History of Kapitan Yap Ah Loy

History of Kapitan Yap Ah Loy

(b. March 14, 1837, Kwangtung Province, China–d. April 15, 1885, Kuala
Lumpur, Malay Peninsula), leader of the Chinese community of Kuala Lumpur,
who was largely responsible for the development of that city as a
commercial and mining centre.

Yap Ah Loy arrived in the Malay state of Selangor in 1856 at the age of 19.
He spent his first years in the peninsula as a miner and petty trader, but
in 1862 his fortunes improved when his friend Liu Ngim Kong became Capitan
China of Kuala Lumpur, a position not only of leadership within the Chinese
community but also of liaison with the Malay political system and, after
British intervention in 1874, with British officials as well. He served as
Liu’s trusted lieutenant and became the new Capitan China after Liu’s death
in 1869, upon which he began to put together a sound administration and a
strong fighting force.

When civil war broke out in Selangor in 1870, Yap Ah Loy was faced with
internecine fighting among dissident Chinese groups as well as attacks from
Malay factions. His decisive victory at Kuala Lumpur in 1873 proved to be
the turning point of the war and left him in a strong political position.
Until 1879 he was almost supreme in the interior of the state. As the
acknowledged leader of the Chinese community he had been given the powers
of a Malay ruling chief by the British except for the right to tax, a
restriction he easily evaded. He achieved a striking postwar recovery in
the mining industry and established Kuala Lumpur as the economic centre of
the peninsula. Through his control of the tin market, his ownership of
local “farms” (monopolies on the sale of items such as opium and exclusive
control of activities such as gambling), and his diverse business
interests, he amassed a considerable personal fortune.

When in 1879 the first British resident (government adviser) was assigned
to Kuala Lumpur, the power of the Capitan China began to be undermined.
None of Yap Ah Loy’s successors approached his power and independence of
action. The city that he had largely developed retained its preeminent
position and became the capital of Malaysia.

Source from http://www.asiawind.com/pub/forum/fhakka/mhonarc/msg00545.html