THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Saving Soldiers and Freeing KMM Members 211
KMM members who arrived in Singapore on the same day I did were
Onan Haji Siraj (Perak); Baheran bin Alang Ahmad (Perak); Johar bin
Kerong (Selangor); Abdul Kadir Adabi (Kelantan); Wan Daud Ahmad
(later Datuk); Ali (Johore); Musa Ahmad (Johore); Mohd Mustafa bin Ali
(the Ipoh youth who perceived Fifth Column activities as an exhilarating
adventure) and some others who prefer not to be linked to KMM history
under Ibrahim Yaakub’s leadership. It is their right to remain anonymous,
but they should know that KMM was the first effort by an organised
Malay political party to regain our homeland from white domination since
the fall of Melaka in 1511.
Together with two KMM members and six F Kikan Officers we
reached Pasir Panjang Police Station on the south-west of the island at
9.30 pm, 13 February 1942. In the dark of the night, we ‘felt’ our way
with our shoes, just in case there were mines planted on both sides of
the road. Major Fujiwara was right in front, groping and leading us. I
could not help recalling the horrendous effects of a mine that exploded
under a truckload of Japanese soldiers earlier on in Kampar.
That night, the Japanese pressed on with their shelling while the
British retaliated in spurts. We learned to identify shells; Japanese shells
carried bluish-green light while British ones were reddish in colour.
However, whenever Japanese aircraft swooped over Singapore, the British
stopped firing until all the planes had left. I guessed this was a measure
to avoid Japanese detection of their whereabouts.
We entered a small one-storey wooden building by the road. Although
the building was not damaged, windowpanes lay in smithereens on the
floor. I leaned against the corner of a tiny room, making sure my bottom
was safe from broken glass, and closed my eyes. We did not think of
mattresses or pillows; even a mat was not available. Furthermore, nothing
much could be done; Major Fujiwara forbade us from putting the lights
on. I recalled a night in the Tanjung Malim Rest House where Major
Fujiwara placed two Japanese Officers outside my door. Was it to avoid
my escape or to safeguard me – the most senior KMM leader not imprisoned
and still needed by them?
In the dark and airless night, I thought of my family in Matang. In
less than two months, my life had taken on bizarre twists and turns beyond
my control. Destiny had flung me bodily into a war on an island 400 miles
away from my family. And what did the future hold? In Kuala Lumpur,
despite a conflict of interest when I demanded Japanese proclamation of
Malaya’s Independence, I was still in good stead. Only part of Malaya
had been occupied and KMM’s help was still needed. What about now?
Now that Singapore was almost within Japanese grasp? What would