THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

102 Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain
I did try. I attended several drills, but soon my interest waned. It was
not in my blood. I have been a pacifist since childhood. I had given my
pet bird a decent burial with downcast eyes swimming in tears. How could
I ever learn to enjoy an avocation that taught me how to kill? On the
excuses that my health was not robust and gregarious enough, and being
saddled with too much work, I left the Volunteer Force.
Whenever Mr Mann took home leave – which often took months as
he had to take an ocean liner – Mr Dawson took charge. He was responsible
for upgrading my social standing and simultaneously uplifting my
spirits. I was often embarrassed, and the School should also have been,
when visitors pointed to my one-bedroom house and asked, “Is that the
gardener’s house?” With Mr Dawson’s help, I moved to a much larger
house. When I lamented that my additional duties as Hostel Warden, Food
Manager and Resident Teacher were not compensated, Mr Dawson kindly
wrote to the Director of Agriculture, who approved a small allowance.
When Europeans working at the Serdang Experimental Farm were
searching for a Malay-language teacher to help them through their
Standard I and Standard II Malay Language examinations, Mr Dawson
recommended me. Thus, my income improved and I managed to uphold
my standing as a teacher at the School. Noble of heart, Mr Dawson
assisted me in countless ways. But I remember him most for motivating
me politically, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart. Should he
still be alive, I welcome him to read this book and come up with his own
judgment. Was I a traitor? I do understand if he is still upset with me.
Who would not be if he knew that I was on the side of the enemy during
World War II?
Recommended to Cambridge or Trinidad
One afternoon, Selangor’s British Resident Mr T.S. Adams and the Sultan
of Selangor visited the School. After watching me lecture my Diploma
Course class, he left to discuss an important matter with Mr Mann. The
next day, I was invited to Mr Mann’s office. Other staff and students had
to knock on his door and wait for his stern “Come In,” but I could enter
his office at any time. I could even sit on his chair and smoke one of his
Players No. 3 cigarettes. Perhaps that was why students called me the
‘Second Mr Mann’.
After revealing that Mr T.S. Adams had suggested the School send a
student to Cambridge or Trinidad, where there was an excellent tropical
agricultural school, Mr Mann asked whom I would recommend. Two
names immediately came to mind: Hussain bin Haji Alang Samsuddin and