THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

358 Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain
known that a group of Singaporean musicians offered to move me to
Singapore. My Malay customers were easy to serve and were our main
concern. Amjah said, “Brother, when you cook for a Malay, use very little
garlic. But use lots for Chinese customers. For the Indians, add more
shallots. Use no garlic at all for the white men. They can’t even stand
the smell. Even the knife you use should not smell of garlic.” I listened
to all his tips.
I did not forget to donate food and drinks to beggars who came
around. I also remembered what the elders said, “When you do business,
keep the jar of honey out front and the vinegar pot at the back.” But a
Chinese proverb is more apt, “If you do not know how to smile, do not
attempt to open a shop,” and “To open a business is simple but to make
a success out of it is not as easy.”
With some savings, I bought two bicycles for my two older children
to ride to school, a refrigerator for my shop and a radiogram to entertain
my customers. I also bought a thatch-roofed small shop-house; we lived
at the back while running a small hand-wash laundry at the front. Although
my eldest girl Ayesha was only 14, I sent her for hair-perming
lessons at the most popular Chinese hair salon in Kuala Lumpur. In 1950
we opened ‘Gadis Waving Salon’. In its July 1951 edition, The Sunday
Times highlighted Ayesha as the “Youngest Business Girl in Malaya.”
Her first two customers came from the residence of Malaya’s first Prime
Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. Later, when I was active in UMNO in
Taiping in the early fifties, Tunku Abdul Rahman invited me to jointly
open a hair-waving salon at UMNO House in Alor Star but I did not take
up the offer.
Like most businesses, my stall had its highs and lows, reminding me
of the tide. Once the low persisted for so long that I could almost see the
ocean bed. But Amjah told me not to worry, “What you need is a blossom!
I will get one for you. I saw a pretty and hard-working girl at the Post
Office canteen. I have in fact been wanting to talk to you about hiring
this girl at your shop.” A little while later, the girl came. She was plump
with rather short fingers, but according to my mother, women with short
fingers are industrious. This girl was only too keen to leave her former
work place as its owner wanted her as his second wife.
The girl was indeed capable, almost as good as any boy. True to
Amjah’s word, more male customers began filing in but she kept her
distance. She was, however, prone to certain attacks bordering on hysteria,
and we often had to carry her to the back of the shop to be revived. As
soon as she recovered, she would be up on her feet and would continue
working as if nothing had happened. She could carry eighteen glasses or