Yap Ah Loy
Encyclopedia
Yap Ah Loy also known as Yap Tet Loy and Yap Mao Lan. He is regarded as the founding father of modern Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, he developed Kuala Lumpur as a commercial and mining centre during the mid-19th century. Yap Ah Loy became a Kapitan Cina (Chinese Kapitan) and the headman of a settlement of Chinese inhabitants. After the independence of Federation of Malaya (Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) from the British Empire on August 31, 1957 (Malay Peninsula only) and later the Formation of Malaysia (that includes Sabah and Sarawak) 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' (Yap Ah Loy Road).

Background

Yap Ah Loy was born in the Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

 Province of southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 on the 14 March 1837. His parents lived in the village of Tamsui  in the Kwai Yap district of the Fui Chiu prefecture. He was therefore by descent a Hakka
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

 of the Fui Chiu clan. Yap Ah Loy left China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 via Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

 for Malaya
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

 in 1854. On his arrival in Malaya, he found that the place was very much different from China. The scenery, with tall coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 and betel
Betel
The Betel is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and Kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties...

 palms, and the small Malay houses with atap (nipah
Nypa fruticans
Nypa fruticans, known as the attap palm , nipa palm , and mangrove palm or buah atap , buah nipah , dừa nước , Ging Pol in Sinhala in Sri Lanka and gol pata , dani . It is the only palm considered a mangrove in the Mangroves Biome...

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

On his arrival at Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

, Yap Ah Loy was given shelter by one of his clansman called Yap Ket Si. He was then taken to a tin mine in Durian Tunggal
Durian Tunggal
Durian Tunggal is a small town in Malacca, Malaysia. It is situated within the parliamentary constituency of Hang Tuah Jaya and the district of southern Alor Gajah....

, where he stayed for 4 months. At the end of that period he left for Kesang
Kesang
Kesang is a suburb of Muar, Johor, Malaysia. It lies on the border of the states of Johor and Melaka....

 where he found work in the shop of a relative named Yap Ng. He remained there for a year before arrangements were made to send him back to China via Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. Misfortune befell him when he lost all his money while waiting for the junk to set sail in Singapore for China. Instead of going back to Malacca he and another of his relatives named Yap Fook traveled on foot to Lukut
Lukut
Lukut is a small town in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Lukut is situated within the parliamentary constituency of Teluk Kemang. The historical Kota Lukut is located here and also Sekolah Menengah Teknik Port Dickson...

 in Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...

.

Career

Yap Ah Loy arrived in Lukut
Lukut
Lukut is a small town in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Lukut is situated within the parliamentary constituency of Teluk Kemang. The historical Kota Lukut is located here and also Sekolah Menengah Teknik Port Dickson...

, in the state of Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....

, 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  succeeded Hiew Siew to became 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 served as Liu's trusted lieutenant and became 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.

When the Selangor Civil War broke out in 1870, Yap Ah Loy was faced with internecine fighting among dissident Chinese groups as well as attacks from Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...

 factions. The two largest Chinese gangsters, the Hakka-dominated Hai San
Hai San Secret Society
The Hai San Society which had its origins in Southern China was a Penang-based Chinese secret society established around 1820 and in 1825 led by Low, Ah Chong and Hoh Akow , its titular head...

 and the Hokkien-dominated Ghee Hin
Ghee Hin Kongsi
The Ghee Hin Kongsi is a secret society in Singapore and Malaya, formed in 1820. Ghee Hin literally means "the rise of righteousness" in Chinese. The Ghee Hin often fought against the Hakka-dominated Hai San secret society....

, frequently engaged in warfare to gain control of tin production in the town. The incessant warfare between the two factions brought tin mine production to a standstill. Hiu Siew, the owner of a mine in Lukut
Lukut
Lukut is a small town in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Lukut is situated within the parliamentary constituency of Teluk Kemang. The historical Kota Lukut is located here and also Sekolah Menengah Teknik Port Dickson...

, was elected as the first Kapitan.

Yap's decisive victory at Kuala Lumpur in 1873 proved to be the turning point in 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 post-war 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
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...

 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 began to plan a visit to China. He proposed to appoint Yap Ah Shak
Yap Ah Shak
Kapitan China Yap Ah Shak of Petaling was one of the last three Kapitans China of nineteenth-century Kuala Lumpur. He was a wealthy Huizhou Hakka merchant and a Hai San leader....

 and Chow Yuk to manage his property in his absence. For some reasons the plan was postponed. On the 1 September 1884, natural catastrophes caused widespread damage to property in Kuala Lumpur. The violent storm blew down 14 houses and a wing of the newly built Police barracks. The storm also damaged the barrack's residential area and the flagstaff.

The developer of Kuala Lumpur

During the early times, Kuala Lumpur had many problems, including the Selangor Civil War; it was also plagued by diseases and constant fires and floods. Around the 1870s, the third Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy
Yap Ah Loy
Yap Ah Loy , also known as Yap Tet Loy and Yap Mao Lan. He is regarded as the founding father of modern Kuala Lumpur, he developed Kuala Lumpur as a commercial and mining centre during the mid-19th century...

, emerged as leader, and became responsible for the survival and subsequent systematic growth of this town. He began to develop Kuala Lumpur from a small, obscure settlement into a booming mining town. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur.

In 1881, a flood swept through the town following a fire which engulfed it earlier. These successive problems destroyed the town's structures of wood and atap (thatching
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...

). As a response, Frank Swettenham
Frank Swettenham
Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH was the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States which was formed by combining a number of sultanates. He served from 1 July 1896 to 1901. He was also an amateur photographer...

, the British Resident of Selangor, required that buildings be constructed of brick and tile. Hence, Kapitan Yap Ah Loy bought a sprawling piece of real estate for the setting up of a brick industry which would spur the rebuilding of Kuala Lumpur. This place is the eponymous Brickfields
Brickfields
Brickfields is a small to medium-sized town and residential neighbourhood located just outside central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as Kuala Lumpur's Little India due to the high percentage of Indian residents and businesses.- History :In 1881, a flood swept through Kuala Lumpur following...

. Hence, destroyed atap buildings were replaced with brick and tiled ones. He restructured the building layout of the city. Many of the new brick buildings mirrored those of shop houses in southern China, characterised by "five foot way
Five foot way
Five foot ways are pedestrian walkways indented into the ground floor of a building from the road, so that the overhanging upper floors can provide a cover to shield pedestrians from the sun and rain. This feature can be found in many shophouses all over the world, and also in some office...

s" as well as skilled Chinese carpentry work. This resulted in a distinct eclectic shop house architecture typical to this region. A railway line increased accessibility into the growing town.

Development intensified in the 1890s, leading to the creation of a Sanitary Board. Kapitan Yap Ah Loy
Yap Ah Loy
Yap Ah Loy , also known as Yap Tet Loy and Yap Mao Lan. He is regarded as the founding father of modern Kuala Lumpur, he developed Kuala Lumpur as a commercial and mining centre during the mid-19th century...

 spent a sum of $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
Jalan Ampang
Jalan Ampang is a major road in Klang Valley region, Selangor and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.-Proposal to rename Jalan Ampang to Jalan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad:...

, Pudu Road
Jalan Pudu
Jalan Pudu is a major road in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.-Construction of the Jalan Pudu-Hang Tuah intersections:The 114-year-old Pudu Prison's wall between Jalan Pudu and Jalan Hang Tuah was demolished on 20 June 2010 by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to make way for a road expansion and tunnel project...

 and Petaling Street
Petaling Street
Petaling Street is a Chinatown located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is infamous for pirated clothes and accessories along with bootleg DVDs and CDs. Petaling Street however does not exclusively offer pirated products...

.

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 small claims court
Small claims court
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and the name by which such a court is known varies by jurisdiction; it may be known as a county or magistrate's court...

. With a police force amounting only 6, he was able to uphold to rule of law. He built a prison which could accommodate 60 prisoners at any time. Kapitan Yap Ah Loy also built Kuala Lumpur's first school and a major tapioca mill in Petaling Street
Petaling Street
Petaling Street is a Chinatown located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is infamous for pirated clothes and accessories along with bootleg DVDs and CDs. Petaling Street however does not exclusively offer pirated products...

 of which the Selangor's Sultan Abdul Samad
Sultan Abdul Samad
Sultan Abdul Samad, KCMG was the fourth Sultan of Selangor....

 had an interest.

Hence, laying the foundations for the modernization of the city. In 1896, Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States
Federated Malay States
The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...

. Kuala Lumpur is currently the capital of modern Malaysia mainly due to his contributions.

Death

At the end of 1884, Yap Ah Loy fell ill with bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...

and an abscess of the left lung . In March 1885, he made little recovery before but he died on 15 April 1885. 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.. He is buried in the large Kwong Tong Cemetery in KL.
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