15. Kerala Christian Diaspora in Malaysia Prof. Philip Koshi

Professor Philip Koshi*

Syrian Christian Migration

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, your relatives and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

The common reason why people leave their homeland is to have a better life. Even if they know that they would be facing harder times, they take all the chances in the hope of finding success.

By the end of the First World War (1918), new horizons opened for some of the English educated Syrian Christians of Travancore and Cochin. Young men fired by the call of adventure to look for greener pastures beyond the borders of their villages ventured forth to other parts of India, Africa, England and America. Some of them crossed the Indian Ocean to Malaya and Singapore. In this region, they found employment in rubber estates, tin mines, private and public sector.

Immigrants often meet challenges upon their arrival that they never anticipated. These difficulties range from navigating legal complications, securing living arrangements and employment, battling culture shock, psychological distress, depression and despair. Almost all of them came alone or were single, leaving their loved ones back in Kerala. In those days, the only source of contact was the mail, which would take some time to reach the concerned loved ones. Until then, it was a sheer guessing game that brought about heightened anxiety and fear.

Most of the Syrian Christians who landed in the Malayan hinterland, first landed in Port Klang (then Port Swettenham) and quickly settled in the estates or the urban areas nearby. It also became the meeting point for those who wanted the keep the Faith. In fact, their fondest wish was to have their own forms of worship in their mother tongue.

During the years before 1930, the total number of Syrian Christians in the whole country was only about 70 and it was easy to contact each other, and new arrivals were easily spotted and welcomed by the rest.

The following is an extract from the first report of the Mar Thoma Church in Malaya, “The craving for worship in one’s mother tongue…something inherent in all people and it is gratifying to note that this noble sentiment was not extinguished during our sojourn here, though we were placed in an entirely alien atmosphere…and as early as 1927, we had our own gatherings for worship and prayer.”

The Mar Thoma Community

The Mar Thoma Church has a unique history in Malaysia being one of the few major denominations and churches not set up by missionaries or ordained priests. Instead, it was initiated by a group of Malayali immigrants who were then employed in British Malaya.

The first Syrian Christian Marthomite from Kerala to set foot in Malaya was a gentleman from Mallappally known as ‘Ninan Inspector’. Later, he became known as Isaac Benjamin and lived in Singapore for 58 years. The next member of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church to arrive in Malaya in 1911 was Mr. K. C. George from Ayroor. He was one of the faithful workers who laid the foundation of the Mar Thoma Church in Malaya.

The number of Mar Thoma immigrants continued to increase after 1935. But this ended when immigration from India was stopped by the Malayan government regulation in 1953.

Some Mar Thoma members in Kuala Lumpur who were railway employees also worked as teachers at Penuel High School, which was run by one Mr. Alexander from Mepral, Kerala. All teachers were at one time expected to attend the Chapel services. This led the members into paving the way for regular Sunday morning divine services at the Jubilee School, Klang. The first such service was conducted in September 1926.

The first clergy from Kerala to visit Malaya was the Very Rev. V. P. Mammen. During his short visit in 1928, he managed to meet the Mar Thoma community. Understanding the great desire of the people to have formal worship services in Malayalam, he returned to India and presented his recommendations to the Metropolitan and the Sabha Council. When Rev. T. N. Koshy arrived in Malaya in 1936, the Marthomites got their first resident priest. It opened a new chapter in the history of the Malankara Mar Thoma Church. Rev. T. N. Koshy was a tower of strength, bringing faith, courage and hope.

The development of the Mar Thoma Church in Malaysia owes much to the dedicated services of Rev. T. N. Koshy who travelled all over the country in very difficult times and circumstances to give pastoral care to the members of the church living scattered in out-of-the-way places. Risking danger to his own life and undergoing untold difficulties, he used to visit the members of the church during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya.

Rev. V. E. Thomas became the second clergy in Malaya when he arrived in 1947. This was followed by Rev P. C. John in 1952 and later by Rev. P. K. Koshy in 1956. It is highly gratifying to note that all of them rendered yeoman services and established the church on a sound footing.

With the conclusion of World War II, a spurt in the migration of Syrian Christians was seen as further opportunities in the plantations, civil/administrative services and educational sectors opened up. In September/October 1953, the first three church buildings of the Mar Thoma community in Malaya, all named after St. Thomas (Kuala Lumpur, Klang and Singapore) were consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Mathews Mar Athanasius during the first ever Episcopal visit to the fledgling Mar Thoma Church in Malaya and Singapore.

With the independence of Malaya in 1957, the number of parishes grew steadily and in 1962, the Diocese of Malaysia and Singapore was constituted comprising 27 parishes. Although the community suffered from emigration, especially after the May 13 incident of 1969, activity continued apace indicating the further indigenization of the Mar Thoma Church in Malaysia.

While there were those who doubted the viability of creating a parish out of this scattered community, they had not reckoned on the steady growth of the population. While most Syrian

Christians still thought of Malaya as a temporary sojourn, there were signs of increasing commitment to this country. Due to their excellent command of English the second generation of the Syrian Christians became plantation managers, assistant plantation managers and other professionals.

In 1982, the parishes in Malaysia and Singapore were constituted as the ‘Malaysia Zone’ and the ‘Singapore Zone’ of the Diocese of Malaysia and Singapore respectively (now the Diocese of Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand). The Malaysian Zone of the church now consists of a total of 10 parishes with just about 1000 members nationwide. The current Diocesan Bishop is Rt. Rev. Dr. Gregorios Mar Stephanos Episcopa.

Orthodox Syrian Christian Community

By the late 1920s, there was a substantial number of Orthodox Syrian Christian young men and women in and around Kuala Lumpur who gathered regularly on Sunday mornings at the YMCA, Kuala Lumpur. This eventually led to the formal registration of the group under the Registrar of Societies, Malaya, in 1932.

However, by 1928 itself the community was sufficiently large to warrant a visit by Rev. Fr. Alexios O.I.C. from Kerala to conduct services in Malaya and Singapore. In 1949, Rev. Fr. P.K. Abraham was sent to take over the pastoral work of the community which by then had grown considerably and with it came a more pressing need for a proper place of worship. HRH, the Sultan of Selangor granted a piece of land in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. The first service was conducted on 5th August 1956. This church (St. Mary’s) therefore became the first Orthodox Syrian Church to be built outside of India.

In August 2006 the Parish Church celebrated its 50th Golden Jubilee. At present the Malaysian church has a membership of about 200 families. The mantle of lay leadership in the church has gradually been passed on to a new generation of members who are essentially Malaysian in their outlook and upbringing, but who also carry some of the heritage of faith and traditions from their elders. The Orthodox Church in Malaysia comes under the episcopal jurisdiction of the Diocese of Madras (Chennai). It currently has six congregations and is a full member of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.

No account of the history of the Kerala Christian Diaspora would be complete without the narration of the adventurous saga of a young man from Kattanam, Kayamkulam, Kerala. John Philip (popularly known as J. Philip) left home in his late teens, found his way to Madras, got on to a sailing ship and reached Rangoon (Burma). Then he took another boat and arrived in Malaya in the early 1920s. He was lucky to find employment at Hurst rubber estate, near Taiping, in Perak. Owing to the fact that he was good with numbers he rose through the accounts section to a managerial position. He decided to call it a day in 1959 and chose to settle down in Madras (Chennai).

When the Japanese forces controlled Malaya from 1941 till 1945, most people in India had no idea whether their family members in Malaya had survived or not. There were plenty of hardships, including a shortage of food. Some people were tortured, and some were summarily executed.

John Philip was arrested and tortured for about 36 hours. There was a photograph of his brother in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, with his new motorcycle. The Japanese soldiers wanted that motorcycle. John Philip tried to explain, as best as he could, in any and every possible language including sign language, to the soldiers who only spoke Japanese, that it was a picture from India. He failed and was arrested, tortured and released after a day and a half. There were many others who underwent a similar fate. It was their faith and commitment to the Lord that helped them to surmount these difficult experiences.

Concluding Thoughts

“Ulysses” is a poem by the Victorian poet, Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892). The mythical hero, Ulysses describes his discontent and restlessness upon returning to his Kingdom, after his far-ranging travels. Despite his reunion with his family, Ulysses turns to his fellow mariners and calls on them to join on another quest…” Come, my friends ‘T is not too late to seek a newer world… To sail beyond the sunset… until I die.” This writer sincerely believes that what powered Ulysses two thousand years ago, powered the adventure seeking Syrian Christian Malayali to cross the turbulent seas, in the early years of the 20th century. Though their priority was to make a fortune and retire to live a quiet, contented and happy life in India it did not happen for most of the emigrants. Many permanently settled in Malaysia and Singapore and became part of the new culture and style of life. Their descendants today are a happy blend of less Keralites and more Malaysians!

Born in the mid-fifties in Sungai Petani, Kedah and coming back to the homeland for the first time in the late sixties was a somewhat confusing experience for me, as may be seen from the following excerpt from my book. “A feeling of strangeness and unfamiliarity crept in when the steam engine of the Trivandrum Mail screeched to a two-minute halt at Kottarakara railway station. Several large sized steel boxes, containing the assets of a lifetime were quickly and efficiently dumped into the open platform by the porters, mostly in red and some in blue” (A World Without Frontiers- Prof. Philip Koshi).

Today in Malaysia, the Syrian Christians are adequately represented in institutions of higher learning and professional occupations. The younger generation is more comfortable speaking English than Malayalam. This indeed is a worldwide phenomenon. Wherever they are, it is imperative to retain the Order of Faith of their ancestors and be living examples of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Happily, the legacy lives on.

[I like to thank Mr. Philip Mathews (Kuala Lumpur), Mr. Varghese Thirumala (Kuala Lumpur), and Dr. Thomas Philip (New Delhi) for providing information for the article]

*ProfessorKoshiservedasProfessor of English literature at Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. ProfessorKoshi is the authorof fivebooks, Ex-All India Radio Broadcaster, Quiz Master, and Freelance Journalist. He is a member of the South Florida Mar Thoma Church andlivesinWeston,Florida.