This Jawi typewriter, donated by Pustaka Nasional in 2012, belonged to Ustaz Syed Ahmad Semait, a religious teacher, editor, and founder of the publishing house. Acquired in the 1970s in Cairo, it produced letters and manuscripts in Arabic and Jawi, supporting his efforts to promote Islamic knowledge in the Malay language.Pustaka Nasional began as a bookshop at 40 Kandahar Street, with the vision of serving the Malay/Muslim community through quality publications. It played a role in developing Malay-language Islamic literature in Singapore. This typewriter formed part of its early publishing infrastructure, used to produce religious texts and educational materials.During the 19th and 20th centuries, Kampong Gelam was a major hub for Malay-language publishing, particularly in the Jawi script. Printers, bookstores, and publishing houses such as Malay Press and Warta Malaya Press flourished in the district, producing religious texts, literary works, and periodicals for a regional audience.Jawi typewriters like this one reflect the technological adaptations required for producing texts in non-Latin scripts. Before computers and digital typesetting, such machines were essential tools in the day-to-day operations of religious and literary publishing, sustaining intellectual exchange and cultural continuity across the Malay world.