THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

162 Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain
9. “When he visited the Japanese-owned iron mines at Dungun, Terengganu, some
people there suggested to him that he should meet Ishikawa, a Japanese mining
engineer, whose office was in High Street, Singapore.... At about the same time,
Ibrahim also approached the Japanese mining engineer Ishikawa to indicate his
willingness to become a Japanese agent, and met with Michio Hirikawa, who was
‘the centre of a certain Japanese intelligence organ’ in Malaya. In their discussions,
Ibrahim suggested that his best cover would be to have a newspaper of his own.”
Excerpt from pages 92 and 94 of The Japanese Occupation of Malaya, 1941-1945:
Ibrahim Yaacob and the Struggle for Indonesia Raya by Dr Cheah Boon Kheng.
10. “Further negotiations involved the Japanese Consul-General in Singapore, Ken
Tsurumi, who in April 1941, after obtaining Tokyo’s approval, handed a sum of
M$18,000 to Ibrahim to purchase the Warta Malaya Malay newspaper in Singapore
owned by an Arab, Syed Hussein bin Ali Alsagoff. With additional money from
Tsurumi, Ibrahim bought himself a car.” Excerpt from page 94 of The Japanese
Occupation of Malaya, 1941-1945: Ibrahim Yaacob and the Struggle for Indonesia
Raya by Dr Cheah Boon Kheng.
11. When Ibrahim Yaakub accused me of using Japanese funds, I asked, “Who opened
a shop in Singapore and who became a farmer?” It is now clear who had accumulated
wealth from the situation! It is true that I received some Japanese funds in Ipoh for
KMM members to use in our move south, but Onan took the money from me. From
Kuala Lumpur on, Onan received all the funds. For the sake of party unity, I did
not retaliate. But unfortunately, Ibrahim believed Onan, his brother-in-law.
12. I have signed statements by KMM members, Ahmad Boestamam, Mohd Mustafa bin
Ali and Johar bin Kerong (Mustapha Hussain, 1999: Appendix 23, pp. 634-6,
Appendix 7, pp. 590-6 and Appendix 24, pp. 637-46).
13. I was then selling cut fruits at the Temoh Railway Station. I remember the late Abdul
Rahman Rahim, also a KMM member, shedding tears when he saw me vending
fruits. He asked, “Brother, why don’t you tell Ibrahim of your situation? They are
living well in Singapore.” I could not reply as I despise opportunists.
14. I first met Hamzah A. Cunard when we moved south with Fujiwara Kikan and into
Singapore. There it was Hamzah who summoned me to a warfront where two Malay
Regiment platoons were about to be decimated by the Japanese. After the British
returned to Malaya in 1945, we met again, this time in an Ipoh lock-up. We have
been friends since.
On 9 January 1977, he accompanied me to meet Lt Gen. Fujiwara Iwaichi, former
Fujiwara Kikan leader, at the Rasa Sayang Hotel in Penang, where Fujiwara told us
that the Japanese gave Ibrahim several gold bullion.
15. In a letter to me, Ibrahim Yaakub claimed that he was an agent to the CID Chief,
Mr L.M. Wynne: “In the meantime, British Intelligence Chief Mr L.M. Wynne
contacted me and asked me to carry out counter intelligence on his side.” Page 96
of The Japanese Occupation of Malaya, 1941-1945: Ibrahim Yaacob and the Struggle
for Indonesia Raya reads: “Even as he (Ibrahim Yaakub) was working for KAME,
Ibrahim claims, he was already reporting to Wynne (CID Chief) once a week.” For
detailed information on Ibrahim as a double agent, see pages 91-8 of the same article.
16. Translator’s Note: In the 29 th article in his series, ‘Reflections of Pak Sako’ (Utusan
Malaysia, 18 July 1976), Pak Sako wrote:
When it was the Japanese turn to lose the war and surrender, Onan, Ibrahim Yaakub
and his wife were whisked to Indonesia (by the Japanese)... and for those of you
who have read the three letters of appreciation for Enchik Mustapha Hussain
published in article 28 last week, you will understand why Onan Haji Siraj is now