THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Drafting a Constitution for Malaya 279
think otherwise, his meeting with Soekarno was by chance, as confirmed
by Prof. Itagaki who was present. “On August 12, 1945 Ibrahim met by
chance Ir Soekarno and Dr Hatta who were flying from Saigon to Djakarta
at the Taiping aerodrome and was encouraged by them.” 12 Lt Osman
Daim, adjutant and secretary to Ibrahim, wrote, “Rumours were flying
that the Japanese would soon surrender; Soekarno and his friends were
in Taiping to meet with Japanese leaders. Enchik Ibrahim Yaakub took
this opportunity to meet the great leader.”
My deduction: Soekarno met Field Marshall Count Terauchi, Supreme
Commander of Japanese Forces in Southeast Asia in Saigon to collect
the Instrument of Independence for Indonesia. He had to stop over in
Taiping so that Major General Umezu could act on the document,
officially returning Sumatra to Indonesia. Only after that could Soekarno
declare Indonesia’s (plus Sumatra’s) Independence. There was no
suggestion that Malaya be integrated with Indonesia. Dr Gouse, an
Indonesian living in Singapore, tried to celebrate the news of Japanese
granting of independence to Indonesia, but was forbidden to do so. He
was almost thrashed by the Kempeitai, who warned, “That is in Indonesia.
Nothing to do with Singapore.”
I would like to reiterate that there was no proposal that Malaya be
integrated with Indonesia. What logic would the Japanese go by to include
British North Borneo Territories into an Independent Indonesia? They
were knowledgeable in international laws. Soekarno was an astute
politician who understood international procedures and laws. He had told
Ibrahim later on in Indonesia, “Do exactly like Abdul Karim (the Algerian
leader) did. One thing at a time,” which was to let Indonesia gain its
independence first before Malaya followed suit.
May I add that the Japanese proposal of an Independent Malaya
Constitution, lauded by many as the ‘Taiping Charter’, was to contain
only five Malay States. The lost four (Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and
Terengganu) would remain in Siamese grip. The Straits Settlements of
Singapore, Melaka, Penang, Province Wellesley and the British North
Borneo territories would be Japanese colonies indefinitely. The Japanese
had cleverly left the issue of a divided Malaya and North Borneo till the
very last minute. Upon discovery of this manipulation, I protested
violently and threatened to pull out of the project, but my action was not
supported by Ibrahim and Dr Burhanuddin, who were working for the
Japanese Military Administration and had no choice but to obey all the
way. I felt as if I was performing the last rites on a dead Malaya after it
had been sliced and cut, instead of a blessing ceremony for a Malaya that
was once again full-bodied and complete.