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; In 1932, Yusof joined
Warta Malaya, a Malay newspaper with the highest
circulation during 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 Malaya was heavily influenced by developments in the Middle East and Yusof wanted a newspaper more dedicated to Malay issues; the other largest Malay newspaper 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 the president of the Singapore Malay Union 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 lack of support. A consensus was reached to launch the 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. 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 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 and 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,
Utusan Melayu 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 at
Berita Malai for a year, when he resigned following disagreements with editor Ibrahim Ya'cob. He then returned back to
Taiping, Perak; he told his boss that he was unwell and resting in Taiping. While there, he ran a provisions shop and returned to Singapore after the
Japanese surrendered. In the late 1940s, Yusof went on a trip to Europe to learn from the newspaper industry in an attempt to improve
Utusan. He was impressed by British newspaper companies' printing machinery and learnt about article writing. After returning from Europe, he recruited cartoonist Salihuddin as he wanted to include visuals with
Utusan's articles. He also wanted to expand on literary writing in the newspaper and gave the duty to writer
Keris Mas, who had worked on
Utusan's
Mastika. In 1948, Yusof criticised the Dutch's ban on
Utusan Zaman in Indonesia, but did not appeal for it to be lifted. Following talks with Dutch officials, Yusof stated that they were attempting to be "friendly" with the
Utusan-type newspapers. That same year, he was also a member of the first Malayan press delegation to London. In 1949,
Utusan celebrated its tenth anniversary and Yusof gave a speech where he stated that "[
Utusans] 130 employees owned more than 25 per cent of the firm's total capital", further stating that it "was perhaps the only newspaper in the world in which 95 per cent of the employees were shareholders". In 1950, Yusof and the Utusan Melayu Press Ltd. appeared before the
Supreme Court to show cause for
contempt of court, following a publication of a newspaper featuring
Michael Joseph Nonis on the front cover. Crown Council A. V. Winslow stated that the picture of Nonis under police escort was a contempt of court, as it showed his identity. Yusof explained that he was involved with the addition of a new printing machine and gave the supervision of
Utusan to the sub-editor, leaving him unavailable to decide the picture's use that day. Yusof apologised for its use, which was accepted by Chief Justice
Charles Murray-Aynsley, but they had to pay the costs of the case.
(pictured) when he worked at Laycock & Ong. Following the end of
World War II, Yusof's views were more
anti-colonial and
pro-independence, mainly following the British's performance during the war. This was seen in
Utusans publications as its tone became more progressive and political. Sometime after the war, Yusof wanted to replace
Utusans legal advisor –
Progressive Party founder
C. C. Tan – with someone with a more "radical, nationalist outlook". After consulting with lawyer
John Laycock, Yusof was informed that a young lawyer,
Lee Kuan Yew, was soon to return from England to work at his firm Laycock & Ong. Yusof then met with Lee at the Laycock & Ong office and they became good friends and fellow
nationalists. In 1951, Yusof got help from Lee to represent his friend
Abdul Samad Ismail after he was detained by the British; Abdul would later be a founding member of the
People's Action Party with Lee. In his
memoirs, Lee described Yusof in their meeting as a "tall, Indian-looking Malay in his late 40s, with a long, thin, un-Malay nose" and that he "[spoke] English well but in a hesitant manner and with a slight stammer". In 1952, he commented on the
Malayan Chinese Association's donation of to the Malay community, stating that the "gift should only be accepted if there are no strings attached" as it was ahead of the
upcoming election. In 1954, Murray-Aynsley fined Yusof, as
Utusan managing director, for the newspaper's involvement in posting an
editorial relating to the
1954 National Service riots. In 1955, he was appointed into the government Malayanisation Committee, which looked into the "
malayanisation" efforts that the government could implement. He was the only Malay invited to the committee.
Departure from Utusan In 1957, Yusof moved to Kuala Lumpur and, in February 1958, the headquarters of
Utusan Melayu were also relocated to the city. With only a branch office left in Singapore, the move positioned the newspaper as more Malaya-based. Even though
Utusan was an independent newspaper, it became a supporter of the
United Malay Nationalist Organisation (UMNO) and the
Alliance Party, especially after the war. Yusof, as
Utusans managing director, stated of the UMNO and the Alliance Party:The
Utusan Melayu has been a strong supporter of the UMNO and lately of the [Alliance Party], particularly during the first
federal election of 1955, because the
Utusan was launched with the expressed object of raising the status of our people, country and religion, and such an object could not be achieved if
colonialism were to exist. The [Alliance Party], as everybody knows, was the only political party which articulately strove for independence and freedom. This explains the reason why
Utusan Melayu has always been pro-UMNO and the [Alliance Party].However, as
Utusan adopted a more
socialist slant in the 1950s, it soon came into conflict with UMNO's beliefs. While the newspaper continued supporting the Malays,
Utusan published some articles which were considered critical of UMNO and
Utusans deputy editor referred to
the Sultans as "feudal elements". UMNO then began buying
shares from
Utusan in 1955 in an attempt to control the newspaper. Yusof initially resisted the UMNO's attempts but finally left in 1959 after he sold all his shares. == Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore (1959–1965) ==