Warta Negara

Warta Negara
Akhbar dari rakyat untuk rakyat
Warta Negara (14 March 1962)
TypeDaily newspaper
Owner(s)
  • Warta Negara Press Ltd. (1945–1964)
  • The Utusan Group (1964–1969)
Founder(s)Ahmad Jaliani
Editor-in-chiefIbrahim Mahmud (first)
Osman Abadi (last)
Founded3 September 1945
LanguageMalay
Ceased publication13 July 1969
Headquarters32 & 34 Argyll Road, Georgetown, Penang
CountryBritish Malaya
Malaysia
Circulation6,000 (1950s)

Warta Negara (English: National Gazette) was a north-Malaysian Malay-language daily newspaper written in Jawi script. It was first published in 1945.[1] The newspaper was originally printed in four pages, but later editions included two-page and six-page formats. The newspaper mostly covered general stories and news reports of contemporary Malaya and early-Malaysia. The newspaper ceased publication in 1969.[2]

History

Warta Negara was first published in Penang on 3 September 1945 by Ahmad Jelani, a former staff of the Malayan-Japanese newspaper Penang Shimbun.[3] The newspaper was printed by the Warta Negara Press from equipment purchased from former-Japanese printing houses. Warta Negara was the first newspaper published in Penang after the end of the Second World War. The daily used the slogan "Julung-julung Akhbar Harian Melayu diterbitkan dalam masa lepas Perang" ("The first Malay daily after the War").[1][2] Another slogan adopted was "Akhbar dari rakyat untuk rakyat" ("The people's daily for the people"). The newspaper was published entirely in Jawi script, and provided translated articles from English sources.[3] In 1964, the newspaper was acquired by Utusan Melayu Press.[2]

Daily circulation of the newspaper peaked at around 6,000 copies during the 1950s. Other contemporaries fared better, including Utusan Melayu (which sold 25,000 copies daily), and Melayu Raya (which peaked at 30,000 copies daily in 1950).[4]

Editors

The first editor of the Warta Negara was Ibrahim Mahmud, who was previously involved in the publication of several other prewar newspapers, notably Warta Malaya, Pemimpin Melayu, Warta Jenaka, Penang Shimbun, Pencharan Matahari, and later Malaya Merdeka. Mahmud was the editor until 1950[2] when he became involved in a magazine called Suara UMNO.[1]

Mahmud was replaced by Abdul Wahab Zain, who remained in the position for seven years until 1957.[2] During his tenure, he had published Warta Mingguan, a Sunday edition of Warta Negara that was published weekly.[1]

Later editors include Ahmad Ismail/Ahmady Asmara (1957–1960); Ibrahim Legon (1961–1962); Salim Kajai (1963–1964) and Haji Jaafar Yusof (1964). In 1964, the Utusan Melayu Press bought the newspaper and appointed Harun Hassan as editor until 1967. Osman Abadi became the final editor for the newspaper until publication ceased in 1969.

List of editors of Warta Negara (1945–1969)
Editor Appointed Departed Publishing company
Ibrahim Mahmud 1945 1950[2]/1952[1] Warta Negara Press
Abdul Wahab Zain 1950–1952 1957
Ahmad Ismail/Ahmady Asmara 1957 1960
Ibrahim Legon 1961 1962
Salim Kajai 1963 1964
Haji Jaafar Yusof 1964 1964
Harun Hassan 1964 1967 Utusan Melayu Press
Osman Abadi 1967 1969

Closure

All publications of Warta Negara ceased on 13 July 1969 to allow the Utusan Melayu Press to focus on the operations of Utusan Melayu.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Noorita Abdul Hamid (2005). Politik Melayu daripada perspektif Warta Negara 1945 (PDF). Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Malaya.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Hamedi Mohd Adnan (2015). 100 Akhbar Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia. pp. 109–111. ISBN 9789670798615.
  3. ^ a b "3 September 1945 – Penerbitan Akhbar Warta Negara Pertama" [3 September 1945 - The first issue of Warta Negara published]. Rnggt (in Malay). 3 September 2020.
  4. ^ Hamedi M., Adnan; Mohamad Saleeh, Rahamad (2014). "Post-Second World War Malay Magazine, 1945-1957: Analysis on the Circulation and Distribution". Historical Research Letter. 11. International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE).