Community Leaders in Early Kuala Lumpur

Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Community Leaders in Early Kuala Lumpur
YAP AH LOY (1837-1885)
Yap T el Loy -
better known as Yap
~~~c!~~ ~uth::n IChin~n i:~\;3fUI-Vc ~~~;
:a Hakka by descent.
Yery few photographs of Yap Ah Loy
have sun'ived and there is no written description of his appearance. but he was of
medium height. of exceptionally sIron/.!
physique, of indefatigable energy. and h:ld
an ad\·cnlurous spirit and :a fiery temper.
HI;' rn3rticd a l\ l alacca WOman n;lIned
J.\ok Kang Keown in 1856, who oullivt'(\
him by more than 30 years, and left two
sons, Yap Hon Chin and 'far Loong Hin .
"a]1 Ah Loy left China in 1854 and came
tim to Malacca, where he slaycd with a
rclati\'c who was a shopkeeper, but in 1856
he walkc(\ 10 Lukul , where he obtained
employment as a mining I:J bourc r. Lukut
was at that tillle the most prosl>t:rous mining
;\rea in Sclangor and Yap Ah Loy beame
K~flt~~al~~;n ~!~d ~:lr~~~a h:e~~~a~h~:~
:
to be the I-Ieadman (Clipitlln) of the Chinese:
mining community of Sungd Ujong (ne;\T
Sl'Tl'rnban). His pn· dl'a:s...~ T had been
killed in bitter fighting Ix-twcen IWO ri\·a l
,!troups.
wa~nO~l~edK~~nfy r;;~j: X~~~II~hi,n:h~ t~~~j~
lorial ~hid of Klan/.:. in 1857. wilh Chinese
bOOurers from Lukul, and in 1862 Yap
Ah Lo\' was in\·ited to come 10 Kualll
I .umpu~ to :l.55i51 the Chinoc Headman ,
called Liu Ngim Kong, under whom he:
had served in Lukut some yean earlier.
Ah Loy soon became a prosperous miner,
openi ng up mint'S of his .own in the new
:l rca, and he look a leading part in building
Ih e Sze Yeh Temple, on land III Ihe jund ion
of High Streel and :\larkel Str«t, which
laler hecolllle ,·e1)· famous.
In August 1868. when Liu !'\gim Kong
was on his death bed he sent for Ah Lo\"
and told him that he wished him 10 ~
the next Capitan China in Kuala Lumpu r'
Liu had already obtained the agree-men!
of Sultan Abdul Samad. at Handar, of
lbj:l Abdullah at Klang and of Sulan Pllas:l,
the mO$I inftuentiall\lal:.y in Kual3. Lumpur.
and when Liu's relatives and other rivals
tried to oPI>OSC Ah Loy's appoinlment ,
Sutan PU:lsa penlladed them 10 acct=pl him .
He was formally installed as Capitan Chin:t.
wilh elaborate ceremony in Kuala Lumpur
in 1869. in the presence of Raja !\'Iahdi,
Klija Au l and Sulan Puasa. Yap Ah Loy
wore :\'lalay dress, with a head dress tied
in the: st),le of a SeJangor Raja. and a pro·
clamation was read, in Chin~, staling
:~:t ~;~ra}~~I!:(~
':d C~~a~a:Ch\~~ ~
Kuala Lumpur. Yap Ah Loy W'a5 then
a rried round the lown, seated on a sedan
chair. He was also prCKnted wilh II ,i lvc:r
sclil and the litle of Sri Indra Perkasa Wijaya
~i~~ti~r~h~l~~\~~~~n~a)~r'::e~ ~~~~lf~Vi~tc:t~
Yap Ah l.o)' soon became notable for
Ihe efficiency of his adminislt:ltion. He
built a prison and drew up rules for the
punishment of offenders; th~ were 10
sirictly enforced that crime became \'(1)'
rare ill Kuala Lumpur.
As a rClult of rivalry between Raja Mahdi,
Ihe Sultan'" nephew, and 'l'unku Kudin,
the Sultan's 5On .in.]aw, who had been
appointed Viceroy, Civil War broke out,
centred on Klang. Fighting began in
1866 and continued until 1873. One of
the main causes of the war was the disputed
ownership of the mining te\'Cnue from
the Kuala Lumpur area. and il was ine\'itable
thaI Yap Ah Loy and the Chinese mi neT$
~~:~~~al~~~~ fi~,·"tt'~y ~;::ic:~!lal:1.
bUI when Raja i\'lahdi was d riven out of
Klang by T unku Kudin, Ah Lo)' allied
himself wilh the Viceroy and they rou~ht
together liS allies until the end of the Civil
war. In spite of his tOlal defeat in August
1872, whell he arri"ed in Klang as a fugiti'"e,
d rcucd only in his underwear, Yap Ah Loy
collected a new fight ing fo rce of 1,000
Chinese, the Vittroy added another 1,000
Malays and the long awaited army from
Pahang, under Imam Perang Rasu arrived
overland from the north, to link up with
Ah Loy. With this powerful fortt Kuala
Lumpur was enci rcled. and :after a fie rce
battle which lasted fo r two days and nights ,
- 9 Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Sy.:d :\I ashho r, and his princi p:.lllH1PI)()rtcD
cKaptd in Ih(' •.brknc" O\'cr Ihc I'udu pa,''S ,
Kuala Lumpu r was rt"occu pied, withou t
an y furlhe r lighl ing, in :\ Iarch 1873, and
Ah Loy was re-installed :1..' Capilan China
of K uala L umpu r by the Viceroy, Tunku
Kud in, in J une of the same year, bUI Oil
this occasion hl' wore Chinese robes,
1\ I05t of the mines in Ihe KUllla I.umpur
area were lIooded. and the machinery and
huildings had been destroyed, hut Yap
Ah Loy pi.'nuadet! the ol her miners 10
rropen the c:xisting min n rathcr th3n
mo\'l~ away to a new arca,
Ah Loy horrol"
cd \'cr)' Ilarge S UIIlS of money 10 linanel'
the Ilow prOCt.' U of u:con:ry, and was on
the I'erge nf bankruptcy when the price
I)f lin doublcd in ISi9 and I,ithin a year
he had paid ofT all his Jeh l ~, T here "ere
then ol'er IO,()(X) Chint:sc lil'ing in or around
Kuala Lumpur, hut Yap :\ h Loy kept no
l>cace keeping force, and had only 6 :\ I:alay
Police, supplied by the GO\'l~rn lllt' nL Tht·
town which grew up betwt'ell lSi] lim!
1879 ,,:onsi5ted of wood and aUap houses,
huilt without consideration of /i re risks
or sanitation, ami in J:muny 1881 the whok
town was destroycd by fi rc, while a Cholera
epidemic 3t the end of 1878 caused a tempor3ry c\'aeuation of the art'a, ,Vhen the
town w:u rebuih. using bricks and tiles.
Yap All Loy laid out streets and constructed
roads tn the principal mining areas, he
.. Isn prol'idc:d a 'Sick 1I 0use', and a Chinese
school and opt'ned a brick wo rks, when'
Br ickfie l J~ Road now run~.
T he admini~tration of Ku.. la Lumpu r
was gradually takt'n over by the Statc
GO\'ernment afH'r ISSO, but Yap Ah Loy
had mall\' busille$§ intt'rest§ which kept
him flllly' occupied , Apart from his own
lin minC5, he held nurly half of the whok
min in/! an~a ro und Kuala Lumpur unde r
I.ease. II\' IRSO he had built sixt}' four
orick houSes out of 3. total of 220, he also
built 01 markt,t and a large gambling hall.
At the end of I RR4 Y:LP Ah Loy ~\lfTe r ed
from ~ sever ~uack of Il ronchi tis and an
of tOl' lun~, but he insistcd on doctorin/! himself with ChinL'SC herbs. and :11though in :\lareh 1885 he s«ml'd to be
recuperating, he died 011 Apri l 15th. T he
Go\'eTlllllenl ofliee!\. Wt're closeJ on the d:l\'
of Ihe fun,,'ral .
'
~bceS5
I 'tlp Ah /.(J), u:ilh Jomt
'ifJu'srttuinrfS,
inltllt I SS-+,
It'hm ht 1('(1l (I I i cH. mtln ,
- 10 Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Official group pllOtoxrap" fflHm i" fum t oj ,,,, old G()'(,',rnmml OffiltS on I", hil/, a6m·, I"t padan.f!.
ill mid 1884.
Front rot/),' /.rfl to Right. Ilard,-), ( Sial, T,tasu",).- Sy,.,s ( Police).- Jibdm (Comlnilliont'
of IAlnds); Fap A" l.oy ( Ctlpila" C"ina) ; J. P. Rod!:" (arling Ru idm'),- R,!ja Laut ( Ltad"
of tilt Maltly Com munity ) .- n rl/amy ( Supt, of Puhlic Works f:t Surve),s) " /Jr. Smdair ( Ruidtnry
.'J'urxroll ) ,- l'up A" S lwk . TlwmOOosamy I'il/ai is slandin.t: in ,11, ucolld fOt(.! behind nt/lamy,
RAJA LAUT (1 850- 1915)
of T unku Kudin and Yap Ah Loy in 1872.
Raja Llut wa~ tho.: sc(ond son of Sultan
i\luh:ullll1:1l1 of So:1angor, and was born in
1850. Ht' was named Rlja Laut bcc:l.use
he W:l.1I horn :It se:1 off Luku!. He was
adopted by Raja Juma'at. who had married
his ddeT sister in 1840, and he ~pe nt his
childlu)()(! at Lukut , in compan y with
Raja Hot, son of Raja 1uma'3t, who was
3bout the ~amc age.
When Raja 'lahdi was defeated and
the Civil War came to an end in ]Vlarch
l 8i3, Raj:l. Laut remained in obscruity fo r
for some time, but he rt--appcared in Kuala
Lumpur in the l 880s all the leader and
spokC1!lllan of the l\hlay community, and
he was appoinu:d Penghulu of Kuala Lumpu r and :I. 'Native l'I'lagistratc' in about
1883 hy the British administration. Raja
Laut was a founder memher of the Kuala
Lumpur Sanitar\' Board, when it was
t-stablished in 1890. and he took an acti\'e
part in the t"iltablishment of the first l\hlay
school in Kuala Lumpur to wbich he scnt
his only son.
During the Sd:l.ngor Civil War Raja
uut was activc on the side of Raja 1\ lahdi,
his nephew, and he took part in the succcssful operation, in association with Syeu
:\ lashhor, which led to the captu re of
Kuala Lumpu r an d the tempor:l.ry defeat
-
"Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
When Sullan Abdul 5amad died in
1898 he WlIS succeeded by his grandson,
Raj:a i\lud:a Su1aiman, The new Su1tl1n'5
eld~ t IOn WlIS then on ly 5 yean old , and
Ibjll J..:lut, tlte young Su ltan', grand uncle,
recei\'ed the titlc of Raja Muda, which
he held until19lB,
Uaja I.au t married Ibja Daing Chah:aya,
a relative of Raja jum:a'at and they had
all only 80n, Haja Allillg, Haja L;aut li\'ed
in a house situated behind Ihe pre!lent
Ui\INO buihlinJ: in what was known as
'Uatu Road'. He dicd in 1915 and was
huried at 'KampoIIg Gonggang', wllich ij
:10 earlier name for Ihe burial ground in
Amp:ang Road . His name is commemorated
by 'Jahm Raja /AJut ' which run~ p;aralll·1
wilh J:l1:111 Tuanku Abdul Rahman .
K, THAMBOOSAMY PILLAI (1850-1902)
K. Th:amboosamy Pillai Wali thc leader
uf tltc T amil communi,,' in Kuahl Lumpur
for nClirly 30 ycars. He was born in Singa.
pore in 1 ~50, cducatcd al Hame~ Institution
and joilled the legal firm of Rodyk all(1
Davidson a5 a clerk, H e followed i\ lr ,
Guthrie D:I.\'idson to Sdangor, whclI thl:
lalll:r wa, appoinu'd the first British He·
sidellt. and Wall given a clerical post ill
the State Treasury at Klang. He later
acted all State T reasuTt'r on more Ihan om'
occasion,
He WliS a l1Ial\ of eXCl'ptional ellcrgy and
cnlerpri5C :md when he rnigned from
Go\'ernmcnt SCf\';CC in 1889 the Ik$i(lenl,
William :\laxwell, prcscnted him with
a Kroll on which il was Tl"(:orded that
:\ lr . Thamboosamy Pill ai had resigned hi,
post a~ Chief Clerk of the T reasury, on
laking O\'er the man~gcmellt IIf thc ~ew
ltawang T in :\lininR Company. III 1885
he WIIS IIppointed a visiting J ustice to the
Kuala Lumpur I'rison, The Residcnt add ·
cd. thai :\Ir, Thamboosamy Pillai had
rendert'd will ing sen'icc tu the Go\'crnment
in maO\' mailers connecled with the Tamil
commu'nity. alld dp(."Cially in gi\'ing his
opinion and advice in int ricate Court ClISCj,
H i~ acquaintance wil h the customs of tht,
country and his intimate knowlcdgt: of the
I>copie had at all times bttn of great liSt'
lind his sCfvicl's would with d.ifficuh\' he
rt'placed .
.
He was ap lK)inled a member of Ihl'
Sanitar\' Hoard in 1~94 and ser\'ed lin
many other public hodi(."li, He was a hen
supporter of the Sdangor Turf Club and
owned man\' honK'S. He was :also:l memher
of Ihe Sela'ngor Club, In ad(litioll to his
mining acti\'ities , Thamboosamr Pillai w;as
a Contrllctor and bought :lnj solll 1:lIId
in and round the St:lte c:lpital. His hous/.'
in the 1890's was Oil Balu Road, not far
from Loke Ycw', house, and he oflt'n
elllertaincd la\'i~hl~' there .
He dicd in Sing-aporc in 11}()2, whell'
he had gone 10 allend a race ml.'Cting ,
The Hailw:;JI\' did not then exist, bUI thl'
GO\'Cfllor, Si r Frank Swellcnhalll, who
had known him well when he, Swellcnham,
was Uesidcnt of Selangor hctwl"t"n 1882 and
1889, sent his body back 10 Kuala Lumpur
in the GO\'l'rnor', 'Yachl'.
- 12 Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
LOKE YEW
(l8~S.1917)
Loke Yew was born in Kwangtung
Province, iu China. the son of :a f:armer.
At the agt' of D. in 1858. he sailed for
Singapore, where he worked as a shop
:assistant. With his fiNt s~vings of 599/he opcnn\ his own shop, and later he went
to Larut to take part in T in mining and
when the l'er:ak Disturbances occtlrreli he
SI."Cur~d thc contract for su pplying thc
British troops with foot.!, Tin mining in
l.2rut W:I.S a failu re and he 1Il0\"t'd to Kinta
where he made a fortune, He thell came
10 Sd:mgor where he opened Tin mint:s
;lnd bought and sold land to his great
ad\":l nla~e,
Loke Yew :Luisted the State GO~'c rnm en t
in opening up roads and in return n.'(;ci\'ed
eonccssions of 1:lIld. He planted large
:m.:as of land, including Hawthornden
Estate, with ruhl>cr, From thcse and
other OIcti\'ities he bt'(:amc a millioll:lire,
bUI he gavc gcncrously to public projecu,
cSlx-eially those connected with edua tion,
and Hong Kong Un i\'crsity honourcd h im
with Ih~ Honorary Degree of LL.D. in
app reciation of hill generosity.
Hill principal rcsidence du ring his latter
years was on Ibtu Road, and it is toda),
known as 'Wisma 1.oke', He died in
Kuala L umpur in )9 17.
- 13 Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia
.1Iup
of Kuala
Lumpur ill ISIH.
Hak Cipta Terpelihara ©1972 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia