THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

114 Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain
attempting to assert themselves as the rightful owners of this land. Like
other Malays, I was deeply affronted. Did they forget that when the
British landed on this land called Tanah Melayu (The Malay Land), there
already existed a flourishing Malay system of government, with Sultans,
Rajas and Chieftains? The British, through the East India Company, had
signed various treaties with the Malay Rulers. Beyond a shadow of a
doubt, this Malay Land, the same one the British chose to call Malaya,
belongs to the Malays.
As a result, the definition of ‘Malay’ was of paramount importance.
A heated discussion ensued in the Malay press. According to Abdul
Rahim Kajai, the prolific Malay writer, according to natural law a ‘Malay’
was defined by the race of his or her father. In an article entitled
‘Serdang Rooster’s Definition’, I wrote that if the pedigree of a mere
rooster was thus defined by natural law, this should also apply to humans!
My letter was well received. A spokesman from the Pahang Malay
Association agreed with me, but would not impose this definition on his
association’s membership.
A Scare
Every year twelve scholarships were allocated to Malay Diploma Course
students at the School of Agriculture, but a certain Board Meeting had
proposed to halve this, with the rest going to non-Malays. The British
Protector of Chinese naturally supported this proposal, expounding that
“even though the lion’s share should be for the Malays, non-Malays
should not be neglected.” My boss, Mr Mann could not do much as he
was under the supervision of Dr H.A. Tempany, at that time Director of
Agriculture for Malaya.
Realising how disastrous this would be for Malay students, I put my
job on the line by leaking this information to Majlis in the hope that the
Federal Council’s Malay members would protest, but not one uttered a
word. Shortly after, the leak was brought to Mr Mann’s attention by the
Malayan Agricultural Journal’s editor, also a white man. I denied my
involvement when questioned by Mr Mann. The Malay students also kept
their mouth shut as tightly as clams. The investigations then moved to
the Department of Agriculture’s Publications Unit, where the staff also
had access to the minutes of the confidential Board Meeting.
The source of the leak was never discovered. What a relief! I could
have lost my job. Would the Malay press also ask the British Government
for funds to defend its contributors, like The Malay Mail would? I was
nervous throughout the investigations. I was unprepared for the suspicion