THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

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to refurbish an old house, there are sure to be some pillars or beams that
need replacement.” To help an old ticket inspector, I created an unessential
station master position for him in Batu Kurau, so he did not have to
climb up and down buses full of women and children. So, he was the
Batu Kurau station manager, the Batu Kurau Mosque imam (prayer leader)
and a bomoh (shaman) all rolled into one. But he was not gracious or
thankful for the favour.
Measures taken seemed to improve collections tremendously, but I
began to ponder, what use was it to work myself to the bone when instead
of appreciation, I was receiving brickbats? Two staff members on
my side were Taiping bus stationmaster Zakaria and chief driver Harun.
Zakaria handled schedules and Harun maintained and prepared buses for
inspection by the Transport Office. I was grooming them to take on bigger
responsibilities upon my resignation. But as soon as I left, they were
demoted, and only reinstated much later.
The employees were not to be blamed for the complete lack of discipline
in the company. Conductors were not equipped with pouches. Their
pockets stored coins, combs, tickets, some medicated oil and everything
else that would fit! I bought cloth pouches and demanded they be used
or the conductors penalised. Only then did the conductors look a little
smarter, more like those of the better-organised bus companies. Moving
the Company’s office to Taiping, where it still stands (1976), was my
personal victory. It facilitated faster repairs, maintenance, supervision and
administration. Furthermore the Taiping station was near a bank in which
daily collections could be deposited.
After some lobbying, the company gained a new route to Aulong New
Village with a small plot of land as its station, provided by the District
Officer. I kept working on either getting new routes or expanding present
ones. With the help of a Chinese-speaking Sikh youth, Katar Singh, I
managed to get hundreds of signatures of Simpang Empat New Village
dwellers asking for a bus service. Thus we gained another route. In negotiations
with two other bus companies already plying part of the route,
the Red and Yellow Bus Company Director Mr Pascall did not mind our
taking on a small distance. The Blue Bus Company Director agreed, on
condition we let them have one Taiping-Port Weld run daily.
Finally, I had to meet the Transport Office Chief, a white man, whom
I drove in my small car to show the route. He approved it saying that he
hoped this Malay company would prosper under my management. He
added that he was willing to give every assistance to a Malay company.
An order was issued that every bus company in Taiping had to build a
permanent building. Many companies were already in the midst of con-