Ringing in the many changes

Initially in Malaya, telephones were meant for communications between the British Resident and his assistants,’ says Muzium Telekom assistant curator Fazmir.

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS in Malaysia was introduced way before Merdeka – in the 1870s, telegraph cables were laid undersea to link Malaya and Indonesia, and in 1879 the connection was expanded to London. Several lines were developed to link the key economic areas of the time, in particular the tin-rich Perak.

“Initially in Malaya, telephones were meant for communication between the British resident and his assistants, and later the lines were used to connect police stations and important government offices such as the Land Office, hospitals, Court of Justice and Post Office,” said Muzium Telekom assistant curator Fazmir Iryan Mohamed.

Soon, palaces around the country, as well as wealthy families began installing telecommunication lines.

“The most popular telephone before Merdeka was the Candlestick Telephone Tele 150. It remained in use in the country even after Malaya gained independence,” said Fazmir.

At the time of Merdeka, Malaya had 60,000 telephones nationwide and within seven years, this figure grew to 100,000. The rate of growth was considered to be one of the highest in the world at that time.

Telephones were imported from Sweden, Germany, Japan, Australia and Brazil, and some were even assembled here.

“One of the best ways to learn what types of phones were used back then is to watch the old P. Ramlee movies. His works inadvertently document the history of telephones,” Fazmir shared, adding that the Ericofon, by Swedish telephone manufacturer Ericsson, was one of the most popular home phones used in the olden days and was often featured in vintage P. Ramlee movies.

In the late 1970s, more people started to realise the importance of having a telephone so, in addition to offices, phones were also installed in homes.

In the 80s, dial phones were replaced by button phones, and in 1985 the Atur (Automatic Telephone Using Radio) by brands like Siemens, Ericsson and Panasonic were introduced in Malaysia.

“This pretty much started the transition from home phones to handphones. Back then, only businessmen carried these hefty mobile phones around. Then in the 1990s, the mobile phones became smaller and more people opted for them,” said Fazmir.

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the mobile phone market flooded with entries from companies such as Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson.

“Then the iPhone arrived in Malaysia in 2009, and we know what happened after that. The mobile phones became smartphones; they were slimmer and came with better technology,” he added.

Fazmir believes that Malaysia, and the world, will not see the progress of smartphones slowing down any time soon.

“It will evolve like it did before. Just like how the telephone became a smartphone, the smartphone will become something else.”

Leading the way in smartphone technology is South Korean tech giant Samsung, which entered the Malaysian market with Samsung S300 in 2003.

“Samsung’s vision is to inspire the world and create the future based on our creativity, innovation and technology. Moving forward, Samsung will continue to drive innovation in smart mobile devices, building on our deep understanding of how people interact with technology and each other,” said Samsung Malaysia Electronics chief marketing officer Elaine Soh.

“We will continue designing devices that will amplify users’ senses and allow our consumers to express their personality. It is our goal to enrich people’s lives through intuitive mobile devices, enabling truly connected living for everyone, everywhere.”