Singai Nesan (, English: Singapore Friend, also transliterated as Cinkai Necan) was a Tamil language weekly newspaper published from Singapore from 1887 to 1890.Amrith, Sunil S. Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants. 2013. pp. 166–167Feener, R. Michael, and Terenjit Sevea. Islamic Connections: Muslim Societies in South and Southeast Asia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009. p. 60Lim, Patricia Pui Huen. Newspapers Published in the Malaysian Area, with a Union List of Local Holdings. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1970. p. 190Heng, Derek Thiam Soon, and Syed Muhd. Khairudin Aljunied. Singapore in Global History. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2011. pp. 24, 74National Library of Singapore. Sinha, Vineeta. Religion-State Encounters in Hindu Domains: From the Straits Settlements to Singapore. Dordrecht [etc.]: Springer, 2011. p. 63 The newspaper also carried material in English and Malay. It is the oldest Tamil newspaper in Singapore of which a substantial number of issues has been saved in archives. The issues of Singai Nesan contains historical material on the religious life of Hindu and Muslim communities of Singapore.Sinha, Vineeta. Religion-State Encounters in Hindu Domains: From the Straits Settlements to Singapore. Dordrecht [etc.]: Springer, 2011. p. 84 S.K. Makadoom Saiboo was the editor of Singai Nesan.Thumboo, Edwin. The Fiction of Singapore. Singapore: Mentor Printers, n.d. p. 618Abdul Hakim Hj Mohd Yassin, Haji. Traditional Literature of ASEAN. [Quezon City]: ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information, 2000. p. 209
The first issue of the newspaper was published on 27 June 1887, in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.Lane, John. A Right Royal Feast: Menus from Royal Weddings and History's Greatest Banquets. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 2011. p. 38 The inaugural issue carried editorial articles in Tamil and English in honour of the Queen. The issue also carried a small editorial in Tamil in tribute to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
Singai Nesan had the majority of its subscribers in Singapore, but subscribers were also found in Batu Pahat, Klang, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Siam, Porto-Novo, Sibolga, Padang, Medan, Langkat, Saigon and Melaka. The majority of subscribers were Muslims, but the readership also included Hindus and Christians.Heng, Derek Thiam Soon, and Syed Muhd. Khairudin Aljunied. Singapore in Global History. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2011. pp. 87–88 It was published by Denodaya Press, which printed both Malay and Tamil literature.
Large chunks of the material printed in Singai Nesan were borrowed from the English-language press and the Reuters agency. Whilst it provided the Colombo-based newspapers Muslim Nesan and Sarvajana Nesan with article material from South-East Asia, the newspaper copied material from them on Middle Eastern affairs.Heng, Derek Thiam Soon, and Syed Muhd. Khairudin Aljunied. Singapore in Global History. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2011. p. 82
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