THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Japanese Reject Independence for Malaya 187
Arrived in Kuala Lumpur, 11 January 1942 4
F Kikan members and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 11.00 am on 11 January,
Japanese infantry marching behind us. We stopped in front of the
Coliseum Cinema along Batu Road (now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman)
to wait for the KMM youth sent from Ipoh. Feeling extremely responsible
for their wellbeing, I was anxious to see them.
Kuala Lumpur town was absolutely lifeless except for the advancing
Japanese. Where had all the 400,000 people of the largest town in
Malaya vanished to? No more moving vehicles, no more policemen, no
more people who used to walk up and down the length of Kuala Lumpur’s
busiest street, Batu Road. Apart from Japanese troops and a multitude of
vehicles, there were just a couple of Indians bolting with bales of fabric.
Captain Saito grabbed my automatic pistol from me, took aim and fired
a shot. He missed. They were too far away. The Japanese penalty for
looting was shooting without court hearing.
Suddenly, the Japanese Infantry Column Officer just behind us saw
an old Chinese man leaning against a pillar in front of the Coliseum Cafe
with blood streaming down his face. He ordered his Medical Orderly to
treat the injured man. In my heart, I said, “There is indeed a silver lining
in every cloud!”
KMM member Onan and Yamashita nipped into a shop, Taiaan and
Co., also along Batu Road, where Yamashita had worked before the
Invasion. There, they lifted a large floor tile to retrieve a Japanese flag,
which was immediately flown in the capital city. Kuala Lumpur suffered
little damage as the British had wisely declared it an ‘open city’ as they
retreated south towards Bukit Mantin (Mantin Pass).
We inched down Batu Road because its entire length was chock-ablock
with Japanese cars, trucks, soldiers, weapons and supplies. As we
approached the beautiful green lawn of the Selangor Club, here and there,
I saw KMM youth waiting for me in pairs. I thanked God for their safety.
Everyone looked dead exhausted, but excited. They shouted, “There he
is!” as they saw me. Among them were Chikgu Mohd Isa, Wan Daud
Ahmad, Mohd Mustafa and Nur Yusuf Maxwell.
Kuala Lumpur
We used the chambers of the prestigious Selangor Club, a white man’s
club, as the KMM meeting room. After some investigation, I found that
only two of our fifth columnists had not arrived in Kuala Lumpur; they
had fallen ill along the way and had returned home. We found out later
that the two were safe in Ipoh. The tired but high-spirited youths were