Yusof bin Ishak Al-Haj ( ; 12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean journalist and civil servant who served as the head of state of Singapore from 1959 to 1970: as the second Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore between 1959 and 1965 and the first president of Singapore between 1965 and 1970.
Born in the Federated Malay States, Yusof received his education in Malaysia and Singapore, graduating from Raffles Institution in 1929. He worked in journalism, creating a sports magazine with friends before joining Warta Malaya, a Malay-language daily newspaper. Leaving Warta in 1938, Yusof co-founded Utusan Melayu, a newspaper more centred on Malay issues, in 1939 with other Malay figures in Singapore.
He was a central figure in Utusans success, staying with the newspaper for two decades. However, he left in 1959 following conflicts between Utusan and the UMNO, which culminated in the UMNO buying all of their shares in order to better control the newspaper's political viewpoints. Returning to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, Yusof was invited to serve as chairman of the Public Service Commission by prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who had been appointed following the People's Action Party's success at the 1959 general election. On 3 December 1959, he succeeded Sir William Goode as Yang di-Pertuan Negara. He would serve in this role until 1965, when Singapore gained independence from Malaysia and the post of Yang di-Pertuan Negara was replaced by the president of Singapore.
Yusof served three terms as head of state before his death in office on 23 November 1970 due to heart failure. During his presidency, he was known for his multi-racial beliefs, especially in the 1960s, when he was a strong supporter of Singapore's merger with Malaya. Even after Singapore's split, he continued to spread the idea of a multi-racial society. Yusof also believed in education and supported talks on religion. Following his death, he was succeeded by Benjamin Sheares on 2 January 1971. Several places in Singapore bear his name, and his portrait appears on the current Singapore Portrait Series currency notes introduced in 1999.
Early life
Birth and ancestry Yusof was born on 12 August 1910 in Padang Gajah, Terong, Perak, which was then a part of the Federated Malay States (present-day West Malaysia), to Ishak bin Ahmad and Eishah Tun Haji Aminuddin. The eldest son of nine siblings, Yusof was of Malay and Sumatran descent. His father was of Minangkabau descent and lived in Penang before moving to Perak, whilst his mother was of Malay descent and came from Langkat, North Sumatra. Yusof and his family lived in government housing at McNair Road.
Yusof's family historically originated from Sumatra. His father Ishak was raised on reformist beliefs and, according to Yusof's brother Abdul Rahim Ishak, taught the Quran to his children with a more modern view. Ishak also attended English-language education, which was considered unconventional at the time, and later sent his children to English schools as well. Ishak worked as a civil servant who once held the post of acting director of fisheries. Two of Yusof's younger brothers, Aziz and Abdul Rahim, grew up to be active in politics in Malaysia and Singapore, respectively.
Education Yusof received his primary education at Kuala Kurau School and a Malay school, before attending the King Edward VII School, all located in Taiping, Perak; his father tend to relocate between Perak and Singapore, as he believed that the Japanese would attack from the south. In 1923, when Ishak was posted to Singapore as acting director of the fisheries department, the family relocated there and Yusof continued his education at Victoria Bridge School. In 1924, he was enrolled in Raffles Institution (RI) for his secondary education. RI was considered a prestigious school, and he was part of a few Malays that attended RI.
During his time in RI, he played various sports such as swimming, weight lifting, water-polo, boxing, hockey, basketball, and cricket. A member of the National Cadet Corps, Yusof was the first student to be appointed as an officer, holding the rank of second lieutenant. He was also a co-editor of school newspaper The Rafflesian and a prefect. In sports, he won the Aw Boon Par Cup in boxing and was the national weightlifting champion in 1932 and 1933, respectively. In 1927, Yusof passed his Cambridge School Certificate examination with distinctions and entered the Queen's Scholarship Class in RI. He was one of 13 students in the Queen's Scholarship Class, along with being the only Malay student. He studied at RI for two more years, graduating in 1929 when he was unable to get the scholarship.
Yusof initially intended to pursue law, but his study application in London was rejected and his father could not afford to send him overseas. Instead, he began working at the Federated Malay States Police Academy in Kuala Lumpur as a trainee cadet. Yusof was promised a promotion to officer by the police commissioner, but it was later withdrawn after he stood up to a Malaysian royal family member who had mistreated his juniors. He left the police force soon after and returned to Singapore. Additionally, while in secondary school, Yusof joined the youth wing of the Singapore Malay Union (KMS) and, by 1938, became its secretary-general.
Journalism career In Singapore, he began his journalism career by co-founding the fortnightly sports magazine Sportsman with two Chinese friends – Ong Chin Beng and Soh Swee Tuck; Yusof's mother gave him to start the magazine. In 1932, Yusof joined Warta Malaya, a Malay newspaper with the highest circulation at that time, as a clerk at the invitation of his friend Syed Hussein bin Ali Alsagoff. He worked at Warta for a few years, becoming a manager and acting director. During his time there, Warta was heavily influenced by developments in the Middle East and Yusof wanted a newspaper more dedicated to Malay issues; the other largest Malay newspaper at the time was Jawi Peranakan, which was run by Muslims of Indian descent.
Founding and management of Utusan Melayu In January 1938, Yusof and twenty other Malays met with KMS president Inche Daud bin Mohd to discuss establishing a Malay-owned newspaper to better represent their views. The discussion focused on the creation and management of such a project, as a similar attempt in 1937 had failed due to a lack of support. A consensus was reached to launch a newspaper, and Yusof was assigned to investigate the feasibility and gather funds for the project; he was also chosen due to his previous experience with Warta. They registered the Utusan Melayu Press Ltd. on 18 June 1932, and to raise funds for the newspaper, Yusof and other members travelled around Singapore, Johor, and Kuala Lumpur to sell shares. However, they were only able to sell a few. They also visited mosques weekly and held talks to the congregation about their newspaper, usually receiving a lukewarm reception. Furthermore, Yusof contacted experienced journalist Abdul Rahim Kajai of Warta Malaya to secure his support and got him to join the newspaper; Yusof subsequently nominated himself for the role of the newspaper's manager. As the deadline approached, members Ambo Sooloh and Daud J. P. contributed $8,500 between themselves to cover the shortfall and save the project. A total of $18,000 was raised.
On 29 May 1939, Yusof and other Malay figures, including Sooloh and Daud, founded Utusan Melayu, with Yusof serving as its first managing director for the next two decades. He rented out a cheap office in Queen Street and a moveable jawi flatbed press from Hong Kong. Initial sales were low, but Yusof and the other members continued to work twelve hour workdays weekly. Early challenges faced by Utusan included low readership; in the first few months, they published 1,000 copies per issue, but sales were lower than Yusof expected and copies were eventually reduced to 600. Utusan also faced financial issues, and Yusof often loaned money from Daud in order to pay his employees. He also converted a space on the first floor into a living area for himself. Utusan reporter Ali Salim stated that "it took quite some time before we managed to have about four decent tables with drawers" for their office, and that sometimes "the editorial staff worked till late at night and slept in the office". Due to Utusan's poor performance, many doubted that it would survive for long; Warta published headlines that insulted their competitor. Abdul Rahim, whom Yusof previously secured the support of, delayed his transfer from Warta over to Utusan for a few months. Eventually, once Abdul Rahim joined in August 1939, Utusan would perform better. In November 1939, they would launch two new weekly papers, Utusan Zaman and Mastika.
Under Yusof's management, he was described as "the driving force of Utusan Melayu". Writers were punished for writing or grammar mistakes and corrected while inactive reporters were fired immediately, but received a month's pay. During the Pacific War, despite suffering a decrease in staff and frequent bombing from the Japanese, Yusof and other staff continued to publish Utusan Melayu. According to one account, during the bombings of 1941, Yusof ignored the air-raid sirens and made the staff continue working on Utusan. A lookout was stationed on the roof and Yusof only permitted staff to head to the bomb shelters when Japanese planes were directly overhead; this allowed Utusan to remain on schedule during the war. His editorial policy at Utusan was Malay-Muslim centred, multi-racial, and progressive, and he supported education in the Malay community. Due to his beliefs of multi-racialism and racial equality, he was a controversial figure in the Malay community as he did not attribute challenges faced by the Malay community to other groups, nor did he defend the Malay royal families. By 1958, Utusan's daily circulation would reach around 30,000, the largest amount ever achieved by any Malay newspaper at that time.
Two days before the fall of Singapore, Utusan had only printed about fifty copies. Despite that, Yusof went around with three other staff members to distribute the newspaper themselves. At the start of the Japanese occupation, they stopped circulation as machinery used to print the paper was requisitioned by the Japanese military to publish a Japanese newspaper instead. Yusof was detained by the Japanese for two weeks before being released and ordered to work as an editor at Berita Malai – a Malay newspaper that was run by the Japanese. Yusof only worked there for a year, when he resigned following disagreements with editor Ibrahim Ya'cob. He then returned to Taiping; he told his boss that he was unwell and resting. While there, he ran a provisions shop and returned to Singapore after the Japanese surrendered.