When she was just 10, she was promised in marriage to a man in Penang. She refused to marry him and persuaded her parents to let her finish school. When she was 15, she led a strike at her school to protest against a government decision that dashed her dreams of becoming a teacher.

The independent, activist streak that Saleha Mohamed Shah showed as a child led her, as an adult, to produce a magazine with the aim of getting Malay women to read and broaden their world view.

Fashion was the first publication for Malay women in the Southeast Asian region. Written in Jawi, the magazine had, at its peak, a monthly distribution of some 100,000 copies. It has been described as ‘an agent of change for the development of the modern Malay woman’.

Saleha was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to a family of modest means. Soon after she was born, the family moved to Singapore in search of a better life. Her father found work as a driver while her mother was, before the Japanese Occupation, a housekeeper for a British family.

As Saleha approached puberty, she was promised in marriage to a man in Penang. But Saleha wanted to continue her education and managed to convince her parents to let her do this: “I told them, if you let me study, I will change your life. And I did.”

Saleha continued her studies at Sekolah Perempuan Melayu Scotts Road (Scotts Road Malay Girls’ School). Her heart was set on becoming a teacher because, as she explained, “in those days being a teacher was one of the prestigious jobs that many Malay girls dreamed of getting. I just didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of my mother.”

But in 1951, when she was in Form Six, this dream was dashed when the Inspector of Schools announced that no more student teachers would be recruited. The practice had been for graduating students of the school to automatically become trainee teachers.

Angered that she would not be able to fulfil her promise to her parents, Saleha led the 132 Standard Six girls in a threatened boycott of the year-end examinations. The matter was eventually resolved, and the examinations took place even though there was no change in the policy on trainee teachers.

Her plan of becoming a teacher thwarted, Saleha turned to journalism. She was encouraged to do so by Kak Midah, a reporter who covered the students’ protest.

Saleha had already started freelancing for Utusan Zaman, a weekly publication, when she was a student. On leaving school, she joined the editorial team at the new daily newspaper Melayu Raya, then moved to Filem Raya, a weekly magazine. She also did a stint as an announcer on Malay radio.

Then she was hired as the editor – and sole writer – of Fashion, a lifestyle magazine with entertainment news, fashion tips, recipes, short stories, and ‘pantun’ or poetry. It began in 1953 as a monthly publication but proved so popular that the publishers decided to make it a weekly.

“I took news from English newspapers and translated it. There was no team of writers. I handled everything from writing the articles, selecting the pictures, and working with the art team and printers,” said Saleha. “My aim was to get the Malay women to start reading and broaden their mindset. I wanted them to be curious and start thinking of life outside their homes.”

Writing in the magazine with the pen name of Haliza Mohd Som, Saleha built a strong following among Malay women. At the weekends, busloads of fans from Malaysia visited the magazine’s office to meet and be photographed with her.

In 1963, she resigned as Editor of Fashion in order to contest the General Election as a candidate for Partai Rakyat (Singapore State Division) in the Kampong Kembangan ward. A friend who was going to run as the candidate had to pull out so Saleha decided to take her place.

She had no political experience, but that did not stop her. To pay the election deposit, she sold her gold bangles and then she took to the streets, knocking on doors and speaking at election rallies.

Saleha was the only woman of the five candidates for the seat, and managed to secure a respectable 18.1 per cent of the vote and thus did not lose her deposit. She said later: “I didn’t care that I lost because my message of helping the poor got out.”

After this one and only foray into politics, she did not return to journalism. She was introduced to Tupperware and became the first Malay Tupperware agent. After a few years, she returned to the media industry as a translator and then became a copywriter, working for many of the big names in advertising, such as Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather.

Saleha recalled a highlight of her copywriting career: “One thing I’m very proud of is coining the brand name HARMUNI. I had to come up with a name that would appeal to the Malay community. HARMUNI is a combination of harum (fragrant), muai (expansion), and murni (pure) – the emphasis being on its halal status.”

In the 1970s, Saleha served a term as president of the Malay Journalists’ Union, and was also a committee member of the Singapore National Union of Journalists. In 1983, she was presented with the Malay Journalist Association Memorial Award in recognition of her contributions as a journalist and her service to the association.

Saleha remained active well into her 70s, continuing her copywriting work on a part-time basis. When she moved with her son and his family to Sengkang, she got involved in grassroots work and chaired the Sengkang Malay Activity Executive Committee for a term. In 2013 she returned briefly to the political stage – speaking at a People’s Action Party rally during the Punggol East by-election.

Saleha only began to slow down in her late 80s. She died in April 2023, just a few weeks after she was inducted to the Hall of Fame. 

When she was just 10, she was promised in marriage to a man in Penang. She refused to marry him and persuaded her parents to let her finish school. When she was 15, she led a strike at her school to protest against a government decision that dashed her dreams of becoming a teacher.

The independent, activist streak that Saleha Mohamed Shah showed as a child led her, as an adult, to produce a magazine with the aim of getting Malay women to read and broaden their world view.

Fashion was the first publication for Malay women in the Southeast Asian region. Written in Jawi, the magazine had, at its peak, a monthly distribution of some 100,000 copies. It has been described as ‘an agent of change for the development of the modern Malay woman’.

Saleha was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to a family of modest means. Soon after she was born, the family moved to Singapore in search of a better life. Her father found work as a driver while her mother was, before the Japanese Occupation, a housekeeper for a British family.

As Saleha approached puberty, she was promised in marriage to a man in Penang. But Saleha wanted to continue her education and managed to convince her parents to let her do this: “I told them, if you let me study, I will change your life. And I did.”

Saleha continued her studies at Sekolah Perempuan Melayu Scotts Road (Scotts Road Malay Girls’ School). Her heart was set on becoming a teacher because, as she explained, “in those days being a teacher was one of the prestigious jobs that many Malay girls dreamed of getting. I just didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of my mother.”

But in 1951, when she was in Form Six, this dream was dashed when the Inspector of Schools announced that no more student teachers would be recruited. The practice had been for graduating students of the school to automatically become trainee teachers.

Angered that she would not be able to fulfil her promise to her parents, Saleha led the 132 Standard Six girls in a threatened boycott of the year-end examinations. The matter was eventually resolved, and the examinations took place even though there was no change in the policy on trainee teachers.

Her plan of becoming a teacher thwarted, Saleha turned to journalism. She was encouraged to do so by Kak Midah, a reporter who covered the students’ protest.

Saleha had already started freelancing for Utusan Zaman, a weekly publication, when she was a student. On leaving school, she joined the editorial team at the new daily newspaper Melayu Raya, then moved to Filem Raya, a weekly magazine. She also did a stint as an announcer on Malay radio.

Then she was hired as the editor – and sole writer – of Fashion, a lifestyle magazine with entertainment news, fashion tips, recipes, short stories, and ‘pantun’ or poetry. It began in 1953 as a monthly publication but proved so popular that the publishers decided to make it a weekly.

“I took news from English newspapers and translated it. There was no team of writers. I handled everything from writing the articles, selecting the pictures, and working with the art team and printers,” said Saleha. “My aim was to get the Malay women to start reading and broaden their mindset. I wanted them to be curious and start thinking of life outside their homes.”

Writing in the magazine with the pen name of Haliza Mohd Som, Saleha built a strong following among Malay women. At the weekends, busloads of fans from Malaysia visited the magazine’s office to meet and be photographed with her.

In 1963, she resigned as Editor of Fashion in order to contest the General Election as a candidate for Partai Rakyat (Singapore State Division) in the Kampong Kembangan ward. A friend who was going to run as the candidate had to pull out so Saleha decided to take her place.

She had no political experience, but that did not stop her. To pay the election deposit, she sold her gold bangles and then she took to the streets, knocking on doors and speaking at election rallies.

Saleha was the only woman of the five candidates for the seat, and managed to secure a respectable 18.1 per cent of the vote and thus did not lose her deposit. She said later: “I didn’t care that I lost because my message of helping the poor got out.”

After this one and only foray into politics, she did not return to journalism. She was introduced to Tupperware and became the first Malay Tupperware agent. After a few years, she returned to the media industry as a translator and then became a copywriter, working for many of the big names in advertising, such as Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather.

Saleha recalled a highlight of her copywriting career: “One thing I’m very proud of is coining the brand name HARMUNI. I had to come up with a name that would appeal to the Malay community. HARMUNI is a combination of harum (fragrant), muai (expansion), and murni (pure) – the emphasis being on its halal status.”

In the 1970s, Saleha served a term as president of the Malay Journalists’ Union, and was also a committee member of the Singapore National Union of Journalists. In 1983, she was presented with the Malay Journalist Association Memorial Award in recognition of her contributions as a journalist and her service to the association.

Saleha remained active well into her 70s, continuing her copywriting work on a part-time basis. When she moved with her son and his family to Sengkang, she got involved in grassroots work and chaired the Sengkang Malay Activity Executive Committee for a term. In 2013 she returned briefly to the political stage – speaking at a People’s Action Party rally during the Punggol East by-election.

Saleha only began to slow down in her late 80s. She died in April 2023, just a few weeks after she was inducted to the Hall of Fame.