[4] A struggle for power occurred towards the end of Sultan Muhammad Shah of Selangor's reign.

With their patronage and the support of four other state dignitaries, a consensus was select Raja Abdul Samad as the sultan.

Tengku Kudin in turn engaged the help of Pahang, mercenaries and Sir Andrew Clarke of the British Empire.

[13][14][15] After a number of pirate attacks in Selangor, Andrew Clarke assigned Frank Swettenham as a live-in advisor to Sultan Abdul Samad in August 1874.

Sultan Abdul Samad accepted James Guthrie Davidson as the first British Resident of Selangor in 1875.

In October of the same year, Sultan Abdul Samad sent a letter to Andrew Clarke requesting for Selangor to be made a British protectorate.

In 1893, he along with Kapitan Yap Kwan Seng, K. Thamboosamy and Loke Yew helped found the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur.

[19] Sultan Abdul Samad was a member of the Council of Rulers of the Federated Malay States, under the British colonial regime.

Sultan Abdul Samad interacted openly with his people as observers noted that he mingled by chatting in local markets, while taking his daily walks or while watching cockfights.