page_title: Klang War
section_title: Initial conflict
hierarchical_section_title: Klang War / Initial conflict
caption_attribution_description: English: Klang Municipal Council Bahasa Melayu: Majlis Perbandaran Klang
context_page_description: The Klang War or Selangor Civil War was a series of conflicts that lasted from 1867 to 1874 in the Malay state of Selangor. It was initially fought between Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar, the administrator of Klang, and Raja Mahadi bin Raja Sulaiman. It was joined by Tengku Kudin, as well as Malay and Chinese rival factions. The war was eventually won by Tengku Kudin and Abdullah's son, Raja Ismail.
context_section_description: In 1866, Raja Abdullah leased Klang to two traders from the Straits Settlements: William Henry Macleod Read and Tan Kim Ching. Among the benefits of the lease was tax collection from the opium trade, in which Raja Mahdi was involved.  When the two traders went out to collect tax, including from Raja Mahdi himself, he was offended as he felt he should be exempted from the tax since he was of Selangor royalty, and refused to pay. Raja Abdullah saw this as an act of defiance by Raja Mahadi towards him. This incident, exacerbated by Raja Mahadi's continued dissatisfaction with being ignored as the successor to Sultan Muhammad for the Selangor throne following his death in 1857 in favour of the then Raja Abdul Samad (later became Sultan Abdul Samad), and further conflicts between their followers worsened the already tense relationship between the two antagonists, which many believe were the initial causes for the outbreak of the Klang War.
  At that time there was also a long-standing animosity between the Bugis Malays (the Selangor royal family were of Bugis origin) and the Sumatran Batu Bara ethnic groups. Raja Abdullah, also a Bugis, refused to punish a member of the Bugis Malays he had sent to guard Bukit Nanas who then murdered a villager from the Batu Bara ethnic group. Angered by Raja Abdullah's refusal to take action against the murderer nor pay compensation for the death of one of his men as an alternative, the Batu Bara Malays' leader Mohamed Akib, informed Raja Mahdi of the incident and offered his support for him if he wanted to fight against Raja Abdullah.  Raja Mahdi, supported by the Sumatran traders, then laid siege to the fort of Klang (now known as Raja Mahadi fort).  Mohamad Akib however was shot and killed in 1867 while fighting at the fort, and his younger brother Mohamed Tahir assumed leadership. Mohamad Akib's body together with several other slain Sumatran Malays were buried within the grounds of the fort, whose graves still remain there to this day. 
  Raja Abdullah evacuated with his family to Malacca, where he later died, while his two sons, Raja Ismail and Raja Hasan continued with the fighting. In March 1867, Raja Mahdi gained possession of the fort and control of Klang.  One of Abdullah's sons, Raja Ismail, returned with three small ships to lay siege to Raja Mahdi, but was unable to take Klang.
caption: The entrance gate of the old fort of Raja Mahadi in Klang  built in 1866 as a defense against Raja Abdullah. Today only the main gate and the earthen ramparts remain of the fort.
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