Koh Lay Huan

Kapitan China Koh Lay Huan (simplified Chinese: 辜礼欢甲; traditional Chinese: 辜禮歡甲; pinyin: Gū Lǐ Huān Jia; died 1826) was a wealthy and educated man, who had earlier rebelled against the Manchu Qing Dynasty and fled to Siam and the Malay States, to eventually settle in Penang as its first Kapitan China. He was a merchant, planter, tax farmer,Chinese secret society headman, and one of a handful of pioneering leaders of Penang.

Koh Lay Huan was from T'ung-an county,Zhang Zhou Prefecture in the Fujian Province, on the southeast coast of China. At the time, Fujian was at the focus of the activities of Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society), a secret society aiming at the overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Having become involved in rebellious activity, Koh Lay Huan was forced to flee to the south part of Siam, where he settled successfully.

He became a close ally of the headman/penghulu of Nakhon Srithammarat (who would, around 1821, marry one of Koh's daughters in Penang). Later, encouraged by commercial prospects, he moved to Kedah where he again settled successfully, kept a second family, and became Kapitan Cina of Kedah at Kuala Muda.

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