THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

The First Malay Nationalists 151
After the fall of Singapore, he lived with Ibrahim in Singapore and
served the Malaya-Sumatra Japanese Administration. When the Japanese
Volunteer Army, Malai Giyu Gun, was set up in 1943, Hassan was made
Captain, or taii in Japanese. Hassan had absolute faith in Ibrahim and
the pledge “One For All; All For One.” When Ibrahim fled to Indonesia
in a Japanese bomber upon the Japanese surrender, Hassan went with him.
However, Hassan was unable to bring his wife Chik Mah although Ibrahim
brought his wife along. Hassan remarried in Indonesia.
Hassan was later appointed Manager of Ibrahim’s bookshop, but was
dismissed when the business went under. Hassan returned to Malaya in
the 1960s to visit relatives and to withdraw his pre-war contributions to
the Selangor Government Servants’ Co-operative Society. After that,
Hassan turned to contracting work. Now, in 1976, he is Assistant Manager
of a Bali hotel owned by former KMM member Karim bin Rashid, now
a Major General in the Indonesian National Army (TNI). I tried to contact
Hassan, but failed to reach him.
4. Othman Mohd Noor or M.N. Othman – Founding Member and
Secretary II
Born in Tapah Road, Perak, he was educated in both Malay and English
schools. He worked as a typist at the Malayan Railways Workshop in
Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. We first met when he was a bachelor renting a
room in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Our acquaintance was strengthened
when as FMS Volunteer Force members we both camped in Port
Dickson.
Othman married Chik Dah, an English-educated girl and daughter of
‘Rich Man Pak Kassim’, a Javanese community leader in Tapah Road.
(Zainal Abidin Kassim, whom Ishak Haji Muhammad wrote “appeared
in front of me with a tommy-gun” while Ishak and friends were taking
shelter in the Warta Malaya Press after release from prison in Singapore,
was Chik Dah’s brother. Ishak commended this young man’s courage,
determination and strong discipline in an article in Utusan Melayu. Well
done, Zainal! I don’t regret taking you to the war front.) A quiet person,
M.N. Othman was incredibly efficient and extremely dedicated to KMM’s
cause. He was the KMM member who helped me with KMM’s registration.
In December 1941, M.N. Othman escaped the British dragnet because
he was then serving as a volunteer. In January 1942, after Kuala Lumpur
fell to the Japanese, he sought me out at KMM House on Jalan Maxwell,
and took on the job of Secretary. In the midst of shooting, bombing,
clamour, din, threats and shouts of World War II, the calm and collected