The fallacy of the importance of Yap Ah Loy

140 years ago saw the first Malay-Chinese business partnership in Kuala Lumpur that resulted in Kuala Lumpur developing into a thriving metropolitan and eventually emerge as the nation’s capital. 140 years ago also saw the political struggles and jostling for power between groups of Chinese. Invariably, the Selangor Royal Family got dragged into these conflicts and in many instances the involvement of the Malay army would determine the outcome of these conflicts.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I have noticed many Chinese readers posting comments that, if not because of the Chinese, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor would not have developed and, today, would still be a jungle.

I think that is a most emotional and grossly inaccurate statement, which is not at all based on historical fact. You need to study the history of Selangor of about 150 years ago to get a clear picture of what really happened with regards to the issue of the Chinese in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor.  

I wrote the piece below in October 2002 -- part seven of a series of eight articles -- regarding the history of Selangor from the date of the First Sultan, Raja Lumu, in the 1700s till today. Hence that is 300 years of Selangor history -- of which the Chinese played a role in only half that period.

Selangor, in the mid-1800s, was already developing and was poised to become the economic centre of the Malay Archipelago (which was why Kuala Lumpur ended up as the Federal Capital of the country -- because it was the economic centre as well).

And that was why the Chinese came to Selangor -- because Selangor was a thriving economy and the Chinese wanted to make money in what was emerging as an economic centre. If not do you think the Chinese would have bothered to come to Selangor if there was no money to be made?

This part (part 7) is regarding Yap Ah Loy.

By the way, His Highness the Sultan of Selangor sent my essay on the history of Selangor to Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim for vetting and the Professor returned it to His Highness without a single correction.

In other words, I got 100% marks and His Highness had 2,000 copies printed as the official story of the Selangor Royal Family and distributed it to all the members of the Selangor Royal Family in a function in the Palace.

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Yap Ah Loy

The first attack on Kuala Lumpur (September-October 1870): The Battle of Ampang

The history books tell us that Yap Ah Loy, a.k.a. Kapitan China, was the founder of Kuala Lumpur. I am not saying this is not entirely true. However, this is oversimplifying the issue slightly as it is not quite like he just went there and opened up Kuala Lumpur all on his own.

He had the help, not to mention the permission (and protection), of the Selangor Royal Family.

Kuala Lumpur, which was then uninhabited jungle, was rich in tin and Raja Abdullah, a member of the Selangor Royal Family (who owned the tin concession), entered into a business partnership with Yap Ah Loy, whose function was to supply the Chinese labourers to work the mines -- labourers whom he ‘imported’ from China.

Raja Abdullah and Yap Ah Loy sailed up the Kelang River from the mouth of the river and landed on the Kelang-Gombak River confluence and camped there for the night. Today, on this famous spot, stands the Jamek Mosque.

From there, Raja Abdullah and Yap Ah Loy trekked through the thick jungle to Ampang, which at that time took a couple of days, and this was where the first tin mines were opened up. With these tin mines came diseases and wars, which nearly wiped out the entire mining community. In some instances entire communities were killed off and they had to be replaced with reinforcements from China.

Soon after that, Chong Chong, Yap Ah Loy’s rival, entered into an alliance with Syed Mashhor and they set up an army to attack Kuala Lumpur. News of this alliance reached Yap Ah Loy’s ears in June 1870 and he immediately contacted the Viceroy of Selangor in Kelang, Tunku Kudin, who was also the Sultan of Selangor’s son-in-law.

Tunku Kudin

Yap Ah Loy’s brother, Yap Tet Fong, was sent to Singapore to employ Chinese mercenaries and procure arms, ammunition and provisions. Chung Piang and Hiu Fatt, two of Yap Ah Loy’s most able ‘generals’, were appointed local recruiting agents. By the end of September they had recruited well over 1,000 fighting men.

On 12th September 1870, Chong Chong and his army arrived at the 4th mile Ampang Road and set up camp there while Syed Mashhor’s men remained in Ulu Kelang. Soon, more locals joined the invading army and the numbers increased to over 2,500 men. Yap Ah Loy, however, had less than 2,000 men, which included the Malays led by Raja Asal and Sutan Puasa, who joined him later.

As soon as Yap Ah Loy learned that Chong Chong had set up camp near Ampang, he sent a force of 600 men under Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon to Ulu Kelang with the intention of cutting off Chong Chong's line of retreat. The next day, Hiu Fatt’s men started attacking Syed Mashhor’s army. Fighting began at about 10.00am and lasted until late afternoon.

Syed Mashhor’s men were routed and suffered heavy losses.

Syed Mashhor escaped to Chong Chong’s camp after which they embarked on an immediate counter-attack before Yap Ah Loy’s men could consolidate their position. That night, a combined force of about 2,000 men headed for Ulu Kelang.

In the meantime, Hiu Fatt and Tung Khoon had returned to their camp in Ulu Kelang. During the night, they were awoken by sounds of gunfire and shouting and discovered, much to their surprise, that Syed Mashhor’s force was attacking them. Meanwhile, Chong Chong’s army emerged from the rear and trapped Hiu Fatt’s force.

Fortunately, Yap Ah Loy had decided that evening to reinforce his troops at Ulu Kelang and had sent Chung Piang with a force of 400 men to Hiu Fatt's camp. They arrived in the heat of the battle and, after a fierce battle, Chong Chong was forced to retreat. Yap Ah Loy lost 40 men with another 100 wounded while Chong Chong's force suffered very heavy losses.

Yap Ah Loy realised that his army was not big enough to withstand Chong Chong’s and Syed Mashhor’s onslaught so he asked Raja Asal, who was at Damansara, for help. Raja Asal joined the three Chinese leaders at Ulu Kelang and it was agreed that they should move their combined forces down the valley to take up positions opposite Chong Chong’s stockade. Chong Chong proposed to Syed Mashhor that they should harass Yap Ah Loy’s army before they could settle down into their new positions.

Daily skirmishes went on for about a month without much success for either side.

Yap Ah Loy then sent another 600 men to reinforce Chung Piang’s troops that consisted of 400 Malay fighters under Sutan Puasa and 200 Chinese fighters under Ten Sam. Another fierce battle started at 10.00am and, by late afternoon, Chong Chong’s force was routed with the loss of more than 500 men. By nightfall, Chong Chong and Syed Mashhor realised they were beaten. They escaped to Batu Caves through Setapak.

From Batu Caves, Syed Mashhor escaped to Ulu Selangor while Chong Chong fled to Kuala Langat. By then, however, nearly half the army had been wiped out in one of the fiercest battles Kuala Lumpur had ever seen. But this was just the beginning of what would be many more battles to come before Kuala Lumpur would see peace. In one such battle, Yap Ah Loy was defeated and barely escaped with his life and had to seek the protection of the Sultan’s army.

140 years ago saw the first Malay-Chinese business partnership in Kuala Lumpur that resulted in Kuala Lumpur developing into a thriving metropolitan and eventually emerge as the nation’s capital. 140 years ago also saw the political struggles and jostling for power between groups of Chinese. Invariably, the Selangor Royal Family got dragged into these conflicts and in many instances the involvement of the Malay army would determine the outcome of these conflicts.

Sultan Abdul Samad

It must be noted that all this happened during the reign of Sultan Abdul Samad, the Fourth Sultan of Selangor, who ruled Selangor from 1857 to 1898. Sultan Abdul Samad was regarded as a weak Sultan who not only had no control over the State but was also not interested in administering the state and would leave it to his son-in-law, Tunku Kudin, to maintain the peace.

Sultan Abdul Samad was known for his passion in gambling and opium and Tunku Kudin, the brother of the Sultan of Kedah, who was exiled for trying to topple his brother the Sultan, wielded much power in Selangor. In fact, Sultan Abdul Samad married off his daughter, Raja Arfah, to Tunku Kudin to make him a Selangor ‘citizen’ because there was much jealousy from the rest of the Selangor Royal Family to this ‘outsider’ having so much power in Selangor. For all intents and purposes, the marriage was a political marriage to legitimise Tunku Kudin’s position in Selangor.