Ang Chui Pek was born on November 21, 1926 to Ang Chai Tit and Sung Beng Choo in Taiping, Perak. He was the second child and eldest son of 12 siblings. The Ang family was well-known for their hospitality and service at Taiping Gospel Hall. Although the family was not rich in material possessions, their progeny received a rich godly inheritance. By their parents’ love and example, all the children professed faith in the Lord Jesus on reaching their teens.
Chui Pek and his brother Chui Lai would often accompany their grandfather Ang Gan to distribute gospel tracts to villagers. He had a happy, uneventful childhood until World War II began. The war years were difficult times for the family. When World War II broke out, his father Ang Chai Tit was seeking treatment in Sumatra, so they were without the head of the household during this crucial period. As one of the oldest in the family, Chui Pek was made to work as an interpreter for the Japanese, a job at which he felt ill at ease because his Japanese boss also wanted him to spy for him. It was a joyful day when Ang Chai Tit came home to the family after 1½ years of separation.
After the war was over, Chui Pek continued his secondary school education and became a teacher. Although he harboured ambitions to be a doctor, there was no monetary means for him to do so. Nevertheless, God had other plans for him and it was through being a teacher from 1947 onwards and later as a headmaster that he was able to influence many lives for Christ including students, teachers, parents and friends.
He later met Cheang Oi Heng at the Teachers Christian Fellowship. Cheang was born on March 30, 1937 in Penang to Cheang Ah Toong and Lum Man Hoe. She studied at the University of Malaya campus in Singapore and became a Christian during her university years. Chui Pek and Oi Heng were married on December 14, 1963 at Taiping Gospel Hall in a ceremony conducted by Mr S.S. Adams, a missionary from Burmah Road Gospel Hall in Penang. Their married life started in Taiping and later they moved down to Petaling Jaya where they attended Petaling Jaya Gospel Hall from 1965 onwards. Their move to the Klang Valley was because Chui Pek became the headmaster of Bukit Bintang Boys Primary School (II). Oi Heng was transferred to teach at Bukit Bintang Boys Secondary School. Both of these were mission schools.
Chui Pek also took over from Mr Chang Kim Swee as the Sunday school superintendent in Bukit Bintang Boys’ Primary School (II) until he retired, after being the longest serving headmaster. His service there spanned a total of 17 years. He was instrumental in inviting many students to Sunday school and arranged for a bus to pick up the students. In 1965 he was appointed as an elder at Petaling Jaya Gospel Hall (PJGH) and later also served as a pioneering elder when SS Gospel Centre (SSGC) was started in 1981. He was also active in the Orang Asli ministry from the 1980s, making regular trips and preaching in Bahasa Malaysia. His uncle Sung Chiew Huay was instrumental in obtaining the land in Cameron Highlands that became the future site of Highland’s Christian Centre (HCC), and Chui Pek regularly made trips to Cameron Highlands to discuss the further development of the land for purposes of Christian work and camps.
Oi Heng provided the supportive role for the family and was busy as a secondary school teacher. She served as teacher in charge of the Junior Scripture Union as well as the head librarian teacher. She was always efficient and knowledgeable in the tasks that she had to perform both in school and at home. She had a heart for people especially for single women and would often help anyone in need. The couple hosted guests, including missionaries, in their home.
Chui Pek and Oi Heng served faithfully at PJGH and later SSGC in various ways such as Care and Share Groups, marriage counselling, Bible studies and choir.
Chui Pek and Oi Heng had two daughters – Chin Sim (Faith) and Chin Aun (Joy). They passed on their Christian heritage and due to their influence, both daughters accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour in their childhood.
Oi Heng passed away in her sleep on May 11, 2022. She had lain down to take a nap while Chui Pek was outside gardening and in that short period, she was taken home to be with the Lord. Chui Pek died on Christmas day that same year, after a short bout of breathing difficulties. God graciously gave them both easy departures from this earth without having to suffer prolonged periods of illness. One of their favourite hymns was “In the sweet by and by” and we are assured that they have met on that beautiful shore. The land that by faith they could see from afar while on earth, has now become their eternal dwelling place.