THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Contesting the Post of UMNO President 377
Notes
1. Please see Ibnu Muslim’s article in Harakah, 19 May 1989: “According to Pak Melan
Abdullah, the Utusan Melayu supported Enchik Mustapha Hussain while Majlis
supported Tunku Abdul Rahman…. And this proves that Enchik Mustapha’s influence
among the people was greater than that of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Kedah prince….
But because of his feudal and high-birth, Tunku Abdul Rahman defeated Enchik
Mustapha Hussain with just one vote to gain the UMNO President’s post.”
2. In an article in Bacaria, 31 January 1987, Hussain Yaacub wrote: “Datuk Melan
admitted that as an editorial board member of Majlis, he campaigned for Tunku Abdul
Rahman.”
3. I had visited Tunku Abdul Rahman’s house together with Datuk Melan Abdullah,
who introduced me as a presidential candidate. He said to the Tunku, “If Che
Mustapha were to lose and you were to win, please give him the vice presidency.”
4. ‘Pemuda UMNO’, Utusan Melayu, 1 August 1951. This article is appended to
Mustapha Hussain, 1999: Appendix 27, p. 650.
5. See ‘Mustapha – a Leader in Nationalism; a Hero Who Worked Behind the Scenes’,
New Straits Times, 22 January 1987. This article is appended to Mustapha Hussain,
1999: Appendix 29, p. 652.
6. See editorial ‘Pemuda UMNO’, Utusan Melayu, 1 August 1951.
7. According to the editorial ‘UMNO Youth’ in Utusan Melayu, 1 August 1951, “After
the convention, there were heated discussions among UMNO Youth delegates on the
running of the convention, but objections should have been voiced at the meeting
itself. They objected that the election was not through secret balloting as it should
have been whenever candidates were present. Many felt that the chairman should
have had secret balloting…. Utusan Melayu is of the opinion that UMNO Youth
must trust their own judgement and not be afraid to follow their hearts and minds.
The country’s fate is in their hands. If the Malay youth continue to idolise rulers,
datuks and the feudal elite, the future of the Malay race seems hopeless.”
8. See UMNO Malaya Secretariat Circular 75/51, dated 2 August 1951 which records
my name as Vice Presidential candidate and ‘Mustapha – A Leader in Nationalism’
by Noraini Shariff, New Straits Times, 22 January 1987. The UMNO circular is
appended as Mustapha Hussain, 1999: Appendix 28, p. 651.