THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

The Malay Nationalist Party 335
a long time to explain to him that we should not be like the Vietnamese,
who took forever to produce a new leader if one were to die or be
detained. KMM no longer existed and I was ‘dirty’ in the eyes of the
British. Therefore, let a new leader steer our nationalist struggle for
Independence with the ‘dirty one’ guiding him on.” Chikgu Yaakub left
feeling less upset.
We stopped in Ipoh, the capital of tin-rich Perak, to discuss the fate
of the Rakyat Trading Company or People’s Trading Company, a printing
company owned exclusively by poor leftist politicians. Here, Pak Chik
Ahmad reprimanded me for interfering with company matters. He forgot
I had every right. It was the politicians – Ahmad Boestamam, Abdul
Rahman Rahim and I, who had slept on grass mats with our arms as
pillows to set up the company. Truly, Pak Chik Ahmad feared I would
wrest control of the company.
As it turned out, eleven years later in 1957, Pak Chik Ahmad and
four concerned shareholders (Ustaz Abu Bakar Al-Baqir, Chikgu Yusuf bin
Abdul Rahman, Chikgu Basir bin Uduh and Chikgu Ariffin bin Ibrahim)
begged me to take over the management of the heavily indebted company
from Pak Chik Ahmad. I sacrificed much time, money and energy to
salvage the Rakyat Trading Company, at the expense of my own family.
We arrived at the royal town of Kuala Kangsar in Perak where active
MNP members included Chikgu Sharif bin Salleh, Sharif bin Badul,
Rashid Ali, Rashid Karim, Rashid Mat Yit, 8 Ustaz Karim (later an
UMNO Councillor), Haji Hamzah, Haji Ahmad Fadzil, Baheran bin Alang
Ahmad and Mohamad Judin. 9
I vividly remember an incident, which reflected a very brave young
man’s uncompromised anti-colonial sentiments. That night, in his speech
on the bank of the Perak River, Rashid Maidin vehemently condemned
the British Government. As he asked the audience, “Who are these
colonialists?” four British Military Police members wearing red caps
appeared on the scene. In just as loud a voice, Rashid pointed to the four,
“Those are the colonialists I just mentioned!” I told myself, “This is a
very plucky young man!” A less courageous one would have faltered or
shut his mouth.
Rashid lashed at the imperialistic and capitalistic British whom he
claimed had sent him to England to ‘cool’ his political fire. He asserted
that “The desire to fight for our nation’s Independence is our birthright;
it should burn with fury within every man’s heart.” He then asked the
audience, “Do you know what I saw in London?” Rashid paused for no
answer; “At the Malaya House, I saw two paintings on exhibit. One
showed the Malays as an uncivilised group of people; mere farmers of