entity which first co-existed with colonial authority but was subsequently marginalised, criminalised and eventually suppressed as it got involved in armed robberies and crimes of violence. Leader of Ngee Heng Kongsi Johor 1. Tan Kee Soon 2. Tan Hiok Nee 3. Lim Ah Siang 4. Lin Jin He History The history of the Ngee Heng Kongsi in Johor is an integral part of the history of the Chinese in Johor which in turn is an integral part of the economic history of Johor. It is well known that when Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim wished to develop Johor, he had few resources at his disposal. Johor then consisted of vast tracts of dense jungle and rivers were the only means of access into the interior. When he opened Johor to the Chinese, the Ngee Heng gained a dominant position among the Chinese there. The Ngee Heng did not follow the Chinese to Johor but led them there. The drift towards Johor was a natural consequence of its proximity to Singapore but in the 1840s, a clearer move northwards can be seen as a result of various factors, chief of which was the growing shortage of land and when the Singapore authorities introduced a system of land registration, the cultivators objected to paying the quit rent. The upshot was that in 1846, Tan Tek Hye, calling himself "Keeper of the Quinquangular Seal", published a letter in the Singapore Free Press informing the public that the Ngee Heng had commanded 4,000 members of its brotherhood to relocate in Johor in protest. This forms the first record of a substantial migration of Chinese to Johor. Ngee Heng Kongsi during Sultan Abu Bakar time Only the Ngee Heng had appeared in Johor because Sultan Abu Bakar only permitted one secret society to function in Johor. To Sultan Abu Bakar, a brotherhood like the Ngee Heng Kongsi, with its combination of muscle and moral authority, was the best barrier against infiltration by unwanted Chinese and the best means of ensuring that the scattered Chinese population remained loyal to him. Tan Kee Soon therefore did not live to see the Ngee Heng officially recognised for he died about 1864 although it is possible that he could have had some kind of tacit understanding with the Sultan or even with the Temenggong. After his death, the character of the Ngee Heng changed under the new leadership of Tan Hiok