| Malay Chapel The Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church was built on a land
acquired in Prinsep Street, then known as Kampong Bencoolen. It was named the Malay
Chapel, in acknowledgement of Keasberry's work amongst the Malay community in the areas of
education, missions and the translation and publishing of English religious texts into
Malay. The church was also popularly known as Greja Keasberry or "Keasberry's
Church". When the London Missionary Society (LMS) closed its Malaya mission in
1847 for China, Keasberry stayed behind as an independent missionary to continue his work
with the Malays. He did so until his sudden death on 6 September 1875, whilst preaching at
the pulpit.
Though the church was intended to serve a Malay congregation, over time, the Malay
Chapel became associated with the Straits-born Malay-speaking Chinese community. By the
latter half of the 19th century, the Malay Chapel became the place of worship for many
illustrious Baba Chinese.
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