Klang War

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The Klang War or Selangor Civil War took place in the Malay state of Selangor and was a series of conflicts that lasted from 1867 to 1874. It was initially fought between Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar, the administrator of Klang, and Raja Mahadi bin Raja Sulaiman. It was joined by Tengku Kudin (Tengku Dhiauddin, also spelt Ziauddin), as well as Chinese rival gangs. The war was eventually won by Tengku Kudin and Abdullah's son, Raja Ismail .

Background

In 1854, the sultan of Selangor Sultan Muhammad Shah appointed Raja Abdullah as Klang's administrator instead of his grandson Raja Mahdi whose father, Raja Sulaiman, was the previous Klang's head. Raja Abdullah's brother was Raja Juma'at who had opened very successful tin mines in Lukut. Raja Abdullah, with the help of his brother, then obtained the finance to open tin mines in what was to become Kuala Lumpur in 1857. The success of the tin mines generated considerable revenues, and the struggle for the control of the revenues from the tin mines as well as the polital power were essentially the reasons for the war.[1]

Sultan Muhammad died in 1857 and was replaced by Sultan Abdul Samad. The Malays were split into two camps. On Raja Abdullah's side was his son, Raja Ismail, and later supported by Tengku Kudin. On Raja Mahdi side was Syed Mashhor (originally on Raja Abdullah side but switched side later) and Raja Mahmud. The Chinese tin miners were divided between the two camps.

Initial conflict

The entrance gate of the old fort of Sultan Mahadi in Klang built in 1866 as a defense against Raja Abdullah . Today only the main gate and the earthen ramparts remain of the fort.

In 1866, Raja Abdullah leased Klang to two traders from the Straits Settlements; William Henry Macleod Read and Tan Kim Ching. Among benefits of being a renter was tax collection from the opium trade. When the two traders went out to collect tax, Raja Mahdi was offended as he felt he was exempted from the tax, and refused to pay. Raja Mahdi, supported by Sumatran traders who had a long tradition of enmity against the Bugis rulers of Selangor, then laid siege to the fort of Klang. Raja Mahdi gained possession of the fort, and Raja Abdullah then fled to Malacca, where he later died. One of his sons, Raja Ismail, returned to lay siege to Raja Mahdi, but was unable to take Klang.[1]

Chinese Kongsi Involvement

When the Selangor Civil War broke out, Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy was faced with internecine fighting among dissident Chinese groups as well as attacks from Malay factions. The two largest Chinese gangs, the Hakka-dominated Hai San and the Cantonese-dominated Ghee Hin, frequently engaged in warfare to gain control of tin production in the town.[2][3] The Chinese factions would eventually joined opposing sides in the civil war, with the Ghee Hin (based in the Kanching and Rawang area) siding with Raja Mahdi, and the Hai San with Yap Ah Loy (based in Kuala Lumpur) siding with Tengku Kudin.[4] Initially the Chinese kapitan of Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy stayed uncommitted, choosing to deal with whoever was in power, first with Raja Madhi in Klang (Raja Madhi organised a ceremony to formally invest Yap into the office of Kapitan in 1869), but later recognized the authority of Tengku Kudin who had captured Klang.[5]

Tengku Kudin enters the war

Tengku Dhiauddin and Raja Ismail with Captain Powlett. H.M.S. "Avon".

In 1867, Tunku Ziauddin Zainal Rashid, also known as Tengku Kudin, a prince from Kedah, married into the Selangor royal family. The Sultan appointed his son-in-law as Viceroy of Selangor to arbitrate between the warring parties, which he did twice; first on 26 June 1868 and again on 22 July 1871.[6][7][8]

Raja Mahadi however flatly refused the peace effort. Offended by Raja Mahdi's blunt no, Tengku Kudin sided with Raja Ismail instead. Raja Mahdi was defeated in Klang, and retreated to Kuala Selangor. Raja Mahdi allied with Chinese in Kanching who were enemies of Yap, then attacked Kuala Lumpur in 1870 with the Malay forces led by Syed Mashhor, and again in 1871, but both attacks were unsuccessful.[4][5]

Meanwhile, with disruption to the economy and trade in the British Straits Settlements, and concerns over security especially occurrences of piracy, the British became increasingly involved in the affairs of Selangor. In July 1871, due to an attack by pirates which was traced to Raja Mahdi's stronghold Kuala Selangor, the British attacked and captured Kuala Selangor, drove Mahdi's men out and then handed the town to Tengku Kudin.[9]

To augment his forces, Tengku Kudin brought in 500 soldiers from Kedah, and mercenaries and European officers from the Straits Settlements. Sultan Abdul Samad also provided Langat to Tengku Kudin to help him fund his war. Tengku Kudin in turn engaged the help of Sultan of Pahang in 1872, mercenaries, and Sir Andrew Clarke of the British Empire. This marked the first British involvement in local politics.

End of war

Tengku Dhiauddin's Secretariat.

In 1872, Raja Mahdi's forces led by Syed Mashhor attacked and captured Kuala Lumpur, forcing Yap Ah Loy to flee to Klang. Yap however was determined to recapture Kuala Kumpur. In 1873, Kudin's and Yap's men, with support from Pahang fighters, defeated Mashhor, effectively ending the war.[1] Raja Mahdi left for Johore and then Singapore, where he died in 1882.[10]

Despite winning the war, Tengku Kudin was viewed with suspicion by the royal family. Tengku Kudin's army from Pahang also refused to return to Pahang because they wanted to collect tax as a payment for their service, making the situation worse for Tengku Kudin. While the British through the new Governor Andrew Clarke was on Tengku Kudin's side, the post-war situation had weakened Tengku Kudin's support. Kudin remained the Viceroy of Selangor until 1878, but he had already left to live in Kedah by 1876, and later went on to Penang.[11][12][13]

British Resident

A significant development in this period is the beginning of direct British involvement in the affairs of the Malay states. The British were concerned about the effect of piracy and the disruption caused by the war to their trade and investments in the region, eventually siding with Tengku Kudin, in part because Mahdi and some of his followers had attacked shipping in the Straits. Colonial Secretary James W. W. Birch voiced his support for Tengku Kudin, and Governor Sir Harry Ord also encouraged Pahang to back Tengku Kudin with fighters.[4]

After a number of pirate attacks took place in Selangor, Andrew Clarke in August 1874 assigned Frank Swettenham as a resident advisor to Sultan Abdul Samad. Sultan Abdul Samad accepted James Guthrie Davidson, a lawyer from Singapore, as the first British Resident of Selangor in 1875. In October, Sultan Abdul Samad sent a letter to Andrew Clarke requesting that Selangor become a British protectorate.[14][15] This came after the signing of the 1874 Pangkor Agreement with the Sultan of Perak that marked the beginning the period of indirect rule of Malay states by the British Residents serving as advisers to the sultans.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 J.M. Gullick (1983). "Chapter 4: The Selangor Civil War (1867-1873)". The Story of Kuala Lumpur, 1857-1939. Eastern Universities Press (M). pp. 17–23. ISBN 978-9679080285.
  2. ↑ "From tin town to tower city", kiat.net, Retrieved 28 September 2010
  3. ↑ "Kuala Lumpur History". Kuala-Lumpur.ws. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Jim Baker (31 July 2010). Crossroads: A Popular History of Malaysia and Singapore (2nd ed.). Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. pp. 124–125. ISBN 9789814435482.
  5. 1 2 Sharon A. Carstens (31 March 2005). Histories, Cultures, Identities: Studies in Malaysian Chinese Worlds. Singapore University Press. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-9971693121.
  6. ↑ "Sultan Abdul Samad memberi kuasa kepada menantunya Tengku Kudin". National Archives of Malaysia. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Selangor Sultanate - the History". Irfan Nughoro. Melayu Online, Indonesia. 2008. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  8. ↑ "Perlantikan semula Tengku Kudin sebagai wakil Yamtuan Negeri Selangor". National Archives of Malaysia. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
  9. ↑ "The Selangor Civil War". Sejarah Melayu.
  10. ↑ J.M. Gullick (1983). The Story of Kuala Lumpur, 1857-1939. Eastern Universities Press (M). p. 39. ISBN 978-9679080285.
  11. ↑ "Tengku Kudin meninggal dunia". National Archives of Malaysia. 14 October 2008.
  12. ↑ "Raja Mahadi Fort (Kota Raja Mahadi)". Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. 2000. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  13. ↑ "Tengku Kudin menawan Kuala Selangor". National Archives of Malaysia. 16 June 2008.
  14. ↑ "Perisytiharan Pentadbiran Inggeris di Selangor". National Archives of Malaysia. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  15. ↑ Andaya, B.W. (1984). A History of Malaysia. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-38121-9.
  16. ↑ James W. Gould (1 July 1974). The United States and Malaysia. Harvard University Press. pp. 64 – 66. ISBN 978-0674926158.

Further reading

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