THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Drafting a Constitution for Malaya 285
Notes
1. Prof. Yoichi Itagaki was Chief Advisor on Malay Affairs in the Japanese Military
Administration at that time and played a major role in the formation of Hodosho
and KRIS. He was one of the last few Japanese Officers I met after Japan surrendered,
where they discussed and analysed their defeat. Story will follow. He is now with
Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.
2. As Prof. Yoichi Itagaki maintained, KRIS stood for Kekuatan Rakyat Istimewa
(Special Strength of the People) and not Kesatuan Rakyat Indonesia Semenanjung
(Union of Peninsular Indonesians) as later announced by Ibrahim after his migration
to Indonesia. According to Prof. Itagaki, “the name Ibrahim declared after the War
was not the one chosen in May 1945, but was one coined by Ibrahim to justify his
migration.” See The Japanese Occupation of Malaya, 1941-45: Ibrahim Yaacob and
the Struggle for Indonesia Raya (p. 111) by Dr Cheah Boon Kheng. The word
Semenanjung at the end of Kekuatan Rakyat Istimewa was an addition made in
Taiping while we were active in KRIS.
3. See Red Star over Malaya (p. 114) by Dr Cheah Boon Kheng.
4. Excerpt from a letter by Dr Anthony Reid, National University of Australia, describing
his interview with Prof. Itagaki on 24 August 1973 in Japan. The letter was handed
to me by Ms Halinah Bhamadaj.
5. See Red Star over Malaya by Dr Cheah Boon Kheng (p. 115). Also Azia tono Taiwa
(Dialogue with Asia) by Prof. Yoichi Itagaki (pp. 162-3).
6. Excerpt from a letter by Dr Anthony Reid, National University of Australia, describing
his interview with Prof. Itagaki on 24 August 1973 in Japan. Letter handed to me
by Ms Halinah Bhamadaj.
7. Kumiai is a Japanese company, society or guild.
8. I did not tell my wife of this incident till years later.
9. In her unpublished thesis, “The Impact of the Japanese Occupation of Malaya on
Malay Society and Politics” (pp. 111-2), Ms Halinah Bhamadaj wrote: “During the
Occupation, Mustapha Hussain, one of the leaders closest to Ibrahim, became so
disillusioned with the Japanese, so incensed against their treatment of the public that
he left Singapore and returned to Taiping, where he took no part in further political
activity.”
10. In Taiping, we knew KRIS as Kekuatan Rakyat Istimewa Semenanjung not Kesatuan
Rakyat Indonesia Semenanjung.
11. As in Red Star over Malaya and Aiza tono Taiwa.
12. See “Some Aspects of the Japanese Policy for Malaya under the Occupation, with
Special Reference to Nationalism” (p. 264).
13. Translator’s note: My father’s health worsened. He could only walk with the aid of
a cane. Sometimes, he could not even get up, so he shuffled on the floor. My
grandfather now had to care for my father and his family. In the 40 years I knew my
father, he was plagued by painful muscular and joint pains, which so completely
debilitated him that he could never be part of our fun and games. Even ordinary
daily movements like walking caused burning, aching, throbbing and tearing pains
in his muscles, with stiffness and weakness in his joints. The pain was often
accompanied by fatigue.
It got worse if he was also burdened by anxiety and stress. The flare-ups in his
joints caused his lymph nodes to swell into painful lumps and to bring on fevers,
which he frequently had throughout his life. His muscular pains were slightly reduced
by massage, especially at certain points, like the back of his neck and the joints