Church Chronology: Malaysia

1854 • Penang and Malacca, MalaysiaElam Luddington passed through Penang and Malacca on his missionary travels. He was granted an audience with a local king.

July 26, 1971 • PenangThee See Bah was the first to accept baptism in Malaysia.

November 1971 • Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThe first small Church meeting was held at the Hotel Merlin in Kuala Lumpur.

July 28, 1973 • PenangChurch members held a conference, attended by 51 members, at the Hotel Merlin in Penang.

June 21, 1977 • Kuala LumpurElder Gordon B. Hinckley of the Council of the Twelve spoke at a conference in Kuala Lumpur.

October 19, 1977 • MalaysiaThe Church was officially recognized as an incorporated church by the government of Malaysia. Anthony T. K. Lim assumed responsibility as director of the Church’s corporation.

1977 • MalaysiaJenny Lum, Derrick Ho, and Chan Wei Leong served full-time missions.

April 2, 1980 • Kuala LumpurThe Malaysian district was organized.

March 1981 • Ipoh, MalaysiaDoreen Khoo Bee Yee was baptized in Ipoh. She served as a full-time missionary in 1983.

1985 • PenangRicky Tjeong became president of the Penang Branch.

1987–88 • Kuala LumpurIvan Bee Ho was called as the first Malaysian to serve as district president.

September 28, 1994 • Kuala Lumpur

King of Malaysia Tuanku Ja’afar and Queen Tuanku Najihah hosted Sandra and Vincent Gordacan of Las Vegas and various Church officials, including Marcia and Gary Orgill, Geok Lee and Sun Fu Chong, Sophia and Ivan Bee Ho, and Anthony T. K. Lim.

December 12 and 23, 1994 • Kuala Lumpur and PenangChurch members hosted a “Strong Families Can Hold Our World Together” exhibition in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. A uniformed choir sang Christmas carols in the Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur and at the Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya.

March 1996 • Sibu, MalaysiaThe first Church meetings in Sibu were held.

November 1996 • SibuThe Sunday meeting block was reduced from three hours to two.

August 15, 1996 • Kuala LumpurChurch members gathered at 6:30 a.m. at the Japanese Restaurant in the Legend Hotel as Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Malaysia for the preaching of the restored gospel.

December 17, 2000 • Kuala LumpurHo Mei Lan was called as Relief Society president of the Kuala Lumpur District.

August 2, 2003 • IpohThe Ipoh West Malaysia District hosted a women’s conference.

November 14–15, 2003 • Penang and IpohYouth of the district planned, organized, and participated in the Ipoh West Malaysia District Youth Conference “Got Oil—Drop by Drop.” Planning began in September, spearheaded by two youth, Hamish Parsons from the Penang Branch and Jaslinder Kaur from the Ipoh 2nd Branch.

November 15, 2003 • PenangThree graduates spoke at the seminary graduation for the Ipoh West Malaysia District: Kelvin Anand Kumar, Ipoh 2nd Branch; Tan Aun Luck Earnest, Ipoh 2nd Branch; and Hamish Steven Parsons, Penang Branch.

December 6, 2003 • Kuching, MalaysiaTwenty-eight sisters gathered from Kuching, Sibu, Miri, and Bintulu for a district-wide Relief Society meeting to watch the video of the September 2003 Women’s Broadcast.

November 29, 2009 • SibuThe Sibu Malaysia District was created, with Michael Chua Chong Gan as district president.

December 18–21, 2011 • Bintulu, MalaysiaThe Bintulu Malaysia District held a youth conference, “We Believe,” at Similajau National Park, with nearly 60 in attendance.

2013 • Salt Lake City, Utah, USAThe Book of Mormon was published in Malay.

March 2018 • MalaysiaThe triple combination of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price was translated into Malay.

April 29, 2021 • Petaling Jaya, MalaysiaLatter-day Saints Royce Tai and Juli Cole cohosted a community webinar entitled “Pandemic and Emergency Management” with Dr. C. D. Siby, chairman of the Center for Spiritual Advancement.