THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Farming to Feed Hundreds 265
After some discussions, we came up with an entertainment project
for which they were willing to provide youthful energy, even if it meant
pulling ploughs like water buffaloes. I contacted a Japanese company and
negotiated. The young men then climbed my hill-farm to haul down
bundles of tapioca sticks, fifty to each bundle. With the money gained
from selling these tapioca sticks, I went to look for a ronggeng (a popular
Malay dance, but like all Malay dances, no touching of any part of the
body was allowed) manager to bring four ronggeng dance hostesses to
Batu 20. A stage was erected in Batu 20 town.
I was surprised when these young men asked me for toddy, an
intoxicating fermented drink from coconut palms. I did not think they
knew drinks other than coffee or tea. It seemed they were interested in
toddy more than their urban counterparts. They wanted me to order three
Shanghai jars of toddy from an Indian man in Jelai, but I told them one
was enough. They insisted, “One is not enough.” I put my foot down,
insisting one was indeed more than enough. When the toddy arrived, I
slipped in some Chinese red-pigmented tobacco anghun and a potent juice
from young roots of areca nut palms.
At 8.00 pm on the day of fun, donning their best clothes, the youths
started to drink the toddy, gaining enough Dutch courage to dance on
stage. The leader of the dancers, small-built Maimun, had a lovely voice.
The youths drank, danced, drank more and danced some more. Before
midnight, some went flat on their faces at the feet of their partners while
others fell down walking off stage. Those still on their feet kept dancing
and drinking until the early morning hours. Some went home to sleep at
2.00 am, but when they returned to find the dancing still going on at 5.00
am they continued where they left off. This went on until 10.00 am the
next morning. Not a single policeman dared to question us although I had
forgotten to gain a permit. I think many knew that I was a former Major
and second-in-command of the Japanese Volunteer Army Malai Giyu Gun.
Kind readers are invited to ask senior citizens of Batu 20 about this
marathon ronggeng that I helped organise. It broke all records.
Potpourri
I dabbled in all kinds of business during the Japanese Occupation, just
like the Chinese who sold things near the main thoroughfare by the rice
fields. But I only bought produce to be sold to Malays and Punjabis. For
example, I bought maize that my wife dried in the sun to be later sold as
flour to Punjabis for making chapati pancakes. I bought young chicks and
fattened them either for sale or as food.