Over the next few years, more brothers and their families came from the Philippines as part of their secular work. They began witnessing to others, and in due course a congregation was formed. The result was that by 1963 there were 28 publishers in Tawau.

For more than 20 years, the congregation used as their Kingdom Hall the home of one of the original brothers who had come from the Philippines. Then, in 1983, another meeting place was located on the second floor of a commercial building. While the new location was much more accessible​—especially in the monsoon season—​it had poor ventilation, hence was extremely hot. It was also very noisy and dusty because of the tire and car repair shops on the floor below. Happily, a large two-story house became available for rent in January 1985. The Tawau Congregation continued to grow spiritually and numerically over the years and now has 62 publishers.

In 1984 Brother and Sister Lua, who had been serving as special pioneers in Malacca, were reassigned to the Tawau Congregation. Their presence in the congregation, together with their strong lead in field service, gave a real boost to the congregation. Brother Lua has also been able to serve as substitute circuit overseer in Sabah at various times.

But the Tawau Congregation has also been greatly encouraged by another two devoted pioneer sisters. One of these is Sister Gan Yam Hwa, who came from Peninsular Malaysia as a pioneer in 1985. The other is Sister Victoria Ico, who was baptized in 1947 in the Philippines. In 1988 she moved from Tawau to the rural town of Keningau, which is one of the places where the brothers have built their own Kingdom Hall. This newly built hall was first used for the 1989 Memorial celebration and was dedicated on June 1 of that year.

The second congregation established in Sabah is at Kota Kinabalu, where the witness work had its small beginning in the 1950’s. There are now 71 publishers and 6 pioneers serving in this congregation. So with these two congregations and the five isolated groups in the towns of Keningau, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, and Kota Belud, and on the island of Labuan, the work is on a solid footing in the state of Sabah. The peak number of publishers, including pioneers, has now reached 180.

The sister state of Sarawak resembles Sabah in many ways. It also has five isolated groups. But it has three congregations​—one of which has also built its own Kingdom Hall.

Nevertheless, after their two years in Kuching, they were able to leave behind the nucleus of a congregation, with up to 25 attending the regular meetings held at the missionary home, and several of those they studied with were also sharing regularly in field service.

When Eliab Bayang died, he made provision in his will to bequeath a fine block of land to the Kuching Congregation. An attractive Kingdom Hall now stands on that site.

And so the Kingdom work also continues to grow steadily in Sarawak. The congregations are at Kuching, Miri, and Sibu, and the five isolated groups are at Bintulu, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Kapit, and Nanga Medamit.