Yap Ah Shak
Encyclopedia
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.
Yap Ah Shak was selected by Wong Ying, a prosperous Cantonese miner and several others to take over from Kapitan China Shin (Sheng Ming Li) of Sungai Ujong six months after the disturbances there had died down. The late Kapitan Shin was slain in the 1860 uprising of the Chinese miners at Sungai Ujong attributed to excessive taxation by the local Malay chiefs.
Yap Ah Shak then passed the title to Yap Ah Loy
in 1859.
Yap Ah Shak moved from Sungai Ujong to Kuala Lumpur in 1870 and, even after passing on his title to Yap Ah Loy, continued to serve as magistrate for the settlement of Chinese disputes and as High Court Assessor.
By 1880 Yap Ah Shak had 10 tin mines around Kuala Lumpur.
Yap Ah Loy died in the middle of April 1885 and (in 1885/1886), after consulting representatives of different dialect groups in Kuala Lumpur, the British chose Yap Ah Shak, who had passed the title to Yap Ah Loy twenty-six years earlier, to serve as Selangor's new Kapitan China and state councillor
.
Yap Ah Shak died in 1889 and his title passed to Yap Kwan Seng
.
Yap Ah Loy was the protegé of Yap Ah Shak. His life which began with him running from problem to problem was transformed when he met Yap Ah Shak who put him in charge of his gaming farm in Sungai Ujong.
Kapitan China
Kapitan Cina or Capitan China was originally a Portuguese title for the representative of a Chinese enclave. The 15th century rulers of Southeast Asia, such as Melaka and Banten , chose to deal with a single individual from each ethnic group under their rule...
of nineteenth-century 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 was a wealthy Huizhou 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....
merchant and a 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...
leader.
Yap Ah Shak was selected by Wong Ying, a prosperous Cantonese miner and several others to take over from Kapitan China Shin (Sheng Ming Li) of Sungai Ujong six months after the disturbances there had died down. The late Kapitan Shin was slain in the 1860 uprising of the Chinese miners at Sungai Ujong attributed to excessive taxation by the local Malay chiefs.
Yap Ah Shak then passed the title to 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...
in 1859.
Yap Ah Shak moved from Sungai Ujong to Kuala Lumpur in 1870 and, even after passing on his title to Yap Ah Loy, continued to serve as magistrate for the settlement of Chinese disputes and as High Court Assessor.
By 1880 Yap Ah Shak had 10 tin mines around Kuala Lumpur.
Yap Ah Loy died in the middle of April 1885 and (in 1885/1886), after consulting representatives of different dialect groups in Kuala Lumpur, the British chose Yap Ah Shak, who had passed the title to Yap Ah Loy twenty-six years earlier, to serve as Selangor's new Kapitan China and state councillor
State councillor
State Councillor may refer to:* State Councilor, a high-ranking member of the State Council of the People's Republic of China* State Counsellor, a high civil rank in Imperial Russia...
.
Yap Ah Shak died in 1889 and his title passed to Yap Kwan Seng
Yap Kwan Seng
Yap Kwan Seng was the last Chinese kapitan of Kuala Lumpur from 1889 to 1902. Kapitans were appointed chiefs or headmen of the various ethnic communities during the British colonial rule in what is present-day Malaysia. Kapitans played an important role in the history of the Chinese in Malaysia...
.
Yap Ah Loy was the protegé of Yap Ah Shak. His life which began with him running from problem to problem was transformed when he met Yap Ah Shak who put him in charge of his gaming farm in Sungai Ujong.
Further reading
- Chinese secret societies in Malaya: a survey of the Triad Society from 1800 ... By Leon Comber
- Fieldstaff reports (Volumes 7-8 of Reports Service) By American Universities Field Staff