Inspired by Written Words

The rise of e-books and articles means that traditional print books are fast becoming a dying trend. Despite this, Syarifina, the great grand daughter of an established bookstore in the Malay community, remains hopeful about it.

Syarifina’s cosy bookstore ‘Singapura’ boasts a long family history. Established in 1922, it has witnessed the growth of four generations and the rise of Singapore itself. A love of books has always run in this family’s blood as Haji Hashim bin Haji Abdullah followed his father’s footsteps with the opening of Haji Hashim Bookstore at 134 Arab Street. This bookstore boasts a range of featured books written and published by his Uncles. Eventually, a new outlet opened to its current location at Joo Chiat Complex.
This family bookstore has proved that books can mainstay as a business in this digital era. In fact, over time, Haji Hashim bin Haji Abdullah determination and commitment with Haji Hashim Bookstore has become a significant part of the community. For the past 15 years, the bookstore used the traditional way of recording sales until 2013, which was replaced with the Point of Sales system to increase the efficiency.
With the success of Haji Hashim Bookstore, Syarafina Hashim, daughter of Haji Yusof Bin Haji Hashim decided to continue her family’s legacy digitally with The Buku Bookstore. As we chat with Syarafina, her childhood memories are still fresh in her mind.

She reminisces the moments of burying her head in the books at her family bookstore. Previously an education executive, transitioning from a 9–5 job to starting The Buku Bookstore required a leap of faith. With a strong desire to expand her family business, Syarafina believed she could reach an audience digitally with more choices, especially with the range of Malay fiction books.
After exploring the different e-commerce hosts and designs for the website for 5 months, Buku Bookstore launched in 2017. Syarafina firmly believes the online platform is her way of expanding her great grandfather’s legacy. Venturing out on her own is still a mystery to her family, but a step forward to bringing Mother Tongue books back.
