THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

378 Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain
38
Back to Taiping (1952)
I returned to Taiping in 1952 after my unsuccessful bid to replace Datuk
Onn Jaafar as UMNO President. It was risky to stay on at the Sunday
Market. Old political friends, including Ibrahim Yaakub, had begun to
pressure me into ‘doing something’ which the British could translate as
subversive. The Malayan Emergency was still on and I did not want to
spend more time in detention. Further, my children’s education was at
stake; the noisy Sunday Market was no place for them.
Leaving a business I had built from scratch, one that had provided
food for my family for five years, was a sad and painful decision. Before
leaving, I sought Raja Ahmed Hisham for advice. Late one afternoon, he
was surprised to find me waiting on the veranda of his house. He said,
“I did not think Che Mustapha would want to come to my house. Is there
something wrong?” I told him everything was fine. He then asked if one
particular detective was still ‘bothering’ me. I was right all this while in
suspecting that I was being followed! With God’s Grace, I had a protector
in the form of a very influential person, Raja Ahmed Hisham. That explained
the detective’s immediate transfer to Langat or Kajang.
I told Raja Ahmed Hisham that the detective no longer caused me
any trouble and from our conversation, it seemed everything that happened
to me at the Sunday Market was within Raja Ahmed Hisham’s
knowledge. He was then the Special Branch Malay Section Chief. When
I expressed my decision to return to Perak, he asked with concern, “But
I believe your business here is doing well!” I replied, “Yes, but for the
sake of my children’s education it is best we leave the market place
atmosphere.” With full sympathy, Raja Ahmed Hisham enquired again,
“Is there anything I can do?” I asked for the name of Taiping’s Special
Branch Chief, and asked if I could convey his (Raja Ahmed Hisham’s)
good wishes to the person. He said, “Please!”
I sold off my business and left with one wife and seven children, three
of whom were born amidst the Sunday Market’s hustle and bustle. The
ancient Austin Ten no one dared to drive brought us back to my home
state, Perak. I carried $3,000 with me.