| History of Malaysia |
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 Malaysiaportal |
The Larut Wars were a series of four wars started in July 1861 and ended with the signing of the Pangkor Treaty of 1874. The conflict was fought among local Chinese secret societies over the control of mining areas in Perak which later involved rivalry between Raja Abdullah and Ngah Ibrahim, making it a war of succession.
The First Larut War began in July 1861 when arguments over control of watercourse to their mines escalated and led members of the Hai San Society to drive the members of the Ghee Hin society out of Klian Baharu (now known as Kamunting). [1] [2] [3] [4] The Governor of Straits Settlements, William Orfeur Cavenagh intervened and the Mentri of Larut, Ngah Ibrahim, was made to compensate the Ghee Hin with $17,447 on behalf of the Sultan of Perak. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
The Second Larut War took place in 1865 and was sparked off by a gambling quarrel in June of that year between members of the two opposing secret societies. The Hai San members took 14 Ghee Hin as prisoners, 13 of whom were killed. The 14th escaped to inform his clan and the Ghee Hin retaliated by attacking a Hai San village, razing it to the ground and killing 40 men in the process. The battle continued back and forth and spread to Province Wellesley and the island of Penang while other secret societies started to join the fray. Both sides were later exhausted and finally decided to come to terms. An official inquiry took place and both the Hai San and Ghee Hin societies were fined $5,000 each for violating the peace of Penang and their leaders exiled. [10] [11] [12] [13]
By around 1870, there were a combined total of about 40,000 Hakka and Cantonese mine workers in the Larut district and the mining areas between the two groups were near to each other. It is this proximity that might explain how the next battle began. [14] [15]
The Third Larut War was rumoured to have erupted in 1871 over a scandal – an extra-marital relationship involving the Ghee Hin leader and the wife of a nephew of the Hai San leader, Chung Keng Quee. Upon discovery, the adulterous couple was caught, tortured, put into a pig basket and thrown into a disused mining pond where they drowned. Avenging the death of their leader, Ghee Hin had 4,000 mercenaries imported from mainland China via Penang attack the Hai San and for the first time, the Hai San were driven out of Larut. About 10,000 Hai San men sought refuge in Penang. Months later, the Hai San supported by Ngah Ibrahim recovered their Matang and Larut mines. At this time, Raja Abdullah a claimant to the throne of Perak (in opposition to Sultan Ismail who was installed in Abdullah's absence) after Sultan Ali (r. 1865–1871) died in 1871, [16] and an enemy of Ngah Ibrahim, took sides against the Hai San and Ngah Ibrahim and the wars between the Chinese miners transformed into civil war involving the Malay chiefs of Perak. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]
| Fourth Larut War Perang Larut Keempat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Larut Wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
Ghee Hin society | Hai San society  Perak Sultanate –Ngah Ibrahim forces | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Chin Ah Yam Raja Abdullah  Andrew Clarke | Chung Keng Quee Ngah Ibrahim | ||||||
The Fourth Larut War occurred in 1873, merely a year after the previous battle. Weeks after Hai Sans regained Larut, Ghee Hin, supported by Raja Abdullah, counter-attacked with arms and men from Singapore and China. Ngah Ibrahim's properties in Matang were destroyed. Local Malay residents were also killed and their property, destroyed. Trouble spread to Krian, Pangkor and Dinding. The quarrelling Malay chiefs who had taken sides in the Larut Wars were now alarmed at the disorder created by the Chinese miners and secret societies. The Straits Settlement Penang Chinese seeing their investments destroyed in the Larut Wars sought intervention from the British. Over 40,000 Chinese from the Go-Kuan and Si-Kuan were engaged in the fratricidal war involving the Perak royal family. [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]
The Perak sultanate, involved in a protracted succession struggle, was unable to maintain order. Things were increasingly getting out of hand and chaos was proving bad for the Malays, Chinese and British. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] In her book The Golden Chersonese and The Way Thither (published in 1892 by G.P. Putnam's sons) Victorian traveller and adventuress Isabella Lucy Bird (1831–1904) describes how Raja Muda Abdullah as he then was turned to his friend in Singapore, Tan Kim Ching. Tan, together with an English merchant in Singapore drafted a letter to Governor Sir Andrew Clarke which Abdullah signed. The letter expressed Abdullah's desire to place Perak under British protection, and "to have a man of sufficient abilities to show (him) a good system of government". [37] [38] [39] [40] On 26 September 1872, Chung Keng Quee had already presented a petition, signed by himself and 44 other Chinese leaders, seeking British interference following the attack of 12,000 men of Chung Shan by 2,000 men of Sen Ning (The Petition). [41] [42] [43]
The need to restore law and order in Perak gave cause for a new British policy concerning intervention in the affairs of the Malay States which resulted in the Pangkor Treaty. In 1874, the Straits Settlements governor Sir Andrew Clarke convened a meeting on Pulau Pangkor, at which Sultan Abdullah was installed on the throne of Perak in preference to his rival, Sultan Ismail. [44] [45] [46]
Documents were signed on 20 January 1874 aboard the ship The Pluto at Pangkor Island to settle the Chinese dispute, clear the Sultan succession dispute and pave the way for the acceptance of British Residency – Captain Speedy was appointed to administer Larut as assistant to the British Resident. [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52]
Chung Keng Quee and Chin Ah Yam, leaders of the Hai San and Ghee Hin, respectively, were ennobled by the British with the title of Chinese Kapitan and the town of Larut was renamed Taiping ("太平" in Chinese, meaning "everlasting peace") as a confirmation of the new state of truce. Three days later, Chung Keng Quee was appointed a member of the Pacification Commission headed by Captain S. Dunlop and Messrs. Frank Swettenham and William A. Pickering – one of the objectives of the commission was to arrange an amicable settlement of the squabbles over the tin mines at Larut. [53] [54] [55] [56] [57]
The Commissioners decided to allocate the mines in Klian Pauh (Taiping) to the Hai Sans and the mines in Klian Bharu (Kamunting) to the Ghee Hins. [58] [59]
Scholar Irene Liao has connected with this settlement the establishment in the 1880s in Taiping of the first temple in the Malay peninsula devoted to goddess He Xiangu (何仙姑). Liao sees the establishment of the temple as an "effort to reconcile" after the wars, and "as part of a cultural strategy to symbolically integrate all Guangdong immigrants into one community". Many Chinese miners came from Zengcheng District, the main center of the cult of He Xiangu. [60]
The newly appointed British Resident Minister James W. W. Birch was assassinated in 1875 on the orders of Lela Pandak Lam (alias Dato Maharaja Lela). Lela was a prince and mufti from Upper Perak, who was either motivated to protect his economic interests by restoring slavery – which had been prohibited by the British – or restore independence to Perak – a view commonly held by modern Malaysian nationalists. In the resulting Perak War (1875–76), the British retaliated by defeating the rebels, executing Lela and expelling both Raja Abdullah and Ngah Ibrahim to the Seychelles on the accusation that they had been involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Birch. The British appointed Yusuf Sharifuddin Muzaffar Shah to regent of Perak in 1877, finally appointing him as the new sultan of Perak in 1886.
Perak is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's Yala and Narathiwat provinces both lie to the northeast. Perak's capital city, Ipoh, was known historically for its tin-mining activities until the price of the metal dropped, severely affecting the state's economy. The royal capital remains Kuala Kangsar, where the palace of the Sultan of Perak is located. As of 2018, the state's population was 2,500,000. Perak has diverse tropical rainforests and an equatorial climate. The state's mountain ranges belong to the Titiwangsa Mountains, which is part of the larger Tenasserim Hills system that connects Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Perak's Mount Korbu is the highest point of the range.
The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was a treaty signed between Great Britain and the Sultan of Perak on 20 January 1874, on the Colonial Steamer Pluto, off the coast of Perak. The treaty is significant in the history of the Malay states as it legitimised British control of the Malay rulers and paved the way for British imperialism in Malaya. It was the result of a multi-day conference organised by Andrew Clarke, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, to solve two problems: the Larut War, and Sultanship in Perak.
William Alexander Pickering was the first Protector appointed on 3 May 1877 by the British government to administer the Chinese Protectorate in colonial Singapore. He was the first European official in Singapore who could speak fluent Mandarin and Hokkien and gained the trust of many of the Singapore Chinese. His efforts went a long way towards controlling the problems posed by the secret societies then. Pickering Street in Singapore's Chinatown is named after him.
Taiping is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately 48 km (30 mi) northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and 78 km (48 mi) southeast of George Town, Penang. With a population of 245,182, it is the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, the state capital.
The Ghee Hin Kongsi was a secret society in Singapore and Malaya, formed in 1820. Ghee Hin literally means "the rise of righteousness" in Chinese and was part of the Hongmen overseas network. The Ghee Hin often fought against the Hakka-dominated Hai San secret society.
The term "British Malaya" loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the term "British India", which excludes the Indian princely states, British Malaya is often used to refer to the Federated and the Unfederated Malay States, which were British protectorates with their own local rulers, as well as the Straits Settlements, which were under the sovereignty and direct rule of the British Crown, after a period of control by the East India Company.
Bukit Larut is a hill resort in Malaysia located in the state of Perak, Malaysia, 10 kilometres southwest from Taiping. It was established under the direction of British colonists in 1884 as a place of observation for tin mining activity and as a retreat for the English people who were based in nearby Larut and Taiping. The area was initially named Maxwell Hill after the British Malaya administrator George Maxwell, and was renamed as Bukit Larut in 1979.
The Klang War or Selangor Civil War was a series of conflicts that lasted from 1867 to 1874 in the Malay state of Selangor in the Malay Peninsula.
Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee was the founder and administrator of modern Taiping in Perak, Malaysia. Appointed "Capitan China" by the British in 1877, he was a millionaire philanthropist and known as an innovator in the mining of tin. He was involved in many other industries including farming, pawnbroking and logging. He was respected by both Chinese and European communities in the early colonial settlement. His survival in the chaotic era owes much to his standing as leader of the Hai San, a Chinese secret society in British Malaya during the time of the Larut Wars (1862–73). a position he is said to have held till early 1884 although in all probability he continued to remain a leading member. The old fort at Teluk Batu was built by him to safeguard the mine that he opened there. He was a member of the Commission for the Pacification of Larut and sat as one of six members of the Advisory Perak State Council appointed by the British. Commenting on the role of the Perak Council, Richard James Wilkinson wrote,
"It is for the reader, in the light of subsequent events, to judge how far the Councillors were right or wrong, and to see for himself who really did the pioneer work of building up the prosperity of Perak. In the published accounts of British rule in Malaya, sufficient prominence has not always been given to the efforts of these early pioneers; the reaper, intent on his own work, is apt to forget the man who sowed. These Council Minutes are the record of the work of the sowers. A study of that record will show how much the State owes to Sir Hugh Low and to his fellow-Councillors, especially Raja Dris, Sir William Maxwell, and the Chinese towkays, Ah Kwi [Chung Keng Quee] and Ah Yam."
Kota Ngah Ibrahim or Ngah Ibrahim's Fort is a fort of historical value in Taiping, Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. The fort is located at Jalan Taiping-Kuala Sepetang road near Matang town.
Tan Kim Ching, also known as Tan Kim Cheng, was a Chinese politician and businessman. He was the eldest of the three sons of Tan Tock Seng, the founder and financier of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He was consul for Japan, Thailand and Russia, and was a member of the Royal Court of Siam. He was one of Singapore's leading Chinese merchants and was one of its richest men in Singapore at that time. He was also the first Asian member of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. After his father's death, he became the Kapitan Cina of the Straits Chinese community. He is believed to have been the head of the Triad in Malaya.
Samuel Dunlop, CMG served in several capacities as a member of the Straits Settlements civil service but is perhaps best known as the Inspector-General of Police, in Singapore.
The Second Larut War took place in 1865 and was sparked off by a gambling quarrel in June of that year between members of the two opposing secret societies.
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. At that time the society's headquarters was located at Beach Street.
Foo Tye Sin was a Justice of the Peace and an influential community leader of 19th century. Penang born Foo Tye Sin, a British subject, was a Hakka tin miner who could trace his ancestry to the Yong Ting District, Ting Chou Prefecture, Fujian. He was educated at St. Xavier's Institution and the Penang Free School. Tye Sin Street (四条路), or Lebuh Tye Sin as it is now known as, is named after him.
Khoo Thean Teik was one of the most powerful and notorious Hokkien leaders of 19th-century Penang. His name, "Thean Teik", means "Heavenly Virtue". He was the leader of the Tokong or Khian Teik society that was involved in the Penang Riots of 1867 and through its connection with the Hai San, the internecine Larut Wars of 1861 to 1874. He traded through the companies Khoon Ho and Chin Bee. He was a towkay, trading in immigrant labour and had interests in the Opium Farms in Penang and Hong Kong. Thean Teik Estate, a residential neighbourhood in Penang, and Jalan Thean Teik are named after him.
The Commission for the Pacification of Larut, whose terms of reference, among others, was to arrange for an amicable settlement relating to the Larut tin mines, was established by Sir Andrew Clarke on 23 January 1874. The members of the Pacification Commission included Captain Samuel Dunlop, Frank Swettenham, William A. Pickering, John Frederick Adolphus McNair, Chung Keng Quee and Chin Seng Yam. The Commission was successful in freeing many women taken as captives during the Larut Wars (1862–73), getting stockades dismantled and getting the tin mining business going again. The commission's labours concluded in February, 1874.
Ngah Ibrahim was a Malay headman who succeeded his father Long Jaafar as headman and administrator of the district of Larut upon the death of his father in 1857. By the time of Sultan Ismail Mu'abbiddin Riayat Shah of Perak, Ngah Ibrahim had quarrelled with Raja Muda Abdullah II, the son of the former sultan who had been passed over by the Royal Council in favour of Ismail. Abdullah sought to engineer a situation where the British would recognise him as Sultan and sought the services and recognition of Ngah Ibrahim. In return he appointed Ngah Ibrahim as Orang Kaya Mantri of Larut in 1858. The two of them had a falling-out and embroiled miners in the Larut area in their dispute which eventually resulted in intervention by the British, the treaties at Pangkor for the cessation of hostilities between the miners, the recognition of Abdullah as Sultan of Perak and the appointment of a British Resident whose advice must be asked and acted upon on all questions except those touching Malay religion and custom.
Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah II Ibni Almarhum Sultan Jaafar Safiuddin Muadzam Shah Waliullah was the 26th Sultan of Perak. He later played a prominent role of adopting the Perak's state anthem, Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan which was later used as the national anthem of Malaysia.
Perakian Malay people refers to a group of Malay people originating from the Malaysian state of Perak. As of 2010, it is estimated that the population of the Perakian Malays in Perak are about 55.74% of the state's population.
