2. GENERAL WORKS
Archives and Documentation Centres, Bibliographies, Periodicals, General Histories, Directories and Historiography.
2.1 Archives and Documentation Centres
In addition to centres listed below, in Peninsular Malaysia there are also collections of note at the Archib Negara [National Archives], the Perpustakaan Negara [National Library] and in the clippings files of the New Straits Times Library in Kuala Lumpur. In Singapore researchers should make use of the National Library of Singapore, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and the Singapore University Library.
For further information on collections in the United States of America see Robert Shuster, ‘Documentary sources in the United States for Foreign Missions Research: a select bibliography and checklist,’ International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 1985, pp.19-29. See also Lee Ash and W G Miller, Subject collections, Bowker, 1985.
For some further details on Protestant depositories generally see Herron, Alan Craig. A history of the Protestant Christian Churches in West Malaysia and Singapore, Otago, New Zealand, 1977 [This is unpublished but copies are held by Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, the Catholic Research Centre, and University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur; and also by Trinity Theological College, Singapore, and the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the non-Western World, Edinburgh.]
The British and Foreign Bible Society Annual Reports have references to auxilary societies and the work of colporteurs. The archives contain correspondence with early missionaries in the region regarding bible translation.
These specialize in oral, written and video collections relating to non-denominational activity and also house the archives of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. In relation to Malaysia the principle collection is that of the American base of the China Inland Mission/Overseas Missionary Fellowship.
For a list of manuscript letters from 1841 and published reports from 1872 (Compte rendu de mission), see K Williams, The Church in West Malaysia and Singapore, thesis, 1976, pp.xxv-xxxi. Williams also lists the following volumes in the archives without specifying their contents: 19, 20, 33, 102, 129, 130, 166, 247, 887, 891, 901.
The Centre is the principal depository of Catholic archival material in West Malaysia and is steadily building up its holdings. It should be consulted for parish histories, jubilee magazines, back issues of Catholic Asia News and other information.
The Centre’s holdings include material relating to the Presbyterian mission in Malaya and a number of theses written by Malaysian students. The adjacent New College Library has extensive holdings of missionary and periodical literature.
The manuscript collections include papers relating to an attempt by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia to help found a ‘Malayan Junior College’ in the 1960s. The Library contains probably the largest collection in the world relating to the missionary movement. Their extensive periodical holdings make it is feasible to locate articles otherwise impossible to find. They have microfiche copies of major missionary collections including those of the London Missionary Society and the International Missionary Council both of which have important sections dealing with Malaya. [These particular microfiche are also available in Seminari Theoloji Malaysia.]
2.1.7 General Commision on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church, P.O.Box 127, Madison, New Jersey, 07940.
The archives of the Board of Global Ministries and its predecessor mission societies are located on the campus of Drew University. They include material relating to the development of the Methodist Church in West and East Malaysia.
Papers of William Shellabear, pioneer Methodist missionary to Malaya, publisher, printer and Islamic scholar.
The repository of the records of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions which was active in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1830s, with missionaries in Singapore, Melaka, and Penang.
The archives contain material deriving from the correspondence of the archbishops of Canterbury relating to particular bishoprics, eg ‘Davidson Box 1. Labuan 1916.’
In addition to records relating to the the development of Methodist Schools in West Malaysia this archive includes the collection of Methodist materials of Dr Ho Seng Onn. It also holds original copies of Methodist Annual Conference Journals, copies of the Malaysia Message, and some rare Methodist manuscripts and publications.
Colonial Office Records relating to the church in Borneo and Malaya can be found in the series CO 874 and 1022 and elsewhere. Note especially: CO 874/?, Alien missionaries (1921-1939); CO 874/?, Chinese immigration through Basel Mission Society (1921-1930); CO 1022/378 SEA 307/3/01 Activities of the CIM in the Malayan New Villages; CO 1022/379 SEA 307/3/02 Employment of missionaries in the FMS; and CO 1022/434 SEA 389/3/01 Muslim affairs in the Federation of Malaya and Singapore.
The archives of Rhodes House include those of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG, previously SPG), the Borneo Mission Association, and a major collection relating to the Brooke dynasty in Sarawak. These are the most important primary resources relating to the development of the Anglican Church in East and West Malaysia. P W Tolmie, ‘The holdings of the Malayan material in Rhodes House Library, Oxford,’ Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 72(1), 1989, pp.89-95, should be consulted, although it makes no reference to the SPG records. Microfilm copies of SPG records relating to the Borneo Mission are also held in the Brunei Museum Library. References to these and the Rhodes House collections can be found in Graham Edward Saunders, ‘Bishops and Brookes. The Anglican mission and the Brooke Raj in Sarawak 1848-1941,’ PhD thesis, University of Hull, 1989, 742pp.
An introduction to Roman Catholic archives in Rome can be found in J P de Valk, ‘Sources for the history of the Dutch colonies in the ecclesiastical archives of Rome (1814-1903),’ Itinerario, 9, 1985, pp.53-66. Search the web for Jesuit, Propaganda and other archives.
The Headquarters has a scrapbook of press clippings as well as other files and records.
The Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), is a major depository of missionary archives and has considerable holdings relating to Malaya. These include the collections of the London Missionary Society, the Council of British Missionary Societies and the English Presbyterian Mission. Many of these are also available on microfiche through IDC, Box 11205, 2301, Leiden, The Netherlands.
The Library holdings include photocopies of miscellaneous journal articles, a set of the Malaysia Message, the Singapore Diocesan Magazine, the nineteenth century Record Books of St Andrews Cathedral Singapore and a variety of parish magazines and souvenir publications. There are annual minutes of the various conferences of the Methodist Church in Malaysia and some Synod papers of the Diocese of West Malaysia as well as collections of correspondence and reports relating to ecumenism in Malaysia and Singapore. It has microfiche archives from the London Missionary Society, the Council of British Missionary Societies, the Christian Conference of Asia and the International Missionary Council. Access may be restricted and the processing of materials is incomplete.
Holdings include government records of the Straits Settlements (see Tan Soo Chye, Index to the Straits Settlement Records 1800-1867, Singapore, 1970 for references to grants for church buildings and schools), church records (records from 41 churches are listed in Catalogue of records on microfilm, 1981, pp.20-22) and a photographic archive of Singapore churches. The Inventory of photographs, no.3, churches, 1977, provides basic information on the founding of 117 individual congregations and the date of construction of church buildings. See also Inventory of photographs, no.1 Catholic clergy, 1974.
These archives contain original copies of Methodist material also available in microfilm at the Singapore National Archives as well as correspondence, reports, diaries and publications from the beginning of the church in 1885 up to the present.
The Library holds microfilm, if not original copies, of virtually all known publications connected with the early history of the Straits Settlements, including publications from the mission presses and newspapers such as the Prince of Wales Island Gazette.
As the oldest theological library in Singapore and Malaysia it houses a considerable amount of material including the archives of the East Asia Christian Conference and the Christian Conference of Asia.
This collection includes many old photographs and correspondence from the various English speaking Methodist congregations in West Malaysia. Its holdings include some from the pre-war period. It is in the process of becoming the official repository of all records from these churches.
Located in the basement of the United Reformed Church Offices, the library holds miscellaneous material relating to Presbyterian churches in Malaya, especially Orchard Road, Singapore, and also a number of personal files of missionaries who served in Malaya from the 1950s until the early 1970s. Earlier Presbyterian Mission records have been transferred to the School of Oriental and African Studies and it is likely that others will be transferred there in due course also. Many of the earlier Presbyterian records are now available on microfiche from Inter Documentation Company, P O Box 11205, 2301 EE Leiden, The Netherlands.
As well as extensive holdings of books and journals, the library has copies of theses from overseas universities and microfilms of British archives relating to Malaya.
The archives of the International Missionary Council held in the WCC Library contain a fair amount of material relating to Malaya, including in connection with German missionaries in British North Borneo (now Sabah) during and after World War I (catalogued under Indonesia), and questions of religious freedom prior to Independence in 1957. Some of this material is available on microfiche from the Inter Documentation Company, P O Box 11205, 2301 EE Leiden, The Netherlands. See International Missionary Council Archives 1910-1961. Guide to the microform collection, IDC, 1987, part II, p.410.
The Resource Centre and Library maintains a collection of newspaper clippings on a wide range of social and religious subjects.
2.2 Bibliographies
Brown, Ian and Rajeswary Ampalavanar, Malaysia, World Bibliographical series, volume 12, CLIO Press, Oxford, xxxv + 308pp. Comments on selected books and articles and a valuable introductory essay tracing the political development of what now constitutes Malaysia. The section on Christianity is feeble.
Cheeseman, H R. Bibliography of Malaya being a classified list of books wholly or partly in English relating to the Federation of Malaya and Singapore, published for the British Association of Malaya by Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1959, pp.160-168. Annotated.
Cotter, Conrad P, comp. Bibliography of English language sources on Human Ecology. Eastern malaysia and Brunei, Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1965, 2 vols., 755pp. Detailed listings include more on Christianity than indicated by the index. Notes location or source of reference.
Harris, L J, comp. Guide to current Malaysian serials, University of Malaya Library, Kuala Lumpur, 1967, 73pp.
Henkel, Willi, OMI and Metzler, Josef, OMI., eds., Bibliographia Missionaria, Pontifical Urban University, Vatican City. Annual since 1936. The basic bibliographical reference for Catholic missions. Protestant journals have been listed in recent years.
The International Review of Mission, WCC, Geneva, has a bibliography which lists entries on Malaysia. For a many years the January issue carried a world survey which in the 1950s and 60s in particular contains observations on Malaysia and Singapore as seen through the eyes of the Malayan Christian Council.
Johnson, Donald Clay. Index to Southeast Asian Journals, 1960-1974: A guide to articles, book reviews and composite works, G G Hall, Boston, Mass. Only four entries on Christianity in Malaysia (all listed here), but useful for the region and other aspects of Malaysian society.
Karni, R S. Bibliography of Malaysia and Singapore, Penerbit Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1980. Christianity is listed on pp.17-24. A comprehensive work including notes of hard to find items most of which have been included here.
Pelzer, Karl J. West Malaysia and Singapore: a selected bibliography, Behaviour Science Bibliographies, Human Relations Area Files Press, New Haven, 1971. Includes listings by ethnic group, and a general section on religion.
Religion Index One: Periodicals. Published annually by the American Theological Library Association since 1949.
Tregonning, K G. Southeast Asia. A critical bibliography, University of Malaya Press, University of Arizona Press. No specific category covering Christianity, but otherwise useful for Malaysia.
2.3 Periodicals
Note: This listing does not include journals such as The Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Journal for Southeast Asian Studies and the Sarawak Museum Journal for which all known articles to date have been included in the bibliography. For the first half of the nineteenth century letters and news items from the London Missionary Society and other Protestant missions can be found in a wide range of missionary publications of the period. For miscellaneous local church publications as at 1965 see, L J Harris, comp., Guide to current Malaysian serials, University of Malaya Library, Kuala Lumpur, 1967, pp.6-14.
Borneo Chronicle, Borneo Mission Association, 15 Crest Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 7JR, England. Events and personalities in the Anglican Church in Sabah and Sarawak.
Catholic Asia News. Produced in Kuala Lumpur with news of the Catholic Church in Malaysia and further afield. Previously Malayan Catholic News (from 1950) and Malaysian Catholic News (from 1962). An important documentation source.
Chinese Repository. Published in Canton from 1832 to 1851 it contains a number of articles and short notices relating to Malaya and the work of the London Missionary Society. See General index of subjects contained in the twenty volumes of the Chinese Repository; with an arranged list of the articles, Maruzen, Tokyo [reprint, original edition Canton, December, 1851], nd, 168pp.
The Christian in Singapore. Published quarterly from 1861 until ? Singapore Ladies Bible and Tract Society.
The Colonial Church Chronicle and Missionary Journal. Published in London from July 1847 until ? Early issues have information on the Sarawak (‘Borneo’) Anglican mission. A number of articles are listed in Conrad P Cotter, comp. Bibliography of English language sources on Human Ecology. Eastern malaysia and Brunei, Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1965, pp.43f, 98f, 108, 141, 153, 172, 370f, 398.
Echoes of Service. The missionary periodical of the Brethren Assemblies in Britain; it contains news items from Malaya from 1872.
Indo-Chinese Gleaner. Published quarterly from May 1817 until April 1822 by the London Missionary Society at Melaka, editor William Milne. Rare.
Information & Formation. Occasional publication of the Catholic Research Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
Malacca Torch. Christ Church Parish [Anglican] magazine begun in 1946. The University of Malaya has holdings from 1962 until ?.
Malaysia Message. Published from 1891 to 1953 when it became the Methodist Message. A valuable source of information on Protestant churches generally.
St Andrew’s Outlook. The Record of the Presbyterian Church in Malaya. Begun in 1914 in Penang this was the magazine of the expatriate Presbyterian congregations in Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. A fairly complete set is in the Orchard Road Presbyterian Church, Singapore.
Selangor Parish Magazine. Produced by St Mary’s Anglican Church, Kuala Lumpur from 1934 if not earlier. Succeeded by Crossroads and St Mary’s Parish Magazine.
Singapore Diocesan Magazine. Quarterly, 1910 to 1936. Important source of Anglican parish and diocesan history.
Southern Bell. [Chinese] Since 1933 the regular publication of the Chinese Conference of the Methodist Church.
SPG Review of the Year. Annual reports of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, now the USPG at Partnership House, 157 Waterloo Road, London.
2.4 General histories, directories and historiography
Balchin, Frank. On China’s doorstep, Livingstone Press, London, 1952, 96pp.
Bebbington, David. Patterns in history, IVP, 1979. Survey of different approaches to history, written from a Christian point of view.
Canton, William. A history of the British and Foreign Bible Society, J Murray, London, vol.1, 1904, 496pp; vol.2, 1904, 512pp; vol.3, 1910, 486pp; vol.5, 1910, 455pp. See index references to Malacca, Malay, Malaysia, Penang, Singapore.
Chelliah, V A and A McLeish. Malaya and Singapore. Survey directory of churches and missions in the Federation and Colony, Post War Survey Series, 2, World Dominion Press, London and New York, 1948. 36pp.
Fleming, John. ‘Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. The Church in a racial melting pot,’ in G H Anderson, ed., Christ and Crisis in South East Asia, Friendship Press, New York, 1968, pp.81-106. Useful survey.
Healey, Francis G. Malaya. What of the Church? Edinburgh House Press, London, 1951, 1952, 1957 (revised by John Fleming). 28pp. Healey was Secretary of the Overseas Missions Committee of the Presbyterian Church of England; Fleming Secretary of the Malayan Christian Council.
Herron, Alan Craig. A history of the Protestant Christian Churches in West Malaysia and Singapore, Otago, New Zealand, 1977, xviii + 446 + 89pp. A thorough compilation by a former church history lecturer at Trinity College Singapore. An important source for many subsequent writers.
Ho, Daniel K C. "The Church in Malaysia." In Church in Asia Today Challenges and Opportunities, edited by Saphir Athyal, 266-98. Singapore: Asia Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, 1996.
Hunt, Robert. ‘The history of the translation of the Bible into Malay,’ Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 62(1), 1989, pp.35-56.
Kao Keng-Tai and Dorothy Kao, Malaysia and Brunei Church Directory 1986-1987, Singapore Every Home Crusade, 1986, 258pp.
Kao Keng-Tai and Dorothy Kao, Singapore Church Directory 1986-1987, Singapore Every Home Crusade, 1986, 176pp.
Law, Gail. Chinese churches handbook, Chinese Coordination Centre of World Evangelism, Hong Kong, 1982, pp.129-170.
‘Malaysia’ in David C E Liao, ed., World Christianity volume 2, Eastern Asia, MARC, Monrovia California, 1979, pp.101-109. Outline reflects concerns of MARC rather than personal knowledge of the country.
Marsden, George and Frank Roberts, eds. A Christian view of history? Eerdmans, 1975, 201pp.
[Mounier, Fr Paul] ‘Malaysia’ in D B Barrett, World Christian Encyclopedia, OUP, 1982, pp.472-476. Perceptive survey article.
Official Church Directory and Ordo. The Catholic Directory for the Archdioceses of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Kuching and the Diocese of Penang, Melaka-Johor, Kota Kinabalu, Sibur and Miri-Brunei, Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, Catholic News, Singapore. Annual publication. 1988 edition 247pp.
Phoon, W O. ‘Malaysia-Singapore’ in D E Hoke, ed., The Church in Asia, Moody Press, 1975, pp.68-74. Reflects Protestant sympathies.
Roxborogh, W John, A short introduction to Malaysian Church History, Malaysian Church History Series No. 1, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia and the Catholic Research Centre, Kuala Lumpur, 1986, iii + 31pp. Second (revised) edition, 1989. An outline history with guidelines for writing local church history and a brief bibliography.
Roxborogh, W J, ‘Christianity and history: Malaysia and Southeast Asia,’ Asia Journal of Theology, 1(2), October 1987, pp.547-557.
Roxborogh, John. "Whose History and Whose Theology? Reflections from Malaysia on the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World." Mission Studies VIII-1, no. 15 (1991): 93-103.
Roxborogh, John. ‘Towards Church History in Malaysia,’ in M D David, ed., Asia and Christianity, Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay, 1985, pp.85-106.
Sng, Bobby E K. In His good time, the story of the church in Singapore 1819-1978, Graduates Christian Fellowship, Singapore, 1980, 343pp. Still the best one-volume church history for Singapore and much of Malaysia.
Sullivan, Patrick. ‘A critical appraisal of historians of Malaya: the theory of society implicit in their work,’ in R Higgott and R Robison, eds., Southeast Asia. Essays in the political economy of structural change, R & K Paul, 1985, pp.65-92. A less than sympathetic critique, but worth noting for its implications for Christian historiography.
Turnbull, C Mary. A short history of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, Graham Brash, Singapore, 1981, xiv + 320pp. Readable standard history.
Vierow, Duain, ed. Malaysia Christian Handbook, Glad Sounds, Kuala Lumpur, 1979.
Vischer, Lucas. Towards a history of the Church in the Third World. The issue of periodisation, Evangelishche Arbeitsstelle Oekumene Schweiz, Bern, 1985. Papers and report of a consultation convened by the Working Commission on Church History of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians held in Geneva in July 1983. Perspectives on historiography from the ‘receiving’ end.
Wright, A and Cartwright, H A., eds. Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: its history, peoples, industries and resources, Unwin, London, 1908, pp.281-290. The entry on ‘Religion’ includes Church of England, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, the Bible Society, and the YMCA/YWCA.