Hakka secret society in Malaya - Hai San

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Hakka secret society in Malaya - Hai San

Hai San,

Chinese secret society that was influential in commerce and tin mining in
19th-century Malaya. The Hai San had its origins in southern China and was
transmitted to Malaya by immigrant labourers. Cantonese originally
dominated the society, but, between 1845 and 1860, Hakka immigrants gained
preeminence. The society itself was a semilegal organization, internally
controlled by impressive rituals, oath taking, and harsh penalties for
infractions of rules. These rules included helping fellow members in times
of need, keeping society affairs secret, and aiding members in quarrels.
The Hai San was primarily centred in the Larut tin-mining district of
Perak. Its disruptive activities, particularly its feud with the Ghee Hin
society over the Perak tin mines, aroused the British authorities, who
mediated a settlement between the two groups (see Chinese Engagement). By
1890 the Hai San had been absorbed into the Toh Peh Kong society, known as
the Sa Tiam Hui in present-day Malaysia. 

Hatred among different linguistic groups in China continued in Malaya,
especially between the Ghee Hin (Cantonese) and Hai San (Hakka) societies
in Larut, and profoundly influenced events on the peninsula. In Perak,
warfare between the two societies over possession of tin mines was
mitigated by a British- mediated agreement called the Chinese Engagement in
1874. A similar situation occurred in Selangor. The Ghee Hin gradually
declined in power as British authority spread throughout the peninsula
after 1874. 

Chinese Engagement (1874), in Malaysian history, agreement ending warfare
between Chinese secret societies in Malaya over possession of the Perak tin
mines. In the 1850s Chinese entrepreneurs from Penang began rapid expansion
of tin-mining operations in Perak. Gradually, the Larut district became
divided between the Ghee Hin and Hai San secret societies and their Malay
allies. Feuds flared between the secret societies, and intermittent
fighting became more frequent after 1871. Distressed British officials from
the Straits Settlements arranged a meeting on Pangkor Island between the
protagonists. In January 1874 they signed the Chinese Engagement. Terms of
the agreement included mutual disarmament, stockade destruction, prisoner
exchange, and guarantees not to break the peace, under penalty of a fine.
The Chinese Engagement accomplished its immediate goals of ending strife in
the tin-mining district of Larut and enabling resumption of normal economic
activity. It was heartily welcomed by commercial interests in the Straits
Settlements, who hoped that all economic dislocation would now be ended.
Nevertheless, occasional, though less severe, secret-society rivalry
continued. 

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Selangor Civil War

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<Picture>(1867-73), series of conflicts initially between Malay chiefs but
later involving Chinese secret societies for control of tin-rich districts
in Selangor. 

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<Picture>Following the disputed recognition of Abdul Samad as sultan in
1860, Malay chiefs gradually became polarized into two camps--generally the
lower-river versus the upper-river chiefs. The main issue concerned the
lucrative collection of duties on tin exports. Raja Mahdi, the dispossessed
son of the previous ruler in Klang (now Kelang), seized and held the
prosperous town of Klang for two years with tacit approval of dissident
upper-river chiefs. When the sultan granted favours to his son-in-law
Zia-ud-din, brother of the sultan of Kedah, he further alienated the
dissident chiefs, and intermittent fighting commenced. 

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<Picture>At this point Chinese tin miners in the Selangor and Klang valleys
began feuding over control of the mines. The miners predominantly belonged
to the Ghee Hin and Hai San secret societies, which increasingly sought
allies among the Malay chiefs. Thus, by 1870 the Chinese had joined
opposing sides in the civil war: the Ghee Hin had joined Raja Mahdi's
forces, and the Hai San had sided with Zia-ud-din. By late 1873 Zia-ud-din,
with British aid, a Pahang army, and his Chinese allies, reversed several
years of setbacks and defeated Mahdi and his supporters. 

The war caused economic dislocation and loss of mining investments
and paved the way for expansion of British control in 1874.