Page 27 - Malayan Story
P. 27
MALAYAN STORY
of guerrillas. Very near their home were the beautiful Lake Gardens, well kept and attractive, a
delightful place in which to relax. Scattered around on the outskirts of the business centre were the
homes of expat business or government people. Many of these had their own social life which was
largely centred in the Club which allowed little place for the local people. Of course this was not
true of all expats.
The big Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church was up on the hill and had been founded by American
Methodists. Attached to it were the extensive English language Boys’ and Girls’ Schools. The
Pastor of the church and the teachers in both schools were all Americans or American trained
Chinese. The schools were popular because at that time there was no University in Malaya and most
students had to go to England or elsewhere for their tertiary education. The same was true of the
other English Girls’ School at Bukit Bintang. It also had a good name and was staffed by teachers
from England. This school was part of the work of the Brethren missionaries who were centred at
the Venning Road Chapel and did a great work in and around Kuala Lumpur. This was probably the
most evangelical of the Kuala Lumpur churches at that time and Percy had found good fellowship
there in his first months in the city.
After I arrived, the Methodists asked me if I would teach one of the girls’ classes in their Sunday
School. It seemed like an answer to my prayers for work I could do locally, even if I were fully
occupied most of the week with work at the Mission Home. I started with a class of girls who were
in the first form of the secondary school, and were also expected to attend Church on Sundays. As
the years went by, I was also promoted with my class each year, and so I got to know them well and
with some at least, became friends for life. Most of them were Chinese, but some of them were
Indian. I found them all very open to the Truth and I was glad for the opportunity to teach them.
Percy in the meantime preached in most of the Kuala Lumpur Churches, but as churches sprang up in
the New Villages, he became more involved with them.
In spite of the many evidences of British occupation in Malaya, we could never forget that it was a
Muslim country. Daily we would hear the Call to Prayer ringing out over the city and would watch
as people spread their prayer mats on the street or wherever they might be, and would prostrate
themselves towards Mecca and pray. We were warned never to try to proselytise the Malay people.
We could preach to Chinese and Indians or people of any other nationality, but never to Malays, with
the threat of deportation if we did. On Fridays the Muslim people all made their way to the National
Mosque, and it was on Fridays that I often saw beggars making their way from shop to shop on the
main streets to be given one or two copper coins by the shop proprietor, who, hoping to store up a
little extra merit in the next world, kept a small heap of copper coins for this very purpose.
The business centre of the city intrigued me. One central street seemed very British, with prosperous
looking shops stocked largely with Western goods, and patronised mainly by westerners and
Government wives of various nationalities. Chinese businesses were very evident and were usually
busy and successful looking. On some streets the “Singh” name on the outside proclaimed the
proprietor as of Indian extraction. There was a Malay section too which I began to enjoy visiting
because it was full of things that were typically Malay such as sarongs, batiks and the special haji
hats for those who had done the “haj”, the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Kuala Lumpur seemed a bright and prosperous city, but everywhere we were reminded that there
was a war on. Gurka soldiers, Malay soldiers and British men in military uniform were all there in
jeeps or trucks, part of the convoys going up into Pahang or north to Penang or south to Singapore.
The daily papers kept us informed of the latest “incident” in the war against the guerrillas.
Sometimes we noticed the High Commissioner’s helicopter leaving Kuala Lumpur to go to a village
27
of guerrillas. Very near their home were the beautiful Lake Gardens, well kept and attractive, a
delightful place in which to relax. Scattered around on the outskirts of the business centre were the
homes of expat business or government people. Many of these had their own social life which was
largely centred in the Club which allowed little place for the local people. Of course this was not
true of all expats.
The big Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church was up on the hill and had been founded by American
Methodists. Attached to it were the extensive English language Boys’ and Girls’ Schools. The
Pastor of the church and the teachers in both schools were all Americans or American trained
Chinese. The schools were popular because at that time there was no University in Malaya and most
students had to go to England or elsewhere for their tertiary education. The same was true of the
other English Girls’ School at Bukit Bintang. It also had a good name and was staffed by teachers
from England. This school was part of the work of the Brethren missionaries who were centred at
the Venning Road Chapel and did a great work in and around Kuala Lumpur. This was probably the
most evangelical of the Kuala Lumpur churches at that time and Percy had found good fellowship
there in his first months in the city.
After I arrived, the Methodists asked me if I would teach one of the girls’ classes in their Sunday
School. It seemed like an answer to my prayers for work I could do locally, even if I were fully
occupied most of the week with work at the Mission Home. I started with a class of girls who were
in the first form of the secondary school, and were also expected to attend Church on Sundays. As
the years went by, I was also promoted with my class each year, and so I got to know them well and
with some at least, became friends for life. Most of them were Chinese, but some of them were
Indian. I found them all very open to the Truth and I was glad for the opportunity to teach them.
Percy in the meantime preached in most of the Kuala Lumpur Churches, but as churches sprang up in
the New Villages, he became more involved with them.
In spite of the many evidences of British occupation in Malaya, we could never forget that it was a
Muslim country. Daily we would hear the Call to Prayer ringing out over the city and would watch
as people spread their prayer mats on the street or wherever they might be, and would prostrate
themselves towards Mecca and pray. We were warned never to try to proselytise the Malay people.
We could preach to Chinese and Indians or people of any other nationality, but never to Malays, with
the threat of deportation if we did. On Fridays the Muslim people all made their way to the National
Mosque, and it was on Fridays that I often saw beggars making their way from shop to shop on the
main streets to be given one or two copper coins by the shop proprietor, who, hoping to store up a
little extra merit in the next world, kept a small heap of copper coins for this very purpose.
The business centre of the city intrigued me. One central street seemed very British, with prosperous
looking shops stocked largely with Western goods, and patronised mainly by westerners and
Government wives of various nationalities. Chinese businesses were very evident and were usually
busy and successful looking. On some streets the “Singh” name on the outside proclaimed the
proprietor as of Indian extraction. There was a Malay section too which I began to enjoy visiting
because it was full of things that were typically Malay such as sarongs, batiks and the special haji
hats for those who had done the “haj”, the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Kuala Lumpur seemed a bright and prosperous city, but everywhere we were reminded that there
was a war on. Gurka soldiers, Malay soldiers and British men in military uniform were all there in
jeeps or trucks, part of the convoys going up into Pahang or north to Penang or south to Singapore.
The daily papers kept us informed of the latest “incident” in the war against the guerrillas.
Sometimes we noticed the High Commissioner’s helicopter leaving Kuala Lumpur to go to a village
27
