1 Milner, A.C., The invention of politics in colonial Malaya: Contesting nationalism and the expansion of the public sphere (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, ch. 2.

2 Gullick, J.M., Malaya (London: Ernest Benn, 1963), p. 59Google Scholar. The population in 1880 was estimated to be about 1.5 million and had grown to almost 8 million by 1957. A figure of 4.385 million for 1931 is given in Vlieland, C.A, British Malaya (the colony of the Straits Settlements and the Malay states under British protection, namely the Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang and the states of Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu, Perlis and Brunei: A report on the 1931 census and on certain problems of vital statistics) (London: Crown Agents for the Colonies, 1932), pp. 120–1Google Scholar.

3 For a discussion of Chinese migration, see Ee, Joyce, ‘Chinese migration to Singapore, 1896–41’, Journal of Southeast Asian History, 2, 1 (1961): 33–51Google Scholar.

4 Vlieland, British Malaya, pp. 120–1. There were 1.64 million Malays to 1.71 million Chinese enumerated in the 1931 Census. The ‘Malay’ figure did not include ‘Other Malaysians’ — which referred to immigrants from the Malay Archipelago who constituted a significant enough demographic group that the 1931 Census was redesigned to reflect their importance as a category. This was also to distinguish between ‘Other Malaysians’ as immigrants from the Malay Archipelago and ‘Malays’ who were classified as ‘Malays of British Malaya’. These definitions are taken from page 35 of the 1931 Census Report, paragraphs 132 and 142.

5 Ibid., p. 8. Charles Hirschman has argued that the ‘invention’ of ethnic classifications in censuses reflects the movements in the ideology and the political economy of Malaya; see Hirschman, , ‘The meaning and measurement of ethnicity in Malaysia: An analysis of census classifications,’ Journal of Asian Studies, 46, 3 (1987): 555–82CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Hirschman, ‘Ethnic stratification in West Malaysia’ (Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin, 1972). See also Kahn, Joel, Other Malays: Nationalism and cosmopolitanism in the modern Malay World (Singapore: NUS Press, 2006)Google Scholar.

6 Vlieland, British Malaya, p. 36.

7 Ibid., p. 121.

8 Hirschman, ‘Ethnic stratification in West Malaysia’, p. 39.

9 Vlieland, British Malaya, p. 69.

10 Ibid., p. 69.

11 Chua Ai-Lin, ‘Negotiating national identity: The English-speaking domiciled communities in Singapore, 1930–41’ (M.A. thesis, National University of Singapore, 2001).

12 Ghee, Lim Teck, Peasants and their agricultural economy in colonial Malaya, 1874–1941 (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1977)Google Scholar.

13 Pena Pengait, ‘Perkara-perkara yang menyebabkan kejatuhan Melayu’, Saudara, 15 Oct. 1932, p. 1. ‘Musim Meleset ini ada sedikit menyedarkan Melayu’. In the preceding paragraph he makes clear that they are conscious of their ‘hal keadaannya miskin, mundur dan lemah…’ The term ‘musim meleset’ referred to the Depression. There was, as expected, no specific term for the ‘Great Depression’ during the 1930s. Contributors and journalists coined several different phrases to refer to their difficult economic situation. Other terms that found currency were ‘zaman meleset’, ‘zaman kemelesetan’, ‘musim kepicikan’ or even ‘angin meleset’.

14 Khalid al-Bilal, ‘Bahtera perusahaan Melayu terbentang’, Majlis, 17 Jan. 1935, p. 8. The concept of ‘sedar’ is a key term explored in Milner, Invention of politics. Milner speaks of a consciousness as it relates to the political sphere; nonetheless his analysis of the term provides a very solid foundation upon which my own examination of economic consciousness draws.

15 Ibni, ‘Melayu tak boleh maju,’ Majlis, 26 Dec. 1932, p. 1.

16 See for instance, Negeri, Anak, ‘Bangsa Melayu boleh pupus jikalau tidak ada sekolah-sekolah Melayu’, Majalah Guru, May 1932, pp. 83–5Google Scholar; ‘Bahaya kuning di tanah Melayu: Berbagai berbagai fikiran dan pendapatan orang asing yang mesti diingat oleh Melayu’, Majalah Guru, June 1931, p. 103.

17 Pengait, Pena, ‘Perkara-perkara yang menyebabkan kejatuhan Melayu’, Saudara, 15 Oct. 1932, p. 1Google Scholar. ‘Kemakmuran, kemajuan dan kekuatan sesuatu negeri itu bergantung kepada perniagaan negeri itu, sebab itu tiada hairan jika kita dapati bangsa-bangsa asing begitu makmur, maju dan kuat sehingga dapat mereka itu memaksa kerajaan membuka jawatan Malayan Civil Service kepada mereka itu. Sebaliknya, adalah Melayu ini hal keadaannya miskin, mundur dan lemah yang tiada patut sekali-kali boleh jadi demikian di dalam negeri dan tanahairnya sendiri. Musim Meleset ini ada sedikit menyedarkan Melayu’. The full quotation of the paragraph better renders the contrast between the ‘strong’ bangsa asing and the ‘weak’ Malays.

18 This sentiment discounts the state of the Aboriginal peoples in Malaya. Writers would often warn readers that the Malays' failure to progress would leave them in the same state as the orang asli. See for example, Anak Negeri Pahang, ‘Nasib anak negeri Pahang masa akan datang’, Majlis, 15 Dec. 1932, p. 7; Encik Bentong, ‘Nasib orang-orang Melayu di bentong’, Majlis, 7 Apr. 1932, p. 6.

19 ‘Hutang dan ekonomi’, Majlis, 1 Feb. 1932, p. 1.

20 Zainuddin, Abdul Majid bin, The wandering thoughts of a dying man: The life and times of Haji Abdul Majid Bin Zainuddin (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1978), p. 66Google Scholar. Majid was a correspondent for the English-language newspapers Straits Echo (Penang) and Times of Malaya (Ipoh). He was also a regular contributor to Malay-language newspapers like Utusan Melayu, for which he wrote articles ‘chiefly on the subject of religious education for Malay boys.’

21 ‘Melayu sekarang mundur’, Saudara, 5 Dec. 1934, p. 3.

22 Melayu, A.B., ‘Surat kiriman: Kesusahan pekerjaan’, Warta Malaya, 7 Dec. 1931, p. 5Google Scholar; Gandasuli, , ‘Anak watan Terengganu’, Warta Malaya, 15 Dec. 1931, p. 3Google Scholar; Syukur, , ‘Surat kiriman: Orang-orang Muar beruntung’, Warta Malaya, 15 Dec. 1931, p. 5Google Scholar; ‘Kedai kita Melayu’, Majlis, 21 Aug. 1933, p. 7.

23 Roff, William R., Bibliography of Malay and Arabic periodicals published in the Straits Settlements and peninsular Malay States, 1876–1941: With an annotated union list of holdings in Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom (London: Oxford University Press, 1972), pp. 1–2Google Scholar. If we include the 15 Arabic publications in Singapore (all put together in the 1930s) and nine other Malay publications put out by Christian missionaries, there were a startling 197 publications produced in a 65-year period.

24 Ibid., p. 2. Roff explained that the ‘continued acceleration’ after World War One was ‘understandable as increasing numbers of Malays in the Peninsula became literate, became better off economically, and acquired an interest in reading whether for information, self-improvement or entertainment’.

25 Ibid.

26 ‘Suratkhabar Melayu’, Warta Malaya, 18 Apr. 1934, p. 10, explains the commercial difficulties often faced by Malay newspapers in terms of financial resources and accessing further capital in order to keep the newspaper running.

27 For an alternative view of this situation, see Jan van der Putten's contribution to this symposium.

28 Roff, Bibliography of Malay and Arab periodicals, p. 7; Nik Ahmad bin Haji Nik Hassan, , ‘The Malay press’, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 36, 1 (1963): 49–51Google Scholar.

29 Roff, , The origins of Malay nationalism, 1900–41, 2^nd edn (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1994), pp. 171–4Google Scholar. At the start of the Japanese Occupation, Majlis was renamed Perubahan Baru but this lasted only a year before it reverted to Majlis and continued publication until 1955. See also Jan van der Putten's article in this issue.

30 Ali bin Ahmad, ‘Majalah Guru — the magazine of the Malay teachers: (with particular reference to the 1924–1932 period and the role played by Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad)’ (Ph.D. diss., Monash University, 1975), p. 86.

31 Nik Ahmad, ‘Malay press’, pp. 37–8.

32 Zainal Abidin Bin Ahmad, , ‘Malay journalism in Malaya’, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 19, 2 (1941): 245Google Scholar.

33 Adam, Ramlah, Dato Onn Ja'afar: Pengasas kemerdekaan (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1994), p. 29Google Scholar.

34 Osman, Mohd Taib, The language of editorials in Malay vernacular newspapers up to 1941: A study in the development of the Malay language in meeting new needs (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa, 1966), p. xiGoogle Scholar.

35 Ramlah Adam, Dato Onn Ja'afar, p. 27. Yusof Ishak later became editor of the second incarnation of the Utusan Melayu. He rose to prominence in post-war Singapore and was eventually appointed its first President.

36 Ali bin Ahmad, Majalah Guru, pp. 74–5; biographical details for Muhammad Datuk Muda are on pp. 99–101. Majalah Guru was formed by three state teachers associations, namely, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Selangor. The editor came from Seremban in Negri Sembilan while the Malacca and Selangor state teachers associations provided one sub-editor each.

37 Roff, Bibliography of Malay and Arab periodicals, p. 37.

38 ‘Mengapa suratkhabar-suratkhabar Melayu payah hendak maju?’, Warta Malaya, 18 Apr. 1934, p. 10. This was a point raised in an editorial about the difficulties facing Malay newspapers. It explained that the Malay press had a harder job because it needed to recruit journalists proficient in both languages, and that it was a time-consuming exercise to translate English news into Malay and then have it typeset into Jawi (Arabic script).

39 Weathering the storm: The economies of Southeast Asia in the 1930s depression, ed. Ian Brown and Peter Boomgaard (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2000).

40 Interview with A. Samad Ismail, 5 Sept. 2003, Kuala Lumpur.

41 Ahmad, Mohd Yusoff Haji, Decades of change: Malaysia 1910–1970s (Kuala Lumpur: Pesaka, 1983), p. 170Google Scholar. Several factors can explain the limited impact of the Depression on some Malay communities, particularly land ownership and the ability to grow subsistence crops. For instance, an article in Majalah Guru acknowledged that Malays in rural areas were not as badly affected by the Depression because they grew padi; ‘Selamat hari raya’, Majalah Guru, Feb. 1933, pp. 71–3.

42 Ahmat, Mujeini bin, ‘Keadaan sosio ekonomi petani-petani di Seri Gading, Batu Pahat semasa zaman kemelesetan di tahun-tahun 1930an,’ in Penghijrah dan penghijrahan: Kumpulan esei sejarah Malaysia oleh pelajar-pelajar USM, ed. Kratoska, Paul H. (Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia, 1982), pp. 29–31Google Scholar.

43 Deborah Johnson, ‘The Malaysian intellectual: In thought and context’ (Ph.D. diss, Australian National University, 2002).

44 Quoted in Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad, ‘Malay journalism in Malaya’, pp. 244–5.

45 Ali Ahmad, Majalah Guru, p. 74.

46 ‘Lawatan saya ke Negeri Jepun’, Majalah Guru, Jan. 1933, pp. 203–11. This unnamed writer details his trip through the southern tip of the Peninsula to Singapore where he embarked on a boat to Japan. On his way, he met various publishers and editors including the owner of Warta Malaya, Syed Ali Al-Sagoff, and the editor of Warta Malaya, Onn Ja'afar.

47 Ali bin Ahmad, Majalah Guru, p. 85; this comment appeared in the 5 Sept. 1929 issue.

48 Negeri, Anak, ‘Penulis dan pengarang Melayu’, Majalah Guru, Jan. 1931, p. 1Google Scholar.

49 Abdul Majid bin Zainuddin, Wandering thoughts of a dying man, p. 66.

50 Ibid, note 42.

51 Ibid.

52 Ahmad Boestamam, Memoir seorang penulis, p. 4.

53 Milner, Invention of politics, pp. 96, 124.

54 ‘Budak Melayu yang tiada lulus di sekolah-sekolah Inggeris’, Warta Malaya, 30 Dec. 1931, p. 10. Onn Ja'afar dismissed such speculation, however, saying that Malay underperformance in English schools was a systemic problem because Malay students were forced to attend a vernacular school for four years before being allowed to move on to an English-language school for a further two years. Such a system left them severely disadvantaged because they lacked the English-language skills to compete equally with Chinese and Indian students, who had received their basic education in English. Malays were forced to attend Malay schools, and could not choose to enter English schools from Standard One even if they were willing to pay for that education. Students from other races, by contrast, were free to choose between an English or vernacular education.

55 Zulkipli Bin Mahmud, Warta Malaya: Penyambung Lidah Bangsa Melayu 1930–41 (Kuala Lumpur: United Selangor Press, 1979), p. 13.

56 Milner, Invention of politics, pp. 114–33.

57 Such a stance has been argued in Calhoun, Craig J., ‘Civil society and the public sphere’, Public Culture, 5 (1993): 267–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Squires, Catherine R., ‘Rethinking the black public sphere: An alternative vocabulary for multiple public spheres’, Communication Theory, 12, 4 (2002): 446–68CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

58 Fraser, Nancy, ‘Rethinking the public sphere: A contribution to the critique of actually existing in society’, in Habermas and the public sphere, ed. Calhoun, Craig J. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992), pp. 109–42Google Scholar.

59 Sweeney, Amin, Reputations live on: An early Malay autobiography (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), p. 11Google Scholar. Sweeney refers to the concept of a Malay ‘listening public’ where literary texts were often read out to Malays. This was not a practice limited to Malaya. Robert Darnton, in recording various criticisms about statistics concerning reading, points out that in pre-Revolutionary France, the ‘most important institution of popular reading… was the fireside gathering known as the veillée’, where people would gather to have a popular chapbook read to them. See Darnton, Robert, ‘History of reading’, in New perspectives on historical writing, ed. Burke, Peter (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), p. 150Google Scholar.

60 Bayly, C.A., Empire and information: Intelligence gathering and social communication in India, 1780–1870 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 39–41Google Scholar (quotation from p. 39). Bayly argues that this awareness of literacy had a greater impact than the number of ‘formal literates’ in the data for India suggests.

61 Ibid., p. ix.

62 Hooker, Virginia Matheson, Writing a new society: Social change through the novel in Malay (St. Leonard's: Allen and Unwin, 2000), p. 73Google Scholar.

63 Salleh, Awang Had, Malay secular education and teacher training in British Malaya: With special reference to the Sultan Idris Training College (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1979), p. 50Google Scholar. By 1931, there were over 3,000 teachers in all the Malay states. The distribution figures are from Ali bin Ahmad, Majalah Guru, p. 88.

64 Roff, Bibliography, p. 20. Roff was unsure whether the figures given in the Straits Settlements Blue books indicated circulation figures within the Straits Settlements or total circulation. However, Ian Proudfoot has shown that a comparison of Roff's data from the Blue books and data from the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Gazettes confirms the belief that the circulation data were provided by printers or publishers and that they reflect total circulation rather than just circulation with the Straits Settlements. See Proudfoot, Ian, ‘Pre war Malay periodicals: Notes to Roff's Bibliography drawn from the government gazettes’, Kekal Abadi, 4, 4 (1985): 3Google Scholar. Proudfoot also notes that print-run figures provided in the respective gazettes indicate the circulation figures for the first edition ‘which tell us more about the publisher's aspirations or marketing strategy… than about stable longer-term circulation’.

65 Ali bin Ahmad, Majalah Guru, p. 88; Proudfoot, Ian, The print threshold in Malaysia (Clayton, Victoria: Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1995), p. 11Google Scholar.

66 Zainal Abidin Bin Ahmad, ‘Malay journalism in Malaya’, p. 249.