Lim Ah Siang
| Kapitan Cina S.M.J. Setia Mahkota Johor Lim Ah Siang |
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|---|---|
| 林亞相 | |
| Leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor | |
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In office 1885–1916 |
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| Preceded by | Tan Hiok Nee |
| Succeeded by | Lin Jin He |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1853 Chaoyang China |
| Died | 19 February 1917 Singapore |
| Children | 1. Lim Choon Seng |
| Residence | Johor Bahru Malaysia, Singapore |
Kapitan Cina Lim Ah Siang (Chinese: 林亞相甲; pinyin: Lín Yàxiāng Jia; 1853 – 19 February 1917), a timber merchant and steam saw miller, the founder of "Chop Sin Moh" Johor Bahru, was the third leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor, a legitimised secret society based in Johor Bahru. Ironic as it may seem, he was appointed to the position not because he was the most prominent Chinese in Johor at the time, but because he was not.
Born in China Chaoyang, he came to Singapore illegally by boat.
He assumed the leadership of the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor around 1885, after Tan Hiok Nee stepped down and retire to Singapore. But Lim Ah Siang was still only referred as Second Brother, the second most senior-ranking member in the secret society hierarchy, as Tan Hiok Nee continued to be a towering presence in nearby Singapore.
Lim Ah Siang was unlike Tan Kee Soon and Tan Hiok Nee who had a personal relationship with the Sultan of Johor, he was described as only being a friend of the Menteri Besar of Johor Dato' Jaafar Bin Muhammad. With no new Kapitan appointed after Kapitan Tan Cheng Hung dropped out of sight after selling off his concessions, and Kapitan Seah Tee Heng having died in 1884, the latter's son, Seah Ling Chai, had taken over his father's kangchu concessions, pepper and gambier business, and revenue farms. In addition, he held shares to eight rivers in his own right and was the manager of the Kongkek (Pepper and Gambier Society of Singapore). Seah was therefore the most prominent towkay in Johor, but the Ngee Heng passed him over for an unknown young man, mostly probably because Tan Hiok Nee was still running the Kongsi from Singapore and only required an assistant, not a business rival, to be in charge.
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