
Soenting Melajoe (
EYD: ) was a
Malay language
Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...
newspaper published in
Padang
Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...
,
Sumatra's Westkust Regency,
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
from 1912 to 1921. Its full title was Soenting Melajoe: soerat chabar perempoean di Alam Minang Kabau (Malay : Newspaper for women in the
Minangkabau
Minangkabau may refer to:
* Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people
* Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center
* Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see bel ...
land). It was edited by
Ruhana Kuddus
Ruhana Kuddus, or Rohana KudusAlthough it's incorrect in Indonesian Spelling System, Perfect Spelling, this version is more popular name. (Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: Roehana Koeddoes; 20 December 1884 – 17 August 1972) was ...
, an early women's education activist, and was the first newspaper for women published in West Sumatra.
History
The newspaper was launched on July 10, 1912, by
Mahyuddin Datuk Sutan Maharadja, a
Minangkabau
Minangkabau may refer to:
* Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people
* Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center
* Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see bel ...
intellectual and editor of the newspaper ''
Oetoesan Melajoe'' who thought that there should be a reformist newspaper aimed at a female audience in
Padang
Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...
.
At that point there had only been a handful of Indies newspapers edited by Indonesians and aimed at a female audience, such as Lim Titie Nio's launched in 1906, or
Tirto Adhi Soerjo
Tirto Adhi Soerjo ( EYD: Tirto Adhi Suryo, born Djokomono; – 7 December 1918) was an Indonesian journalist known for his sharp criticism of the Dutch colonial government. Born to a noble Javanese family in Blora, Central Java, Tirto first st ...
's ''
Poetri Hindia'', launched in 1908; both papers were from
Buitenzorg
Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide. ,
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
.
Maharadja had already heard about the educational activities of
Ruhana Kuddus
Ruhana Kuddus, or Rohana KudusAlthough it's incorrect in Indonesian Spelling System, Perfect Spelling, this version is more popular name. (Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: Roehana Koeddoes; 20 December 1884 – 17 August 1972) was ...
, who ran a successful and modern school for girls in Koto Gadang (near
Bukittinggi
Bukittinggi (, Jawi script, Jawi: , formerly ) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 121,028 in 2020.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. An official es ...
), and when she corresponded with him he agreed to create the newspaper with her as the editor-in-chief. (According to some accounts, it was Maharadja who had first contacted her.
) In this editorial role she was assisted by Soetan Maharadja's daughter Zoebaidah Ratna Djoewita; the two of them would remain co-editors for the following decade, although Ruhana was more prominent.
When launching the paper, Ruhana stated that it would aim to improve the education level of Indonesian women, especially as few of them could read Dutch and relatively few modern educational materials were available in the Malay language.
During its nine-year run, the newspaper discussed the social issues of the day, including traditionalism, polygamy, divorce, and girls' education.
It was fairly unique in its time in that most of its contributors were women; it created a fairly open and honest forum to discuss the issues they faced.
Many of the contributors were wives of government officials or aristocrats.
Eventually the continued publication of the newspaper inspired the creation of more educational societies like the one Ruhana had created in 1911, and students from those more remote schools and clubs became the younger generation of contributors of poetry and letters to the newspaper.
Over time its readership also expanded beyond West Sumatra to
Bandung
Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
,
Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
,
Bengkulu
Bengkulu (), historically known as Bencoolen, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historic Bencoolen Residency from the province of ...
and other parts of the Indies.
Because this, they hired some of their contributors from other cities as editors-at-large, including Sitti Noermah from Padang and Amna bint Abdul Karim from Bengkulu in 1917, and Sitti Djatiah Pasar Djohar from
Kayu Tanam in 1919.
Despite its decade of popularity, encountered difficulties in 1921 due to being tied to the support of Soetan Maharadja and his other newspaper . In January 1921 Roehana left as editor and Soetan Maharadja appointed his daughter Retna Tenoen as the new editor. However, both and ceased publication in January 1921.
Notes
{{Commons category, Surat kabar Soenting Melajoe
References
Malay-language newspapers published in the Dutch East Indies
1912 establishments in the Dutch East Indies
Minangkabau
Malay-language newspapers
Newspapers established in 1912
1920s disestablishments in the Dutch East Indies
1921 disestablishments