Page 26 - Malayan Story
P. 26
MALAYAN STORY
CHAPTER 5 LIFE IN KUALA LUMPUR
So I began my life in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of a large, prosperous country which still showed all
the signs of being under British control, and whose prosperity largely came from the great British
rubber plantations to the south, or the tin mines in the north.
Having been installed as housekeeper, my first business was to acquaint myself with the house and
the bed rooms as I could expect plenty of guests. But more importantly, with the kitchen and dining
room and with the three servants who were to help me. I found all three very pleasant, but all were
Hakka speaking with very little English. Apart from their own dialect, they also spoke a brand of
pidgin Malay which was very common among the Chinese who lived in Malaya.
The three women were a cook, a “wash amah” who was responsible for the washing and ironing
every day, and a house girl whose job was to do the sweeping and dusting and to prepare all the
bedrooms as guests came and went. None of them were Christians, so I organised a short Bible
study time with them each morning before the day became too busy. We used a set of Gospel
Recordings in Hakka and together with Hakka New Testaments I was able, with the little English
they understood, which was mostly kitchen phrases and the smattering of Mandarin the cook could
speak, to have some kind of Bible study.
Because many of the New Village Chinese living near Kuala Lumpur were also Hakka speaking,
many of our workers had already identified Hakka as a dialect they needed to learn. Fortunately
Percy had managed to find a place outside Malaya where he could get a small supply of Hakka New
Testaments and language study books. He also found that Gospel Recordings had been active in
making records in Hakka. Once I started learning Hakka with the aid of a teacher, I gradually found
myself able to communicate more freely with my three servants.
The big central market was an amazing place, crowded and bustling and noisy. It was filled with
such an array of every kind of fruit and vegetable and meat and fish, from such a multitude of
different countries that I could only look in amazement and wonder what to buy and how to
understand this confusing new currency. Fish, large and small was in plentiful supply, as was fresh
and frozen meat from places as far away as New Zealand. Later, as I got used to it, I enjoyed my
weekly shopping and became fascinated with all the different sections.
I gradually became familiar with the rest of the city as Percy found time to drive me around. The big
central railway station became a common sight to us as we met and farewelled visitors from
Singapore in the south or from Penang and Thailand and Laos in the north. The British influence
was most obvious in the heart of the city where the big central “padang” or city square was
surrounded by British Government buildings. On one side was the imposing Federal buildings
housing the central Government offices. On the opposite side was the formidable Kuala Lumpur
Club to which only the elite were invited, or allowed to join.. On the third side was the beautiful
little Anglican St. Mary’s Church. This church was largely attended by English expats, but we were
pleased to find that the Vicar was Chinese. He had been educated and trained for the ministry in
England. His wife was English and we became friendly with the whole family. We found them not
only delightful people but also evangelical Christians. Rev. Chiu Ban Yit later became Bishop of
Singapore.
On the hill beyond the city centre was the home of Sir Gerald and Lady Templar, the High
Commissioner who had been sent to take the place of Sir Henry Gurney after his death at the hands
26
CHAPTER 5 LIFE IN KUALA LUMPUR
So I began my life in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of a large, prosperous country which still showed all
the signs of being under British control, and whose prosperity largely came from the great British
rubber plantations to the south, or the tin mines in the north.
Having been installed as housekeeper, my first business was to acquaint myself with the house and
the bed rooms as I could expect plenty of guests. But more importantly, with the kitchen and dining
room and with the three servants who were to help me. I found all three very pleasant, but all were
Hakka speaking with very little English. Apart from their own dialect, they also spoke a brand of
pidgin Malay which was very common among the Chinese who lived in Malaya.
The three women were a cook, a “wash amah” who was responsible for the washing and ironing
every day, and a house girl whose job was to do the sweeping and dusting and to prepare all the
bedrooms as guests came and went. None of them were Christians, so I organised a short Bible
study time with them each morning before the day became too busy. We used a set of Gospel
Recordings in Hakka and together with Hakka New Testaments I was able, with the little English
they understood, which was mostly kitchen phrases and the smattering of Mandarin the cook could
speak, to have some kind of Bible study.
Because many of the New Village Chinese living near Kuala Lumpur were also Hakka speaking,
many of our workers had already identified Hakka as a dialect they needed to learn. Fortunately
Percy had managed to find a place outside Malaya where he could get a small supply of Hakka New
Testaments and language study books. He also found that Gospel Recordings had been active in
making records in Hakka. Once I started learning Hakka with the aid of a teacher, I gradually found
myself able to communicate more freely with my three servants.
The big central market was an amazing place, crowded and bustling and noisy. It was filled with
such an array of every kind of fruit and vegetable and meat and fish, from such a multitude of
different countries that I could only look in amazement and wonder what to buy and how to
understand this confusing new currency. Fish, large and small was in plentiful supply, as was fresh
and frozen meat from places as far away as New Zealand. Later, as I got used to it, I enjoyed my
weekly shopping and became fascinated with all the different sections.
I gradually became familiar with the rest of the city as Percy found time to drive me around. The big
central railway station became a common sight to us as we met and farewelled visitors from
Singapore in the south or from Penang and Thailand and Laos in the north. The British influence
was most obvious in the heart of the city where the big central “padang” or city square was
surrounded by British Government buildings. On one side was the imposing Federal buildings
housing the central Government offices. On the opposite side was the formidable Kuala Lumpur
Club to which only the elite were invited, or allowed to join.. On the third side was the beautiful
little Anglican St. Mary’s Church. This church was largely attended by English expats, but we were
pleased to find that the Vicar was Chinese. He had been educated and trained for the ministry in
England. His wife was English and we became friendly with the whole family. We found them not
only delightful people but also evangelical Christians. Rev. Chiu Ban Yit later became Bishop of
Singapore.
On the hill beyond the city centre was the home of Sir Gerald and Lady Templar, the High
Commissioner who had been sent to take the place of Sir Henry Gurney after his death at the hands
26
