Meditation - to end the year 2017

 

Another year is coming to an end. The older we get the faster appears the flight of time. I hear again the lament, “Where has all the time gone?” It has been well said,

When as a child I slept and wept, Time crept.

When as a youth I laughed and talked, Time walked.

When I became a full grown man,Time ran.

And older as I daily grew,Time flew.

Soon I shall find in travelling on,Time gone.

Scientists are capable of making great discoveries, but no one has come up with a gadget to reverse time. They all emphasize its brevity. It is a warning for us to make the best use of time we have on earth. I remember an old song which says, “Time is passing by sinner, time is passing by.” If I remember correctly it was in a Salvation Army publication called “Revival Songs” I used to sing it myself.

 love Psalm 90 and repeat it often. When I cannot sleep, I don’t count sheep, I recite psalms that I have committed to memory. Psalm 90 gives us several pictures of life on earth all emphasizing its brevity. None of my family lived beyond 80, and here am I in my mid-eighties! Is it true that saying “The good die young.” And thank God I still have my marbles even if the power of recall is not as good.  We are to make use of time wisely.

Our mortal bodies are like dust. “You turn men back to dust, saying ‘Return to dust, O sons of men’” Yes, we cannot deny the fact that our physical body is of dust and to dust we will return at death. We are like grass. They are like the new grass of the morning – though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered’ (vv 5-6) However long we may live on earth, it comes to an end and we go to meet our Maker. Let us face this reality and make preparations for that day. Paul counsels us, “Be very careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil..” Ephesians 5: 15-16

The New Year lies before us with the pages clean and unspoiled. Opportunities will come our way. Let us seize them.

Pioneering in Kuala Lumpur

I walked into the Officer Commanding’s office one morning in 1966 wondering why Colonel George Engel had sent for me. I was not trembling, for the Colonel was a very gracious, godly and approachable person, and made everyone feel at east in his presence. That can be said of Mrs Colonel Florence Engel as well. They never stood on ceremony. In fact it was not uncommon to see the Colonel fixing the plumbing or putting on curtain rods or doing minor repairs in officers’ quarters, particularly for the single women officers! Mrs Engel offered, and was responsible for the flowers every Sunday when we were Corps Officers of Central Corps. Once she even babysat Poh Chin for us. They were a very humble couple.

After the usual exchange of courtesies he went straight to the point. “Captain, I have specially handpicked you and your wife to start the work of the Army in Kuala Lumpur.” That was a bit of a shock for me as I thought of the awesome responsibility. He went on to reveal his concern that the Army did not have a presence in the capital city of Malaya. I was told to make my own arrangements to visit Kuala Lumpur, scout around for a suitable place to start a corps. Then he added, “Keep us informed. We will be praying for you.”

In actual fact the Salvation Army did have a presence in Kuala Lumpur way back in 1941 when Adjutant and Mrs. Harold King were sent to be the Army’s representatives there. He worked as the Court Probation Officer.  Captain George Tan Koon Hoe was sent to assist him in establishing a Boys Home at Cheras Road, Kuala Lumpur. The Kings later resigned from officership and worked for the Government. The Army never got off the ground. War came and Captain George Tan returned to Singapore.

In early 1965 an English Salvationist couple, Mr and Mrs Don Morrish transferred from Penang to Kuala Lumpur. They met another Salvationist, Neoh Ah How, also from Penang, working at the Kuala Lumpur YMCA Jalan Brickfields. They held children’s and adult meetings using the YMCA premises. With the return of the Morrishes to England and the demolition of the old YMCA building, the work of the Army was discontinued.

My wife and I were in charge of the Penang Boys Home and Primary School at that time when I was asked to scout around Kuala Lumpur, a city I knew very little about. It was a most challenging task. I had to travel everywhere by bus or walk. Thank God I had a good pair of strong legs and was quite used to walking. My only problem was my poor sense of direction, which meant adding more miles to the distances travelled.

I had visited Kuala Lumpur once before, and that was during our honeymoon in June 1958. On that occasion, I was too preoccupied with my newly wed to notice street names, buildings and landmarks! Had I known then, that eight years later I would be assigned the task of restarting the Army, I would have paid more attention to the surroundings, taken down notes and made a special effort to identify places! Just as well I did not or that would have spoilt our honeymoon, once in a lifetime!

I made my visits alone as my wife had to run the Home and the School in my absence and at the same time look after our two small children, ages five and three. We were blessed with good fellow officers at the Penang Corps where we soldiered – the late Brigadier Ivy Wilson and Lieutenant Esther Rengasamy,( now living in retirement with her husband Stephen in Banting) They were good friends and gave tremendous support to us, especially during my absence visiting Kuala Lumpur.

I trekked for miles and miles in the hot humid climate of Kuala Lumpur. Every evening I went back to the small Chinese hotel at Campbell Street absolutely flat out. It was cheap and cost only six ringgit per night! Chau Chin Lye, another Salvationist from Penang would take me on his scooter when he could find the time to do so. This was much appreciated.

Eventually I found what I felt was the right place and claimed it for the Lord!   It was a new housing estate called Taman Lee Yan Lian or United Garden. There was this row of terraced two-storey shophouses, and we had the end one. Downstairs (the shop part) could be used as the corps, and upstairs for quarters. A report was made to Colonel Engel.

On my next visit, Lieut-Colonel Thelma Watson, the General Secretary, met me in Kuala Lumpur. Together we went to see the place and owner, then after some bargaining we leased the property for $380 (Malayan ringgit) per month.

I returned to Penang to finalise matters and was farewelled from our appointment and the Penang Corps where my wife and I were also local officers. She was the Home League Secretary and I was responsible for the band and songsters. On 16 August 1966 we took a taxi and the whole family moved to our new home to plant the new corps. Everything was new, we had no records, no predecessors to blame when things were not right, nothing save the assurance of the presence of God Almighty who had chosen us for this new challenge.

Suddenly a telegram arrived from Colonel Engel. (Sorry no telephone, let alone mobile phone) He and Mrs. Colonel Engel would come the next weekend to officially open the Corps! I was not prepared for this, as I thought we should be there for at least six months or a year to sort things out and get some people first. No, the Officer Commanding wanted to open the hall and to quote him “get this over and done with” so that you can get on with the job.

We rallied the soldiers, Neoh Ah How and Chau Chin Lye (both from Penang) and Jimmy Lim (from Balestier Corps). The trio plus our family of four and Colonel and Mrs Engel, met outside the hall that Saturday afternoon and our leaders cut the ribbon!
  
The next day we had our first meeting of nine people in the congregation. We wasted no time in going out door to door visitation. I accompanied the congregation on my concertina the only instrument available!   In October we welcomed the newly commissioned Cadet Lieutenant Tan Thean Seng. (that was the rank he possessed at that time)  Together we worked extremely hard, struggled with our Cantonese (people in Kuala Lumpur speak Cantonese), contacted the people in the neighbourhood. Yes, every house in the area was visited. We tramped for miles, visiting the people, telling them about The Salvation Army, and the gospel of Christ.

Before Sunday School, I would stand by the hall door and played my concertina. This attracted many children for the Y.P. meetings. That was not difficult at all.

My wife was engaged in ‘market evangelism.’. Every morning, she would be in the market in her uniform talking to the ladies and many accepted the invitation to attend the Home League. By the end of the first year, Kuala Lumpur Corps was awarded the Command Home League Banner of Progress! We had a good league whose members, not only attended meetings, but also engaged in community service, like visiting the Sisters of the Poor Home for the Elderly. ( I wonder what has happened to that Banner, it must be in the Archives)

The work was hard, but we did get some response from the people in the community and many attended the meetings. In fact, our hall was packed full to capacity, and we had to borrow chairs from a nearby coffee shop to seat the people who came to the corps’ first anniversary! Among them were Dr. David Muttu and his wife of Reddy Clinic! They were Methodists.

My next task was to look for a permanent building to house the Corps. After much prayer, I chose Overseas Union Garden. At that time the whole area was vacant. Advertisements were up indicating that there would be a new housing estate on this land. I contacted the developers and the present for the Corps building was identified. Before we left the appointment on 4th July 1969, we had everything sealed and signed.

The building was not ready till in 1972 when Captain and Mrs Lim Teck Fung became the corps officers. They had the privilege of seeing to the official opening. Since then the Army has acquired the next door building as well. The work goes on and the Army continues to meet the needs of the community.

Batang Melaka (2)– My weekly trips to village

 

I am writing about the Emergency days 1948-1960 that provided the backbone of the anti-Japanese resistance. The communists retreated into the jungles and began a guerrilla insurgency to defeat the British colonial government, sparking a 12-year period of unrest known as the Malayan Emergency. It was originally the colonial government's term for the conflict.  

Despite the communists' surrender in 1960, communist leader Chin Peng renewed the insurgency against the Malaysian government in 1967.  This second phase of the insurgency lasted until 1989. He fled to exile in Thailand, where he lived until his death on 16 September 2013. My visits to Batang Melaka were during the time when I was the pastor of Malacca Corps (1954-1957)

I had a busy programme at my Corps in Malacca with daily tuition programme and other week night activities. Being single I had to do everything myself as the Corps was small. The teenager Ng Kim Loh was my best supporter. Joy Goh a school girl, living with her aunt whom I visited started coming to the meeting. She became a great supporter of the Corps until she moved to Singapore.

Every Thursday evening the Corps had a Holiness meeting. I could only leave Malacca early Friday morning by bus and travelled the 27 miles through terrorist infested areas. There would be police checks on the road – no food like rice, bread, salt sugar biscuits etc. The purpose was to starve the communists hiding in the jungle and villages. One day the police checked my bottle of water to see if it was salt water. Good thing it was tap water or I would be arrested.

Rice was rationed in all the villages in these areas covered by the emergency laws. No way could I take rice or bread for our officers at Batang Melaka! 

I would conduct a children’s meeting at Batang Melaka and give whatever help I could to the two English officers. I would stay the night with them and slept anywhere I could find a space even in the kitchen. Later when they were given the store on the Negri Sembilan side, I would sleep there in total darkness. One night a rat visited my ‘hostel’ to keep me company. One night it even bit my toes!

The Malay driver from Command Headquarters brought a lady officer to Batang. The lady officer slept with the Lieutenants Holden and Staples - three in a room on camp beds. The driver slept in the ‘hostel’ with me. The visiting rat, plus other insects in the middle of the night came to keep him company. He was scared, returned to Singapore and resigned from his job shortly afterwards.

I always left Batang Melaka Saturday morning for Malacca as I had an English meeting in the evening at the Corps. Also I had to prepare for Sunday’s meetings – Holiness meeting in the morning and Salvation meeting at night, plus Sunday School and open air meeting.

CHQ provided the clinic with an old Ford, really ancient. Often we had to crank the engine  to start it.  The two officers could not drive, neither could I.  One of Malacca Corps soldiers was the Branch Manager of AIA (American International Assurance) Whenever he could find time would drive to Batang to give Lieut. Irene Holden driving lessons. He was a busy man and could not visit Batang every week.

Lieutenant Holden would drive the car with an L plate and Lieutenant Staples sitting beside her as though she was the instructor! The village Police knew about this, but turned a blind eye for they were aware our officers were doing important work of healing the sick and delivering babies. The Salvation Army ministered to the people of different races and religion.  Eventually Lieutenant Irene got her driving license from Malacca! All things put right.

 

BATANG MELAKA CORPS – What lovely memories!

 

Time flies!  Age is catching up with me. Physical health is not that good, but mentally fairly alert. I have so much to write about the past and it is unlikely I’ll have the time to complete sharing my recollections. Lots of things I want to say will be left unsaid when the Lord calls me home. Never mind when we get to heaven we have eternity to share our experiences on earth.

Let me recall the days when I  spent in Malacca (that’s the spelling then. Later it was changed to Melaka)  Singapore, Malacca and Penang formed the Straits Settlements, each under the rule of a British Governor. The rest were British Protected States ruled by Sultans.   

After commissioning in 1954 as a Probationary Lieutenant at the age of 22, I was appointed to succeed Lieutenant Douglas Kiff as the pastor who after his marriage to Lieutenant Doris (Jean) Milton were appointed to Penang Corps. In 1952 I had served as a Candidate Helper to Lieutenant Kiff.          

The emergency was on!   Malaya with the help of British forces was fighting the communists.   Many innocent people were killed including British soldiers. The communists would come out from their jungle hide-outs, killed and maimed those whom they suspected to be pro Government.  Failure to cooperate with the communists would mean death.   The villagers were cowed and compelled to supply food and medicine to these terrorists.

Sir Henry Gurney, the British High Commissioner, was ambushed and killed by the communists in 1951.   Sir Gerald Templer was then appointed as his successor.  He was tough and was determined to eradicate the communists. He introduced some harsh measures.  One strategy Sir Gerald used, was to move whole villages near communist infested jungle hideouts into new areas.   These “New Villages” as they were called, were surrounded by barbed wire and security was tight.   In this way he succeeded in cutting off the supply lines of food, medicine and other essentials to the terrorists.

It was at this time, when churches and charitable organizations were encouraged to open clinics and provide relief to the new villagers. Missionaries from organizations like the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (formerly China Inland Mission) went into the new villages, learned the dialect of the particular area and began their ministry of meeting the social and spiritual needs of the people.

The Salvation Army was offered two places to commence clinics – one in the north near Butterworth, the other in the State of Malacca. 

On one of my visits to Singapore, (six hours by bus and crossing two ferries) the Officer Commanding, Lieut-Colonel Frederick Harvey, called me into his office and unveiled his plan to open a clinic and corps in one of the New Villages near Melaka.   I was to scout around for a place for a clinic in the State of Malacca.

Back in Malacca, I contacted the pastor of the Chinese Methodist church, Rev. Lim Kiam Sam.   (I used to attend his services to improve my Hokkien. My own dialect is Teochew)  As the new villagers were mainly Chinese educated, work had to be in Chinese.   Rev. Lim gave some very good advice and suggestions regarding place and type of ministry.   I told him the Army would try not to duplicate what other churches were doing.

The day came when Lieut-Colonel Harvey drove up to Melaka and together with Rev. Lim Kiam Sam, we toured the state of Malacca and identified a few villages.   Representations were then made to the Government for assistance.   The Resident of Melaka, Mr Bennett, was very helpful, and referred us to District Officer at Jasin.    We also contacted the Chief Medical Officer of Melaka, Dr. McMahon who gave assurance of free medical supplies from the Government.

The Army wanted to start a clinic at Machap Baru, but we were told the need at Batang Melaka on the Malaca/Negri Sembilan border was greater although this was not a new village.   It was quite multi-racial, as there were Indians and Malays who needed help.   The District Officer made arrangements for a wooden kampong Malay house on the main road to accommodate the officers.   We started the clinic in a Chinese school inside the kampong (village).

In 1955 Lieutenant Irene Holden, a nurse cum midwife, and Lieutenant Norina Staples were appointed to pioneer the work.  Straight from England they could not speak Malay, Chinese or Tamil.  The date of their arrival was given me, so one day Ng Kim Loh, one of my young people from Malacca Corps, and I went to Batang, a journey of twenty-seven miles.  Just the two of us, scrubbed, cleaned and painted the quarters.   At the instruction of Headquarters, two folding camp beds were purchased, the rest of the furnishings would be provided from the Jumble Store in Singapore!   Lieut-Colonel Grey, the Social Secretary, felt it was not necessary to buy new furniture or utensils.  (In Singapore she herself did not have a kitchen.   She had a kerosene stove under the eaves near the back door of Command Headquarters.   No cooking was done when it rained!)

The two ladies shared one room.  In the day time, the camp beds were folded up to provide space for a living room.  Near the kitchen, we got the local carpenter to put up a screen for a bathroom.   It was too costly to put a door and to quote Lieut-Colonel Bertha Grey, “Why do they need a door, when both of them are ladies?   Anyway, if they did not like the ‘bathroom’ they could always wear sarongs and go to the village well to have their bath!” And that’s how Lieut Colonel Grey spoke! I must add she was a very kind and gracious lady.   The toilet – well, it was up the slope of a hill and a bucket was all they had!    There was no electricity so they had to make do with a kerosene lamp.

I used to go there once a week to translate or conduct children’s meetings.   At other times, the two ladies just had to depend on whoever they could get.   Later, a girl from the Home in Singapore, Evelyn Tan, was appointed to assist the two Lieutenants with the interpreting.   The corps and clinic were in what was termed a “black area”.   This meant curfew was imposed from 7:00 pm till the next morning.   However, the nurse was given exemption to go out as babies defied emergency regulations and often arrived during curfew time, in the middle of the night!

The work grew in spite of  limitations.   Later, when the room next door became vacant, the District Officer assigned that to the Army.   The Army was able to use this facility as a clinic till a store on the Negri Sembilan side of the border became available.   The authorities and the villagers were very kind and gave good support to the Army and more and more space was made available.

The government leased land for us to have a purpose-built clinic, church and quarters.    The emergency was over in 1960, but the Army continued with our medical work till recent years when facilities had improved considerably.   It was also easy for the people to travel to Malacca town to get medical help.

Just in passing let me recall a memorable visit to Batang Melaka. I was the General Secretary in the 1970’s.  My wife and in one of our visits to Batang Melaka were met with a big surprise. Captains Betty Barnum (now retired in Canada) and Lieutenant Cherry Parker (now Mrs. John Umasanthiram living in retirement in Cirencester UK) prepared a lovely lunch and  Cake to celebrate our wedding anniversary! What a pleasant surprise!! How did they know it was our wedding anniversary? Memories O how they linger..!

 

 

 

Kuching, Sarawak

On 1st May 1962, my wife and I, with our two children – daughter nearly two and an eight week old son arrived at Kuching from Penang after a two week long journey by train and cargo Boat Bentong. We were the only passengers! We were to spend the next three years in Kuching before returning to Penang to take charge of the Boys’ Home and Primary School for overaged students!

The Salvation Army, appointed a single lady officer to pioneer the work in Kuching in 1950. She was one of the pioneers of the work in Singapore in 1935. The British Governor of Sarawak, Sir Anthony Abell had requested the Army commence operations in Sarawak.

The then Captain Elsie Willis was appointed begin the work of The Army in Kuching. The Army was provided with a building at Jalan Haji Taha to be used as a Home. Within a short space of time this home was full to capacity and the work of The Salvation Army continued to expand

Lieut. Colonel Fred Harvey the Officer Commanding had made it plain to the Governor, Sir Anthony Abell the mission of the Army. Sir Anthony was aware of this and gave the promise that he would allocate land to the Army to build a Corps (church) The rent is ‘one pepper corn per year!’ It’s just a legal term and I cannot recall taking the one pepper corn to the land office to make payment!

On 17 May 1953 the Corps started their worship service,
meeting in a small rented room above a mechanic’s workshop in Pandungan. Captain Agnes Morgan a New Zealander who had spent a number of years in China and was fluent in Mandarin, took charge on 17 September 1953 as the first Commanding Officer (pastor) of Kuching Corps. Hence it started as a Chinese speaking Corps. A Scout troop, Sunday School and other activities were also formed.

In 1958, Kuching Corps with quarters for officers moved to its current location at Jalan Sekama where larger facilities encouraged new initiatives and programmes.

In the same year (1958) The Salvation Army was requested to take over the running of a Boys Club and Hotel at Song Kheng Hai. The name was changed and The Salvation Army Boys Home moved to its current location at Jalan Ban Hock, where the building and grounds allowed room for rapid growth.

Captain and Mrs. Robert Webb were appointed to take charge of the Home. In 1961 he started a carpentry workshop which had a two-fold purpose – training the boys and thereby giving them a set of practical skills as well as generating income for the home. The sixties was a time of exciting new developments within The Salvation Army.

The superintendent and family lived in the same building with the boys. In 1965 the Government built the quarters with a void deck in the same compound. Later the Army filled the void deck and turned it into an office.
The Webb family moved in only for a short while before they went for homeland furlough in Australia. We were told to take on additional responsibility for the Home in absence of the Webbs. They were supposed to return to Kuching after homeland furlough. However at the last moment the Officer Commanding decided to appoint them to Singapore Children’s Home instead.

We then received word from the Officer Commanding Lieut. Colonel George Spencer that we were to relinquish Kuching Corps and take over the Boys’ Home. We were staying at Home at that time but visited the Corps to do meetings and other activities, in other words holding dual responsibility.

Major K. Vataja was appointed to succeed us the Corps Officer of Kuching Corps. Her assistant was another Finn called Captain Karhar.

My wife and I were appointed Superintendent and Matron respectively to the Kuching Boys’ Home. We started to unpack and when we had completed doing so, we received a telegram – Farewell Orders and appointed to take charge of the Penang Boys’ Home and Primary School.
Meanwhile the Kuching Girls Home had grown beyond all expectations. The Salvation Army was now caring for orphans, children and girls, and elderly women without family support.

In 1959, the home was moved to its present location at Jalan Uplands. One section was for babies, the next for girls and right at the other end for elderly ladies. The Army was catering for people from the “cradle to the grave.” It was the biggest Home in the Command. It catered for about 100 people. We used to conduct meetings at the Home. I conducted the most funerals while stationed in Kuching!

Attached to the Kuching Corps was a Kindergarten. Opening in 1960 the aim was to provide quality education at a price middle and lower income families could afford. The Kindergarten proved to be very popular and there was no shortage of students. It brought in profit to support the Corps.
By the 1970s hundreds of children had passed through the care of The Salvation Army and moved on to be productive and caring members of the community.
 
In 1974 the Girls Home was renamed the Children’s Home in recognition of the wider variety of work that was now being done. During this time The Salvation Army had in its Home a number of children with special needs. These mostly deaf or blind children were integrated into the normal home routines and were encouraged to live as normally as possible overcoming many obstacles and challenges.

We were serving in Kuching during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, or Konfrontasi, days which lasted from 1963 to 1966. The conflict was an intermittent war waged by Indonesia to oppose the formation and existence of the Federation of Malaysia. It was marked by a breakdown in political, economic and social relations that eventually led to armed incursions, bomb attacks, and acts of subversion.

At one stage it was so bad, our leaders were considering evacuating the reinforcement officers and our family to Singapore. I was to remain alone to manage the three centres. This did not happen thank God. We did live through some dark days when neighbouring countries were not at peace with each other. Let us pray for peace among the nations. Today Singapore and Indonesia enjoy very good relations.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.