In 1907, there was a dispute over the property of the temple, because Yap Ah Loy donated the land to build the temple in 1873 without any written documents. The Yap family still regarded the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple and its surrounding areas as family property. The dispute was brought to court. The Selangor court agreed with the judgment of the Secretary of Chinese Affairs that the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple was a public temple, and ordered the temple to establish a board of trustees and a trust deed, which is the book inside the wood block, and appointed 12 representatives from different dialect groups as members: three each from Fui Chiu and the Cantonese, and one each from Dabu, Guangxi, Hainan, Teo Chew, Hokkien and Ka Ying.

The first board of trustees were 3 from Cantonese: Chan Sow Lin, Cheong Yoke Choy and Yap Thai Cheong; 3 from Fui Chiu: Chin Choon, Yap Loong Hin and Yap Loong Fong; Ong Chee Siew (Dabu); Lee Fong (Ka Ying); Chin Chin Lee (Teo Chew); Thong Tung (Guangxi); Low Leong Gan (Hokkien) and Goh Piang Shin (Hainan).

In the glass cabinets are the letter sent by the sons of Yap Ah Loy: Yap Hon Chin and Yap Loong Shin, to the Secretary of the British Resident through their lawyers on September 9, 1907, to fight for the right to manage the Si Ya Temple, Kuala Lumpur. Another letter was sent on 23 October 1907, by Chan Sow Lin and the Chinese leaders to the Secretary of the British Resident, urging the set up of a board of trustees to manage the Si Ya Temple.

Education is very important for the Chinese community. Since 1968, the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple has provided financial assistance to underprivileged students in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. In the early days, the temple only offered scholarships to students from the Confucian Private Secondary School, the Kuen Cheng High School, the Tsun Jin High School and the Chong Hwa Independent High School in Kuala Lumpur. Since 2010, the scholarship has also been open to students from Klang, including the Kwang Hua Private High School, the Pin Hwa High School, the Hin Hua High School and the Chung Hua Independent High School.

In addition, the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple also offers scholarships to: (i) students who were born in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur or; (ii) those who were born in other states but reside and are educated in institutions of higher learning in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Students can further their studies to universities, polytechnics and private institutions either locally or abroad.

The data is a record of scholarship disbursement in the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple from 1967 to 2022, a total of RM 16,954,310, and different part of benefiting recipients.

According to the supplementary rules of the Deed of Trust, any surplus from the income of the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple in Kuala Lumpur must be donated to Chinese schools, hospitals or charity organisations. While rental will be used to support the temple’s daily operations, the rest of the proceeds will be used to benefit the community.

In the early years, the supplementary rules of the Deed of Trust stated that the monthly charities the Si Ya Temple must donate to include the Tung Shin Hospital, the Confucian School, the Kuen Cheng Girls’ School, the Chinese Maternity Hospital and the Destitute Women’s Relief Fund. Besides the various charity organisations, elderly homes and orphanages, the temple also donated to the poor and the elderly during festivals.

The data displays the total amount of charity and education donations for the Kuala Lumpur Sin Sze Si Ya Temple in 2022, reaching RM 868,140.

In the early days of the temple, it was stipulated that a parade would be held every seven years to send blessings upon its believers. On the day of the parade, businesses in Kuala Lumpur would be closed for a day to allow all the believers to participate in the parade together with the spirit medium who sat on a sedan chair. The area that the deity Sin Sze Si Ya passed through was under his patronage and protection. Devotees would pray for blessings and show appreciation for the deities’ blessings along the procession route.

As the first Chinese temple in Kuala Lumpur, its establishment was closely related to the history of Chinese pioneers and the Kapitan Cina, thus deepening the belief of Sin Sze Si Ya amongst the locals. In 1963, the temple was ordered to cease the parade. Hence, celebrations were held on temple grounds instead, whereby spirit mediums and singers were invited to perform.

The Sin Sze Si Ya deity became the protector of Kuala Lumpur and has been a witness the development of the city.

On the cabinet are displayed old newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau dan The Straits Times related to the Sin Sze Si Ya parade in 1951, 1960, and 1961. The glass cabinet next to it showcases letters regarding a procession in 1900 that spanned ten days, costing approximately $ 40,000 (Straits Dollar). Its grandeur can be imagine.