Long Jaafar and the Chinese tin miners in Larut
One version of the story of the discovery of tin in Perak is that a runaway elephant belonging to Long Jaafar returned home with traces of the precious mineral on its body.
Large-scale tin mining in Perak introduced a period of Sino-Malay partnership in the industry, exemplified by Long bin Jaafar and the Chinese miners of Larut. Chinese capitalists advanced finance to the chiefs in return for the right to trade in the tin produced. The use of thousands of Chinese immigrant labourers belonging to various secret societies to work the mines unfortunately resulted in violent clashes, known as the Larut wars, and eventually led to British intervention and the appointment of a British Resident.
- Information in the full article includes
- Long Jaafar, the Malay miner
- The Chinese coolies
- The Larut wars