MPH Group
MPH Group (M) Sdn Bhd is a private Malaysian retailer and publisher best known for books, magazines, stationery and greeting cards. It operates MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd and the online shop MPHOnline.com, and it also handles printing, publishing and book distribution in Malaysia and Singapore. The group is based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, and runs about 15 locations with several subsidiaries: MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd, MPH Distributors Sdn Bhd, MPH Group Printing and MPH Group Publishing.
The history goes back to 1890 when Captain W.G. Shellabear started the Amelia Bishop Press in Singapore to publish Christian works. It later became the American Mission Press, and then the Methodist Publishing House (MPH) in 1906, a name that stuck as the company grew to publish Malay literature. The business operated from a landmark Singapore building that housed both printing and an MPH bookstore for decades. The company’s name changed to Malaya Publishing House in 1927 and to Malaysia Publishing House in 1963, though the MPH acronym stayed.
MPH changed ownership several times: an Indonesian group led by Masagung acquired it in 1966, followed by Hong Kong’s Jack Chia-MPH in 1972 and Singaporean Simon Cheong in 1999. In 2002, Jalinan Inspirasi Sdn Bhd bought MPH, making it wholly Malaysian-owned for the first time.
By 2019 MPH had a large bookstore presence in Malaysia and Singapore, with a strong footprint in the Klang Valley and stores in places like Mid Valley; Singapore stores were at Raffles City, Parkway Parade and SingPost Centre. In 2020, after COVID-19 disruptions and store closures, MPH announced a shift toward online and digital services, consolidating non-performing stores, introducing high-tech vending machines and an interactive e-learning platform, while keeping key physical locations. MPH has also expanded its online retail since 2000 through MPHOnline.com.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:53 (CET).