THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Political Conversations, Clandestine Meetings 125
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Political Conversations, Clandestine Meetings
Reading books (from the Left Book Club and those borrowed from European
acquaintances) and daily newspapers (from Malaya, England and
India) made me an anti-colonial and anti-capitalist politician. My main
objective was to gain Merdeka (Independence).
At the School of Agriculture, I interspersed my formal lessons in class
with political thought and theory, not only to Malay Certificate Course
students but also to mixed Diploma Course students. Slowly, I opened
their eyes to politics. These students, regardless of race, began to open
their eyes to developments around them, as if I had administered a ‘wakeup’
tonic to their minds. Of the many who enjoyed my unofficial lessons
were Haji Muhammad bin Nasir (later Datuk, Chief Minister of Kelantan)
and Enchik Wan Abdul Aziz (later Chief Minister of Pahang). Both have
explicitly acknowledged that I was the one who spurred them on towards
successful political careers.
When my political sermons reached Mr Mann’s ears, he wasted no
time in summoning me. I had once been questioned for contacting the
press. This time, however, I admitted to giving political sermons in class,
but claimed that they were meant to arouse student interest in world
politics. Mr Mann delivered a long lecture on my teaching role at the
School and his appreciation for my fine performance. After that, he simply
told me, “Stop talking politics in class!” As an aside, he added, “If you
have some free time, it is better that you teach them Greek or Latin.”
The meeting was concluded with a small warning, “Mustapha, you have
a bright future. You are keen as mustard, and you are good at what you
do. Let this matter end here. Don’t force me to open a new file on you.”
Apparently, a student whose political ideas clashed with mine had
reported the matter to him. Forbidden to talk about politics in class, I
had no choice but to venture off campus. I could not stop. Everything I
saw and heard around me was political. For example, I happened to see
a labourer – who had stopped repairing a fence to have a drink of water
at a public tap – being severely reprimanded by his white boss as if he