Anglicanism came to the Malay Peninsula following the establishment of the British East India Company's administered settlement on Penang island in 1786.

The local magistrate, a George Caunter, was appointed a Lay Clerk/Acting Chaplain to provide spiritual ministry to the settlers.

As a result, in 1855, a Diocese of Singapore, Labuan and Sarawak was created by Letters Patent for the better administration of these outlying areas.

Meanwhile, a major shift in mission outlook took place with the Society for the Propagation of Gospel in Foreign Parts taking an active role in procuring ‘chaplains' for the Crown in its colonies.

After 120 years, the Anglican church in South-East Asia was finally positioned to take responsibility for its own mission and growth.

The War and the loss of its expatriate leadership precipitated a sense of self-determination among the local Christian community, and an urgent need for training Asian leaders for this developing part of the Anglican Church.

Episcopal supervision of the parishes within the Diocese of West Malaysia can be traced back to the oversight of early Anglican chaplaincies in the Malay peninsula from the metropolitan Bishop of Calcutta since 1814.