Chinatown - Yap Ah Loy

Yap Ah Loy, a Hakka was also known as Yap Tet Loy and Yap Mao Lan who was largely responsible for the development of Kuala Lumpur as a commercial and mining centre in the middle of the 1800’s.

Yap Ah Loy rose from an unknown immigrant to become a Kapitan Cina and the headman of a settlement of several hundred Chinese inhabitants. The city that he had largely developed retained its pre-eminent position and became the capital of Malaysia.

Today there is a street name after him known as Jalan Yap Ah Loy in the heart of Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur.

 

 

Compiled by Yeo Ai Hoon
updated 20- Nov- 2002