Yap Ah Loy was born in 1837 in Fui Chiu. He arrived in Melaka at the age of 17 and a few years later, he expanded his pig business to Sungai Ujong. He got to know Liu Ngim Kong and Yap Ah Shak, and served as an assistant of Kapitan Seng Meng Lee. In 1861, he was appointed as the second Kapitan of Sungai Ujong. He came to Kuala Lumpur in 1862 to assist Kapitan Liu Ngim Kong, and was appointed as the third Chinese Kapitan in Kuala Lumpur in 1868. 

In addition to his herbal business, Chop Teck Seng, Yap Ah Loy also ran tin mines, a tapioca farm and factory, brothels and casinos in Kuala Lumpur. He was also the largest landowner in Kuala Lumpur, reportedly owning two-thirds of the city’s land. 

As the leader of Hai San, he allied with the regent of Selangor, Tengku Kudin in the Selangor Civil War. After gaining victory in 1872, he was re-appointed as Kapitan Cina. In 1883, he was awarded the title of “Grand Master Exemplar” by the Qing government, which could be inherited for three generations. 

In addition to his wife Madam Liao in China, he also married Kok Kang Kweon, a Peranakan in Melaka and had three sons and one daughter: Yap Hon Chin, Yap Loong Shin, Yap Loong Fong, and Yap Kim Neo. He also had three concubines, He, Lin and Wang.

On the left side of the content shows the family tree of Yap Ah Loy, documenting his ancestors and descendants, spanning from the 85th generation ancestors to the 3rd generation descendants.

The Selangor Civil War led to an economic recession and the decline of mining activities, which paved the way for the British to expand their dominance in Selangor. A year after the war, the Sultan of Selangor signed a treaty with the British to accept a British Resident. 

Kuala Lumpur was also affected by the war; mining facilities were completely destroyed, followed by fire and flooding, causing a large number of people to flee Kuala Lumpur. Under the leadership of Yap Ah Loy, Kuala Lumpur was rebuilt three times.

The picture on the left shows the scenery of Kuala Lumpur after the Selangor Civil War and the group photo that Yap Ah Loy be with J.W.W. Birch, Perak’s first Resident and Davidson, Selangor’s Resident in front of Tengku Kudin’s house after the end of Selangor Civil War in 1874.

Most of the houses in the early days were built with wood and attap, which were highly flammable. 

On January 4, 1881, a huge fire broke out in Kuala Lumpur, caused by a knocked over of opium house’s oil lamp. 

When rebuilding the destroyed city, Yap Ah Loy increased the spaces between houses and widened the streets. 

On 21 December of the same year, Kuala Lumpur was once again destroyed by floods. At the end of 1882, Swettenham, the Selangor Resident, began to encourage the use of brick in construction.

This area displays photos of several British Resident, along with brief introductions to their contributions…

James Guthrie Davidson was born in 1837 at Scotland, he was the nephew of the founder of the Guthrie Plantation Company, a famous rubber company. As a lawyer, he established a law firm in Singapore (Wood & Davidson) and was the secretary of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce. After the outbreak of the Selangor Civil War, he served as an advisor and gave a loan to the Regent of Selangor, Tengku Kudin. Because of this, he was appointed as the first British Resident in Selangor in 1875, when the administrative centre was still in Klang. Yap Ah Loy also borrowed money from Davidson to rebuild Kuala Lumpur. 

Two years later, he became the third Resident of Perak and was involved in the murder trial of J.W.W. Birch, the first British Resident in Perak. He resigned in 1877 and resumed his practice as a lawyer in Singapore. Kuala Lumpur had a road named after him, Davidson Road, which now has been renamed as Jalan Hang Jebat.

Bloomfield Douglas was born in 1822 at Wales and was a naval officer. His uncle was married to the sister of James Brooke, Raja of Sarawak, and he was involved in the Brooke family’s anti-piracy missions. In May 1875, he was sent to Singapore by the British government as a second-class magistrate. In April 1876, he became Acting Resident and was later officially appointed as the Second British Resident in Selangor. 

His short temper and strict military practice resulted in frequent disputes with colleagues. He had also been criticised for his inability to expand his influence to remote mining areas. Therefore, he moved the administrative centre of Selangor from Klang to Kuala Lumpur in 1880. He maintained a good relationship with Yap Ah Loy. He was entertained with dinner and Chinese opera when he stayed at Yap Ah Loy’s house. 

He was asked to resign in 1882 after his son-in-law was involved in corruption.

Swettenham was born in 1850 at Derbyshire, England, and was sent to Singapore in 1871. He was fluent in the Malay language. He recorded and published many records about early Malaya, which are now important references for Malayan studies. 

He visited Kuala Lumpur three times before being appointed as the Resident in 1882. According to Swettenham, Kuala Lumpur was disorganised during his third visit. 

This was due to the sharp increase in tin prices, which attracted lots of new migrants. The population became too dense, garbage could be seen everywhere, and malaria was frequent, prompting Swettenham to reorganise the city.

He hired labourers to clean up garbage and throw them near Pudu Road. He restricted vendors from setting up stalls on sidewalks, and started fire drills and patrols in Kuala Lumpur. 

He set up the Selangor State Council, which Kapitan Yap Ah Loy was part of. He also introduced various reform policies, including the establishment of the Tin Mining Management Board, as well as the health, housing and taxation systems. 

Port Swettenham, or Port Klang now, Selangor’s main port, was named after him.

Rodger was born in 1851 at England, educated at Eton and Oxford, and was a practising lawyer. In 1882, he was sent to Selangor as a Magistrate, Land Commissioner and Assistant Resident of Selangor. When he first arrived in Selangor, there was only one road in Kuala Lumpur, which was Kuala Lumpur to Damansara road, and the main means of transportation was elephant. Under his impression, Kuala Lumpur was covered by Chinese vegetable farms and the Lake Gardens, which had not yet been developed, was still a deserted tapioca field.

Later, he became Acting Resident. In 1886, the Kuala Lumpur – Klang Railway started operation during his service. 

Later, he became the first Resident of Pahang, and eventually returned to Selangor as the next Resident.

Rodgers Street or Jalan Hang Kasturi now in Kuala Lumpur was named after him. In 1904 he was appointed as Governor of the Gold Coast, or Ghana.

Before Douglas, the second British Resident arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy, who had been appointed by the Sultan of Selangor as the Chinese Kapitan had absolute power in Kuala Lumpur. Originally, Douglas and Yap Ah Loy shared authority to manage Kuala Lumpur, but later Yap Ah Loy found that his influence was gradually being weakened, especially when Douglas governed the city in accordance with the treaty signed between Selangor and the British in 1874.

For example, the British government thought that the market and casino in front of Yap Ah Loy’s house was an eyesore for the city. Yap Ah Loy refused to demolish them because he held the casino permit granted by the Sultan of Selangor. Yap Ah Loy compromised by building a new market with bricks and zinc on the site of the old market. However, this market was demolished after the death of Yap Ah Loy and is the Old Market Square today.

After the death of Yap Ah Loy, the British colonial government forcibly reclaimed much of his land, including the new market, which is now the Central Market and twelve and a half shophouses that were built. His wife, Kok Kang Kweon, tried to claim the lands from the British colonial government but was rejected.

Picture in the upper right corner is the sketch of Kuala Lumpur by Swettenham in 1875, above is a list of Yap Ah Loy’s properties listed by his wife, Kok Kang Kweon after his death and a letter from his wife to Frank Swettenham regarding Yap Ah Loy’s property rights and compensation.

When Kuala Lumpur was managed by Yap Ah Loy, it developed into a prosperous mining settlement. However, due to the Selangor Civil War, Kuala Lumpur became deserted. It was Yap Ah Loy who brought everyone back together to rebuild the city. Although Kuala Lumpur went through fire and flood, he still persevered and laid an important foundation for the future of the city.

In a report written by Selangor Resident Swettenham during Yap Ah Loy’s last month of governing Kuala Lumpur, he stated: “The Capitan China, Ah Loi (sic), is still the leading spirit in Selangor, his energy and enterprise are extraordinary…this town was three times burnt down by the Malays and rebuilt by the Capitan China, who in spite of disaster held the place…”.

“I have mentioned these matters to show that there is prosperity and progress in Kuala Lumpur, to show to whose efforts this is mainly due, and to record the past history of the place.”

Economy

After the Selangor Civil War, Kuala Lumpur grew rapidly under the leadership of Yap Ah Loy. He operated tin mines in Ampang, Petaling, Setapak, Pudu, Kuala Kubu and Kepong. The mine in Ampang was once known as the best mine in the world.

The main economic centre of Kuala Lumpur, the old market, was owned by Yap Ah Loy. Other economic activities were carried out here.

Besides the market, Yap Ah Loy also had gambling houses, 16 opium dens and brothels with nearly 300 prostitutes. The above economic activities provided many job opportunities in Selangor in the early days. He also ran a traditional Chinese medicine shop under the Chop “Teck Seng” and had docks and warehouses in Sungai Klang, Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang.

In addition, Yap Ah Loy also had tapioca plantations and a mill in the 1870s. He hired a British engineer and used machines to produce tapioca flour in his mill on Petaling Street. However, the cattles working on the tapioca farms contracted disease and the price of tapioca flour fell dramatically, therefore the business had to be closed down.

He was also involved in cattle, pig and fish farming. In addition, he also had a workshop to make and repair mining tools. These economic activities above were able to meet the basic needs of Kuala Lumpur residents.

Urban Development

Yap Ah Loy has undertaken various developments in Kuala Lumpur, including the creation of facilities to improve transportation and livelihood needs. Let’s introduce a few of them.

In the late 19th century, the houses on Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur were converted from wooden houses to brick houses. This brick building photo shows the first brick shop house on Petaling Street in 1880 – 1899.

This tall building is, in fact, a brick kiln. Brickfields was adopted as a place name because Yap Ah Loy used to set up a brick kiln here to supply the bricks needed for the reconstruction of Kuala Lumpur.

There was a pond in Pudu, which the people of old Kuala Lumpur called it “Lotus Root Pond”, it was believed to be at the current location of Plaza Rakyat. It was said that during the era of Yap Ah Loy, the pond served as a dam, supplying daily water needs for the residents. He also imported glass carp fish from China to cultivate in the pond. 

Social Welfare

Yap Ah Loy also takes care of the social welfare of Kuala Lumpur residents. Here, we choose to introduce a few.

In 1864, Yap Ah Loy founded Fui Chiu Kongsi on Rodger Street, which later moved to Petaling Street. After his death, Fui Chiu Kongsi changed its name to Fui Chiu Association, and the association building was also rebuilt into a Cantonese-style building at the background of the photo.

Due to the increasing number of Fui Chiu children in Kuala Lumpur, in 1884, Yap Ah Loy alongside other Chinese businessmen established the first Chinese private school in Kuala Lumpur in Fui Chiu Kongsi, named “Tong Voon Free School”, which was later renamed as “Tsun Jin School”.

This wooden box displayed the land title which obtained by Sin Sze Si Ya Temple Kuala Lumpur in 1912. Besides, the land title of the Selangor & Kuala Lumpur Fui Chiu association issued by the British government in 1883 was displayed here as well. 

Yap Ah Loy planned to visit his relatives in his hometown, but it did not materialise. He died on 15 April 1885 at the age of 48 due to bronchitis. Flags were flown at half-mast on the day of his funeral.  All the British colonial offices in Kuala Lumpur were closed to attend the mourning. 

The death of Kapitan Yap Ah Loy signified the end of an era. The British colonial government gradually hollowed out the role and status of the Chinese Kapitan and replaced it with the Chinese Protectorate. He was initially buried at Ampang Road, that is Malaysia Tourism Centre, MaTiC today, but was later moved to the Kwong Tong Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur in 1911.

In 1938, the spirit tablet of Yap Ah Loy started being worshiped in the Sin Sze Si Ya temple in Kuala Lumpur, after which a photo of him was placed in the temple to facilitate worship. Since 2004, the Chinese Associations in Kuala Lumpur have annually organised a public worship ceremony for Yap Ah Loy.

Kapitan Yap Ah Shak

Yap Ah Shak also known as Yap Chee Ying, was born in Xin’an County, Fui Chiu Prefecture, Guangdong Province, China. As Yap Ah Loy’s close friend and advisor, he succeeded Yap Ah Loy as the fourth Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur in 1885 – 1889 and leader of the Hai San Kongsi.

Yap Ah Shak was a well-known miner and revenue farmer. He was also a member of the Selangor State Council, magistrate and High Court Assessor of Kuala Lumpur.

On September 16, 1886, Yap Ah Shak donned the Qing government’s official attire and attended the opening ceremony of the Kuala Lumpur – Klang Railway. He also built the roads from Kuala Lumpur to Salak South and Sungai Besi.

In 1885, Yap Ah Shak replaced Yap Ah Loy as the new Chinese Kapitan. At the same time, Chiew Yoke was appointed as “Chinese Major”, a position with judicial powers.

Kapitan Yap Kwan Seng

Yap Kwan Seng was born in 1846 at Chixi, Guangdong, China, also known as Yap Jie Liang. In 1890, he was appointed as the fifth and last Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur. 

He was a member of the Selangor State Council, the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board, and the Public Gardens Committee of Selangor. He also established the “Tai Wah Ward”, a ward for the Chinese in the Pauper Hospital, or General Hospital of Kuala Lumpur today.

In 1893, Yap Kwan Seng established the Chik Sin Thong Funeral Home on Sultan Street, Kuala Lumpur and donated coffins to help the poor. He was also one of the founders of Kwong Tong Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur. 

Yap Kwan Seng’s house was located on High Street, where Sultan Abdul Samad, the Sultan of Selangor, once stayed there. There are two roads in Kuala Lumpur named after him and his shop, namely Jalan Yap Kwan Seng and Jalan Sin Chew Kee.

There is a letter from Kapitan Yap Ah Shak and the other Chinese towkays to apply for a piece of land to build boarding houses for new workers from China.

Opium is a drug extracted from the poppy seed which can cause addiction. Users applied opium paste to the opium pipe and inhaled the heated fumes to obtain a hallucinatory effect.

A steelyard is an instrument for weighing. It consists of a scaled rod, a weighing stone and a place to put things. Steelyards are usually used to weigh small items, such as herbs and ornaments.

Yap Ah Loy was awarded the title of “Grand Master Exemplar”, by the Qing government. This is a replica of the official headgear of Yap Ah Loy, according to his official ranking.

This was a replica of the Malay dagger given by the Sultan of Selangor when Yap Ah Loy was appointed as the Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur.

Dulang, a wooden pan used by locals for panning gold or tin ore. The soil panned would be sifted to separate the tin ore from the earth.

This artefact is a large steelyard donated to our museum by the now-closed San Sang Press. This scale can also be used to weigh larger objects, such as wood, metal items, including tin ore, and food, and others. This steelyard reflects a glimpse of the early mining era in Kuala Lumpur.