Do you know the People’s Action Party’s publication, Petir, is the Malay translation of the word “lightning” – a reference to the PAP logo.

Published in April 1956, Petir reaches out to members across all branches in Singapore. Back then, each copy cost 15 cents and was available in other languages too. There were also anniversary editions to commemorate the PAP’s founding!

In the early days, core Party leaders such as Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Lim Kim San, and Mr S. Rajaratnam wrote frequently in Petir to share PAP policies with Singaporeans.  

And the task of editing these articles was given to Encik Othman Wok, an Old Guard Leader, a former journalist at Utusan Melayu, who had joined the PAP in 1954.

Petir has since evolved – from a broadsheet to a weekly newsletter, to a bimonthly magazine in the 1990s, and then a quarterly magazine in 2013.