Chung Keng Quee - The Larut Wars

The Larut Wars

Around 1848 'Che Long Ja'afar introduced Chinese miners to Larut (spelt Laroot or Larot at that time). The original mine field, Klian Pauh is where the jail at Taiping stands today. Long Ja'afar appointed Low Sam from Penang as agent and Low Sam was associated with Chung Keng Quee.

According to Chung Keng Quee in his evidence provided to the Straits Government, the development of the Larut tin fields was initiated by Malay Chief 'Che Long Ja'afar by advancing money to the Chinese miners in his district to work the mines and it was only in his son Ngah Ibrahim's time (c. 1858-74) that the Chinese worked the mines with their own money.

At a time when Ngah Ibrahim was administrator of Larut the Chinese had increased in number and in early 1860 two large groups were formed by the Chinese, the "Five Associations" whose members worked in the mines of Klian Pauh and the "Four Associations" whose members worked in the mines of Klian Baharu.

Mining rights were given to the Hakka "Five Associations" or Go-Kuan (Chinese: 五馆 or Chinese: 五群) (Hakka: Ng Khiun) and the Cantonese "Four Associations" or Si-Kuan (四馆). Chung Keng Quee was leader of the Hakka Go-Kuan and the Hai San (Chinese: 海山) (Hakka: Hoi San) society they were aligned with and began to operate his tin mines in Larut (see Larut, Matang) in 1860.

Many Hakka fled China when the Taiping Rebellion broke out there and found work in the mines of Chung, Keng Quee establishing his position over the mining area in Larut as leader of the Hai San from 1860 to 1884.

Larut was destined to be plagued by four major wars between members of the Ghee Hin Society (Chinese: 义兴私会党) that owned the Cantonese Si-Kuan on the one hand and the Hakka Hai San and Hokkien Tua Pek Kong societies on the other hand. While the first of the Larut wars broke out over land and water rights, the rivalry between the two groups already existed in Ujong Salang, Selangor, Penang, Singapore and Kwangtung itself where both groups fought with each other between 1855 and 1868.

To many people it appeared that the trouble in Larut was merely a continuation of the trouble between the Ghee Hin and Tua Pek Kong societies in Ujong Salang in 1859 which later spread to Penang. The Larut Wars were fought between Hakka and Hakka. The Hai San miners were mainly Hakka men from Cheng Sheng. The first two battles (1861 and 1865) were between the Cheng Sheng Hakka of the Hai San and the Hui Chew Hakka of the Ghee Hin. The Last two (1872 and 1873) were between the Cheng Sheng Hakka of the Hai San and the Sin Neng Hakka of the Ghee Hin, the Hui Chew Hakka from the Ghee Hin from the earlier two battles having gone down to Selangor to join Yap Ah Loy, a Hui Chew Hakka who was head of the Hai San in Selangor. Lee Ah Kun (Lee Ko Yin), Ho Ghi Siu and Chin Seng Yam (Chin Ah Yam) were Sin Neng Hakka.