THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Malay Poverty, Ganja and Speed 83
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Agricultural Assistant:
Malay Poverty, Ganja and Speed
Blessed with my parents’ prayers, I passed my final Department of Agriculture
examination with flying colours, entitling me to a higher starting
salary and the privilege of choosing the position I most desired. With the
dream of owning a magnificent motorcycle still burning brightly in my
heart, I chose a position that involved much travel, as an Agricultural
Assistant (AA) in the field. Extension work was, without question, more
appealing than a job at the Head Office Laboratory.
I was designated Malay Agricultural Assistant II in charge of two
districts – as an advisor for the Kinta District and as an instructor for the
Batang Padang District. It was the most important AA post in my home
state of Perak. I had big shoes to fill. My predecessor was Enchik Tak
bin Haji Daud (later Datuk), the late stepfather of the Sultan of Perak (in
2004), considered the best AA in the entire state. British officers fought
to employ him and would hold on to him for as long as they could. Yet,
his workmates called him ‘stupid’ for being too diligent, for spending too
much time at work, and for carrying bundles of files and lugging his heavy
typewriter home at the end of each workday.
May 1, 1931 – my first day at work – remains vivid in my mind even
though forty-five years have passed. Soon after disembarking at the Tapah
Road Railway Station, I made my way to the Tapah Agricultural Office,
my first workplace, located in the same wooden building as the Tapah
Health Office.
My first boss, Enchik Ariffin bin Haji Abbas, Deputy Agricultural
Officer answerable to the British State Agricultural Officer based in
Taiping, was waiting for me. When I wished him, “Good morning, Sir,”
he gave a small smile that said very little. Good-looking and tall for a
Malay, Ariffin was on the heavy side. He was simply dressed in a white
short-sleeved cotton shirt, starched khaki pants and a pair of chunky
brown shoes. As he silently read my recommendation letter, written by
the Chief Field Officer for Malaya, Mr F.W. South, I took the opportunity