THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Leaving the Nest 77
Field work was ably led by Raja Mahmud, and just as in class, he
hardly spoke a word. One student wittily described the situation, “I think
he is afraid to open his mouth for fear the gold he keeps in his mouth
will tumble out.” So, during breaks at the farm, we chatted among
ourselves about things young people talk about. He never once scolded
us, but when he was displeased, we could detect a disapproving ‘chet,
chet’ from his lips. That was all.
Our final marks depended heavily on our vegetable plots. Some toiled
all the time with little success, while others, with green fingers, easily
found success. I belonged to the latter category.
Our field trips took us to the Lake Gardens, an oil mill in Kelang, a
match factory in Morib, pineapple and coconut plantations, and the world
famous Rubber Research Institute (RRI) estates in Sungai Buloh.
The Bean Forgets Its Pod
This is the story of how I almost became an ingrate, ‘the bean that forgot
its pod’. In anticipation of the approaching Hari Raya Haji (a major
Muslim celebration), we received $23, a half-month advance of our
allowance. That was my first allowance.
That evening, two of my acquaintances, former students employed
by the Kuala Lumpur DA Headquarters, invited me on a trip to Port
Dickson, a popular beach resort seventy miles south of Kuala Lumpur.
We rode in a taxi driven by a Thai with a severe crew cut. While
travelling, I was asked to operate the gramophone that had been brought
along. In Port Dickson, we ate fried noodles at a Japanese-owned
restaurant in Teluk Kemang. That was the first time I tasted Ajinomoto
(a Japanese brand of monosodium glutamate), a very popular food taste
enhancer in Malaysia today.
I was lucky my new friends did not take advantage of me. We split
the cost of the trip according to the size of our salaries, so I still had
some money left to send home. The next day, like all filial Malay sons, I
rushed to the post office to send some money to Matang by registered
post. This became a monthly ritual. I would not be able to rest easy until
I had put some money in an envelope and posted it to my family.
First Introduction to Politics
While in my third year (1930), Mr V.C. Dawson, a Canadian lecturer with
a BSc from McGill, joined the school to assist Mr Mann teach chemistry
and physics. A very diligent and serious educator, it took us several
months to get used to his North American accent.