Page 16 - Malayan Story
P. 16
MALAYAN STORY
CHAPTER 3 MOVE TO KUALA LUMPUR
With Mission HQ settled in Singapore, Percy now felt free to try and find a place in Kuala Lumpur
where we could live and which would be suitable for the central station of the Malaya Field. He
moved up with letters of introduction to Ray Honey, Jack and Heather Clingleffer and Harvey
Stanley, all of whom were Christian business people in the capital. Ray’s initial greeting was rather
cool as he imagined Percy to be some king of a salesman, but when his letters of introduction were
produced, the whole picture changed. He took him to meet Harvey and Jack, both of whom
welcomed him and the CIM as a Mission, very warmly. Jack and Heather were kindness itself and
insisted he should make their home his own until he found a suitable place to rent. And indeed,
during the few months he lived in their hospitable home, it almost became Malayan Headquarters as
they welcomed any and all of our missionaries who came in and out of Kuala Lumpur, and with true
Australian hospitality, found a place for any to stay who had no accommodation.
With help from these and other friends it was discovered that the son of the Rajah of Selangor had a
house and grounds to rent at 120 Princes Road. He was willing to rent to us, but he did not want it
known that we were a Christian mission and therefore we would not be able to put a notice up on the
gate to say who we were. Otherwise he put no further restrictions on us beyond insisting that we
must employ a gardener to keep the garden in good condition. He proved to be a very good landlord
and the only time I ever had anything to do with him was on one or two occasions when he sent
round to ask for some herbs he had planted in the garden to make some special Malay dish for which
they were suited.
As soon as the contract was signed and we had somewhere to accommodate guests, Percy asked two
of the ladies to take charge of the housekeeping till I should arrive, and then called all South
Malayan workers together for a Conference. It was held at 120 Princes Road from the evening of 8
September 1952 till the morning of 12 September. Arnold and Jeannie Lea, with Lawrence were
there from the HQ staff in an advisory capacity and to lead the Bible studies. The Anglican workers,
George Williamson, Ruth Dix, Marion Parsons and Ethel Barkworth were there also as guests of the
South Malaya Field and as observers.
By this time ten villages had been opened in South Malaya and immediately after the Conference,
Ursula Kohler moved to Serdang village to be joined by Irene Neville. Bertha Silversides with Ina
Tebbs moved out to Kuala Kubu. A Field Council to assist the Superintendent was elected at the
Conference. It was made up of David Bentley-Taylor (Percy’s brother-in-law), Stanley Rowe, Ruth
Verhulst and Annette Harris and, after the ballot papers had been counted and the names read out,
Arnold committed them and their work on the Council for the coming year to the Lord.
Many subjects were brought up and discussed at that first Conference in South Malaya. Most of the
workers at that time were ex-China missionaries who had come to Malaya to work among Chinese
people, thinking they would be able to use some or all of the methods that had proved successful in
China. This first year had made it clear that things in Malaya would be very different.
Superintendent, Field Council and workers in the villages were still feeling their way. There was a
question of what language to use. It was quite a misconception to think that because they had all
learned Chinese in China and were working amongst Chinese people in Malaya, they would have no
communication problems. They found that there were few who spoke Mandarin Chinese, though
they respected it as the National language, but each village had its own dialect, usually one of the
South China dialects, with a number of others being spoken too. They found themselves coping with
Hakka, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochiu, and sometimes several varieties of each!
16
CHAPTER 3 MOVE TO KUALA LUMPUR
With Mission HQ settled in Singapore, Percy now felt free to try and find a place in Kuala Lumpur
where we could live and which would be suitable for the central station of the Malaya Field. He
moved up with letters of introduction to Ray Honey, Jack and Heather Clingleffer and Harvey
Stanley, all of whom were Christian business people in the capital. Ray’s initial greeting was rather
cool as he imagined Percy to be some king of a salesman, but when his letters of introduction were
produced, the whole picture changed. He took him to meet Harvey and Jack, both of whom
welcomed him and the CIM as a Mission, very warmly. Jack and Heather were kindness itself and
insisted he should make their home his own until he found a suitable place to rent. And indeed,
during the few months he lived in their hospitable home, it almost became Malayan Headquarters as
they welcomed any and all of our missionaries who came in and out of Kuala Lumpur, and with true
Australian hospitality, found a place for any to stay who had no accommodation.
With help from these and other friends it was discovered that the son of the Rajah of Selangor had a
house and grounds to rent at 120 Princes Road. He was willing to rent to us, but he did not want it
known that we were a Christian mission and therefore we would not be able to put a notice up on the
gate to say who we were. Otherwise he put no further restrictions on us beyond insisting that we
must employ a gardener to keep the garden in good condition. He proved to be a very good landlord
and the only time I ever had anything to do with him was on one or two occasions when he sent
round to ask for some herbs he had planted in the garden to make some special Malay dish for which
they were suited.
As soon as the contract was signed and we had somewhere to accommodate guests, Percy asked two
of the ladies to take charge of the housekeeping till I should arrive, and then called all South
Malayan workers together for a Conference. It was held at 120 Princes Road from the evening of 8
September 1952 till the morning of 12 September. Arnold and Jeannie Lea, with Lawrence were
there from the HQ staff in an advisory capacity and to lead the Bible studies. The Anglican workers,
George Williamson, Ruth Dix, Marion Parsons and Ethel Barkworth were there also as guests of the
South Malaya Field and as observers.
By this time ten villages had been opened in South Malaya and immediately after the Conference,
Ursula Kohler moved to Serdang village to be joined by Irene Neville. Bertha Silversides with Ina
Tebbs moved out to Kuala Kubu. A Field Council to assist the Superintendent was elected at the
Conference. It was made up of David Bentley-Taylor (Percy’s brother-in-law), Stanley Rowe, Ruth
Verhulst and Annette Harris and, after the ballot papers had been counted and the names read out,
Arnold committed them and their work on the Council for the coming year to the Lord.
Many subjects were brought up and discussed at that first Conference in South Malaya. Most of the
workers at that time were ex-China missionaries who had come to Malaya to work among Chinese
people, thinking they would be able to use some or all of the methods that had proved successful in
China. This first year had made it clear that things in Malaya would be very different.
Superintendent, Field Council and workers in the villages were still feeling their way. There was a
question of what language to use. It was quite a misconception to think that because they had all
learned Chinese in China and were working amongst Chinese people in Malaya, they would have no
communication problems. They found that there were few who spoke Mandarin Chinese, though
they respected it as the National language, but each village had its own dialect, usually one of the
South China dialects, with a number of others being spoken too. They found themselves coping with
Hakka, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochiu, and sometimes several varieties of each!
16
