Meet John Robson
John..who? John Robson, best remembered as the founder and proprietor of The Malay Mail newspaper đ
December 2019
December 2010
Tribute to the ‘Voice’ of Ipoh
We have here the front page of the Times of Malaya, dated 7 December 1936. Yes, the Times of Malaya was Ipoh’s FIRST NEWSPAPER – which began publication in 1904. Two years after its first publication, the paper welcomed a new Editor; none other than J A S Jennings (picture below).
For the next 30 years or so, Ipoh (and Perak too!) regarded Jennings as their ‘voice’ – Jennings was particularly concerned about the social happenings in his adopted home state of Perak. Sadly, after his passing the paper declined. It was eventually bought up by the Straits Times Press Pte Ltd.
We thank Nicholas Jennings (grandson of J A S Jennings) for sharing these pictures with us.
November 2010
The Times of Malaya – The 1st and 2nd Building
This is the first Times of Malaya building, which was along Post Office Road. The first issue of Ipoh’s first newspaper was published on 9th March 1904. 2 years later, the newspaper was taken over by J A S Jennings – who remained the paper’s most influential editor for a good 30 years!
In the early 1930s, the Times of Malaya moved to a new building, along Brewster Road (see picture below).
After the war (after 1945), this building was used by the Public Works and the Department of Drainage and Irrigation. What’s become of it now? Can anyone fill us in on the latest?
We thank Nicholas Jennings – the grandson of J A S Jennings – who sent us a copy of these rare pictures.
July 2009
A Message from the Editor of the Ipoh Echo
For those of you interested in what’s happening in your local Ipoh community and if you’d like to receive the Ipoh Echo in your email inbox, you can now do so by subscribing online at: http://www.ipohecho.com.my/
ITâS FREE and the site has recently been  upgraded for higher interactivity.
One of the subsequent benefits which will be activated later in our on-line efforts is that you’ll be receiving announcements for events way before the paper gets to either your snail mail box or even your email inbox.
And remember that the Ipoh Echo is YOUR community paper. If you have any announcements that require broadcasting to the community at large (public service ones) just send them to: email: ipohecho.vw@gmail.com
We will do our utmost to disseminate them.
The Editor, Ipoh Echo Sdn Bhd
ipohWorld blogger says: “We strongly recommend the Ipoh Echo as a very worthwhile read. As well as local news and events, often not published elsewhere, it runs regular heritage stories and draws attention to the deplorable state of much of Perak’s heritage. Don’t wait! Subscribe online now at http://www.ipohecho.com.my/.”
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June 2009
The Times of Malaya – Ipoh’s First Newspaper
This advertisement shows the first Times of Malaya Building in Ipoh, where it was adjacent to the Birch Memorial Clock Tower.
The Times of Malaya: Planters and Miners Gazette was started by J I Philips in 1903, with a mission to further the mining, planting, and mercantile interest of the Federated Malay States (FMS) and the Straits Settlements.Registered as The Times of Malaya Press, it was a Limited Company with F Douglas Osborne, a prominent tin miner, A M Gibb, a lawyer and partner of the legal firm of Gibbs and Hope, and R Young as the Directors. Its first publication was released on March 9, 1904. This was an eight-page daily independent newspaper to which citizens actively contributed their views on the development of Ipoh, and âthe impatient gave vent to their feelings in its columns.â
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The first issue of contention the paper raised was for Ipoh to again have its own Sanitation Board. The newspaperâs many efforts were rewarded when the Kinta Sanitary Board was split into the Kinta (North) Sanitary Board in Ipoh, and the Kinta (South) Sanitary Board in Batu Gajah.
Two years later, J A S Jennings from Singapore, its most influential editor took over and Dr R M Connolly, District Surgeon around this time, retired from government service to take temporary charge of the newspaper and put it on a firm footing. Jennings remained editor for some 30 years and became a leading champion of Ipoh, particularly in its bid to become the state capital of Perak. Eventually he bought up all the shares of the Times of Malaya Press Ltd. and became the sole proprietor.
The most pressing and regular issue that the paper raised at the time was the transfer of the state capital from Taiping to Ipoh. Though Ipoh was progressing quicker and was more economically relevant than Taiping, the Colonial Government never got around to doing it, despite, in respose to public pressure, promising to do so. However, it took the Japanese invaders no time at all to do what the British Government failed to achieve. One directive from them and Ipoh became the Perak capital overnight.
In the early 1930s The Times of Malaya moved into a handsome new building in Brewster Road. This was a three-storey Art Deco building bearing a crest with the initials TOM for Times of Malaya., but towards the end, the paper evolved into a âone-man showâ. The death of Jennings in 1936, marked the rapid decline of the paper which was bought by the Straits Times Press Pte Ltd in November of that year (who also bought the Pinang Gazette in April 1936). Subsequently it merged with the Straits Echo in 1938, and was known as the Straits Echo and The Times of Malaya.
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Does anyone out there have an old copy of this paper?