Utusan Melayu, a Jawi-script Malay daily, was first published on 29 May 1939 by the Utusan Melayu Press Limited. It was a landmark publication as it was the first to be wholly owned, financed, written and managed by the Malays. Yusof Ishak, who later became Singapore's first president, was one of its prime movers.
The founding of Utusan Melayu
Before Utusan Melayu was published, Malay newspapers were controlled by Muslims of Arab or Indian origins. Jawi Peranakan (1876-1895), the first Malay-language newspaper in Singapore, was owned by Muslims of South Indian origins. The Alsagoffs, a leading Arab family in Singapore, owned Warta Malaya (1930-1941), which was the leading Malay newspaper before Utusan Melayu.
In early 1939, the Utusan Melayu Press Limited was incorporated in Singapore. It came about after a group of 20 Malay leaders came together and decided to produce a Malay newspaper, owned, financed and staffed by pure Malays (orang darah keturunan Melayu). One of them was Yusof Ishak, who later became Singapore's Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State) in 1959 and then first president of the Republic of Singapore in 1965. Other prominent founders of Utusan Melayu were Yahya Abdul Rahman, Yunos Haji Daim, Osman Hassan, Haji Ambok Soloh, Sudin Abdul Rahman, Abdullah Abdul Ghani and Daud bin Md Shah. The prolific Abdul Rahim Kajai became the newspaper's editor.
Two newspapers, one name
The Utusan Melayu by the Utusan Melayu Press was the second Malay newspaper to be named such. The first Utusan Melayu (1907-1921) was published by the Singapore Free Press on 7 November 1907 and was circulated three times a week. It became a daily from 1915 to 1921. The link between these two newspapers of the same name lies with Eunos Abdullah, the editor of the first Utusan Melayu. In 1926, he formed and became the first President of the Kesatuan Melayu Singapura (KMS), a Malay political organisation which promoted the advancement of the Malays. In 1938, the KMS was helmed by Malay leaders who were responsible for galvanising the Malay community to poll their capital to start a newspaper which they could truly call their own.
Yusof Ishak, then 27, was appointed to organise the formation of Utusan Melayu which needed an initial capital of $12,500. $2,000 was first collected and used to register the newspaper with the registrar of Joint Stock Companies. It was an uphill task for Yusof to sell Utusan shares. He travelled round Singapore and south of Johor, approaching peasants, taxi drivers and other ordinary Malays, yet managed to sell only 400 shares totaling $4,000. Haji Ambok and Daud Md Shah produced the rest of the $8,500. Other than selling shares, Yusof managed the financial account, looked for journalists and editors, fixed up machines, and sourced for advertisers. Utusan Melayu Press operated from its office at 64 Queen Street, Singapore.
Before the first issue of Utusan Melayu went into printing, a few of its editors went to Pahang, Kelantan, Trengganu, Johor and Selangor to publicise the newspaper and gather the Malays' reaction to it. The news created a sensation among the Malay newspaper readership and finally on 29 May 1939, Utusan Melayu made its debut amidst pomp and ceremony. Its Sunday edition, Utusan Zaman, appeared in the same year.
During the Japanese Occupation, Utusan Melayu continued to be circulated but its name changed to Berita Malai.
Utusan Melayu and Malay nationalism
Utusan Melayu Press printed 1000 copies of Utusan Melayu initially but reduced to 700 and then 600 because of tough competition from Warta Malaya. It was at first difficult financially for the Press until it began to print flyers for the Information Department to supplement its profit. By 1941, Utusan has a circulation of 1,800 copies per day. Utusan appealed to the Malay masses especially the urban Malays. The newspaper was concerned with the safeguarding of Malay interests, especially the education of the Malays. In encouraging the community's development, the paper sometimes adopted socialist ideas. By the 1950s, Utusan Melayu had a circulation of 10,000 copies. Utusan Melayu was sold at 10 cents per copy and the annual subscription to the paper was $30.
The Malay nationalistic movement was at its high in the 1950s and most editorials soon turned anti-British including Utusan Melayu. However the movement was split between two camps, those who favored the overthrowing of the sultans and ushering in a new republic and those who favoured the formation of the Federation of Malaya with the sultans as the heads of states (this faction was led by United Malay National Organisation [UMNO]). Utusan Melayu took the former position but as more UMNO members bought Utusan shares, the newspaper came under UMNO's control.
In 1958, after Malaysia's independence, the Utusan Melayu Press moved its head office to Kuala Lumpur.
Author
Joshua Chia Yeong Jia & Nor-Afidah Abd Rahman
References
A. M. Iskandar Haji Ahmad. (1973). Persuratkhabaran Melayu (1876-1968) (p. 7). Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.
(Call no.: RSEA 079.595 ABD-[DIR])
Ainon Kuntom. (1974). Malay newspapers, 1876-1973: A historical survey of the literature (pp. 27-31). Academic exercise, Pusat Pengajian Ilmu Kemanusiaan, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
(Call no.: RSING q079.5951 AIN)
Ishak Haji Muhammad. (1975). Pengalaman Pak Sako tiga tahun di Singapura (pp. 46-57). Petaling Jaya: Pustaka Budaya.
(Call no.: RSING 079.595 ISH)
Jeman Sulaiman (1988, November 7). The rise of Malay newspapers [Microfilm: NL 16272]. The Straits Times, Section 2, p. 6.
Makepeace, W., Brooke, G. E., & Braddell, R. St. J. (Eds.). (1991). One hundred years of Singapore (Vol. 2, pp. 284-285). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 ONE-[HIS])
Malaysia Culture and Information. Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad. Retrieved January 7, 2005 from http://www.kempen.gov.my/coci/presorg.htm
Stockwell, A. J. (1977). The formation and first years of the United Malays National Organization (U.M.N.O.) 1946-1948. Modern Asian Studies, 11(4), 486. Retrieved June 11, 2007, from JSTOR database.
Turnbull, C. M. (1989). A history of Singapore: 1819-1988 (pp. 119,143 & 283). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR)
Wikipedia Ensiklopedia Bebas. (2005, December 12). Kumpulan Utusan. Retrieved June 12, 2007, from http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumpulan_Utusan
Further readings
A. Samad Ismail. (1993). Memoir A. Samad Ismail di Singapura. Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
(Call no.: RSING 899.23050092 ABD)
Di sebalik jendela Utusan: Suara keramat. (1989). Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Melayu (Malaysia).
(Call no.: RCLOS 079.595 DIS -[SEA])
The information in this article is valid as at 2007 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
