Malaysia
- 1786 - 1795 British claim Penang and Malacca falls to Britain
- 1909 Unfederated Malay States in the Malay Peninsula organized, joining the Federated Malay States and Straits Settlements as components of Malaya
- 1926 Malayan Wireless Committee submits recommendations for permanent government radio service.
- 1930 Reports of reception of shortwave frequencies from the BBC in London but peak listening hours in South East Asia did not synch .
- 1932 Empire Service transmissions to South and South East Asia began
- 1935 Authorization of the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation (BMBC) granted.
- 1937 BMBC's first transmission
- 1940 Government-owned Malayan Broadcasting Corporation takes over assets of BMBC.
- 1953 The BBC establishes a relay station in Tebrau.
- 31 August 1957 Official Declaration of Independence from the British
In January 1930, an editiorial from the Straits Times expressed views of what might have been widely held among British expatriates of the day. At that point, the BBC was broadcasting on short wave for distant listeners from 1927 on an experimental basis from Chelmsford, but the poor reception of BBC broadcasts through relays was frustrating for those eager to use the medium.
The B.B.C. is an institution of which we may well be proud. It gives by far the best wireless service to the world. Our only quarrel with it at the present time is that it has done little or nothing for those of us who live in Malaya. (A Threat to the BBC,1930).
Complaints persisted through various articles and letters to the editor in newspapers published in British Malaya from 1930 onwards. In an article titled "Radio in Malaya" in the Malaya Tribune, the writer invites readers to listen to the King's Speech, noting that the BBC will broadcast it. However, the writer adds, "it will probably be very difficult to hear it in Malaya, for Chelmsford has been little more than a faint whistle for many days" (Malaya Tribune, 17 January 1930, Page 8). The article suggests there is a possibility that one or more Dutch stations might relay the program, in which case "Malayan listeners might hear the King quite well."
The article also sarcastically critiques a review of the shortwave station in Chelmsford, where a Mr. Chattan assures his English readers that reception from the station compares favorably with other stations and that "reports from the Far East are equally favourable." The writer counters with, "where do these people get their information from? Batches of letters have gone to the BBC complaining about the disgracefully poor service of 5SW" (Malaya Tribune, 17 January 1930, Page 8).
When the BBC finally launched its Empire Service in 1932 using dedicated short-wave technology transmitting from Daventry, the response was enthusiastic. It was considered a turning point for radio in British Malaya. By mid-June 1933, Malayan listeners could tune into Empire programmes for seven and-a-half hours each day.
The programming included news bulletins, music (both live and from gramophone recordings), religious services, talks, and sports reports and the ubiquitous tolling of the BIg Ben. Additionally, a reliable radio schedule titled “Empire Radio To Night” was published in the daily press, marking a significant improvement over the earlier days when the Malaya Tribune relied on its readers to submit reception reports and schedules of “likely transmissions.”
A letter from a listener on a Malayan estate recalls their experience of the first Christmas broadcast, describing how "as we sat down to dinner that night, Big Ben boomed through the house – and to an exile, that experience alone is far from being unmoving" (World Radio, 1933 c).
Other listeners in Malaya, describing themselves as "five quite typical English people, rather less, than more, emotional than most." wrote in to express the significance of the King's inaugural speech:
"Nothing we could say would adequately express what it meant to us .. to hear the King speak, as if he were actually standing beside us here in our tropic garden.. We have little to hold on to these days .. and we lose the sense of belonging anywhere .. in the space of a few minutes all that is altered - faith in the King and a sense of belonging to him, loyalty and pride of race, as well as a feeling of unity, restored what we were losing." (World Radio 1933c E4/6)
The relay of radio signals from Daventry to parts of what is now Malaysia, continued through the 30's to the early 40's.
World War II
The outbreak of World War II in Europe and the impending threat of Japanese aggression in Asia introduced new challenges. The British Ministry of Information established the Far Eastern Bureau in Singapore to combat enemy propaganda in Asia. The proximity of Singapore
In 1947, the Straits Times announced Britain's plans to increase the "range, volume and variety of radio broadcasts to the people of South East Asia" by building in Malaya 5 or 6 transmitters of equivalent power to the BBC's shortwave overseas transmitters in South Johore. The article also says that most of the British broadcast material to be transmitted from Malaya will be pre-recorded or relayed from London. The total cost to Britain to broadcast from Malaya would be from 15 to 20 Million dollars.(The Straits Times, 9 September 1947, Page 7)
A BBC relay station, was built in Tebrau and was constructed on a huge rolling estate of several hundred acres in the year 1953. The original transmitters were six in number; four new units at 7.5 kW and two 100 kW units transferred from the old BFBS base at Jurong on Singapore island.
In the early 50's, broadcasting activities in Malaya were operated from its temporary studio in Jalan Young (now know as Jalan Cenderasari) in Kuala Lumpur and later in 1956, were moved to the Federal House, Kuala Lumpur. It was here that broadcasting in Malaysia grew with the establishment of several stations throughout the country including Sabah and Sarawak. Commercial advertisements were first aired on radio in 1960. This became a new source of revenue for the Government. An interesting point to note is that 'deejays' began to use the introduction "INILAH RADIO MALAYSIA" (This is Radio Malaysia) to greet listeners.
Broadcasting further carved another milestone when Television services were introduced on 28 December 1963 from its studio, Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Ampang. Broadcast operations then moved office to Angkasapuri Complex which began its telecast on 6th October 1969, Radio and Television were merged under the Ministry of Information. The growth of the first channel, Rangkaian Satu encouraged the second channel to be established on 17th November 1969.
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Ronald William Paul Allison (26 January 1932 – 26 July 2022) was a British journalist. He was the press secretary of Queen Elizabeth II from 1968 to 1978. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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In celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Royal Marines, a program titled "Royal Marines Today" provides an overview of their work. The program is written, narrated, and produced by David Woodward. The asset ID for the program is 6035e535748d8fc68c8970d5. The program's details were recorded on October 29, 1964, and the contributors include David Woodward as the author, narrator, and producer. More »Spoken voice |Topic: Military Conflict |Audio
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Louis Stephen St. Laurent (Saint-Laurent or St-Laurent in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 1948 to 1957. Born and raised in southeastern Quebec, St. Laurent was a leading lawyer and a supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada. In December 1941, he entered politics as minister of justice under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. In February 1942, he won a by-election in the riding of Quebec East. In September 1946, St. Laurent became secretary of state for external affairs and served in that post until two years later, when he became leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister, succeeding King who retired. St. Laurent carried the party to back-to-back landslide majority governments in the federal elections of 1949 and 1953. The second French Canadian to hold the office, St. Laurent strongly advocated against communism and was an enthusiastic proponent of Canada joining NATO in 1949 to fight the spread of the ideology. His government also contributed troops to the Korean War. At home, St. Laurent's government introduced the registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and oversaw the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, St. Lawrence Seaway, and Trans-Canada Pipeline. St. Laurent earned the nickname "Uncle Louis" as he was popular among the general public throughout his tenure, and the popularity of his government led many to predict that he would easily win the 1957 federal election. However, his decision to rush the 1956 debate on the Trans-Canada Pipeline by invoking closure led some to believe that the Liberals had become arrogant from their two decades in power, and in a major upset, the party was narrowly defeated by John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives, ending nearly 22 years of Liberal rule. Shortly after his defeat, St. Laurent retired from politics and returned to his law practice. He is ranked highly among analysts, not least because of his progressive programs and fiscally responsible policies that helped shape post-war Canada. According to historian Donald Creighton, he was an "eminently moderate, cautious...man...and a strong Canadian nationalist." (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (20 December 1894 – 15 May 1978) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th prime minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and 1949 to 1966. He held office as the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) in his first term, and subsequently as the inaugural leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, which he was responsible for establishing and defining in policy and political outreach. He is the longest-serving prime minister in Australian history. Menzies studied law at the University of Melbourne and became one of Melbourne's leading lawyers. He was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1932 to 1934, and then transferred to Federal Parliament, subsequently becoming Attorney-General of Australia and Minister for Industry in the government of Joseph Lyons. In April 1939, following Lyons's death, Menzies was elected leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) and sworn in as Prime Minister. He authorised Australia's entry into World War II in September 1939, and spent four months in England to participate in meetings of Churchill's war cabinet. On his return to Australia in August 1941, Menzies found that he had lost the support of his party and consequently resigned as Prime Minister. He subsequently helped to create the new Liberal Party, and was elected its inaugural leader in August 1945. At the 1949 federal election, Menzies led the Liberal–Country coalition to victory and returned as prime minister. His appeal to the home and family, promoted via reassuring radio talks, matched the national zeitgeist as the economy grew and middle-class values prevailed; the Australian Labor Party's support had also been eroded by Cold War scares. After 1955, his government also received support from the Democratic Labour Party, a breakaway group from the Labor Party. Menzies won seven consecutive elections during his second term, eventually retiring as prime minister in January 1966. Despite the failures of his first administration, his government is remembered for its development of Australia's capital city of Canberra, its expanded post-war immigration scheme, emphasis on higher education, and national security policies, which saw Australia contribute troops to the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, and the Vietnam War. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Sir Sidney George Holland (18 October 1893 – 5 August 1961) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 25th prime minister of New Zealand from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He was instrumental in the creation and consolidation of the New Zealand National Party, which was to dominate New Zealand politics for much of the second half of the 20th century. Holland was elected to parliament in 1935, and became the second Leader of the National Party, and Leader of the Opposition, in 1940. He served briefly (1942) in a war cabinet but thereafter attacked the Labour government for its interventionist economic policies. Holland led the National Party to its first election victory in 1949. His National government implemented moderate economic reforms, dismantling many state controls. Holland's government also undertook constitutional change in 1950, by abolishing the Legislative Council, the upper house of parliament, on the grounds that it was ineffectual. In 1951, Holland, having confronted locked out dockers and coal miners intent on what he called "industrial anarchy", called a snap election and was re-elected Prime Minister. In its second term, the National government signed the ANZUS defence agreement with Australia and the United States. Holland led his party to a third consecutive victory in 1954. Following ill health in 1957, Holland stepped down as Prime Minister to be replaced by Keith Holyoake. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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She was the first woman to receive the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1955, and was appointed CBE in 1979 to honour her many contributions to English literature. In 1974, she was named a "Companion of Literature", the highest honour given by the Royal Society of Literature.[1] More »Person
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A radio retrospective on the "gay twenties," written and compiled by Leslie Baily with music, news, comment, anecdotes, and readings from the theatre of the day. The program includes Garrison recalling BBC recording of the nightingale and cello, Hylton speaking about his Orchestra, and performing with a specially formed 1924-style orchestra. The focus is on the British Empire Show at Wembley Stadium. The format is 1 tape reel in mono, aired on BBC Home Service on 1955-03-04. The copy note suggests it may be copied from coarsegroove 33 rpm discs (BBC?). More »Spoken voice |Topic: Culture |Audio
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The Second stage initiation ceremony of the Sumarah Mystic Society featured a solo male singer chanting on a 30 cm 78 rpm mono disc with 2 sides. The recording is part of the BBC Sound Archive collection under catalog number 22570. The singer remains unidentified. More »Music (Vocal) |Topic: Culture |Audio
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The Second stage initiation ceremony of the Sumarah Mystic Society is a Javanese music solo featuring a man chanting. The recording is on 1 disc with 2 sides, measuring 30 cm and playing at 78 rpm in mono. It is part of the BBC Sound Archive with holdings notes as 12RH 88640. More »Spoken voice : chanted |Topic: Culture |Audio
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The Second stage initiation ceremony of the Sumarah Mystic Society featured Javanese music and a solo man chanting. The recording is part of the BBC Sound Archive, with a single disc containing two sides and measuring 30 cm. It was recorded at 78 rpm and is in mono format. More »Spoken voice : chanted |Topic: Culture |Audio
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In 1958, a programme titled "Seekers, The Christmas Day Programme" was produced by Laurence Gilliam and Alan Burgess, with incidental music composed by William Alwyn. The programme, narrated by Peter Finch, praised the pioneering spirit of individuals from various parts of the world, including Canada, Africa, Australia, and the West Indies. The programme included readings and recollections from notable figures such as Sir Henry Dale, Sir Howard Florey, and Sir John Cockcroft. The narration was accompanied by actuality inserts, including recordings of a leper colony choir, the Ceylon Girls' Choir, and Bahamian children. The programme concluded with a poetic prose and the expression of the philosophy of a 100-year-old individual named John Evans. More »Spoken voice |Topic: Culture |Audio
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Seymon K. Tsarapkin (1905/1906 – 1984) was a Soviet diplomat. He was involved in negotiations over the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, worked in the United Nations and held various other diplomatic posts. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Serampang Lant, a representative of the Joget style, materializes as a traditional Malaysian folk dance. Helmed by Hamzah Dolmat and Rakan2, the performance encompasses accordion, drum, and tambourine, offering a rhythmic exploration into the cultural nuances of Malaysia. More »Topic: Culture |Audio
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The British Library Sound Archive holds a special collection of unedited field recordings of the Siamang, a species of gibbon, made in Malaysia in 1969 by David J Chivers. The recordings were made using a Uher tape recorder at multiple speeds and have been digitized as part of the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project, funded by the National Lottery. The recordings and corresponding notes were made as part of research work and published findings can be found in various papers. Copies of the field recording notes and correspondence are kept within the Wildlife Section of the British Library Sound Archive. More »Soundscape (rural) |Topic: Culture |Audio
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Recording depicts the religious rituals and songs of the Temiar people, who practice shamanism and animistic faith. The lyrics of the song warn of the potential dangers of contact with outsiders, specifically mentioning the spread of disease brought by white strangers from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Ipoh. This warning is attributed to the Spirit of the Siku mountain, and it reflects the Temiar's concerns about the impact of outside influences on their community. More »Music |Topic: Culture |Audio
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A carefree and somewhat chaotic atmosphere pervades Singapore during its final days. Possessions and money lost their significance, and the primary concern was to preserve life and freedom. The narrator recounts a personal experience where conventional concerns, such as a stolen car, became inconsequential. After parting ways with their job and facing a depressed state, the narrator found a stranger willing to provide a lift. In a seemingly irresponsible and carefree manner, the stranger offered the narrator their spare car, reflecting the overall atmosphere of Singapore during that tumultuous period. More »Spoken voice |Topic: Culture |Audio
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Sinhalese music in honor of BBC's Silver Jubilee. Sung by Devar Surya Sena and accompanied by an orchestra. Introduced by Alex Moyes. More »Spoken voice |Topic: Culture |Audio
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Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal. Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier. He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II and was wounded in an accident. Prior to the Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952. As part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. He subsequently reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.Beginning in 1960, Hillary devoted himself to assisting the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he established. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in Nepal. Hillary had numerous honours conferred upon him, including the Order of the Garter in 1995. Upon his death in 2008, he was given a state funeral in New Zealand. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Sender gives proposes which countries should have radio transmitters placed in them suggesting that they should be placed in countries with which they already have connections. Rather than ones with which they would need to foster new realtionships. More »Message
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The letter discusses the rebroadcasts from the Malaya services,machinery for the coordination of schedules and exchange of information, and the monitoring of reports from the Far East Broadcasts. More »Message
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Sir Henry Hallett Dale (9 June 1875 – 23 July 1968) was an English pharmacologist and physiologist. For his study of acetylcholine as agent in the chemical transmission of nerve pulses (neurotransmission) he shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Otto Loewi. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Sir Henry Morton Stanley GCB (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American[1][2][a] explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa and his search for missionary and explorer David Livingstone. Besides his discovery of Livingstone, he is mainly known for his search for the sources of the Nile and Congo rivers, the work he undertook as an agent of King Leopold II of the Belgians which enabled the occupation of the Congo Basin region, and his command of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. He was knighted in 1897, and served in Parliament as a Liberal Unionist member for Lambeth North from 1895 to 1900. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Sir John Douglas Cockcroft (27 May 1897 – 18 September 1967) was a British physicist who shared with Ernest Walton the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951 for splitting the atomic nucleus, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power. After service on the Western Front with the Royal Field Artillery during the Great War, Cockcroft studied electrical engineering at Manchester Municipal College of Technology whilst he was an apprentice at Metropolitan Vickers Trafford Park and was also a member of their research staff. He then won a scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he sat the tripos exam in June 1924, becoming a wrangler. Ernest Rutherford accepted Cockcroft as a research student at the Cavendish Laboratory, and Cockcroft completed his doctorate under Rutherford's supervision in 1928. With Ernest Walton and Mark Oliphant he built what became known as a Cockcroft–Walton generator. Cockcroft and Walton used this to perform the first artificial disintegration of an atomic nucleus, a feat popularly known as splitting the atom. During the Second World War Cockcroft became Assistant Director of Scientific Research in the Ministry of Supply, working on radar. He was also a member of the committee formed to handle issues arising from the Frisch–Peierls memorandum, which calculated that an atomic bomb could be technically feasible, and of the MAUD Committee which succeeded it. In 1940, as part of the Tizard Mission, he shared British technology with his counterparts in the United States. Later in the war, the fruits of the Tizard Mission came back to Britain in the form of the SCR-584 radar set and the proximity fuze, which were used to help defeat the V-1 flying bomb. In May 1944, he became director of the Montreal Laboratory, and oversaw the development of the ZEEP and NRX reactors, and the creation of the Chalk River Laboratories. After the war Cockcroft became the director of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) at Harwell, where the low-powered, graphite-moderated GLEEP became the first nuclear reactor to operate in western Europe when it was started on 15 August 1947. This was followed by the British Experimental Pile 0 (BEPO) in 1948. Harwell was involved in the design of the reactors and the chemical separation plant at Windscale. Under his direction it took part in frontier fusion research, including the ZETA program. His insistence that the chimney stacks of the Windscale reactors be fitted with filters was mocked as Cockcroft's Folly until the core of one of the reactors ignited and released radionuclides during the Windscale fire of 1957. From 1959 to 1967, he was the first Master of Churchill College, Cambridge. He was also chancellor of the Australian National University in Canberra from 1961 to 1965. (Wikipedia) More »Person
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Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as one of the leading British composers of the 20th century. Among his best-known works are the oratorio A Child of Our Time, the orchestral Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli, and the opera The Midsummer Marriage. More »Person
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Sender admits uncertainty on the situation in South Africa and wishes to wait for more data to be collected so that they may continue their plans. More »Message
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In a talk titled "Borneo Without the British," producer Richard Keen and speaker Peter Duval Smith discuss the present state of the country. The pair also visited the Kelabit tribespeople in their longhouses, discussing their hospitality and manners. This event occurred on February 16, 1967, with no additional annotations provided. More »Spoken voice |Topic: Politics |Audio
