THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Arrested Again 323
C. Ff. Sheppard (Tan Sri Datuk Haji Mubin Sheppard)
It was a long parade. I was taken next to the Department of Public
Relations for Peninsular Malaya to see its Chief, Mr C. Ff. Sheppard, a
Malayan Civil Service Officer. I had had the privilege to meet him once
before, prior to the War, when he was visiting the School of Agriculture
in Serdang. As an energetic young officer with great personal ambition
and national aspirations, I had received Mr Sheppard with enthusiasm
and reverence, after having waited so anxiously for this officer wellknown
for his pro-Malay attitude (another pro-Malay Englishman at that
time was Mr T.S. Adams, British Resident for Selangor). After escorting
him around the classrooms, individual farms and common farms, we had
chatted in the Common Room. I don’t remember what the topics were,
but they definitely did not include politics, as the topic was taboo among
British Government servants.
What constituted politics then was limited to the Malay Rulers’
advice and calls from senior British Officers to the Malays to emulate
the Chinese; to dabble in business and participate in the country’s
economic activities. These few points also formed the theme of Malay
newspaper editorials, especially in Majlis. I was tired of such lectures.
The Chinese were already known as businessmen, craftsmen, masons,
inventors of gunpowder and compasses; they were part of the world’s
oldest civilisation. Had the Englishmen allowed the Chinese to conduct
unrestricted business in England, as in Malaya, English businessmen
would have had to pack up too. England would not have become ‘The
Nation of Shopkeepers’. Nevertheless, ways had to be found to overcome
our weaknesses and make Malays a majestic and globally respected race.
Now, after being paraded from one colonial office to another, I was
once again sitting opposite Mr Sheppard, this time in his new official
capacity and brand-new department. His first question was, “What happened
to Captain Raja Aman Shah?” I explained at great length that I
did everything within my means to save the lives of all Malay fighting
men and FMS Volunteers by appealing to the Japanese not to kill or detain
them as Prisoners of War. I was able to help all but seven men, from
Warrant Officer Class I to privates, and several other officers besides. I
deeply regretted the unfortunate fact that these seven included Captain
Raja Aman Shah. He listened to my story carefully and asked for my
assistance. He even offered me a job in his new establishment. I had to
decline, as I needed time to physically and mentally recover from my
prison experience. I stopped elaborating on my prison ordeal when I remembered
that Mr Sheppard also suffered great humiliation and depriva-