Klang War - Tengku Kudin Enters The War

Tengku Kudin Enters The War

In 1867, Tengku Dhiauddin Zainal Rashid, also known as Tengku Kudin, a prince from Kedah, married into the Selangor royal family. The Sultan appointed his son-in-law as Vice Yamtuan and arbitrator twice during the war; first on 26 June 1868 and again on 22 July 1871.

Raja Mahadi however flatly refused the peace effort. Offended by Raja Mahadi's blunt no, Tengku Kudin sided with Raja Abdullah and Raja Ismail instead and this precipitated a war. The coalition against Raja Mahadi received a blow when Raja Abdullah died of natural cause. However, an influential Chinese kapitan, Yap Ah Loy, of whom was responsible for the early development of Kuala Lumpur joined Tengku Kudin's cause.

Meanwhile, the British Straits Settlements were becoming increasingly dependent on the economy of Selangor. Selangor through the 19th and the 20th was one of the world's major tin producers. Since Selangor's security affected tin trade, the British felt it needed to have a say in Selangor politics. The British saw Tengku Kudin as a ticket to reach out to Selangor's royal court. Therefore, the Straits Settlements led by Andrew Clarke implicitly supported Tengku Kudin.

Throughout the war, Tengku Kudin brought in 500 soldiers from Kedah along with mercenaries and European officers from the Straits Settlements. Sultan Abdul Samad also provided Langat to Tengku Kudin to help him fund the handling of the war. Tengku Kudin in turn engaged the help of Pahang in 1872, mercenaries and Sir Andrew Clarke of the British Empire. This marked the first British involvement in local politics.

The royal family was greatly disappointed with the outcome of the war and viewed Tengku Kudin with suspicion. What made the situation worse was Tengku Kudin's army from Pahang. After the war, the army refused to return to Pahang because they wanted to collect tax as a payment for their service. While the British through the new Governor Andrew Clarke was on Tengku Kudin's side, the post-war situation had weakened Tengku Kudin's power base. Therefore, Andrew Clarke was forced to freeze the plan to reach out to the royal family through Tengku Kudin.