John Robson

John Henry Matthews Robson CBE (8 May 1870 – 1945) was a British colonial administrator and founder of the Malay Mail newspaper, the first daily newspaper to be published in the Federated Malay States.

Early life Robson was born on 8 May 1870, the eldest son of Rev Robson of Guildford, Surrey, and was educated at Christ's College, Finchley.

In 1896, Robson resigned as a government official and founded the Malay Mail, the first daily newspaper to be published in the Federated Malay States. He had had some previous experience in journalism having co-founded and contributed to the short-lived Selangor Journal (1892 to 1897).

Whilst head of the Malay Mail, he also served on numerous boards and committees including the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board, and as a founder member of the Federal Council where he served from 1909 to 1918. On the occasion of the newspaper's golden jubilee in 1947 Edward Gent, Governor of the Malayan Union unveiled a tablet in his honour as founder.

Publications People in a Native State, Selangor Laws (1896), and Records and Recollections 1889-1934 (1934).

Robson died as a prisoner of war in 1945 having been incarcerated by the Japanese army in Singapore. Jalan Robson and Robson Heights in Kuala Lumpur were named after him.