Yap Ah Loy

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Kapitan China
Yap Ah Loy
葉亞來
Yap Ah Loy
Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur
In office
1868–1885
Preceded byLiu Ngim Kong
Succeeded byYap Ah Shak
Personal details
Born(1837-03-14)14 March 1837
Huiyang District, Guangdong, China
Died(1885-04-15)15 April 1885 (aged 47)
Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Federated Malay States
Resting placeKwong Tong Cemetery
SpouseKok Kang Kweon (郭庚嬌)
ChildrenYap Hon Chin

Yap Loong Shin
Yap Loong Fong
Yap Kim Neo

Yap Ngit Thian[1]
Residence(s)Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya
In this Chinese name, the family name is Yap.

Kapitan China
of Kuala Lumpur, and in this administrative capacity, played an important role in developing the city as a commercial and mining centre during the 19th century.

After the independence of the Federation of Malaya from the British Empire on 31 August 1957 and later the Formation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuala Lumpur became the capital of Malaysia. Today, there is a street named after him in the heart of Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, known as "Jalan Yap Ah Loy" or "Yap Ah Loy Road".

Background

Yap Ah Loy was born in a poor village at what was formerly known as Canton province,

thatch
) roofs, was a new and fascinating experience to him.

On his arrival at

Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
).

As Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur

Yap Ah Loy arrived in Lukut in 1856 at the age of 19. He spent his early years in the peninsula as a miner and petty trader, but in 1862 his fortunes improved when his friend Liu Ngim Kong (Chinese: 劉壬光; pinyin: Liú Rènguāng) succeeded Hiew Siew (Chinese: 丘秀) to become the second Kapitan Cina 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 became Liu's trusted lieutenant and succeeded him as the third Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur after Liu's death in 1869, after which he began to put together a sound administration and a strong fighting force.

Yap's appointment however was challenged by the "relatives" of Liu, and a group opposed to Yap emerged under the leadership of Chong Chong.

Selangor Civil War that broke out earlier in 1867.[8] Yap Ah Loy sided with Tunku Kudin in the civil war, and Kuala Lumpur was attacked in 1870 by Yap's enemies who sided with Raja Mahdi. A further attack was attempted, and in 1872, Raja Mahdi's forces led by Syed Mashhor captured Kuala Lumpur, forcing Yap Ah Loy to flee to Klang. Yap attempted to retake Kuala Lumpur, and in March 1873, Tengku Kudin's faction, with support from Pahang fighters, defeated Mashhor and recaptured Kuala Lumpur.[9]

Yap's victory at Kuala Lumpur in 1873 placed him in a strong political position, and he was almost supreme in the interior of the state. However, Kuala Lumpur was gutted during the war and the mines flooded. Yap then set about rebuilding the town and rejuvenating the mining industry. He also improved the roads linking Kuala Lumpur with adjacent mining areas and other settlements. A slump in tin price mid 1870s however caused severe financial difficulties. He started a brick-making venture at Brickfields, as well as a tapioca plantation although that proved a costly failure. By the late 1870s he was in considerable debt and said to be almost bankrupt. However, a rise in the price of tin in 1879 improved his financial position as well as securing the future of Kuala Lumpur.[10]

Yap's achievement in the postwar recovery of the mining industry established Kuala Lumpur as the economic centre of the peninsula. As the acknowledged leader of the Chinese community, he was given the powers similar to a Malay ruling chief by the British, except for the right to tax, a restriction he easily evaded. 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, prostitution, racketeering and loan sharking), and his diverse business interests, he amassed a considerable personal fortune.

In 1879, the first British resident (government advisor) was assigned to Kuala Lumpur, and from that time the power of the Kapitan began to be undermined. None of Yap Ah Loy's successors approached his power and independence of action.

In 1884, Yap Ah Loy planned a visit to China, intending to appoint Yap Ah Shak and Chow Yuk to manage his property in his absence. For some reason the plan was never carried out. On 1 September that year, a violent storm struck the Klang Valley, causing widespread damage to property in Kuala Lumpur. The storm blew down 14 houses and a wing of the newly built Police barracks, as well as the barrack's residential area and the flagstaff.

Developer of Kuala Lumpur

In 1868, as the third Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy, emerged as leader. He became responsible for the survival and growth of this town.

Selangor Civil War which devastated the town. It was also plagued by diseases and constant fires and floods. Kuala Lumpur was destroyed several times,[12] but each time Yap rebuilt the town. He strove to develop Kuala Lumpur from a small, obscure settlement into a booming mining town.[13] In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur.[14]

In 1881, a flood swept through the town following a fire which engulfed it earlier. These successive problems destroyed the town's structures made of wood and atap (

shop house architecture typical of this region. In this developing town, Yap owned a third of all the buildings in Kuala Lumpur, and two thirds of the urban land east of the Klang River, in addition to his control of the tin mines.[12] Yap Ah Loy also spent $20,000 to expand road access in the city significantly, linking up tin mines with the city; these roads include the main arterial roads of Ampang Road, Pudu Road and Petaling Street
.

As Chinese Kapitan, he was vested with wide powers on par with Malay community leaders. He implemented law reforms and introduced new legal measures. He would also preside over a

Sultan Abdul Samad
had an interest.

After Yap's death in 1885, the population of Kuala Lumpur increased greatly due to the construction of a

J.M. Gullick, "if you seek his memorial remember that you are in Kuala Lumpur."[17]

Death

At the end of 1884, Yap Ah Loy fell ill with bronchitis and an abscess of the left lung. In March 1885, he made little recovery before he died on 15 April 1885 at the age of 47. The doctor examined Yap's body and later confirmed that his death was either due to heart failure or poisoning by the fumes of the charcoal brazier. The doctor also noticed the exceptional brightness of his eyes.[17] He is buried in the large Kwong Tong Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur.

See also

References

  1. ^ Rodrigues, Philp (1980-10-15). "Woman: I'm Daughter of Yap Ah Loy" (PDF). The Star. Perdana Leadership Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-06. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  2. ISBN 978-981-3250-86-4
    .
  3. ISBN 978-9971693121
    .
  4. ^ "From tin town to tower city" Archived 2010-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, kiat.net, Retrieved 2010-09-28
  5. ^ "Kuala Lumpur History". Kuala-Lumpur.ws. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  6. ^ "The Death of Yap Ah Sze".
  7. ^ J.M. Gullick (2000). A History of Kuala Lumpur 1856–1939. The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. pp. 10–11.
  8. ISBN 978-0195807226
    .
  9. ISBN 978-9679080285
    .
  10. ^ J.M. Gullick (2000). A History of Kuala Lumpur 1856–1939. The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. pp. 18–24.
  11. ^ "Old-World Charm". Virtual Malaysia Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  12. ^
    ISBN 9780804775861
    .
  13. ^ "Yap Ah Loy". Sejarah Malaysia. Archived from the original on 2002-09-02. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
  14. ^ a b "Kuala Lumpur". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-12-06 – via britannica.com.
  15. ^ "The Federated Malay States (1896)". Nation History. National Library of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 8 January 2004. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  16. ISBN 978-9679080285
    .
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-9679080285
    .

External links
Government offices
Preceded by Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur
1868–1885 		Succeeded by
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