THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Hawking Food 365
See how at home those two men are!” I added that there were white
customers who ate on credit but cleared their bills at the end of the
month. I hope Mr Stafford returned with a positive view and learned not
to believe every word spoken by his juniors. From then on, I sensed less
‘eyes’ on my shop.
One Saturday night, always my busiest, Abdullah Zawawi, then the
PAS secretary general, rushed into my shop. In a flash, he handed me a
tiny folded note, coated with wax and concealable in one’s mouth. Just
as quickly he disappeared into the crowd. I hid the letter in my pocket,
to be read later. If I remember rightly, this was in 1949, during the
Malayan Emergency. When business was over, as usual, Saaim and I sat
down to relax and enjoy our own ‘feast’. He would donate his leftover
satay while I served him drinks. It was this kind of light entertainment
that kept me going.
Once home, I read the secret note. Written in Jawi (Malay in Arabic
script) and in red ink, it read very simply, “You are required to set up
the Third Force as soon as possible. Benzin (petrol in the Indonesian
language, but meaning money here) will be sent.” Signed IBHY (Ibrahim
Yaakub). It sounded very simple; Ibrahim was instructing me to set up a
new political party, the Third Force, to balance the First Force (UMNO)
and the Second Force (MNP).
Did Ibrahim not know I was a poor man working to the bone every
night? I lacked sleep, my children were badly neglected, and Malaya was
in an Emergency with checkpoints every other mile manned by police,
Gurkhas and British troops. Most freedom fighters in Kuala Lumpur knew
that Ibrahim, with his new name, Iskandar Kamel, was already a wealthy
man in Indonesia. Now, he expected more sacrifices from my friends and
I, some of whom were already detained in camps in Majidi, Johore;
Ashby Road, Ipoh and Tanjung Bruas, Melaka! I had lost my job and
been detained in lock-ups and a prison from 1945 to 1946. My family
was just about to enjoy basic necessities. Now, Ibrahim wanted me to
return to hunger and poverty. I still had one foot in the drain!
If Ibrahim were equally responsible, I was willing to make further
sacrifices. But looking at my own self, Dr Burhanuddin, Ahmad Boestamam,
Ishak and 150 MNP members now in detention, I begged to be
excused. Had I successfully set up the new force, Ibrahim’s wallet would
fatten with assistance from the Indonesian President. He could conveniently
claim, “Mustapha is my man, the Third Force has been set up
under my sponsorship. Soon, you can expect some explosions in the
Malayan jungle.” I would like to note here that to this day (in 1976), I
have yet to receive a drop of benzin from Ibrahim.