troops marched to the valley of Sungei Kuyoh (to the west of the present village
of Sungei Besi). The enemys men from Petaling had moved down the river
earlier and were waiting for him in front while others were in hot pursuit. Finding
himself trapped, Van Hagen tried to fight his way through to the main river. In the
sharp engagement many of his troops were kill. About 40 men managed to
escape through the jungle and made their way to Klang in small groups. Van
Hagen, Cavalieri and the remainder surrendered and the following day were
taken back to Kuala Lumpur where they were executed. Swettenham related how

yapahloyv1.04
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in digging foundation trenches many year later, a number of skeletons were

found of those who had died in the fighting:
Two skeletons were thus discovered. The bones were larger, the figures taller
than those usually met with. They were the skeletons of two men face to face
and locked in each others arms
Meanwhile, when Kapitan Yap saw that the majority of Mashhors men had gone
in pursuit of Van Hagen and the sepoys, he told his own troops to prepare to
evacuate at nightfall. As soon as darkness set in, they took to the jungle in the
hope of reaching Damansara and thence going down the river by boat to Klang.
When Mashhor and Raja Laut returned from the chase, they found the Kuala
Lumpur undefended. They immediately chased after Kapitan Yap and his troops.
Kapitan Yaps retreating troops suffered heavy casualties and by the time they
emerged near Damansara, more than 1,700 of them were killed. Tung Khoon
and Teng Sam were among the victims.
On looking into this tragic event, the Capitan looked to Heaven and sighed. He
had never before suffered so severe a reverse. Moreover many of his close
associates were either killed or wounded. His followers had to exhort him to keep
calm. Later he left by sampan with his men for Klang where he rested. The
Viceroy Tumku Kudin was much distressed at the disaster, and when he saw the
Capitan wearing only a piece of underwear of Siamese make, he tried to calm
him, and said he would send him to Kedah with a headmans position if he
thought no more of taking revenge on the enemy in Kuala Lumpur. (A Short
History of Yap Ah Loy as told by Hiu Fatt).
True to his nature of being a resolute and contentious man, he thanked the
Viceroy and said that he will take back Kuala Lumpur in due time. He rested for
about a month in Klang and at the same time, made preparations for another
attack on Mashhor.

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The Recapture of Kuala Lumpur and the End of the Selangor Civil
War (1873)
Kuala Lumpur fell towards the end of August 1872 and shortly after that, Syed
Mashhor took the fort at Kuala Selangor by treachery. The sergeant in charged
together with 52 sepoys were slaughtered. By now, the Viceroy had lost every
major post except Kuala Klang and the fort at Klang itself. Mashhor and his allies
had controlled most part of the interior of Selangor. The Pahang forces in
Kepong had retreated to Bentong when they encountered difficulties in getting
supplies. Communication with the Pahang forces in Bentong was extremely
difficult if not impossible.
By the end of October 1872, Kapitan Yap had managed to assemble about 1,000
troops ready to move back into the interior. Out of these men, about 700 men
were made up of those saved from his last defeat and the remaining were new
recruits newly arrived from China. Among these newly arrived were more than
200 men who were expert in launching bamboo rockets. Kapitan Yap's adviser,
Voon Siew had another innovation; in order to boost the morale of the men, he
introduced very handsome rewards for the soldiers. The rewards were as follows:
The reward for cutting down the head of an enemy leader was $100.
The reward for cutting down the head of an ordinary enemy soldier was
$10.
The compensation allowance to the family for being killed in battle was
$300.
When these rules were laid down his soldiers became very courageous. It was
said that each day they went to the battlefield and fought without caring for
themselves. The Viceroy also had about the same number of Malays fighters
under Mat Akil, Haji Husain and To Lonkang. This expedition to recapture Kuala
Lumpur was headed by Kapitan Yap himself.
By November 1872, Kapitan Yaps forces had advanced to Petaling near Kuala
Lumpur and he had tried to established contact with the Pahang soldiers in
yapahloyv1.04
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Kepong. Soon he was informed that the Raja Rasu and the Orang Kaya of
Chenor had already withdrawn to Bentong. After he got this information, he gave
orders to advance towards Kuala Lumpur. On arrival, he found that the place
flooded due to incessant heavy downpour. Kapitan Yap ordered his men to camp
on selected high plain. There, he divided his men into eight battle groups, each
under the command of a headman, namely:
Hiu Fatt and Chung Piang
Yap Kwee
Yap Yeng Onn
Yap Fa Tho
Ng Ki
Yap Tong Li
Loh Ah Seng
Hiu Lok
The men under Mat Akil were split into three bodies and those under To
Lonkang and Haji Husain into 8 smaller groups. They were all assigned to defend
their own positions. Kapitan Yap waited patiently for the rainy season to pass,
and the battle did not start until February 1873. Throughout this time, regular
supplies were reaching him from Klang. It was surprising to note that Mashhor
made no attempt to disperse Kapitan Yaps forces, or to cut them off from Klang.
One of the possible reasons was that Pahang troops came over the passes from
Bentong and Raub very soon after they had taken up positions in Kuala Lumpur.
The Pahang soldiers under Raja Rasu attacked Raja Asals fort in Ulu Klang and
Ulu Selangor. By March that year, Raja Rasu and the Orang Kaya of Chenor had
reached the neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur and had established contact with
Kapitan Yap. A conference was held between the Kapitan and his allies after
which they decided that the Pahang troops were to defend the line between the
yapahloyv1.04
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first mile on the Ampang Road and Gombak Hill. The Kapitans men would
moved forward and camped along an arc, about a mile from the center of the
town, stretching from the west bank of Klang River south of Kuala Lumpur to the
Gombak River to the north. Kuala Lumpur was thus completely encircled except
the south-east, the direction of Pudu.
Seeing that his forces were encircled, Mashhor did not wait for the enemy to
attack and took the initiative. At that time, he had about 2,000 soldiers under his
command. The Kapitans troops formed a circle and started firing their canons
and guns at Mashhors men. A desperate and fierce battle ensued which lasted
for two days and two nights. Mashhors men were continuously defeated and a
great number were killed. Kapitan Yaps bamboo rockets also destroyed
Mashors camp. Mashhor had tried to retreat through the north but found that the
Pahang troops were on guard. By the middle of the third night, Mashhor was
unable to resist the attacks anymore when he discovered that his large force had
dwindled down to only about 700 men. In the same night, he and his men
managed to slip away by the Pudu Pass. Kapitan Yap soon discovered that the
enemy had abandoned Kuala Lumpur. Thus, Kuala Lumpur was liberated. He
gave chase the next morning all the way to Tanjong Malim by way of Pudu,
Kanching, Rawang and Kuala Kubu. On the way many of Mashhors men were
killed. Somehow, Mashhor and the treacherous Raja Asal managed to escape
through the thick jungle. Thus, the Kapitan returned to Kuala Lumpur and when
approaching the town, many inhabitants came out to greet and congratulate him
on his success.
The civil war continued for another six months. The introduction of the bamboo
rockets had sped up the liberation of Kuala Lumpur and hastened the end of the
war. The greater part of the work in the final stages of the Selangor war was
done by the Pahang troops. Stiff fighting occurred in Kanching, Ulu Yam and
Kubu Masjid. In Kanching alone, more than 300 of the enemy troops were killed.
The Kapitans bamboo rocketeers had accompanied the Pahang troops on the
assault on Mashhors positions in the north. The civil war finally came to an end
yapahloyv1.04
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on the 8th of November 1873 with the fall of Kuala Selangor. Unfortunately, Syed
Mashhor had fled to the court of Raja Muda Abdulllah of the Perak state. He
could never pose any more threats to Kuala Lumpur. From then onwards, the
people lived in peace and the miners in the tin fields resumed their work. Kapitan
Yap also resumed his work as the administrator of Kuala Lumpur till his death on
the 15th of April 1885.
Rebuilding Kuala Lumpur
Yap Ah Loy's success in building Kuala Lumpur may have seemed to be easy
and inevitable. But in reality, it was a desperately harsh struggle of which
success was not guaranteed.
The once prosperous Kuala Lumpur was completely destroyed during the civil
war. When Davidson visited Kuala Lumpur in 1875. he wrote that "most of the
mines were completely flooded out during the last war and all their mine houses,
machinery and property were burnt, or otherwise destroyed. After the fighting
was over they had to reconstruct their mines with borrowed money which has not
been paid off. Their creditors are now pressing them and traders will scarcely
give them any credit."
The Chinese would have abandoned the devastated Kuala Lumpur had not been
for Yap Ah Loy's persuasion and perseverance in rebuilding Kuala Lumpur.
Swettenham remarked that Yap Ah Loy's "perseverance alone, I believe, has
kept the Chinese in the country."
In order to rebuild Kuala Lumpur and restart tin mining, Yap Ah Loy needed a
large labour. With the restoration of law and order, some Chinese had begun to
return. Yap Ah Loy also actively brought in labour from Klang, Sungei Ujong and
China. In early 1875, he brought in 2000 miners from Klang and 600 from Sungei
Ujong.
With a labourer costing between $80-$100 annually in wages and food, and the
need for a year's maintenance before any money can be recovered from the sale
yapahloyv1.04
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of tin, Yap Ah Loy faced severe financial difficulties. Until 1879, the price of tin
was mired at the range of $50-60 per bahara, under the impact of new low cost
production in Australia.
Financiers
Malaccan merchants
Guthrie & Co.
Selangor Government
Interest Rates charged per annum

18%
15%
10%
Yap Ah Loy faced the two main problems of raising the capital to finance mining
and reducing the costs of production by obtaining cheaper supplies and
improving communications. When the Malaccan merchants took the opportunity
to raise the prices of supplies, Yap Ah Loy, with Davidson's sponsorship, began
to import supplies direct from Singapore. Davidson arranged for a Selangor
Government guarantee that enabled Yap Ah Loy to purchase an initial supply
worth $10,000 from Guthrie & Co. Although Yap Ah Loy undertook to sell all his
tin through Guthrie's, and to repay Guthrie's loans with the sales proceeds, Yap
Ah Loy in effect repaid Guthrie's enough to maintain the loan at $10,000 and
sold the rest of the tin elsewhere.
At the same time, Yap Ah Loy encouraged the Malays to plant padi so that a
cheap local source of rice would be available to town's population.
From 1875 to 1878, Yap Ah Loy became increasing hard-pressed as tin prices
remained low. In 1878, the Resident, Douglas, reported that "the Captain China's
power does hang by a thread as he is on the verge of bankruptcy."
By the middle of 1879, Yap Ah Loy's fortunes reversed when by less a stroke of
good luck and more a boom in the demand for tin, tin prices doubled and rose
above the $100 per bahara level. By mid 1880, Yap Ah Loy had paid off all his
debts and was never to be in financial distress again.
Yap Ah Loy's success in rebuilding Kuala Lumpur was confirmed by its naming
as the state capital in March 1880.

yapahloyv1.04
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The Adminstration of Yap Ah Loy

As Kapitan Cina, Yap Ah Loy had the powers of a typical Malay chief, including
the power of life and death over his followers. He could make laws when deemed
necessary, but he did not have the right to collect tax.
He lived in good terms with the Malay communities and their leaders in and
around Kuala Lumpur, of which the Dato' Dagang was the most important of the
chiefs.
The Composition of Yap Ah Loy's Administration
Secretary and Business Affairs
Justice Administrator
Legal Adviser
Military & Defense
Foreign Affairs
Domestic Affairs
Custom, Taxation & Revenue
Transport & Logistics
English Translator
Malay Translator
Chew Yeok
Yap Ah Shak
Wong Tian Chan
Chung Piang & Hiu Fatt
Voon Siew
Kok Fan Kui
Wong Chi
Chee Kuan Tin
Moi Fa Chong
Che Ache
Yap Ah Loy probably administered through the leading Mine employers and clan
or secret society headmen; usually the same individuals were both the employers
and the headmen. Yap Ah Loy's right-hand man was Yap Ah Shak, who was now
the head of the Hai San society in Selangor and the largest mine owner after Yap
Ah Loy.
Yap Ah Loy acquired a reputation for thoroughness in the treatment of criminals
and other troublemakers. He built a prison large enough to accommodate 60
people, and drew up detailed rules for punishing all offenders. These offenses
were graded carefully, with maximum penalties for repeat offenders. For a first
offense, a thief was paraded through the streets with the stolen good tied to his
back and shoulders; for a second offense, an ear was cut off; and for a third he
was executed. The execution was not performed by hanging or beheading, the
offender was made to kneel with his hands tied behind his back, and a sword
yapahloyv1.04
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was plunged through his throat by the executioner. On the other hand, minor
offenders were more usually locked up before their trial. The punishments
seemed severe, but they had a good effect on discouraging crime.
Yap Ah Loy's strict policies proved to be successful. In the months following his
appointment, thieving became unknown. It was said that "no man dared stoop to
pick up even which he had dropped on the road." Pirates no longer raided the
boats moving down the river and the loads of tin reached the river mouth
safely.As a result, he effectively kept peace amongst 10,000 Chinese with only a
token force of six police.
Yap Ah Shak, successor to

Yap Ah Loy. Kapitan Cina from
1885-1889
Chew Yeok, Yap Ah Loy's chief

assistant and in-law.
Both Yap Ah Loy and Yap Ah Shak sat as magistrates to in minor cases. It was
said that they acted as magistrates and mediated disputes amongst the people at
a corner of Yap Ah Loy's Chinese medicine shop, Chop Tuck Sang. Until 1878,
serious cases were tried in Klang, but between 1878 and 1880, the Resident and
a magistrate came to Kuala Lumpur monthly to hold the High Court and the
Magistrates' Court.
Swettenham commented on Yap Ah Loy as follows:
"As the confidence of his countrymen in Capitan Ah Loy is great, if not implicit, so
is his stake in the country superior to that of all others, and from this fact I
conclude that the government may rely upon him to use his influence for law and
yapahloyv1.04
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order, and that his past loyalty and successful administration of the District
entrusted to him would seem to entitle him to consideration and a careful hearing
of his views on matters affecting the well-being of the Chinese population in
general and in Kuala Lumpur in particular."
Yap Ah Loy's biggest contribution to Kuala Lumpur was probably his success in
establishing Kuala Lumpur as the centre for commerce in Selangor. This success
was to eventually compel the Selangor Government to relocate the state capital
from Klang to Kuala Lumpur. In time, Kuala Lumpur was to become the national
capital for the newly independent nation of Malaysia in 1957.
Yap Ah Loy was not ahead of his times as a municipal administrator. In 1882,
Swettenham and his colleagues described the streets of Kuala Lumpur as only
12 feet wide and were "all but impassable alleys. ..... The filth of the market is
indescribable, everything that rots or becomes putrid, all offal and refuse is
thrown on to the ground or into ditches which surround the shed. ..... The refuse
of the drains is simply removed therefrom and laid on the side of the road .....
small pox, cholera and fevers break out here very often."
His fire precaution consisted of an order that every household keep a barrel full
of water ready at all times. On 4 January 1881, the entire town was burnt down,
with a loss estimated at $100,000 of which Yap Ah Loy's shouldered the largest
share of it.
After the disastrous fire of 1881, Yap Ah Loy started a brickworks at the outskirts
of town to rebuild town buildings in brick or adobe with tile roofs. The brickworks
is now gone, but nevertheless had left its mark with the an outskirt of today's
Kuala Lumpur known as Brickfields.
Yap Ah Loy's road construction in and around Kuala Lumpur were more
exemplary. The main mining areas were linked up with the town, and streets
were laid out in the town. Yap Ah Loy told Swettenham that $20,000 had been
yapahloyv1.04
41
devoted to road works, in the more ambitious constructions, each mile of road
was estimated to cost $1,500. In return for these projects, Yap Ah Loy was
compensated with the permanent titles to the land he occupied in the centre of
Kuala Lumpur.
The tracks to the mines are preserved to this day in the form of Jalan Ampang,
Jalan Pudu, Jalan Petaling and etc. The modern passers-by who walk along
these roads can be sure that they are following the footsteps of heavily laden
porters who threaded these paths some 130 years ago.
Yap Ah Loy also started a tapioca mill in Petaling Road with an imported 8
horsepower engine. This venture in which Sultan Abdul Samad had a $3,000
stake in the tapioca plantation, fell apart due to the fall in price of tapioca during
1880. The present Jalan Petaling (or Petaling Road as it was known then) has
remained to this day been known to local Chinese as Chee Cheong Gai (or
Tapioca Mill Road).
Yap Ah Loy also founded a refuge at which the sick could have food and shelter.
It was maintained by a levy of $1 per pig slaughtered.
He took a big part in founding the first Chinese school in Kuala Lumpur and
provided the school a schoolmaster until the Government brought in one from
Singapore. The school was opened on Chinese New Year in 1884 in High Street.
The Chinese towkays were known to take an active interest in the school, by
visiting the school to test the pupils in reading and writing.
The Death of Yap Ah Loy
In 1884, Yap Ah Loy began planning to visit China. He proposed to appoint Yap
Ah Shak and Chew Ping to manage his property in his absence. His journey was
delayed for several reasons, including a storm on 1 September 1884 in which 14
houses and a wing of the newly erected Police barracks were blown down. The
storm also did some damage at the Residency and its flagstaff was blown down.

yapahloyv1.04
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At the end of 1884, Yap Ah Loy fell ill, with bronchitis and an abcess of the left
lung. He rejected the use of Western medicine and instead relied on traditional
Chinese medication from his medicine shop.
Yap Ah Loy's grave situated in Kuala Lumpur
In March 1885, he seemed to be recovering, but in the morning of 15 April, he

passed away. He was 48 years old.
Yap Ah Loy had died before seeing his Kuala Lumpur become the leading town
in Malaya by 1886.
Yap Ah Shak and Chew Ping, "the most intimate and trusted friends of the late
Capitan", became the administrators of his estate, and Yap Ah Shak succeeded
him as the new Kapitan Cina.
The following passage appeared in the Selangor Journal in 1893,
"The wish of his heart was to return to China, but who can tell Heaven's reasons
for opposing the desires of men. He passed away ...... The English learnt he was
dead by the flag flying at the Residency; for God, whose power to give honour to
His servants is beyond our knowledge, on that day struck and broke the flagstaff.
When the English found this, they dared not raise the flag again. They held a
meeting and determined to be present at the funeral and follow to the grave.
yapahloyv1.04
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Nonetheless the State continued to prosper greatly.

The tale is finished. May it be well mentioned in future ages! I am a writer of little
knowledge, but others of greater skill may complete the lines and round the
verses. Should such a man complete this work may he long prosper and his
good name go down to his decedents.
This is the whole story of Capitan Yap Ah Loy."

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Life in early Kuala Lumpur

What does Kapitan Cina mean?
The title of Kapitan Cina or Capitan China is thought to originate from the
Portuguese who ruled Malacca after defeating the Malaccan sultanate. They
continued the system practised by the Malaccan sultanate of administering the
various foreign traders in Malacca, whether Indian, Arab, Javanese, Chinese and
so on, through a headman of their own choice. The headman was then confirmed
in their appointment by the ruler.
Kapitan Cinas had the powers of a typical Malay chief, including the power of life
and death over his followers. They could also make laws when necessary.
The Kapitan Cina's primary duty was to keep peace, administer civil and criminal
law, and occasionally collect tax when required. This institution spread to the
Malay states with the arrival of foreigners.
The office of Kapitan Cina became closely assimilated to the Malay political
system, as with the arrival of Chinese tin miners, Malay chiefs found it easier to
collect their share of tin revenues through the Kapitan Cina. They were ready to
accept any candidate who was supported by the Chinese, could keep peace
amongst his countrymen, and was able to pay taxes promptly.
Yap Ah Loy held the honorific title of Dato and the personal title of Sultan Indra
Perkasa Wijaya Bakti Kapitan China Kuala Lumpur Klang - which can be
translated to "Yap Ah Loy (acknowledged by the) Sultan Gallant Victorious Loyal
Chief (of the) Chinese (of) Kuala Lumpur (and) Klang."
He was given a silver seal, with his title inscribed in Jawi Malay and a drum as
his office insignia. Like other Malay chiefs, he was allowed personal bodyguard
under 2 captains, the Panglima Kanan and Panglima Kiri. He wore Malay dress
during Malay ceremonies and sometimes wrote to the British Resident in a formal
Malay letter.

yapahloyv1.04
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Weapons and Armours used

Weapons
Some soldiers were armed with muskets. Other soldiers were armed with long
swords with a dagger tucked into their waist belts. These men were specialists in
close combat. Besides muskets and swords, spears and pikes were also used in
the fighting.
Armours
The soldiers were dressed in coarse cotton cloths with straw sandals for their
feet. Many had leather breastplates strapped to their chests to act as armour.
They also carried wooden shields to ward off attacks by dagger and pike. The
men wore split coconut shells to protect their skulls. Higher-ranking soldiers wore
bronze helmets that provide better protection.
The Camps
The camps were generally protected by a sturdy stockade made of tree trunks
held in place by rattan lashings. Spikes of sharpened bamboo were attached to
the stockade to act as deterrents to attackers. Sometimes a picket of banana
stems were added to the stockade as a shield for gunshot. Beyond the walls
would be lines of defensive pits, dug to cover all the possible approaches to the
camp. The pits were filled with sharpened bamboo spikes to prevent a surprise
attack. If any attackers did succeed in penetrating through the lines of defence,
the defenders, wakened by the screams of those impaled on the spikes, would
be ready for them. The usual procedure was for the fighting men to have their
sleeping quarters near the defensive pits.
How the Chinese mined tin
For many centuries, the Malays had mined for tin but their methods were crude
and ineffective. Between 1820 and 1830, the 2 states of Selangor and Negri
Sembilan produced 200 tons of tin annually; in the 1880s Selangor alone

yapahloyv1.04
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produced 4000 tons annually. This increase was due to the arrival of Chinese
miners who had new mining methods.
The main Malay method was panning (also known as lampan). First, the miners
chose a narrow valley with steep grounds on both sides, soil was pulled down
with a changkol into the stream. The running water washed away the earth,
leaving the tin ore at the bottom of the stream.
The Chinese developed the open-cast method (or lombong). Tin-bearing soil
(karang) was dug from the ground and puddled in a washing-box (lanchut) to
separate the ore from the soil. This method was however prone to flooding, and
was aggravated by the fact that ore-rich lands were usually on low ground. This
method of mining was labour intensive, and it needed skill in the control of water
supply as well as the efficient extraction of tin ore.
To tackle these problems, the Chinese ingenuously adapted devices like the
chain-pump, water-wheel and bamboo water-pipes, used in the rice fields of
Southern China. With the arrival of the steam engine in the 1880s, flooding
became more effectively controlled.
Tin ore was smelted twice a year in a furnace. The furnace was filled with
alternate layers of mangrove-wood and charcoal. Tin ore was fed in once the fire
was ready, and more fuel and tin ore were added in as required. Molten tin was
then drained off through a pipe at the bottom of the furnace.
The Sin Sze Si Ya Temple of Kuala Lumpur
The Sin Sze Si Ya Temple is one of the few remaining buildings or monuments
that still remind people of the trials and tribulations that Yap Ah Loy faced during
the early history of Kuala Lumpur.
The temple was first built by Yap Ah Loy in the 1864 in honour of the famous
Kapitan Shin Kap of Sungei Ujong (present day Seremban) whom Yap Ah Loy
had worked for before and during the Sungei Ujong conflict in 1859. During this
conflict, Kapitan Shins hurriedly assembled force was defeated and Kapitan Shin
yapahloyv1.04
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himself was beheaded after being captured by the opposing Malay forces. His
death was extraordinary in that the blood that gushed out after his head was
chopped off was white and not red. In Malay belief, the spilling of white blood by
a dying person indicates that the person is a saint. When the Malays saw this,
they begged for forgiveness and allowed the Chinese to retrieve his body for
burial. As a result of Kapitan Shins miraculous death, the local Chinese began to
worship him as a deity and he became the guardian deity for Chinese miners in
Malaya.
It was said that Kapitan Shin had appeared to Yap Ah Loy in a dream telling him
to go to Kuala Lumpur where he would have better prospects. Perhaps it was
due to this dream or that Yap Ah Loy had heard stories that Kuala Lumpur
possessed large tin reserves, that he finally decided to foresake the Sungei
Ujong Kapitanship that he had inherited, and take up Liu Ngim Kongs (the then
Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur) offer of a position in his business.
When Yap Ah Loy succeeded Liu Ngim Kong to become the third Kapitan Cina of
Kuala Lumpur, he relocated Kapitan Shins temple from its original site in Sungei
Ujong to a house in Kuala Lumpur in 1864.
In 1885, after he had made a fortune from the soaring tin prices, he relocated the
temple to its present site at the north end of Jalan Petaling in Kuala Lumpur. It
was said that during the Civil War, Kapitan Shin had appeared several times to
Yap Ah Loy in his dreams to give him advice. He advised Yap Ah Loy to train
archers, and that there was a man among his soldiers who knew how to make
rockets with bamboo and gunpowder.
The identity of the second effigy is less certain. The temple's version of the story
says that subsequent to the civil war, Yap Ah Loy added the effigy of Chong
Piang (also known as Chong Sze) alongside Kapitan Shins, as well as tablets of
soldiers who perished in the war, so that people may pay respects to them.
Chong Piang was Yap Ah Loy's chief general during the Civil War, he had
repeatedly defeated the opposing forces, including Syed Mashhor, the famous
yapahloyv1.04
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warrior whom he had beaten twice. At one time, Syed Mashhor was so
distressed with the fact that he was defeated despite well-planned war
preparations that he attempted to commit suicide. After the war, before Yap Ah
Loy could reward him for the liberation of Kuala Lumpur, Chong Piang had died.
The other version says that the effigy represented Yap Ah Sze, who was
murdered in Kanching. Yap Ah Loy probably considered Yap Ah Sze as a
benefactor, as he had declined the offer to succeed Liu Ngim Kong as the next
Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur after Liu Ngim Kong's death, which paved the way
for Yap Ah Loy's ascension to be the next Kapitan Cina. He, together with Hiu
Siew, were first traders in Kuala Lumpur, and was already a wealthy merchant,
hence he would have been more favoured for the position.
The present site of the temple was chosen after a Chinese medium was
consulted, a deity possessed and spoke through the medium, and promised
prosperity and wealth if a temple were built on the present site. The site of the
temple is reportedly to be a place of good fengshui.
The temple was the Chinese religious and community center of Kuala Lumpur at
that time. It was the place where the leadership of the Chinese community held
meetings and made important decisions about the administration of Kuala
Lumpur.
The temple is unique in that the two main deities worshipped were not traditional
deities originating from China, instead two local persons were elevated to the
status of deities based on their merit. Hence, the two deities can be considered
patron deities of the local population of Kuala Lumpur.
The peak of the popularity of this cult was in the twenty years after Yap Ah Loys
death, from 1885 to 1905. To commemorate Kapitan Shin's accession to become
a deity, a procession was held annually through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, a
larger procession was held every 7 years. In the procession of 1902, the Catholic
priest, Father Letissier estimated the procession to have cost over $100,000 and
that the procession took up to an hour and a half to pass by. The Chinese clans
yapahloyv1.04
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often vied with each other in their contributions to the procession, and their
leaders would walk at the front of the procession clad in their finest attire. The
original purpose of the cult was no doubt to reassure the immigrant Chinese that
they were protected against diseases and other insecurities that plagued them in
a foreign land.
Even today, festivals related to this past era are still celebrated by devotees in
the temple. On the 15th day of the third moon of the Chinese lunar calendar, the
procession of the deities is observed, but the procession no longer parades
through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, and is only celebrated within the temple's
compounds. Likewise, remembrance ceremonies for Shin Kap, Chong Sze (or
Chong Piang) and Yap Ah Loy are held annually in the temple, as well as the
paying of respects to the brave soldiers of the civil war.
The temple is also known for ite charity work. Since 1907, the temple has been
giving out two thirds of its income as charity to educational purposes and to
hospitals.
The Mystery of Kuala Lumpur's name
How Kuala Lumpur got its name is a mystery that is still unsolved today. We can
only speculate how this name was derived.
There are 3 theories on how Kuala Lumpur got her name.
The first is that Kuala Lumpur got its name from the Hakka word "Lampang"
which means "muddy uncleared forest". Kuala Lumpur was first established
when the swampy land beside the Gombak and Klang river junctions was
cleared, and it became known as Kuala Lampa, and later as Kuala Lumpur.
The second version is explained by Kuala Lumpur's location at the junction
between Sungei Gombak and Sungei Klang.
In the Malay language, Kuala means a junction between 2 rivers, and Lumpur
means muddy. Hence, Kuala Lumpur literally means "muddy river junction."
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In accordance with the Malay language, the point at which a smaller stream joins
a large one is usually called the Kuala of the smaller stream. If that is so, Kuala
Lumpur should rightfully be named Kuala Gombak.
J. C. Pascal stated that there was a Sungai Lumpur joining Sungai Klang a mile
upstream from the Sungei Gombak junction. If Pascal was correct and the first
settlement was at the Gombak junction, why should Kuala Lumpur be be named
after a junction (now not identifiable) a mile away?
The third version is that the place was originally called Pengkalen Lumpur or the
"muddy jetty." Klang was originally known as Pengkalen Batu or stone jetty, and
the upstream jetty was named Pengkalen Lumpur to differentiate between the
two jetties. The explanation assumed that the Chinese then shortened the
original name to Kalen Lumpur and then into Kuala Lumpur.
Why are Junks called Junks?
Encyclopedia Britannica defines Junks as:
"classic Chinese sailing vessel of ancient unknown origin, still in wide use. Highsterned with projecting bow, the junk carries up to five masts on which are set
square sails consisting of panels of linen or matting flattened by bamboo strips.
Each sail can be spread or closed at a pull, like a venetian blind. The massive
rudder takes the place of a keel, or centreboard. The hull is partitioned by solid
bulkheads running both transversely and longitudinally, adding greatly to
strength. Chinese junks sailed to Indonesian and Indian waters by the early
Middle Ages."
It is believed that the word Junk came from the Malay-Javanese word jung or
ajung, which could have been derived from the Chinese word jung meaning
"floating house".
As to the word's first European use, it appeared in Ibn Battuta's "Voyages"
(translated in 1345) which stated that:

yapahloyv1.04
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"The Chinese ships are of three kinds : the big ones are called joncos (singular:
jonc), the medium ones azzana and the little ones the alkakame."
The first Portuguese citation is from 1510:
"...un Junco do Rey de Malacca" [a junk of the King of Melaka] and it was well
described, inclusively stating that some have several masts, and one, captured
after a fierce combat, had four layers of sheathing, being almost invulnerable to
artillery fire.
The Portuguese employed junks in big numbers, and brought one from India to
be a warship in its Gibraltar Strait Fleet, the "Esquadra do Estreito". The only
terms used are Junco and Junquo (plural: Juncos or Junquos).

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The Dictionary
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Words
Meaning
Bahara
Measurement in weight equivalent to 400 pounds.
Dato
A Malay honorific title still commonly given in Malaysia

today.
Fui Chui
One of the Hakka clans.
Hakka
A Chinese dialect found in Southern China.
Jawi Malay
Kapitan Cina
The Malay language written in the Arabised form.

Captain of the Chinese.
Kuala
The junction between 2 rivers.
Lumpur
Malacca
Muddy
A city on the coast of Peninsula Malaysia which was ruled
in turn by its founding dynasty of Sumatran descent, and
later by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British
respectively.
Panglima Kanan Literally means Right-side Commander and Left-side

&
Commander respectively.
Panglima Kiri
Jetty
Pengkalen
Sungei, Sungai River

Towkay
Boss, tycoon.

yapahloyv1.04
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References
Our references include:
Yap Ah Loy by S. M. Middlebrook and J. M. Gullick
Glimpses of Selangor by J. M. Gullick
Kuala Lumpur 1880-1895 : A city in the making by J. M. Gullick
Old Kuala Lumpur by J. M. Gullick
We also referred to Chinese reference books, however their names could not be
published in this pdf file. You may browse the websites reference section at
http://yapahloy.tripod.com

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The Project Team

The Project Team at Kongsi NetWorks Unincoporated comprised of:
Tan Weng Kit
Sin Mun Wah
Our gratitudes to the following organisations and people:
The Selangor-Kuala Lumpur Fei Chew Association
The Sin Sze Si Ya Temple (KL)

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The History of Yap Ah Loy,

Kapitan Cina of Kuala

A Production by Kongsi NetWorks in the year 2000

How was Yap Ah Loy as a person?

The History of Yap Ah Loy

Before Malaya (1837-1854)

Humble Beginnings (1854-1860)

Hiu Siew and Yap Ah Sze set up shop in Kuala Lumpur

Yap Ah Loy inherits the Kapitanship

The Selangor Civil War

The Death of Sultan Muhammad

Raja Mahdi regained Klang

Raja Mahdi is ousted from Klang

The Death of Yap Ah Sze

The Defection of Syed Mashhor

The First Attack on Kuala Lumpur: The Battle of Ampang

The Second attempt to capture Kuala Lumpur: The Battle of

The Betrayal of Raja Asal and the Fall of Kuala Lumpur

The Recapture of Kuala Lumpur and the End of the Selangor

Rebuilding Kuala Lumpur

The Adminstration of Yap Ah Loy

The Death of Yap Ah Loy

Life in early Kuala Lumpur

The History of Yap Ah Loy

What does Kapitan Cina mean?

Weapons and Armours used

How the Chinese mined tin

The Sin Sze Si Ya Temple of Kuala Lumpur

The Mystery of Kuala Lumpurs name

Why are Junks called Junks?

The Project Team

The History of Yap Ah Loy

became a rich and powerful person in

Yap Ah Loy in Qing Dynasty

specifically to Kuala Lumpur by building

The History of Yap Ah Loy

The History of Yap Ah Loy

How was Yap Ah Loy as a person?

The History of Yap Ah Loy

Kuala Lumpur remained undisputed despite

The History of Yap Ah Loy

The History of Yap Ah Loy

Before Malaya (1837-1854)

The History of Yap Ah Loy

The History of Yap Ah Loy

The History of Yap Ah Loy

Abdullah, brother of the

River was originally under

Sultan's eldest son and

The History of Yap Ah Loy

Yap Ah Loy signs an official document in Qing Dynasty costume.

The History of Yap Ah Loy

The Selangor Civil War (1866-1873)

Malay soldiers in battle

The History of Yap Ah Loy

Raja Mahdi regained Klang

Raja Mahdi is ousted from Klang

The History of Yap Ah Loy

The Defection of Syed Mashhor

subsequent episodes of the Selangor Civil War.

The History of Yap Ah Loy

Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon were to tackle Chong Chong.