"MASTIKA magazine's final issue was published last month. Collectors are already clamouring for older copies. Their prices will escalate once more get wind of Utusan's decision to end the publication of Malaysia's longest running periodical," one of my most well informed runners quipped on his recent visit to my house to show me his large hoard with dates ranging from the late 1960 to the early 1980s.
Bound in hard cover with six issues to each volume, the magazines are in near pristine condition and will prove to be a good investment if bought at a low enough price.
I’ve known the seller for several years and his prices are not utterly exorbitant as he professes that most of his stock are from recycling centres that sells printed materials, regardless of type, for just 80 sen per kilogramme.
I’m glad he’s making an honest living and the profit earned from each transaction will serve as motivation to continue saving priceless books and magazines which would otherwise be destined for the shredders.
When he left, I sat down excitedly at the porch to slowly peruse my latest purchases. Flipping through the pages is like taking a walk back in time. Mastika and Dewan Masyarakat were my constant companions in Form 5. Back then, these magazines were student favourites as they always featured popular topics and ran editorials on current events that were very likely to appear as essay questions during the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Published by Utusan Melayu on June 1, 1941, Mastika holds the undisputed record for being the oldest magazine in the country. Its origin can be traced back to the days when the first editor, Abdul Rahim Kajai was working from a small and stuffy Cecil Street office in Singapore, devoid of air conditioning comforts and filled with unpleasant smells wafting in through the open windows from a nearby sewage treatment plant.
First published in Jawi script as Mustika, the magazine changed its name to Mastika during the early post Second World War years. Sold at 50 cents a copy, all 76 pages of its first issue were filled with short stories, academic features and poems. Mastika's primary objective during those pre-war years was to help spread the nationalist fervour sweeping across the country and, in the process, contribute to the advancement of the Malay community.
Despite having survived the longest, Mastika isn’t the earliest Malay magazine published in Malaya. Throughout the 20th century, about 1,071 Malay language magazines have been published in various genre and Chahaya Bintang holds the record for being the first Malay magazine published in Malaya. Filled with fiction and creative articles, it was produced in Seremban by Al-Rauthah Press on Dec 1, 1926 and helmed by Abdul Hamid Mohamad.
As editor, Abdul Hamid wrote most of Chahaya Bintang's short stories. In its first issue, all 16 pages was dedicated to a story entitled Setia Persahabatan. Today, copies of Chahaya Bintang are extremely rare and highly sought after as only three issues were published before Abdul Hamid decided to call it quits and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
EARLY MALAY MAGAZINES
Most early Malay literary magazines were produced by individuals who had a penchant for writing. A prominent writer who made his mark in the 1930s was Mohd Ariffin Ishak. Together with his wife, Aminah Abdul Jalil, Mohd Ariffin published Majalah Cherita in November 1938. Unfortunately, the magazine, which featured between seven to eight short stories each time, was also short-lived. It only survived for nine issues.
The publication of all types of magazines came to a standstill during the Second World War. Apart from the acute shortage and high cost of printing materials, publishers and authors alike found it stifling to adhere to the strict requirements and censorship rules of the Japanese Propaganda Department, the Gun Senden Han. Printing machines throughout the country fell silent as many preferred to stay on the side lines rather than risk the ire of the Kampetai, the feared Japanese secret police.
The end of the war in August 1945 and the subsequent return of the British saw a resurgence in the Malay magazine industry. Mastika resumed publication on Nov 1, 1946 with a whole new look. Shifting its focus away from politics, the magazine adopted a more literary stance to appeal to a wider audience. While short stories and literary writings dominated its pages, the magazine also ran articles related to humour, human interest as well as those on social and historical issues.
Mastika's content consisted of articles written by the editorial staff in Singapore as well as contributing authors from the rest of Malaya. As circulation grew, the magazine changed its introductory line from 'Malay Monthly Publication' in 1946 to 'Leading Malay Monthly Publication' after just two brief years.
PROMINENT EDITORS
Among the magazine's prominent editors were Abdul Rahim Kajai (June to December 1941), Haji Mohd. Dahlan Masoud (1946 to 1948), Kamaluddin Mohammad (1948 to 1953), Asraf Abdul Wahab (1953 to 1955) and Usman Awang (1950 to 1962). As a writer, Kamaluddin was better known by his pen name, Keris Mas.
During the late 1940s, the monthly published Mastika vied with the weekly Hiboran magazine for bragging rights as the top Malay periodical. The former won thanks to the prestige of its publisher, Utusan Melayu Press, among the Malay readers. Apart from Mastika, the company also published the weekly Utusan Zaman as well as Malaya's first Malay-owned daily, Utusan Melayu.
Seen as the voice of the Malay community right from its first issue published in May 29, 1939, Utusan Melayu was considered the benchmark for Malay journalism. The reputation lasted until the 1970s when its popularity began to fade and was replaced by Utusan Malaysia.
Hiboran didn’t give up the fight for top spot easily. Its stable of young and prolific writers under the leadership of famous author, Harun Aminurrashid, offered Mastika a strong challenge. Unfortunately, it's occasional exploitation of sensational news and use of sexually-explicit content inevitably disfigured Hiboran's image.
FIRST REAL CHALLENGE
In 1948, Mastika was nearly forced to shutter due to a drastic drop in circulation and massive losses. The situation was so bad that contributing authors were given free copies of the magazine in lieu of payment.
Keris Mas took over the editorship at that critical juncture and was given the unenviable task of turning around the magazine's fortune. Before leaving for London for a visit sponsored by the British government, Utusan Melayu head, Yusof Ishak gave an ultimatum that it would be the end for Mastika if circulation didn’t improve.
Keris Mas immediately set about making drastic and unpopular changes. He revamped the overall magazine concept, retaining only interesting romance and detective short stories and began featuring local or internationally acclaimed actress on the cover in full colour. He even wrote a number of the stories himself under the pseudonym Mr X. Abdul Samad Ismail and Tengku Hassan, who were managing Utusan Melayu Press in the absence of Yusof, agreed with Keris Mas even though they doubted that such a recipe would prove to be a success.
Fortunately, the changes suited the tastes of the more discerning post-war readers and that was reflected in a gradual uptick in circulation. The improvement grabbed the attention of established authors who started sending in quality pieces. Eventually, talk of Mastika closing down drifted into oblivion.
CHANGES FOR THE BETTER
By 1949, Mastika was on a much better footing. To improve its circulation, the magazine's editorial board decided to introduce an entertainment section that provided coverage on the rapidly growing Malay movie industry.
At this juncture, my attention shifts to an article featuring several past issues of Mastika from the early 1950s. Photographs of famous film stars and interesting scenes from popular movies look very attractive.
In order to retain talent, Mastika started paying honorarium as an incentive to its best short story and essay authors. This additional form of payment began in January 1951 and was warmly welcomed by the magazine's committed contributors.
In March 1952, Mastika began organising short story writing contests to help identify budding writers among its pool of readers. The magazine offered RM100 as the first prize, second RM60, RM40 for third and five consolation prizes of RM10 each. The inaugural contest attracted 224 entries and the top three prizes were won by the same person who was only identified as Nasha.
Interest in short stories began to wane in 1953 and this was immediately noticed by the Mastika management. Changes were made to counter this change and new talent was injected when Asraf was asked to take over the reins as editor after Keris Mas joined Melayu Raya, a rival daily of Utusan Melayu.
Among the concept changes made by Asraf was a marked reduction in the number of short stories. Determined to contribute comprehensively to the development of Malay culture, Asraf announced in 1954 that Mastika would be running, on average, two short stories, an article each on language, literature and culture, a translation of a foreign short story and two poems each month. Once again, the changes paid off handsomely and Mastika’s circulation began to climb.
KEEPING STANDARDS HIGH
Mastika continued its presence as a respected literary magazine in the years leading into Merdeka. To maintain standards, Mastika editors became more selective and features from contributing authors that made the cut were meticulously edited to ensure that they remained relevant to the Malay society during that time. The primary aims were to push the limits of Malay literary development and continue its relentless pursuit towards the advancement the Malay mind.
In 1958, Utusan Melayu Press moved its office to Kuala Lumpur and, as a subsidiary, Mastika followed suit. As editor at that time, Usman Awang steered Mastika to greater heights by remaining loyal to the magazine's literary orientation that had entertained and educated the Malay community for decades.
Despite its many successes, Mastika was determined not to bask in its former glory. Instead, it continued to evolve to suit the ever changing demands of its growing reader base. In February 1967, Mastika was printed in Romanised Malay for the first time in its history. The magazine also took on a more serious approach when its front cover started featuring political leaders instead of attractive ladies.
By the 1970s, the magazine experienced significant changes when it shifted focus from literature to education. A decade later, Mastika changed tack yet again and began filling its pages with a plethora of general knowledge features. Each time, the refreshing changes worked like a charm.
Things, however, didn’t turn out as expected when unpopular academic features took centre stage in the 1990s. Utusan Melayu Press Group Editor-in-Chief Johan Jaaffar began toying with the idea of stopping the Mastika publication when sales volume plummeted to just 6,000 copies in mid-1995. The August 1995 issue was supposed to be Mastika's swan song.
SECOND REVIVAL
In order to prevent that from happening, Mastika's magazine size was reduced to reflect that of the popular Reader's Digest, and interesting articles involving human interests were heavily incorporated into its pages. The changes were well received. Readers liked the new content and the compact Mastika could fit into their pockets or handbags. By September 1995, Mastika's sales number doubled. Five years later, its circulation reached a staggering 320,000! Everyone began comparing this phenomenal resurgence to the 1948 turnaround initiated by Keris Mas.
Sadly, Mastika's golden age proved difficult to sustain. Gathering the volumes in my arms, I reflect upon Mastika's present misfortune. The situation today is very different compared to the time when the magazine was first published 77 years ago. Times have changed and, like many other publications, Mastika has lost the good fight and succumbed to the lethal combined forces of the Internet and social media.
Despite its discontinuation, I’m sure many readers like me will continue to collect the past issues and relive the good old days when Mastika ruled the Malay magazine world.