This is my story - 31

31 - Starting a Corps (church) in Kuala Lumpur

It was with fear and nervousness that I approached the task of trying to start Salvation Army work in Kuala Lumpur. Where could I find a place to start the Army in this city of 400,000 people? I knew very little about Kuala Lumpur. The only occasion I had visited the city was in June 1958 after our wedding when my wife and I spent a few days there for our honeymoon.

No vehicle was provided and I had to depend on public transportation in the city I hardly knew anything about. In retrospect I should have rented a car to get around.

One good thing – my wife and I shared the same goal and purpose in life and in all our years of marriage, we have always supported each other fully. We were both called by God to be officers and that sense of calling has never left us.

I left by the night train from Butterworth on a Monday evening and on arrival at Kuala Lumpur early next morning I booked into Mun San Hotel at Campbell Street, the only one I knew for we stayed there during our honeymoon in June 1958. This hotel was recommended by Major Tan Eng Soon for he had stayed there with Lieut. Colonel John Blake when they visited Kuala Lumpur on Army business. Lieut. Colonel Blake was a very frugal officer who would choose only the cheapest accommodation available. It cost only $5.00 per day. (This shophouse hotel was burnt to the ground during the May 13th 1969 racial riots)

I contacted Brother Neoh Ah How, Salvationist from Penang Corps. I knew I could depend on him, a very devoted Christian. He showed me the map of Kuala Lumpur and made certain suggestions including how to get to the areas suggested. I contacted another Salvationist, Chau Chin Lye also of Penang Corps. When he had some time to spare, he would take me on his motor bike to where I wanted to go.

I always travelled by the night train to save costs on hotel accommodation. This meant I needed to stay in a hotel for one night and spend two days searching for a place to begin the work of the Army. I tramped and tramped for miles through the hot humid climate of the city, at times caught in torrential tropical rains. Added to the difficulty was my poor sense of direction but I felt the Lord’s presence always near.

Eventually I located a new housing estate at Jalan Klang, about five miles from the city Kuala Lumpur and not too far from Petaling Jaya. Taman Lee Yan Lian or United Garden as was popularly known was a new housing estate and no church had yet been established there. I also heard reports that the nearby area had been earmarked for future development. I saw opportunities for the Army to have a good ministry in this large area. The Corps is now located in Overseas Union Garden.

I prayed about it and sensed the Lord had brought me to this place to start the work of the Army. I contacted the owner of a corner shophouse, Number 16 and made a tentative reservation to rent the place. Contact was made with Command Headquarters. The General Secretary Lieut. Colonel Thelma Watson met me in Kuala Lumpur on the next visit and we went to negotiate for the rental of the shop house. He asked for 380 ringgit a month and Lieut. Colonel Watson immediately accepted the quote. The Army signed the contract to lease this two storey shophouse for a year.

The next year, for by then we were settled in, I went on my own (no point going with an ‘ang moh’ (or Caucasian) and threatened the owner that we would move out to cheaper premises unless he lowered the rent! We were paying more than other tenants, so the rent was reduced by twenty ringgit. Had I gone on my own the first time, I would have negotiated for a cheaper rent. Lieut. Colonel Watson was not used to bargaining and the owner had taken advantage of her.

Lieut. Colonel Watson went back to Singapore to report to the Officer Commanding and the Board. We met again in Kuala Lumpur, this time to purchase basic furniture for the quarters and I got the place ready for the family to move in.

On 16th August 1966, the whole family, we and our two children fitted into a taxi travelled the 250 miles to Kuala Lumpur to an unusual appointment – no predecessor, no precedent to go by, no records, no history nothing save the assurance of God’s abiding presence.

We had three Salvationists to support us – Neoh Ah How and Chau Chin Lye from Penang and Jimmy Lim from Balestier Corps Singapore.

I suggested to the Officer Commanding that he let us have three months to work before the official opening for this will give us time to gather a congregation. Lieut. Colonel George Engel wanted to open the work officially the next week. He said, “I want to open it and get this over. You can build the corps afterwards.” So we had to hurry and had the hall furnished before the day of the official opening.

So on the Sunday following our arrival, Lieut. Colonel and Mrs. Engel, the three Salvationists plus ourselves and our two children stood outside the hall. A crowd of curious onlookers stood around to watch these strange people with this tall American cutting the ribbon and declaring the Corps open! Hallelujah! Kuala Lumpur Corps was born!

Someone approached us and asked, “What kind of shop are you setting up?” Two doors away was a coffee shop and next to it was a sundry goods store. There was a carpenter shop and right at the opposite end was a massage parlour. Many shops were still empty. The people were quite surprised when we told them, “We are a Church! I am the new pastor.”