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SoittliE`Tst Asitwi Stu(ffes, Vol. 15, No. 4, ?L'Iareh 1978

Malaysia's National Language Mass Media: History and Present Status

John A. LENT*

Compared to its English annd Chinese language and periodicals, 's the Malay natlonal language press is relatively young, The first recognized in 1876, seven decades after the Goz'ern- (also called Bahasa Malaysia) language appeared in .Vonthly ment Gaxette was published in English, and 61 years later than the Chinese

A4aga.tr.ine. However, once developed, the Malay press became extremely important in the

peninsula, especially in its efforts to unify the Malays in a spirit of national consciousness. Between 1876 and 1941, at least 162 Malay language newspapers, magazines and by or for Malays ancl three journals were published, plus eight others in English designed in Malay and English.i) At least another 27 were published since 1941, bringing the total

to 200.2} Of the 173 pre-World "rar II periodicals, 104 were established in the Straits Settiements this is understandable in that these of Singapore and I'enang (68 and 36, respectively): firstfourdecadies cities had large concentrations of Malay population. In fact, during the in the of rvIalay journalism, only four of the 26 newspapers or periodicals were published Malay peninsular states, all four in Perak. The most prolific period in the century of press is the 35 years between 1906-1941, when 147 periodicals were issued: however, in this of the instance, 68, or nearly one half, were published in the peninsular states. Very few despite the emphasis on publications lasted Iong, to the extent that today, in Malaysia, (.rtttsan ]N'Talay as the national language, there are only three Malay dailies. The oldest,

Afela)'it, dates only te 1939,

Historical Perspective

Most historians3' agree that Malay journalism owes its beginnings to the locally-born ttt in by Christian mission- i'S' Additionally, 15 periodicals were published in Arablc and nine Malay of-Mdlay and Arabic I'eri- aries for the{r self-serving purposes, William R. Roff. BibliograPhy edicals. London : Oxford LJniversity Press, I972, pp,1-2. 2) See P.Lim Pul Huen. IVlewspapers Published in the MLilaysia Ares. Singapore: Institute of South East Asian Studies, April 1970. various pagings. NZitionalism. Lurnpur: Univer- 3) For example: William R. Roff. The Origins of JfLzlay Kuala "The in the Straits,''Jburnal sity ef Malaya Press, t967, p.48; E. W. Birch. Vernacular Press Zainal Abidin b. Ahmad. 'LMalay of Malayan Branch Rorval Asiatic Society, Dec, 1879, p.51; Journalism in Malaya," tJburnal Afltlayan Branch Rayal Asi･atic Society, Vel.19, Part II (lgtl), " JburnalMdlayan Branch Asiatic p. 244 ; Nik Ahmad bin Haji Nik Hassan. The Maray Press,T' Society, Vol,36, Part I (1963), p. 37.

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Indian Muslims of Singapore, called the Jawi Peranakan. As Roff explained, the Jawi I'eranakan were prirnarily locally-born offspring of unions hetween indigenous Dv{alay wo-

men and South Indian Muslirn traders. In late 1876, this group formed an association in

Singapore, called Jawi Peranakan, which initiated a printing ofice to publish a weekly

newspaper, again named .]Zi.wi kranakan. A writer of the time described ,lawi Riranakan

" as having a circulation oE 250 by 1880, ably and punetually edited, having with only one exception, been issuedi consistently on the day on whic:h it professes to come out,"`) The

paper during its first year used manuscript writing and lithograph and followed the example

of the English press in emphasizing war news. Birch said oE its policy,

Towards Government its tone is not hostile, nor even critical : indeed in only one instance was anything like a burst of feeling given bent to.5)

`` '" He feresaw the main advantage of .Jdxvi/ Peranakan as settling the language and giving

" a uniformity to the various dialects of Maiay."6)

The first managing editor of JdzL,i kranakan was Munshi Mohd. Said bin Dada Mo- hiddin. When he died in 1888, his widow retained the paper with the aid of others until

1895, when it ceased publication. Nik said that during Said's editorsh;p, the weekly ran

editorials dealing with secial events and the weather, an example of the former being an appeal to kampung (village) folk to avail themselves of medleal facilities."

Besides being first and the longest lived pre-World XVar II Malay periodical, .Jdwi Pera-

nakan is also remembered for its spawning of other newspapers. Roff claimed that most

of the 17 periedicals between 1876 and 1905 were $ponsored or edited by Jbwi Ileranahan

personnel.S) For example, all five of the nineteenth century Malay language papers of

Penang had JLiwi Pbranakan staffs.

Most of the first periodicals were hand lithographed weeklies, modelled initially after

English language newspapers, and later using Egyptian and Arabic news centent. The

result was that most ef the content did not relate to the Malay cemmunity, In fact, they

seemed to have as their chief function the serving of reading materials in the schools.9)

For example, Sekola Aflelaytt (The Malay Scheol), edited by Munshi Mohd. Ali Al-Hindi, appeared $olely for teaehing grammar and language in the school$. It was Jhwi Reranakan's

4) Birch, oP. cit., p.52. 5) ibid.

6) ibid. Zalnal, who had a copy of number 38 issue of LIdtvi Pleranakan, dated Oct. 15, 1877, verified Birch's conclusiens en content. Zainal, oP. cit,, p.244. 7) Nik, oP. cit,, pp,37-38. S) Roff, Bibliography of. .., oP. cit., p.3. Before preceeding any further, it should be mentioned that Birch recalled three other Malay periodicals publishing in the country before 188e: a sister of Jawi Peranakan, called Jdzvi Standard, which lasted a brief time in ; Peridaran Shamsa ;lrZztkamer (The Revolution of the Sun and the Moon) and Bintang Barat (Western Star). Birch, ep. cit., p.sl. g) Roff, [rhe Origins efZ,., oP. cit., pp,50--52.

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main competitor frQm its birth on August 1, 1888, until 1893, when it ceased publishing.iO'

Other periodicals of this inttial era (1876--1905) which deserve mention were : -TVLi.iinn"l Fajai' (Morning Stars) : the following from Perak, Seri Pei'ak (Light of Perak), a brlefiy- . Iived 1893 paper whlch was the first publislied in any of the peninsular states, ,layahan

ii-lila.vt{ (]y,Ialay Terrltories), a weekly in 1896"97, tlambangan LVa.i'ta, weekly of 1901 and

Khi,rLvtah al-IXmu, a monthly in 1904; Tan,iong f'enegeri/, the first )-,Ialay paper of

Penang,ii) started October 4, 1894, and the following also from Penang, I'entinzx.)in Ularta

(l895-97'), Lenghengan Bttlan (The Crescent, 1900-Ol), Bintcmg 1'imor,i:' weekly of 1900 which lasted 30 issues, and Chahtt.ya Ptt･l`tit l'inang (Light of I'enang, l900-08). In July 1906, the mood of Malay journalism began to change with the appearance of

a religious Shaykh Al- .ll I"iam r.The Leader), journalpublished in Singapore by Sayyid

IIadii'i' and edited by Mohd. Tahir bin Jalaluddin. Previousiy, Malay media dealt with

Hterarv and social interest contributions, but i'll Imatn had a drastic effect on the trends in

content ancl outlook of periedicals. During its three-and-a-half year existence, .ll Jmam, pushillg for social and religious reforms in Malaya, tried to live up to the tenor of its `` introductory editorial, xvhich said in part : to remind those who are forgetful, arouse those who sleep, gulde those who stray, and give a voice to those who speak with wisdom." As

Roff statecl,

In an orgy of self-vilification and self-condemnation, Al-bnanz points to the back- wardness of the Malays, their domination by alien races, their laziness, their compla- cency, their bickering ameng themselves, and their inability to cooperate for the

common good.i4)

The first Islarnic reform journal to be published in 1{uslim Southeast Asia, Al Ihiam set an example for successors such as Neracha (The Scales), a thrice monthly journal in

Singapore from 1911-15 ; Tunas O'fklab'u, monthly brought out in association with A]bi'acha

in 1913 ; Afay'allah al-islam (1914･-), edited by K, Anang, assistant editor of the former two periodicals ; Saudara (The Brethren), published in Penang from 1928-41 ; and Al Jkh'wan (The Brotherhood), Penang monthly during 1926-31. The latter two were started by the '10)

Nik, ol], cit., p.:39.

11) Birch's mention of a Penang tJLizvi Standard has never been substantiated. Muhammad bln Dato' Muda. Tarikh Seerat Khabar. Malaya, 1940, p. 102. 12) Another pnper by that name was started in Singapore, July 1894, by Song Ong Siang, presiclent of the Chinese Christian Association. It is identilied by Nik as being the first Rornanized Malay paper in the natlon, The first Bintang Tintor was a daily for nine months, then a tri-weekly for three months, before it died. Nik, oP, cit,, p.,11. Roff, however, reportedthat Straits Chinese Hbrald, pub]ished by the Baba Chinese and Malays in 1891, was the first Ma}ay paper in Romanized script. Roff is a more reliable souree, being a Iater reperter and havlng examined more of these papers than Nik. Roff, BibliograPhy oLfl,., oP. cit., p.4. `` 113) See S, H. Tan. Tl]e Life and Times of Sayyid Shaykh Al･Hudi," BA Henours Exercise, History

Department, University of Singapere, 1961. 14) Roff, Origins of1.., oP. cit., p.57.

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earlier mentloned Sayyid Shaykh.

Another development of the period cornmencing in 1906 was the birth of major national

Malay dailies. Operated as a Malay edition of the Singapore Free Press, Utusan Jfetab,u,

started in 1907 publishing thrice weekly, was the closest thing to a daily in the national

language. For seven years, it had no Malay language cornpetition in the newspaper field ;

in 1915, Utusan A･Iela.yec becarne a daily and continued as an excellent commentater upon

its tirnes until its death in 1921. A second daily, Lcmbaga iVlelarvu, appeared in 1914 as a

somewhat Malay edition of the rtfZzlaova Tribune. Its editor was Mohd. Eunos bin

Abdullah, formerly editor of Utusan Allrlarvec alld considered by some as the fatlter of Malay

journalism. Mohd, Eunos stayed with Lembaga lt,fZrla.>'u until its demise in I931, After

Utusan ildlrlayu's closure in 1921, Lembaga Alblayu participated more fully in Malay activities and promotions and was the only Malay paper until ldaran Zaman (The March of Time) was printed in Penang from 1925-30.i5) During the 1920s and 1930s, the Malay press gradually moved out of Singapore, in-

creased its numbers considerably and offered a diversified field of daily and weekly news-

papers, religious periodicals, publications of teacher's associations, literary magazines,

periodicals of progress societies and journals of entertainment.ifi> Atlalay medLa rnore and

more portrayed the growing ]N(alay consciousness on the peninsula, part of which could be

gleaned in the correspondence columms ef newspapers which filled up with controversies

"newspaper over language, idiom, custom and religion.i7) As Rofff indicated, journalism . . .

came to play a leading role in shaping the Malay intelligentsia, training their leaders, and

disseminating their influence."iS)

Between 1930 and 1941, at least eight daily Malay newspapers appeared, five of which were particularly significant. TVZirta A･fdla"'a (ISv･lalaya Times) was created in 1930 by the wealthy Alsagoff family in Singapore. It typified the Arab influence upon rvlalay journalism of the thirties---in relation to ownership pattern and newspaper content, a large proportion of the latter being translations of Egyptian papers.i9) Warta Mala),a was the strongest

Malay newspaper until a new Utusan .ua'layu was formed in 1939 ; it teok critical standson

politica! matters, especially under the editorial direction of Onn bin Jaafarand Syed Hussain, and was among the first Malay papers not to depend on other presses for information, sub-

scribing to the world news agencies instead.20' TVarta Aftilaya also established a weekly,

Warta Ahad (Sunday Times), in 1935 and Warta Jkenaha (The Comedian), a very popular periodical, in 1936.

15) Nik, oP. cit., p.51. 16) Roff, Bibliogr`iphy qf:.., oj). cit., p.s. 17) Zainal, op. cit, p.245. 18) Roff, Origins of..., oP. cit., p.157. " 19) Mohd. Taib bin Osman. Trends in Modern Malay Literature," In Wang Gungwu, ed. Malayaia : A Survey. New York : Praeger, 1965, p.215. 20) Nik, op. cit., pp. 56, 58.

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Maj'lis Coun- A second major newspaper using daily journalism techniques was (The cil), at first a twice weekly paper, started in in December 1931, Like Vtidrta Afala"'a, it too was partial to many Malay eauses, and, accerding to Roff, played an

important role in the rise of the Malay state associations movement of the late i930s.Zi)

Although the paperdied under this name in November 1941 when its editor was detained

for suspected collaboration with the Japanese, actually, however, it lived on as the occupa-

tion forces' I'erubaltan Bahru. Saudara of Penang, mentioned previou$ly, was a third key

newspaper of the 1930s, retaining its Islamic reformism and adding more discussion of

political events. Lembaga (The Tribune) was also an Arab financed daily of Singapore, founded in Lembaga October 1935 by Onn bin Jaafar. It was a follow-up of the earlier weekly, A-fala>'a, and published until the occupation. The fifth main daily of the decade was Utusan

A{lt'la.x.7it, different from the earlier newspaper of this name. Utusan iva'laytt came into

existence in mid-1939 after a long fund-raising campaign among Malays to finance the daily, For years, Malay papers had been owned by Arabs, Jawi Peranakan and Malay Arabs, but sur- Utttsan iWblayu was the first owned and staffed selely by native Malays, The paper

vived its initial financial stresses with close cooperation of the Information Department

which granted Utttsan "Ielayu a contract for printing government circulars,L2) By Novem-

ber 1939, a weekly edition, Utusan Zaman, was initiated, followed by a monthly pictorial,

A4Ltstika. All three survive today,

Obviously, the thirties was a rich perlod for Malay journalism ; Roff claims at least 81 new periodicals appeared in at least 14 cities of the archipelago.23) "rhy this burgeoning development of the tsEalay press in such a short period of time? Part of the reason was the inexpensive commercialization of jounali$tic activity in response to growing audiences for

reading material. The birth ef illustrated weeklies, use of more light reading fare and

professionalization of the media were also appealing,24) as was the fact that by 1931, an esti- mated one-third of Malaya]s adult populatlon was literate in Malay. Entertaining reading

material appeared in newspapers in the form of serialized literary works. This was not, as

``a Osman has stated, conscious effort at creating a new literary genre, but rather. . , a jour-

nalistic endeavor to provide entertaining reading in the newspapers."25) It was almost natural that Malay literature would appear first in newspaper format since the great literary

figures themselves, Abdul Rahim Kajai, Ishak Haji Muhammad and Muhammad Yasin

bin Ma'mur, were essentially journalists. Although the publications of the thirties emanated from different organizations, they

21) Roff, BibliograPhy qfl.,, oP. cit., p. 9. 22) Nik, op. cit., p, 62; Roff, BibliograPh), of1,,, oP, cit,, p.10. 23) Roff, Origins of,., oP. cit., p.166. 2,4) ibid., p,167. L5) Mohd. Taib, qP, cit., p,215,

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were, nevertheless, quite similar in format and content ; they also had something else in common in that most of thein did not prosper long. Zainal characterized the Malay jour- nalistic activity of the decade as crusading. He said :

They warn, exhort and call to action, at the same time denouncing idleness, extra- vagance, ignorance, superstitions, fatalism and un-Islamic practices. Sometimes the Iessonisdriven home by means of stories translated or specially written for the purpose, sometimes by humorous and biting satires, and of late even by means of crude cartoon drawings and caricatures. But more often it is done by direct and outspoken con- demnation,!6)

After the Japanese occupied Malaya in early 1942, most of the Malay Ianguage press were all (as presses) was suspended. The Japanese confi$cated Utusan Melavu. on Feb- ruary 15, 1942, and eventually merged it with I)Varta Afulavva to form Berita A4blai News).2" Batita (Malaya originally was published in Jawi seript but switched to the romanized version later. It was a two page daily circulating about 10,OOO copies, rnainly in Singapore, as distribution elsewhere was dificult, Additional Malay papers appeared from time to time,28) and other language papers either had separate daily editions29) or a sec:tion published in Malay.30) The Japanese also published the monthly magazines, Sernangat Asia (Asian Spirit)

and FaJ'ar .'lsia (Asian Morn), merged in l944 and called Fajur Asia. The objectives of Semangat Asia, as outlined in its first issue in January 1942, vLrere to introduce Nippon to

Malayans, inject Asian spirit, popularize Nipponese and Malay languages, revive the culture and tradition of Malays and provide reading matter for them.an All Malay periodicals during this period were allowed to be somewhat nationalistic, as long as they seemed to be "anti-white." Contents of the periodicals were devoted te social and cultural fare, short stories and poetry. IVIost literary content was nationalistic and sarcastic (against Great

Britain) and carried a strong Japanese propaganda flavor.S2) Othman said that, although '""' L6) Zainal, oP, ciL, p. 247. 27) Nik, cit., "Mass op, p.69; Othinan b, Haji A. Rashid. Media in Malaysia During the Japanese Occupation, t[Journalism 19･11-1945." Presented to John A. Lent's IIi' course, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 1974. 0thman January interviewed a number of editors who practiced journalism during the occupatien of Malaya. 28) Among theset Mahasuri Shimbun, prebably a Jawi paper in Kedah; Chahaya Timor, Jawi weekly (May 19i12); flfdtahari Allemanchar, Japanese weekly for Malays CIune l94L); DePart- ment of Rising Sun, Jawi paper in Muar; lZtncharan ILdbiahari, Jawi paper in Penang (1942); Rerubahan Bahru, Kuala Lumpur daily in Jawi (194L-43), and Berita Plrrak, Jawi-Romanized "A Ipoh of 1944-45. paper Ainon Haji Kuntom. Historical Survey of Malay Newspapers." "Compurative Presented to John A. Lent's Media Systems" course, Uuiversiti Sains Malaysia, January 1974. Z9) For example, Penang Shimbun had a Jawi edition. 30) For example, nfintacca Tushin hadi four pages in English, two in Malay and one each in Chinese afld Tamil.

31) Othman, oP. cit, 32) Mohd. Taib, oP. cit., p.219.

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on the Malay on the surface they appeared to be pro-Japanese, in reality, they were calling to retain the sovereignty rnasses to be alert, conscious and willing to take the responsibility

of "'Ialaya.S3) Theaters were The Japanese controlled the electronic media just as systematically. allowed to show only Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Malay films. Radio programming Monday and was divided to accornmodate each ethnic greup of the nation : for example,

Thursday were called Malai Days when the preponderance of shows were in the Malay language. during Besides the odicial occupation press, a nurnber of underground papers blessomed World War II, the tradition $urviving te this day, Even theugh most underground new$- such as Seruan Raa.yat papers were in Chinese, there were }v･ialay language radical papers of the Revolution), both in North (Call ef the 1'eeple) and Suara Pentberentak (Veice every two Johere; Sttara Alelayu, a Malay version of I{manci/patt/o.n IVLaevs, published

months, and Suai'a Raa.yat, probably started in 1941 and published as a mirneographed Raauyat was said to well and four page weekly threughout the war. Suara be produced English,Chinese precise, It was printed in a cave in Pahang and used a mixture of Jawi,

``China, and Tamil. Its slogan was Melayu, India-Abang, Adek (Brothers),"n"

12-year emergency The underground presssurvived during Malaya's period (!948-60), or the Muslim religion, at varying times, promoting Marxist theory, A'falay nationalism

and invariably, attacking )L,lalay rulers ancl oMcials. Among these publications were Sertt･an Berita Tani, a weekly mirneographed on rice paper, aimed at vMagers from 1948-54 ; JtlZrrdeka, published by the Kedah-Penang Joint States Committee and distributed at the Malaya-Thailand border, and Il'Zirta Raa3,at, a Jawi monthly of North Malaya. Language From the end of the war in 1945 until independence in 1957, at least 20 )v'!alay strove newspapers were published,35) besides those uiiderground, X･V'hereas pre-war papers in the for the rights of Malays against Chinese and Indian encroachments, those appearing independence, immediate post-war period fought against British colonialism.Sfi) Seeking

Malav editors re$isted the British designs for a paIalayan U/nion in 1946, promotecl unity roles. Newspapers aligned them- amon"g Malays forbetter social, political and economic Melayu or Persaturan selves with ]vlalay literary groups such as Angkatan 50, Lernbaga the latter "J'artawan and political parties such as United Malays National Organization,

33) Othman, oP. ciL `CUnderground in Malaya During the 34) Cheah Kim Lean and Rodziah Ahmad Tajllddin, Press A. Lent's"Compara- Japanese Occupation and Emergency Period 1942-1960." Presented to John The authors interviewed tive Media Systetns" course, Uniyersiti Sains Malaysla, January 1974. throughout Maraysia. numerous former underground jeurnalists

"Leading -'Xdrala}'sian Jburnalib'inRewieTv. 35) Ainon Haji Kuntem. the Path to Freedom." Leader: 3:1 (1974), p.39. 36) Nik, oP. cit., p.70.

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formedin 1946. Suara [LIINO and AfelayuRaya3') I(Malay Nation), both established in 1950,and Addlaya Adbrdlaka (MalayanIndependence), in 1954, were powerful political party er trade union papers urging Malay in participation politics. Additionally, three key pre- warnewspapers were revived in 1945-46: Utusan Afblayu, five days after the British landed in Singapore in September ; Mttj'lis38)in Kuala Lumpur, and Lembaga in Johore, the latter only lasting a few issues. In 1947, Utusan Zaman resumed publication as an after- noon edition in Romanized Malay shortly after, ; it reverted to its pre-war status of a Jawi weekly. By 1958, Chusan Za,nan had a circulation of 35,OOO.39' In the north, IVLirta A]agara (The Country Times) was the dorninant Malay paper. Startedin Penang on September 4, 1945 (aday after the AlliesIanded), script the Jawi IV`v"ta M'gara lasted until 1969. There have been recent attempts to revive the paper in Penang. By l958, Utusan Melayu, with a circulation of 30,OOO,was the leading Malay daily. Utztsan Afblayu was anti-British, sympathetic to UMNO and revolutionary to the extent it indoctrinated the people with socialist ideologiesconcerning community development.`O) The paper moved itsheadquarters to Kuala Lumpur in 1958 after Malaya received its independence, Since Malaya received itsindependence in 1957, about a dozen Malay newspapers have appeared on the scene. Two months before independence was declared, Berita Ilarian Daily News) was started (The as a Romanized Malay edition of the Singapore Straits 1"intes.Bei'itaHarian started a Kuala Lumpur edition shortly after and Berita iVinggu, itsSunday edition, on 10, 1960. Still July other newspapers in the post-independence era have beenS"ai'aK?satuan, a trade union organ that lasted from 1957-59; ptft'ngguan Bahru, a Ja"'iweekly in Penang from June te December 1958; SemenanJ'ong, daily started in early

:S7)nflrlayuRaya was suspended forten rnonths by the Singapore government when it reported on the Musllm riots of that city. Before suspensien, the paper had 30, OOO circulation, but clwindlecl to 5,OOO ]ust before its death in 1952. 38) CIosed in 1955 because ef financial problems. :39) Nik, oP. cit., p.71. ･40)Ainon, "Leading the..,," oP. cit., p,40. For fldditional readings on the historyof Malay journalism, see the following : Cecil K. Byrd. `,".",i ag.ix"1i,k'8,rlr,y.･ ,S, ii,"H,ne K,':Mng,.i.n ,E,,i",g,lpf,'f,,N. :,ee;ijl";,tg;m,z".:s..{8,Y.6,S,8･5L.,S.ip,g;.p:fz,: Utzasan,''Leader, "Syyid July 1972, pp.5 10; Marina Merican. Shaykh Al-Hadi dan Pendapat Pendapat nya Mengenai Kemajuan Kaum Perempuan" (Sayyid Shaykh Al-Hadi and His Views on the Advancement of Women). BA IIonours, University of Malaya, 1961; Mohd. Taib bin Othrnan. The Language the Editvrialsin of Mdlay Vernacular Nbze,spapers Cip to 1941. Kuala Lumpur : Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1966 ; William R. Roff. Guide to Malay 1'briod- icals, IS76-1941. Singapore "Tarikh : Malaya Publishing House, 1961 ; Muhammad b. Dato' Muda. Akhbar Akhbar dan Majallah Majallah Melayu Keluaran Semenanjong Tanah Melayu." ha1'atlah Gurtr.15:10 pp.36]-408; Betts. "The (1938), Russel Mass Media of Malaya and Singapore As of 1965: A Survey of the Literature." Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for International `- Studies, Dec. 1969; Tan Peng Siew. Malaysiaand Singapore." In John A. Lent. The Asian IVbzvspaPers'Reluctant Revolution. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1971, pp.179 ･191.

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also of Singapore, 1958 in Singapore, and its weekly sister, LI"arta i!had Setnenanj'ong, A･Ierdefea,started in Kuala Lumpur established in 1959 ; the short-lived paper of UA4NO, Bahi'u Lrtttsan in 1964 ; Suara I)ect'an J'e,'ak (Ipoh, 1966) and Afing.crttan Kota (1966). of AfelaJ'u, noting that more people were learning Malay because of a constitutional cLause "finggttan Afula"'siain 1964 and 1957 declaring it the national language, started its weekly

a Rornanized daily, Utusan Afata-wsia., on September 1, 1967.

Contemporary Malay Media

Newspapet's ty(alaysia,serving By the mid-1970s,only six of Malaysia's 51 newspapers were in Bahasa they an estivnated 2.3 mililon "'est )v'Ialaysian adtilts literate in the language.`h ilLctually, in late constitute three daiiies and their editions, Total cireulation of the Malay papers

newspapers, eOO for English and !973 was 300, OOO, cornpared to 800, OOO for Chinese 500, 100, OOO for Tamil.4L') But numbers of papers and circulations do not tell the complete story. of that ethnic Readcrship of Malay newspapers is high because of group reading habits seeking to learn the national group and the use of the papers by Chinese and lndians 13 readers language. A l973 survey by Survey Research Malaysia gave per Alala.vtt,ahout nine each, among adults in West copy ana U'tusan Aliltr.ysia and Utusan ),!alaysia, (Jtusan Melayu Group, which brings The largest Malay newspaper organization is the 197'3, 42,000]) in Jawi script and Utusan out the daMes Utt{san ILIkta:}rtt(clrculationin Zaman AfZtlax,sia in the Romanized versien, and their Sunday papers, Utuscm (clrculation Utusan ptfala.>`siahas been 57,OOO) and J'finggi.tan Jdala-vsia (128,OOO),43} respcctively. itsinitialc]rculatlon of 8,OOO in the success story of recent rv{alay newspapers, increasing including those realized 1967 to over 73, OOO in 1974. The Utusan tslelayu Group profits, other two Dv'Ialaylanguagenews- from its magazine chain, were )'i $ I, 8 million in 1973. The Berita 1'fttrian(cireulation,32,800) and its papers, both in Romanized script, are the daily New StraitsTimes I'ress, Sundav edition, Bei'ita pt'h'nggtt (48, OOQ), published by t}ie 1'imes 23, In', the English language Kinab`tlt{ Sabah (eirculation, OOQ) 25,800) each have in Romanized bL(alay.`'`'Until and D`tt'l.v E:rpress (circulation, pages was in , but itisno recently, a small rvlalay daily, (Jtitsan. Sa7'ctivak,`5) publ{shed ' 'CCirculation Leader, 1972, 4D D. E. Greahhalgh. andi Readership,'' July p.L8. "The in Malaysia," Lt'adter,Vol,l3,No.1 ･a2) Frances Dyer. Print ancl Broadcasting Media (197･1), "1'hc and tsfTike Anderson. Print and Broadcasting p,3. For comparison, see: Jack Glnttbach Aug. 1971 Howard Coats Medla in Malaysia." Kuala Lumpur: South East Asia Press Centre, ; `" and Broadeusting Media in Malaysia." Kuala Lunipur: South East andi Frances Dyer. The Print Asia Press Centre, Dec. I972. 43) "Utusan Melayu Group." Leader. Vel.3, Ne.1 (1974), p,7, "The State of the Press in East Mal"ysia."Kuala 44) Dyer, oP. cit., p.LLI For earller data, see: Lumpur : South East Asia Press Centre, Aug. ]970, 45) Glattbach and Anderson, oP. cii., p.2.

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j, A, LEM' / Malaysia's National Language Masg Media

longer listed in directories. Thus, the development of Bahasa Malaysia as the national

language has not been mirrored in East Malaysian newspapers-possibly because the Ma-

Iays do not make up the majority of the population and those who do reside in Sabah and

Sarawak depend on Kuala Lumpur papers, Not only are all Malay newspapers closely tied to the government ; they are virtually United Malays owned by government agencies. The Utusan Melayu Group is owned by the the National Organization, a political party of the ruling National Front, and since 1972, Press, which besides Berita Harian and Berita Min.crgu, publishes

Straits Times, A4ala"' AIbil and a number of periodicals and books, is reportedly 80 per in cent owned by Pernas, a government agency, Links with Malay language newspapers

Singapore have been broken in recent years by government intervention.

aims as outlinedi The roles "･{alay editors see for their papers are similar to govegnment For example, the in the national ideology (Rukunegara) and the Second Five-Year I'lan.

Berita editor feels his papers should encourage all Malaysians of all races to work peaceably

:` hls con- together, even if this means that eur circulatiion drops," He explained papers,

"offend servative in nature, do not want te anyone."46) Encik Mazlan Nordin, editor-in-

chief of the Utusan lt{elayu Group, sttives to give a distinctive image to each of his papers, Utusan wanting to make Utusan AIIfla.yu a quality paper and Utusan 2Lfulab,sia, popular.`7)

A4iela"ttt, because it is in Jawi and cancentrates on life in the kampungs, appeals to a narrow-

er audience--older Malays who still know the script ; while Utusan Adlalaysia purports those are to write for all Malaysians, All mass media of )vTalaysia, including in Malay, " government supporters, As one Utusan Melayu Group othcial said, it is not the news- but papers' role to checlc on governrnent, The papers here are not pro- or anti- government, supporters of government,"4S)

The strong sedition and printing presses acts ef Malaysia have had a stifiing effect on

Malay newspapers, as they have on all rnedia. Malay editors are particularly careful t, because it was one of them who suffered under the wrath of the Sedition A ¢ In April I971, Utttsan AftrlaL;'rt printed an editorial call,ing for the closure of all Chinese and

Tamil schoo]s in the nation. The editor, Melan Abdullah, was accused of seditious publi-

cation, founcl gui]ty and fined M$ 500, while the author oE the editorial received a M$ 1, OOO

fine, Upon appeal, the convietion was squashed, but not before intimidating the entire

Malaysian media operation.

Another vigilant watchdog on the Malay press is the Islamic cornmunity which it ltLfala:'sia,are against the $erves. Somc critics point out contents, especially in Utusan

4{5) Dyer, oP. cit., p.B,

47) ibid,

.18) Salleh, Utusan Melayu Group executive, to Universiti Sains Malaysia students, Kuala Lumpur,

Aug. 25, 197L,

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/asM7tP7MfYt 15.V.l4 ny-.

principles of Islamic faith and the nation's ideology.`g] Utusan Ofbla-vsia material criticized

as being undesirable has included stories on campus love and peeping toms and chees2cake

photography. Ironically enough, in mid l973, copies of the Malay language Filem dan

Feshen were bannecl in Brunei because ef excessive sex symbolism.

Until very recently, Malay newspapers carried large amounts of supe.rnatural fare,

sometimes treated as fact. For example, LV2irta N2gara in 1965, featured a news story about

giant footprints found in Johore ;50) others have reported on ghosts. An oMcial of the

Utusan Melayu Group explalned his papers carry ghost stories because people enjoy them

but said that they are not portrayed a$ factual accounts any longer.Si) Ainon, in her criti-

cisms ef Malay journalism, has called for more stories designed for the rahirn l

(those who face facts and realities of life) rather than for the raj kapoor readers (thos: who

like fantasy news).52)

Contemporary Malay new$papers have also been characterized as being lethargic,

never taking stands on governmental issues. An eclitor of Utusan A･IblaJ,u felt there was

`` a reason for this, other than the tough legislative restrictions on the press : There's noth'

ing more for the press to flght. "Je are free now. We are led by our people. There's noth-

ing for us to do except to build up our econornic and political stability.''5a)

Content analyses by Universiti Sains Malaysia student$ in 1972 and l973 lend some

support to the above eriticisms, especially the one concerning the lack of critical stands

taken by Malay newspapers. In a study comparing the editorials of Utusan A'fala vsia with

Straits Echo, an Engli$h language daily, during a 30-day period in November-December

1972, it was found Utusan Mctlaysia highlighted government progress and ignored any

national development failures. Government ministers were quoted frequently in Ut"san A･Ikla)Jsia editorials. IVhereas the Straits Echo used more foreign-oriented topics C19) than national (15), the Malay daily was definitely more nationalistic in its editorials, devoting

52 out of 54 editorials to national issues. In another study55) of editorials in Utusat"l4lrlaytt

and Straits 7iimes for a constructed week in November 1972;Ismail showed that thc

Malay dally emphasized editorials featuring economic development of the Malay race, to

the exclusion of other ethnic groups. Neither paper carried editorial matter criticar of

government poLicies ; Straits ZITimes devoted nearly half (43 per cent) of its editorials to

politics, but usually other nations' politics. Again, the Malay daily clwelt more on national

[`A 49) Ainon, Historical,..,'] oP. cit. so) VVarta Alegara, Jan. 3, 1965,

51) Salleh, oP. cit. "A 52) Ainen, Historical. . .," oP, cit. 53) ibid.

t`A 54) Tuan Kamaruzaman Tuan Mohammad. Comparative Study of Utusan Mataysia and Straits Echo." "Journalism Presented to John A. Lent's II" course, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Jan. 1973, `LEditorial 55) Isrnail bln Mamat. Content of Utusan IVfelayt; and Straits Times," Presented to JDhn [`Jeurnalism A. Lent's II" course, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Jan. 1973.

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J. A. LENT ; ev'Ialaysia's National Language )v'tass )vledia

Table 1 Contents of (ltusan Maleysia, Lleusan Melavtt (Figures represent percentage of total newsh61e in each newspaper.) tt tttt tttttt tttttttttttt t ' tt ' b?usan fiIalaysia Ltrusan Mlrlal-u ttt ttt tt ' '

Sports 8, L) Sensation/'H umanInterest 6.7 21t LetteresEditerials 2.3 L.1

L4 1,9

CrimeForeignNatienal o, 2.9

News fl 2.1 Politics L). 1 2.1

Trade and Industry 4.2 5.3

Econc)mic DEvelopment 7･.O Education EIS 6.1 Yovth and W,ernen's News 13.4 4.2 Local News 5.Z 9.8

Adyertisements 19.5 :.l1. :.S

Other 2Z Lt 15.4

topics fer editorials than did the English language Straits7iintes.

Abdullah,56) using a constructed 1972, surveyed the contents of (Jtusan A'ftlay" and (Jt"san Malan'sia. contrary to popular belieL the

newspapers do not earry largeportiens of Islamic news and information ; Uttesan A4ela),u

spent I, 3 per cent of its newshole on religious matter, sia, Utusan Mala: O, 9 per cent. These figures are low because the particularly analysis was conducted during the religious ' month of Ramadan. As ior cultural and ceremenial news and features,important to national in policy Malaysia, CJtusan ILfLilaysia had 2, 8 per cent and Utusait 1. Aflrlavvu, 7 per cent. See Table 1.

Abdullah also found that neither pt'Ialay language daily carried $tories of opposrtlon ' Economic partles. development received maJor treatment mainly beca.use land development

schemes, farmers associations and cooperatives reported on, affect ts･{alays favorably more than any other ethnic Throughout group. stories in both papers, themes featuring govern- ment efforts to achieve equitable incomes and a just and harrnonious society are prominent. Afuga2ines

pt(alaysianmagazines have always faced stiff competition from imported periodicals.i') Lately, however, the Malay language periodical press has shown significant growth in ptlalaysia.The organizations that two have spurred the development of Malay magazines

56) Abdullah bin Mahmood. " Content Analysis of Utusan ILdiitaysia and LVttstzn Melayu." Presented "Jeurnalism to John A. Lent"s II" course, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Jan, L973. 57) See Mohd. Taib, op. cit.. 222-223, fordiscussien literary pp, of role Maray magazines have played througheut the nation's history.

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-Vi]- Y[ wi 7 il 7 IA,Vti 15tt` .4

Group and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka

Language and Literary Agency). (JtusaitRadio dan Z('V,Fitetndatr Utusan )Flelavu Group publishes Wanita, AdFastika, Kiblat, l･IJaiiita, Feshen, .ill Jstai]i,"(.itttsct,n l'leiZaJ'ar, Ada.j'a.llah Bulanan, and Uiustzn pub- which, with a circulation of 100,OOO,is the niost lished since 1969, is a women's monthly fV42tstiktthas been in existence since 1939. .A wldely circulated magazine in lvlalaysia, converted from a literatureand cu]ture rnonth!y of 25,OOO subscribers, ILfListika has been Utusan Radio dan 1iV and IXilentdan journal to a general interest magazine. (35,OOO) movie and programs, and Feshen (23,OOO) are devoted to radio, television and personalities created in 1974, is a religious manthy of !n the latter¢ ase, fashion. Al ISIam, January one of successful children's magazines in the 10 circulation. (ltusanklal'ar is two 'country,OOO Started in 1970 as a weekly, it now has a circulation of 55, OOO. through Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, To prornote the national language, the government Deivan Bahasa, DeLt,anSastrctand J)e- subsidizes monthlies such as Dewan Mas"'arakat,

as a department in 1956, converted to xvan I'elaJ'ar.The agency was formed government magazine, Datvan Bahasa, in 1957 as a corporation status in 1959 and published its first language and literature, Largest seiling of DBDP's semi-academic journalpromoting }vlalay a interestand eurrent affairs magazine wlth publications is Detvan A.fasJ}tarahat, general are educatien oriented, Dezvan Ilela.iar(circula- ever 40, OOO circulation ; the other three DeuJan Sttstt'`i tion, 21,000) gears its materials according to language standards while literaryefforts, lan-

Bi'oadcasting has roots in 19,34 when The multi-raciul nature of the nation's broadcasting system But, until nfter inde- Station ZHJ of Penang began services in four main languages.59) language. For example, during a typical pendence, English was the chief broadcasting 5. 1 hours to English, 4. 2t5to Chinese, broadcast day in 1947, the national system devoted broadcast 47'5hours and 25 3, 1 to Malay and 2, 75 to Tarnil,60' In 1973, Radio N'Ialaysia

58) Dyer, oP, c7/t., p. IS. ''Journal- "` 1'resentedto JehnA. Lent's 5Y) Molly Mathews. iY IIistorycf Broadcasting ln Malaysia.- " Malaysla, 1971'S. ism II course, UniversltiSains Jan. 1960s. {}O) See Betts, olb. cit,, for figures of the

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minutes per week, of which 168 were in Bahasa Malaysia, 100. 55 in Chinese, 100 in Eng- lish, 92. 30 in Tamil and 14 in aboriginal languages,6')

Radio Malaysia, the national broadcasting service, is divided into five networks : Ibu- kota,a speclal Malay language service forKualu Lumpur; National in Bahasa Malaysia ; Blue, English; Green, Chinese and Red, Tamil, On an average day, Survey Research

Malaysiaestimated recently, 1,719,OOO adults listen to the National Network, 97. 8 per cent ef whom are Malays. The average numbers for the other language networks are 178, OOO for the English, 778, OOO for the Chinese and 288, OOO for the Tamil,6!' Radio Television Malaysia has as its main purpose, the presentation of government information in a favorable light. Bahasa Malaysia is the prelerred language. For example,

`` " the main news show en Radio Malaysia is Berita Perdana (Prime News), breadcast in Malay and used on all networks.63> Television began in December 1963 ; a second network was opened in 1969. Network One, carrying Bahasa Malaysia programs, telecast$ 57 hours weekly while the secend chan- nel, using English, Chinese and Tamil, is on for 27 hours per week. Initlally, a very large oE the was proportion programming foreign produced, but efforts are increasingly made to

localize content. For example, in 1973, a 50 per cent surcharge was tacked onto foreign- produced TV eommercials to encourage the development of local advertisements for the mediurn,S4) 1973, "Dendang Also in the Ministry of Information initiated Rakyat," a series of competitions on radio and television to revive interest in traditional Malay music and to offset the invasion of pop music. The competitions are also used to transmit

messages to rural gevernment folk and to break down $tate identities within the nation. Each regional station of RTM handles competitions for a certain type of folk music : boria

at Penang, ghazal at Johore Bahru, dondang sayang at Axlalacca, etc. All of the competi- tions are national development oriented but appeal chiefly to the Malay ethnic group,65)

The national language is encouraged in all programming; for example, on Television

Malaysia, all opening, closing and spot announcements are in that language and Malay

subtitles and are used on dubbing TV shows in English, Chinese or Tamil, Of five news- casts on Television Malaysia, two are in Malay; the 9 p.m. one is the most important

61) In 1971, total hours broadcast was 419, LO, of which 129S were in Malay. Glattbach and Anderson, eP. cit., In December 1972, 463.50 p.23. were broadcast, of which 168 were in Malay. Coats and Dyer, oP. cit., p.L5. 62) Dyer, oP. eit., p,20. See: Jack Glattbach and R. Balakrishnan. '`Malaysia." In John A. Lent, ed. Broadcasting in Asia and the R2ciYic. Philadelphia : Temple University Prcss, forthceming, fer additional infermation on Malaysian broadcasting. '`Suara 6:3) Mohd. Nai[n Ismail. Malaysia (The Voice of Malaysia)." Presented ''International to John A. Lent's Communieation" course, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Jan. ]97･1. 6D Leacler. Vol.L, No.:] (1973). 6s) Aziz Muhammed ancl Zainie Rahmat. "Folk Songs and Felk Tradition As an Agent ef Change Employed by the Ministry of Informatien in Disseminating Gevernment "` Policies,"Presentedte John A. Lent's Cornparative Media Systems" course, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Jan. 197tl.

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newscast.

The other radio broadcaster in Malaysia is Rediffusion which maintains Gold (Chinese

language) and Silver (Malay and English) Networks. The government requires Rediffu-

sion to relay only Radio Malaysia news. Recently, the authorities have also asked Rediffu-

sion to relay Radio Malaysia national development shows and one hour of Malay language

music daily, even though very few subscribers to the service are Malay speaking.Ge)

Summary

Historically, the Malay press has been identified with fostering various causes of the Malays and of the Is!amlc faith. It has been a fighting press. Today's rnass media in

Malaysia have assumed new roles : they no longer fight eauses, oppose government policies -and or think critically ; instead, they act as supporters- even, apologists-for the odicials.

Malay language media are expected to be at the forefront of the carnpaigns to propagate

governmental programs because the authorities are themselves Malay. Thus, through

restrictive legislation, self censorship and ownership patterns, the Malay mass media have

been made into nothing more than extensions of government.

(ifl) Interview, Chang Kok Hwa, commercial manager, Rediffusion, Kuala Lumpur, Dec. L7, 197L.

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