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John Henry Matthews Robson, Founder And Proprietor Of The Malay Mail
John Robson was a prominent figure in Malaya, best remembered as the founder and proprietor of The Malay Mail newspaper.
Born on May 8, 1870, John Henry Matthews Robson was the eldest son of the Reverend Dr Robson from Guildford, Surrey, England and he arrived in Kuala Lumpur at the end of 1889 to take up a post in the Selangor Civil Service. He filled various government posts including District Officer Kuala Lumpur. In 1896 when he left government service he founded the Malay Mail. It was the first daily newspaper to be published in the Federated Malay States (FMS).
On December 14, 1896 the first issue of The Malay Mail was published by him in Kuala Lumpur. It was a hand-printed broadsheet with four pages - advertisements on the front and second page and whatever local news there was on pages 3 and 4. At first the circulation was limited to a print run of 200 copies daily, costing 15cents each.
In 1952, The Straits Times Press Ltd took over the The Malay Mail.