| Presbyterian Church in Malaysia | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Presbyterian Church in Malaysia | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Calvinist |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Moderator | Rev. Chua Hua Peng |
| Associations | WARC,CWM,CCM,CFM,CCA,WCC |
| Region | Malaysia |
| Origin | 1974 |
| Branched from | Presbyterian Church in Singapore and Malaysia |
| Congregations | 100 |
| Members | 7,000 |
| Primary schools | 2 |
ThePresbyterian Church in Malaysia orGPM (Malay:Gereja Presbyterian Malaysia) is aChristian church inMalaysia. Established as an independentsynod in 1974, it currently has approximately 7,000 members in 100congregations nationwide.[1]
The currentModerator of the GPM is the Rev. Chua Hua Peng.
The Presbyterian Church in Malaysia today is the result of the convergence of two parallel historical developments that shares common roots but diverged early in work and emphasis - theEnglish-speakingSynod of the English Presbytery and theChinese-speakingSingapore Presbyterian Synod.[2]
The earliest contact with thePresbyterianism was through theDutch control of thePortuguese Malacca in 1641. The staunchly ReformedProtestant Dutch banned the practice ofRoman Catholicism in Malacca and converted all existing churches in Malacca forDutch Reformed use. The main church used was the old St. Paul's Church (renamed as theBovenkerk by the Dutch) built by the Portuguese in 1521 as theNosa Senhora (Portuguese:Our Lady of the Hill) chapel on the summit of St. Paul's Hill.
Construction of a new church started in 1741 to replace the ageingBovenkerk and was completed in 1753. This church reflects distinctive Dutch Presbyterian traditions within its interior architecture[3] and continues to be used for Christian worship today.
When control ofMalacca passed on to the British as a result of theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the church was re-consecrated according to the rites of theChurch of England by the AnglicanBishop of Calcutta in 1838 and renamedChrist Church.[4]
Many early missionaries from theLondon Missionary Society (LMS) such asWilliam Milne who arrived in Malacca in 1815 were from Presbyterian or Reformed backgrounds and many LMS missionaries assisted in the providing spiritual nurture to theScots community inPenang andSingapore along with chaplains of theEast India Company who conducted worship forChurch of England members.
One of the early missionaries was Benjamin Keasberry of the LMS who arrived in Singapore in 1839 while en route to China. Seeing the potential ofMalay language work, he opted to stay in Singapore engaging the noted teacher,Munshi Abdullah, to assist him in improving his Malay linguistic skills.[5] He started Malay language services in the LMS Chapel atBras Basah and in 1843 acquired a piece of land in Kampong Bencoolen to build theMalay Mission Chapel. The chapel became popularly known asGereja Keasberry or "Keasberry's Church"[6] This eventually became thePrinsep Street Presbyterian Church when theEnglish Presbyterian Mission bought over the property from the LMS.[7]
With the departure of LMS missionaries to China after theTreaty of Nanking in 1847 with the notable exception of Keasberry, the local Scottish communities took steps to call their own ministers. This led to the arrival of Charles Moir inPenang in 1851 followed by Thomas McKenzie Fraser in Singapore in 1856. TheOrchard Road Presbyterian Church in Singapore was established in 1856 to minister to the expatriates.
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Both Moir and Fraser attempted to extend work beyond the expatriate communities. Moir resigned in 1857 without much success although the congregation in Penang remains functioning, at times, for extended periods without a minister. Fraser successfully recruited anethnic Chinese catechist from southFujian, Tan See Boo, who was later ordained an elder in 1864. Unfortunately, Tan left in 1866 to join theBrethren.[8]
In 1881, the Orchard Road congregation finally succeeded in obtaining a full-time missionary to the Chinese. The Rev. J.A.B. Cook, who was fluent in theSwatow andSouthern Fujian dialects arrived in Singapore in November 1881.[9] The English Presbyterian Mission under the supervision of the Cook organised the first Chinese congregation inBukit Timah. It was the arrival of Cook that was eventually chosen to mark the founding of the present Presbyterian Churches of Malaysia andSingapore.[8]
In 1886, Cook expanded the mission to the southern tip of Malaya inJohor Bahru[9] to minister to theTeochew Chinese community. This work was supported by a prominent Johor businessman and the son-in-law of Keasberry,James Meldrum, who helped obtain a land grant for the church building fromSultan Abu Bakar of Johor who was a former student of Keasberry.[10] Work was expanded toMuar in 1892 with the Rev. Liau Thian Ek as the first pastor.[9]
Work in Penang continued abreast especially after the arrival of William Murray in 1892 who helped put Penang's congregation on a more solid footing. Pastoral responsibility of Penang's St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church eventually extended beyond Penang toProvince Wellesley,Kedah, northernPerak, southernThailand andNorth Sumatera.[8]
In 1884, Cook wrote that apresbytery had been formed with him as the moderator and three Chinese elders. In January 1901, Cook convened a meeting of ministers and elders of the Chinese mission and theSingapore Presbyterian Synod was formed.[11][12]
In 1948, the denomination became part of the Chinese Christian Church, later renamed the Chinese Christian Church Singapore and Malaysia Synod;[9] in 1964, it was renamed the Church of Christ in China Malaysia Synod.