The Development of Science, Technical and Medical Scholarly Journals in Malaysia

The publication of Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern India in 1874 signaled the birth of academic journals in Malaysia. The first medical journal, The Journal of Straits Medical Journal appeared in 1890. Subsequently, in the beginning of 20th century with the expansion of the British colonial administration several research institutes were established out of which the Institute of Medical Research and the Rubber Research Institute were prominent examples. The establishment of the University of Malaya in 1954 further promoted research and publication activities. In the post-independence era, the growth of tertiary education as well as the increase in the number of the specialized research organizations accelerated the publication of journals in the fields of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM). This study looks at the early years of medical journals and the development of STM journals in contemporary Malaysia. The second part of the study touches on the advent of electronic scholarly journal publishing in Malaysia.