Cameron Highlands - Hospitali-Tea

We visited the Cameron Highlands in the Malaysian Peninsular. It is a well known Hill Station where people can escape the heat of the valleys. The picture is a drawing I did of the Boh Tea Estate. So restful, peaceful with various greens and patterns on the hills, like dollops of paint on a impressionist canvas - very heavily cultivated and fruitful.

It is a very British area - for example there are over 4000 land rovers - more land rovers per capita than anywhere else other than a British Army base. These are constant reminders, along with driving on the left and English plug system, all vestiges of the Colonial past.

This was after all a Hill station, where those who could afford it went to escape the heat of the Plains. The rest were left to sweat it out...

The tea plantations, strawberry fields and Butterfly farms are all part of the scene. A Little England - with the Old Smoke House maybe epitomising this quintessential Englishness. We had a Cream Tea in the Rose Garden, wondering for a moment just where we were. Real hospitali-tea!

We stayed at the OMF mission bungalow, which was like going back 20 years to another time and place. Wonderful hospitality,with 3 good meals a day and large bedroom with polished furniture. All set in a beautiful garden with a well mown lawn and cultivated orchids.

It was a great place to read and relax as well as a base for a jungle trek and great mountain views. And of course visits to the Tea Plantations and Strawberry Farms.

My Brother used to go to school in the Cameron Highlands - Slim School, named after the British General who fought the Japanese. So part of the idea was to find where he went. We lived in Penang but in the 3 years we stayed there in the 1960s, I never once visited Cameron Highlands. I was making up for it now....

We managed to find the school, now an Army Camp - 'Kem Slim' - now home of 'Kompeni Bravo, Batalion 165 Risik Tentera Darat' but were not allowed to go beyond the Camp Gate

We also looked around the Town of Tanah Rata, helped by an elderly local restaurant owner, who used to cut hair for the British soldiers garrisoned there. He told me about some of the buildings that had been around in the 1960s:

The Catholic S.K Convent School - now Heritage Hotel. Lutheran Bungalow and the Methodist centre that had taken over the old ‘Chechoo’ mission school.

Rev Simon Soh, a young vicar in training based at the All Souls Anglican Church, (Gereja Anglican), a converted Army Nissan Hut. It was situated just in front of and below the old Slim School. The diocese had plans to upgrade the Church and also build a retreat centre ont he land.

I went to his Bible study group later in the week . a dozen people in a nice apartment, who met as a regular House group. On this occasion they were studying the prophet 'Amos'

It was an interesting passage about 'destroying the summer houses as well as the winter houses' in the Mountains of Samaria, as the 'Cows of Bashan' sit and say 'bring us a drink'. It almost seemed relevant - particularly in the heydays of the Raj.

Now things have changed - the area is no longer British but Malaysian , though as I said vestiges of the past linger. It's as if the Malaysian Chinese have come back from Exile and 'reclaimed the land' ....

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God. (Amos 9:13-15)

Maybe not vineyards but Tea plantations, and definately fruit gardens of strawberries. And it certainly looked like they settled well in the land the Lord had given them.........

The Twin Towers: Post-colonialism & Globalisation

The drawing of Malaysia's twin towers – in KL - otherwise known as Petronas towers - represent the emerging South and shifting centres of power, especially after the destruction of New York's Twin Towers 9/11 nearly 10 years ago.

Kuala Lumpur was the context for our CMS Interchange Network meetings in which we reflected on Post Colonialism and the search for a new mission.

We were using Jonathan Ingleby’s book: Beyond Empire: Post-colonialism & Mission in a Global Context (Author house 2010) There is a Facebook page if you're interested and an article on Redcliffe e-zine.

The issue is that although the church has expanded in the Global South, Mission is still very much controlled from the Global North (or the Western World) through traditional leadership structures that are hierarchical, patriarchal, territorial, legalistic, and membership-based.

The search is on for a post-colonial mission which expresses a more Radical orthodoxy

I felt it was appropriate to be meeting in Malaysia ("truly Asia"), a culture of fusion where India meets China, with expatriate Europeans, overlaying the native Malay culture and the deeper ‘orang Asli’ (aboriginal peoples). Malaysia has I feel, through its very context, many lessons to teach the wider mission world.

The book helpfully explores 5 main tactics for reversing this trend (see Tactics from Beyond Empire pgs 46-60) exploring the freedom to think otherwise. Post-colonial resistance involves emphasising the subaltern voices,hearing thevoice from the margins. It is a non-violent, confrontational approach.

(i) Interpolation: appropriating the colonial in order to dismantle it, and then reassembling by translating the message into another culture ie I play our game but by my rules

(ii) mimicry: using analogy and metaphor; being ‘like but not like’ more a copy not a clone; As an example I remember in Pakistan (the land where copyright meant 'my right to copy') cars were proudly ‘made as Japan’

(iii) archaeology: the idea of digging up the past - looking for the indigenous experiences that have been buried by colonial culture - hearing voices from the margins and thus subverting the prevailing modernist orthodoxy

(iv) Palimpsest: re-using a canvas or Papyrus/ manuscript. The idea was reusing them because they were so rare and valuable - re-writing the story, giving head to what had already been written. The idea that no inscription is indelible - the past can be re-written. Indeed an alternative version of events must be written.

(v) Representation: This is against ‘history written by the victors’, Other narratives must be explored as sites of resistance "Nothing that has happened should be regarded as lost for history" (Benjamin) Even something as well established as Remembrance Day also involves a forgetting of other conflicts (inc current ones)

So Post-Colonialism honours the 'subaltern voices', digs deeper in order to understand complexity and has a wholehearted tolerance of diversity.

Post Colonial Misison may well involve exploring a new form of partnership - maybe co-mission, companions, co-participants, or co-workers, which are more cross-cultural partnerships. I explored some of this in an earlier blog on East and West - see Two States of Marriage

Gillian Ross (pg 92) talks about the broken middle, and how in holding extremes in tension, a new level of trust emerges. Post-Colonial Mission may well involve exploring alternatives to the arrogance of power ("my grace is sufficient for my power is made perfect in weakness"), a weaker mission from the West, more subservient to the leadership of the East.

Church Attacks: Voices from Malaysia

I recieved the following from Bishop Ng Moon Hing in West Malaysia

Dear Friends,

After a tense situation in Malaysia with 9 churches and a school been attacked, we have finally experienced a calm atmosphere for the time being. The lastest attack two days ago was on a Sikh Temple. The Sikhs also use the word "Allah" in their Scripture. The police is trying to do their best to maintain order. Many negotiations are underway to defuse this situation. The political parties are doing their part and the government authorities are doing theirs. Church leaders have been meeting with the authorities to find a way forward for peace and harmony.

I sincerely wish to thank all the churches for staying calm and praying. Your prayers are indeed helpful and powerful. Violence will not bring peace. Though the solution is still far away, the present dialogues and meetings have certainly brought everyone into the picture to at least try to understand each other. We hope to work towards the idea from toleration to respecting each others presence, contribution and dignity. This is the concept of 1Malaysia.

I urge all churches to be vigilant. Archdeacon Steven Abbarow said this after visiting All Saints Taiping on Sunday 10 Jan:

Yesterday, morning I visited Joshua Ong. When I arrived at All Saint's Church. Joshua told me that the MB of Perak YB Zambri and the OCPD are on their way. This was a surprise, as we were fnot given any notice of this earlier. They came with reporters, politicians, special branch and police personnel.
The MB assured us of support, police protection and felt that this the work individuals who were emotionally upset and not a coordinated affair and expressed his firm stand against such actions and told us not to react. I thanked him for the assurance of support and assistance. I also told him that we have not and will not react emotionally but will pray for the peace of the country, and that I am very concerned about the situation and hoped the authorities will catch the perpetrators. He said they will do all they can.

In the meantime, I have been informed by the Lay Reader in COR, Kuala Kangsar, that he kept vigil in the Tadika room on Sunday night and noticed a motorbike and a car and the riders, driver and people in them were watching and looking at the church. He came out of the Tadika, and they just bolted off. He called the police and they immediately sent a patrol car and stationed two officers there. The leaders took these precautions as they heard that at the Police station people overheard that they were very concerned someone may try and do something on COR. They also were informed and heard from the neighboring bus terminal and stalls and the coffee table talk, mostly non-Christians, that the church next door will be in trouble.

Rev Alakumalai of St James KL related that he saw a few young people loitering outside the church. He went to them and was told that they were sent there to 'protect the church'. Feeling uneasy over it, he reported to the police for the police station is only next door. Immediately seeing the police, the so-called 'protector' fled quickly. Two policemen were stationed overnight at the church.

I believe after the storm there will be some calm. God has a better plan for the Malaysian Church. Let us continue to discern His Will.

Those from overseas, let me assure you that we are fine and well, only a bit jerked and slightly shaken. If you are planning to visit Malaysia please do come, don't change plan. Thank you so much for your prayers and e-mails of concerns and encouragement.

May the good Lord continue to lead and watch over you!

Shalom,
+Moon Hing

Pastor of burnt Church speaks out

Response from Rev. Ong Sek Leang,

Senior Pastor of Metro Tabernacle Church

Rev. Ong Sek Leang is the Senior Pastor of Metro Tabernacle Church.

There were three torching and attempted torching of churches. The administrative office of Metro Tabernacle in Desa Melawati was completely gutted. The Molotov cocktail thrown at the Church of the Assumption along Jalan Templer in Petaling Jaya did not explode. But The Life Chapel in Section 17 Petaling Jaya suffered some damage to the church's front porch area.

Rising Tensions in Malaysia

Tensions are rising in Malaysia particularly in KL when 4 churches were attacked as a protest. The controversy stems from a ban on a Catholic newspaper, The Herald, using the word 'Allah' in its Malay-language edition. The Kuala Lumpur High Court struck down the three-year old ban on non-Muslims using of the word 'Allah'.
Whilst the main Islamic Polictical party, PAS, agrees with the ruling, there are others who do not, including one main Islamic Youth movement, Abim.

more in the BBC article Malaysian churches firebombed as ‘Allah row escalates

As the article points out Christians in the middle East have been using the word ‘Allah’ for God for centuries - before the coming of Islam in fact.

Inivitably as well as the official and more formal communications through the media, the world of social networking comes into its own at times like this....

Some of my Facebook friends are from Malaysia. So they and other Twitterers have been pointing to articles and making comments through their updates:

Church & Christians showed dignity, restraint, compassion. Contrast with t/ arsonists & protestors. Such excellent PR.

judiciary website hacked

A kind touching response from a Muslim

Eddie in his Kouya Chronicle explores some of these complexities from a translators perspective in his article 'what's in a name'

But I'll let the Bishop of West Malaysia Moon H. Ng have the last word

KL situation is not too good. Three churches are torched. One more not sure how bad. Cars with Christian stickers are smashed. ...... We are meeting the PM to talk. Pray for peace and harmony. It is a sad episode.

Pray we will and pray we must .....

Penang 2 - USM in search of Minden Barracks

We hired a bike and went to USM - Universiti Sains Malaysia – what used to be Minden Barracks. The Gatehouse looked familair - a Football pitch on left and athletics field on right Swimming pool New international/ competition standard But the old pool still there Now used for scuba diving where I learned to swim backstroke. A 61 year old, very fit looking swimming instructor NAME swimming instructor remembered playing football with the Greenjackets when he was about 14.

A good view of the Colonels house. We went behind pool to Sergeants mess beside Water Tower Plus a residential block past where NAAFI used to be and Health centre (Doctors) near a roundabout Didn’t recognise much of the bottom end of camp I couldn’t find Cinema or old school or parade ground . I imagine that end had been developed but the front end of camp was still familiar

I found our road near the roundabout (the next road after the officers quarters road and then our old house WONo3 above the door. The courtyard between the house and the utility block had been covered over and extended but the layout was recognisable Next door, on the left, lived Staff Sergeant Hornblower. His son Stephen was my age with water on the brain and a real nuisance. His daughter used to play with Liz

Below and round the bend was the road with the sergeant married quarters (Sergeant Morgan who appeared on Pegasus Bridge in the film the Longest Day). I remembered the tree where we played marbles and the small hill where I learned to ride a bike. The tree which I climbed at the front of our house and got stung twice in the head by Hornets. Dad killing a cobra in our back garden with a walking stick. Also a huge snake – a python - that a corporal had killed with a machete hanging over a tree like a trophy playing with plastic soldiers behind the servants quarters and napalming them with lighter fuel; making rice paper in the utility room on Mary’s (our Amah) ironing board

Her daughters Alexandra and Francis looking after us – I remember one time riding on Mary’s son Joseph’s motorbike and going to their Kampong and eating a cake she had made specially

I remember Setting fire to the field between our row of houses and the officers quarters circle a line of adults with buckets putting the fire out. Being stung twice in the back whilst Bob played his game of dare with hornets. Falling off my bike and my knee going septic and having to go to Taping hospital. Playing monkeys on top of the wardrobes in the bedroom, Cockroaches on the floor in the kitchen. Filling condoms from the bathroom cabinet up with water and having a water balloon fights. Onetime bubbles everywhere in the bathroom after a bubble fight and it being cleanest ever afterwards

The Officers houses were in more pristine condition, better preserved, with more original looking shutters and immaculately kept gardens. Military order had been maintained, with the officers mess now functioning as a museum .

I couldn’t remember where the ammo caves were nor the huge black water pipe we used to walk along. Saw where I learned archery, when the regiment was in Borneo the band stayed behind and organised activities for the families. Games galore and parties Jungle juice on sports days.

to be continued........

George Town - Heritage site and Penang Hill Railway

Tim is in Penang at the moment so I am publishing my notes written back in feb 09 so he for one can see where I went.

Our bus from KL arrived at 4am (we left KL at midnight) so we sat around KTM Keratapi Tanah Melayu, the Railway station with trains to Bangkok and Singapore from Butterworth.

This is where we caught the overnight sleeper in 1965. An old loco outside of station, seemed familiar, stirring long forgotten memories, which is why I was back after 45 years.

Cup of chai in market area and talk with Aamir then to ferry for early morning crossing. On the Pulau Angsa (built 1980) It was still dark Penang lit up over the water I remembered sea snakes, the Ambulance trip to Taiping hospital, arriving in Georgetown on SS Nevassa, picture of band playing colonel off to tune of 'moon river'

On the other side we killed more time with Roti Canai Murtabak in street side café. pulling the tea. Then at 8am an acceptable time we went to where Staying at YWAM base address above 2^nd hand clothing shop.

Had a sleep and then something to eat before looked at parts of the Heritage trail George Town, Penang is a UNESCO world heritage site.

In the information centre a very helpful curator showed us books on old Penang , whilst it poured down with rain.

We visited a Temple, passed the mosque and then took a taxi to the station for the trip up Penang Hill Railway, a funicular railway built between 1906-1923.

I didn’t remember changing trains halfway, but bits of the walk around the top were familiar: mosque Temple No church, This is a hill station, like Murree in Pakistan or Shimla in India but on a smaller scale. Used in the Raj for relaxation, An aviary in old Hotel. Giant spiders and monkeys playing in trees cream teas available in a vestige of Raj, called David Brown’s lodge. Drink of coconut milk Old funicular coach. The Taxi there and back again cost too much. The bus would have been much cheaper.