THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

PUTERA-AMCJA Conference 341
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PUTERA-AMCJA Conference (1947)
By the grace of God, through the PUTERA-AMCJA Conference, I was
given a second opportunity to participate in efforts towards drafting
Malaya’s Independence Constitution. The first time had been in July 1945,
through the Japanese-sponsored Hodosho and KRIS, at a time when
Japan was like a dragon in its death throes, struggling against the Allied
onslaught. There were two differences. My first effort had been with Dr
Burhanuddin, who had served the Japanese Sumatra-Malaya Military
Administration in Taiping while I was a farmer. Then, there had been only
five Malay States; this time, there were nine.
On 22 December 1946, multi-ethnic, but mainly non-Malay leftist
political bodies in Malaya formed a coalition called the All-Malayan
Council of Joint Action (AMCJA). Its members comprised:
1. Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) – led by John Thivy,
2. Malayan Democratic Union (MDU) – led by John Eber,
3. New Democratic Youth League (NDYL),
4. Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Ex-Comrades Association (MPAJECA),
5. Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions (PMFTU). 1
Four months later, on 22 February 1947, left-wing Malay parties
formed their own coalition during a meeting at the MNP Head Office in
Kuala Lumpur. It was called Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (PUTERA) or the
Centre for People’s Power. Led by Ishak Haji Muhammad (Pak Sako),
the member parties were:
1. Malay Nationalist Party, MNP as its nucleus – led by Dr Burhanuddin
2. Angkatan Pemuda Insaf, API (Generation of Aware Youth) – led by
Ahmad Boestamam
3. Angkatan Wanita Sedar, AWAS (Generation of Conscious Women) –
led by Shamsiah Fakeh
4. Gerakan Angkatan Muda, GERAM (Young Generation Movement)
– led by Aziz Ishak and A. Samad Ismail