MPH is renowned as one of the most popular bookstores in Malaysia, with locations in many shopping centres nationwide before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Earlier this year, its flagship store opened at The Exchange TRX, and we can confirm it is massive. With that in mind, do you know that MPH is also one of the oldest—if not the oldest—book establishments in the country? The company was founded over a century ago when Malaysia was still known as Malaya.
If you’re a book or history enthusiast, you may have wondered how this company evolved into what it is today. Unlike many of the origin stories we’ve previously covered, MPH was actually established by the British. To learn more about how the brand started, we need to go back to the early 1800s.
In 1805, Robert Morrison, known as the “Father of Anglo-Chinese Literature,” translated the New and Old Testaments into Chinese after being appointed as the first Protestant missionary sent to China. William Milne, an eager young missionary, contributed to the translation of these religious texts. You might be wondering how they relate to MPH. While there is no direct link between them and MPH, William Milne established the Malacca Anglo-Chinese College in the mid-1810s and printed the first Chinese edition of the Old Testament.
Due to the success of this particular venture, another missionary followed in his footsteps. Captain W.G. Shellabear, a pioneering scholar and missionary in British Malaya, arrived in Singapore in 1890 to establish a printing press known as the Amelia Bishop Press, where Christian literature was produced. After three years, the company moved to Raffles Place and rebranded as the American Mission Press. This establishment eventually expanded its scope to include the printing of secular works. Among the most notable Malay classics printed by W.G. Shellabear, who by this time was known as Reverend Shellabear, were “Sejarah Melayu” and “Hikayat Abdullah.”
The Reverand was later recognised as the founder of the Methodist Publishing House, where the acronym MPH was derived. After becoming a public stock company in 1927, the company changed its name to Malaya Publishing House Limited. According to the official website, MPH was doing well operating its business as “proprietors and publishers of and dealers in newspapers, journals, magazines, books and other literary works and undertakings” in 1928 when Frank Cooper Sands became the Managing Director. Then came the Japanese occupation and just like any other company during that time, MPH took a long pause after its building and equipment were destroyed past salvation.
Thankfully, through perseverance and determination, Frank reopened the publishing house in 1945 once the occupation was over. In 1963 when Malaya became Malaysia, the MPH acronym now stands for Malaysia Publishing House. The company later began operating as a wholesale book department. Success doesn’t come without setbacks. Just 3 years after rebranding, the establishment faced a financial crisis. As a result, a 6th generation Chinese-Indonesian named Masagung bought the company and set it up under a consortium. Four subsidiaries were formed by the new management: MPH Book, MPH Printers, MPH Publications, and Lian Tak MPH. The latter manufactures paper goods and exercise books.
Eventually, MPH Ltd fell into the hands of a Malaysian-owned company, Jalinan Inspirasi Sdn Bhd, which is now known as MPH Group, the parent company of MPH bookstores. Since the early 2000s, the company has done well in becoming one of the most renowned bookstore chains in Malaysia and opened up many stores nationwide. Sadly, Covid-19 happened and just like all the other businesses, MPH took a big hit.
Although the company managed to survive the pandemic, several of its stores—including those in Amanjaya, Sunway GEO, SACC Mall, MYTOWN, JB City Square, Kinta City, MYDIN MITC, Taman Universiti, Subang Parade, and Mid Valley— had to close. In a statement back in 2020, MPH Group clarified that the reason for the closures was that the company was “pursuing a new venture” and transitioning to a “digitalised e-commerce ecosystem.” Thankfully, some stores remain open, and as of today, the brand has about nine outlets nationwide.
While it’s sad that some stores had to close, customers can still purchase their favourite books through MPH’s website, saving them the need for physical trips to the outlets, especially if they are located far away. If it can survive for 100 years in the business, then it shouldn’t be surprising if it go on for another 100.
Sources: MPHOnline, VulcanPost, Instagram, NLB
