The bird’s-eye view of the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple depicted by the painter Khoo Cheang Jin creates a holistic glance for the temple’s spatial. The central space is the main hall, where the Sin Sze Si Ya, Fú Dé Zhèng Shén (Deity of Prosperity), Wén Chāng Dì Jún (God of Wisdom), Huá Guāng Dà Dì (God of Performance Arts), Tán Góng Xiān Shi (Patron Deity of Fishermen), memorial plaque of Yap Ah Loy, and Cái Bó Xīng Jūn (God of Wealth) are enshrined. The space on the right is Guanyin Hall, where Guān Yīn Pú Sà (Goddess of Mercy), Jīn Huā Fū Rén (Goddess of Fertility), and Huā Fěn Fū Rén (Goddes of Beauty) are worshipped. The left side is Heroic Martyr Hall, also known as the Tai Sui Hall, dedicated to Tài Suì Yé (God of the Year), Yi Yong Xiãn Liè (Heroic Martyrs), and Bái Hu Yé (white Tiger Deity). In addition, the painting also depicts common activities at the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple: writing, buying incense, making offerings, participating in a guided tour, indeed, it was an lively view to see. 

The painter Khoo Cheang Jin, through watercolor painting, allows us to “see” the transformation of the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple over a century. The origin of the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple can be traced back to a small shrine behind Yap Ah Loy’s house. In 1864, he invited the spirit of Seng Meng Lee to be enshrined together with Guanyin deity. In 1873, after the Selangor Civil War, he donated a piece of land to build the temple, and after multiple reconstructions, the scale of the temple was maintained as it is today. Today, the temple is surrounded by surrounding buildings and contrasted with nearby skyscrapers, creates a hidden presence in the city.

We have identifed eight architectural features of the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple, namely: the main gate, decorative board, main ridge, vertical ridge, windows, stone lions, the main ridge of the Heroic Hall, and the pillar head. These characteristics all demonstrate that the main architectural style of the deity temples is traditional Cantonese temple style.

These old photos are precious records of Sin Sze Si Ya Temple. Among them, three are from the 1956 procession of the Sin Sze Si Ya, where you can see the divine sedan chair with the possessed spirit medium, the procession of scared sedan chair, and a children’s stilt-walking team. The sedan chair appeared in the photographs, was displayed in the exhibition area behind. Other old photos exhibits valuable records of the board of trustees in ceremonies and during the national independence day.

The folk rituals under the belief of Sin Sze Si Ya carries special local significance, including: praying for the blessings from Sin Sze Si Ya, crawl under the altar table, worshiping to Wén Chāng Dì Jún (God of Wisdom), making offerings to the White Tiger deity on Jingzhe day and hitting villains.

Sin Sze Si Ya Temple and the Sikh community share a special connection. Many years ago, Sajan Singh from Punjab, India, came to Nanyang (Southeast Asia) for a livelihood and eventually served as a guard at Sin Sze Si Ya Temple for a remarkable forty years. Sajan Singh’s legacy, parang knife, reflects his dignity and dedication. Sajan Singh and his wife lived in a small house in front of the temple, raising four sons and six daughters. These children grew up in the temple, with some of them becoming fluent in Cantonese. Today, Sajan Singh’s daughter, Ranjit Kaur, serves as a temple assistant, assisting worshippers in their religious activities. After Sajan Singh’s passing, his son, Daljit Singh, took over the role of guard and passed away in 2021.

The Sin Sze Si Ya Temple Kuala Lumpur has become the main propagator of the Sin Sze Si Ya belief and today there are 32 temples dedicated to Sin Sze Si Ya in Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor. Under the leadership of Kuala Lumpur’s Sin Sze Si Ya Temple, the “Malaysia Sin Sze Si Ya Association” was established in 2015. Now, there are 16 Sin Sze Si Ya temples with a history of more than a century
as members. Seng Meng Lee as an early pioneer reflected the sacrifices made by many Chinese immigrants in this land. As a local deity, Sin Sze Si Ya have witnessed the history of the Chinese pioneers in Malaysia and its sphere of belief is closely related to the tin mining areas.

Diorama of Villain Hitting

The exhibits are all kinds of offerings for worshiping the White Tiger Deity and hitting the villain:

1. Incense
2. Candles
3. Joss paper of villain shape
4. Joss paper of hand palm
5. Joss paper of bird
6. Joss paper of iron chain
7. Pork lard
8. Eggs
9. Mung beans
10. Joss paper of the benefactor on horseback
11. Joss paper of gold and silver
12. Joss paper of villain
13. Joss paper of the ceremony

Parang knife with a wooden handle and an iron body belonged to the temple guard, Sajan Singh. Sikhs wear a short sword (Kirpan) at their waist as a symbol of their duty to protect others.