Kapitan China Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China ( en, Captain of the Chinese; ; nl, Kapitein der Chinezen), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and the ...

Tan Kee Soon (; 14 November 1803 – 1 February 1857) was the first leader of

Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor ({{zh, t= 義興公司, p=Yì Xīng Gōngsī; Teochew Pêh-uē-jī: ''Ngĭ Heng Kong-si''; 1844–1916) was a Teochew secret society that founded the earliest Chinese settlement in Johor. However, it did not have a cl ...

, and also the first

Tebrau Tebrau or Teberau is a mukim and a town in Johor Bahru District, Johor, Malaysia. It is the third largest mukim in the district. Administrative area *Bandar Dato' Onn * Adda Heights * Taman Delima *Taman Daya * Taman Setia Indah * Taman Mount Au ...

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...

. On 22 October 1844, he was granted the first ''Surat Sungai'' on Tebrau to become the first Kangchu of Tebrau.

Early life

Tan was born in Dongfengzhen,

Chao'an Chao'an () is a district of Chaozhou City in eastern Guangdong Province. It was Chao'an County until June 2013, when it became a district of Chaozhou. The former county was known as 'Haiyang' until 1914. It has an area of and a population of 1, ...

Chaozhou Chaozhou (), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the Sou ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. He joined the secret society

Tiandihui The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's a ...

as a young man. Tan was one of the leaders of the Ngee Heng Kongsi in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

who in 1846 ordered the 4,000 members of its brotherhood to relocate in Johor in protest against the imposition of quit rent in Singapore. He settled in Johor having obtained a surat sungai (river document) for Sungai Tebrau in 1844. He established a pepper and gambier settlement at Tan Chukang at Kangkar Tebrau, the oldest known Chinese settlement in Johor. However, he did not obtain more than the one grant, unlike other Ngee Heng leaders who held multiple concessions. Chinese sources described him as a yishi, a righteous political dissident who resisted the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

s. In fact, the site of Tan Chukang, located deep in the jungle, suggests that it was selected as a place of refuge. As such, he would have been in command of military resources which would have been an asset to Sultan

Abu Bakar Abū Bakr ( ar, أبو بكر ) is an Arabic given name meaning "Father of a Young Camel" (Abu meaning 'Father of' and Bakr meaning 'Young Camel') that is widely used by Sunni Muslims. Other transliterations include Abu Bakar, Abu Bekr, Ebubekir, ...

during the crucial period when he was establishing authority over Johor. After the death of Sultan Hussein, a treaty was brokered by the British in 1855 by which his son,

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, acquired the coveted title of Sultan of Johor while the sovereignty of Johor was ceded to

Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim Raja Temenggong Tun Daeng Ibrahim bin Temenggong Daeng Abdul Rahman (8 December 1810 – 31 January 1862) was the Temenggong of Johor and later the ''de facto'' Maharaja of Johor from 1855 to 1862. Biography Early life Daeng Ibrahim was born ...

, except for a small territory between the

Kesang Kesang may refer to: * Kesang, Malaysia, a town in Tangkak District, Johor * Kesang River, in Malaysia * Kesang Marstrand, an American folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist * Kesang Choden Wangchuck, a member of the royal family of Bhutan (sister ...

and Muar rivers. After some years, when Muar disobeyed Sultan Abu Bakar, Tan raised an army and went to pacify Muar. The Sultan came to trust Tan, who was subsequently commissioned by the Johor government to be responsible for police functions in the absence of a properly constituted police force. Since he was also the leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi, the government specifically permitted its open activities. Tan, did not live to see the Ngee Heng Kongsi officially recognised, for he died about 1864. It is possible that he could have a tacit understanding with the Sultan or even with the

Temenggong Temenggong or Tumenggung ( Jawi: تمڠݢوڠ; ''Temenggung'', Hanacaraka: ꦠꦸꦩꦼꦁꦒꦸꦁ; ''Tumenggung'') is an old Malay and Javanese title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security. Responsibilities The Temen ...

. Although Tan was succeeded by his adopted son, Tan Cheng Hung, as kangchu and Kapitan China in Tebrau. He was succeeded by

Tan Hiok Nee Kapitan Cina, Major China Dato' Tan Hiok Nee (; 1827 – 21 May 1902), also known as Tan Yeok Nee (), was the leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor, succeeding Tan Kee Soon in circa 1864, he transformed the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor from a q ...

as the leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi.

References

External links

*
Chaoz Hou Daily

Sources

Ahmad, A. (2003). New Terrains in Southeast Asian History. Ohio University: Center for International Studies {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Kee Soon Chinese secret societies History of Johor Singaporean people of Teochew descent Singaporean people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Teochew descent People from Chaozhou People from Johor Bahru Kapitan Cina 1803 births 1857 deaths Tianduhui members