THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Japanese ‘Volunteer’ Army 255
The Formation of Malai Giyu Gun
Before the formation of Malai Giyu Gun, the Japanese had enquired, “Are
you all willing to die for Tenno Heika (the Emperor of Japan)?” No one
responded. But when they asked, “Are you willing to die for Malaya?”
we all shouted “Yes!” at the top of our lungs. Onan thumped his fist
loudly on the table in unison.
In the Malai Giyu Gun, Ibrahim was a Lieutenant Colonel (taiisha),
I was a Major (shosha), Hassan Haji Manan, Abdul Karim Rashid and
Ramli Haji Tahir Captains (taii) and Abdul Kadir Adabi a Lieutenant.
Zainal Abidin bin Ali who joined us later was also made a Captain. Onan
did not want a lower ranking position than Ibrahim, so he joined the
Japanese Volunteer Corps Giyu Tai as Lieutenant Colonel, equivalent to
Ibrahim’s rank. The Japanese loved this development – a ready-made
‘divide and rule’ situation.
KMM member Pak Chik Ahmad craved to be an officer with a long
sword trailing by his side. I advised him to accept the food controller
job in view of his age and poor health. But he insisted. So, I suggested
he be given a Second Lieutenant position (chuii). Although Pak Chik
Ahmad had dreamed of a samurai sword, the one given to the Malays
was a Dutch sword with a short curved blade.
At the uniform fitting session, everyone seemed excited, like kids
celebrating festive days. Did they not think what lay ahead? Abdul Kadir
whispered to me, “If Bayu (me) leaves, I will do the same.” I winked at
him. Although everyone received some kind of training, Abdul Kadir and
I excused ourselves from all military training and concentrated on
administrative and organising work. We were never interested in things
military, and I had been in and out of the FMS Volunteer Force.
Enthusiastic Pak Chik Ahmad attended marching drills, but the heat
from both the sun above and the concrete badminton court below was
too much for his aging body. One afternoon he returned to our room
looking sick. That night, we were invited to dine in a room crowded with
Japanese officers and Chinese waiters. A Japanese girl was handing out
our rations of matches. Pak Chik Ahmad received his share with Arigato
and being a very polite person, he bent his head low in a bow to the girl,
although according to Japanese custom, the girl should have bowed to
him. Japanese officers who saw this laughed aloud.
Abdul Kadir, Pak Chik Ahmad and I sat at one table set with wooden
bowls on a wooden tray. The chopsticks, also wooden, were wrapped in
paper as stiff as wood. We were served a kind of soup, pickled cabbage,
anchovies and a banana. There was also raw fish but for us Malays not