THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

342 Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain
5. Barisan Tani Se Malaya, BATAS (Pan-Malayan Farmers/Peasants
Front) – led by Musa Ahmad,
6. Majlis Agama Tertinggi SeMalaya, MATA (Pan-Malayan Supreme
Religious Council).
While travelling all over North Malaya with Dr Burhanuddin, we had
discussed, at great length, the forthcoming PUTERA-AMCJA Conference,
consisting of left-wing Malay and non-Malay political parties, to promote
our demand for Independence from the British through constitutional
means. Most post-war non-Malay unions and political parties were leftleaning.
MNP was the only Malay political party which, even as early as
1946, had realised that Independence could not be achieved unless the
demand was unanimously made by the three major communities in Malaya
– the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians.
UMNO, led by Datuk Onn bin Jaafar, had yet to fathom this reality,
and continued to function as if it was still in pre-war Malaya. In 1951,
six years after the war ended, an UMNO-led delegation went to London
to demand more Malayan Civil Service officers, more Malay police
officers, especially above the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police
(ASP), and improvements in Malay education and other issues. Yet not
one mention of Merdeka (Independence) was made. Ironically, it was also
in 1951 that Datuk Onn began to realise that the co-operation of non-
Malays was vital for obtaining Independence.
As mentioned earlier, Ishak Haji Muhammad had been earlier sent
by Dr Burhanuddin to Kuala Lumpur to meet AMCJA representative
Gerald de Cruz to initiate arrangements for PUTERA and AMCJA to
work hand in hand in our struggle against the British. The resulting draft,
The People’s Constitutional Proposals for Malaya, was the document
Ishak Haji Muhammad had handed to Dr Burhanuddin and me at the end
of our two-day Balik Pulau visit. Ishak said, “This is all I managed to
achieve. If something is unsatisfactory, please bring it up at the forthcoming
PUTERA-AMCJA meeting.” We promised to go over the draft
on our way back to Kuala Lumpur. Ishak left before we could even invite
him to a meal. Dr Burhanuddin commented, “Ishak is like that. He is a
man of few words.” I suspected a slight tension between Dr Burhanuddin
and Ishak then; they could hardly bring themselves to talk to each other.
I was willing to play the role of the mediator. However, there were four
things that kept the two connected: the struggle, the party, the Malay
race and the nation. Nothing could keep the two men apart with these
four elements present.
The clauses proposed by AMCJA and MDU were for:
1. Malaya and Singapore to be united. 2