THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

386 Memoirs of Mustapha Hussain
Seremban, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. I travelled daily to cooperatives
near home, in Ipoh, Kuala Kangsar and Teluk Intan. On weekends,
I tackled out-of-state clients and stayed two or three nights away
each time.
I was progressing without any competition for almost fifteen years
until the early seventies, when the Malaysian Co-operative Insurance
Society Ltd (MCIS) introduced a similar scheme, the Salary Deduction
Scheme (SDS), which allowed teachers and government employees to
make simple salary deductions directly through their headmasters or
department chiefs. My business suffered seriously. It goes without saying
that my family and I suffered a great deal from this new blow. Now
(1976), I am still earning a livelihood underwriting insurance, but very
little compared to those days and I am already in my late sixties.
But I am thankful to God that despite the many hurdles faced in
introducing insurance to the Malays, I was a ‘top ten’ agent at least ten
times and have attended conventions in Singapore, Bangkok, and Hong
Kong. I have won several silver plaques. Seven ‘Million Dollar Club
Member’ gold medals I received were made into pendants for my
daughters. I also have hundreds of certificates, and am proud to have been
a Malay pioneer in the insurance industry.
One of the fulfilling aspects of my job was helping widows and
orphans begin a new life. In those years, the economic standing of the
Malays was deplorable. Almost no one had any savings. So the insurance
money I handed over was about their only life savings, to help the family
lead a new life without their departed loved ones. My advice to new
agents is: be honest and sincere, helping those in trouble is something
every religion encourages. In my efforts to look for potential clients and
to hand over cheques to orphans and widows, I have gone into almost
every corner of every Malay village, big and small, where I have been
exposed to acute poverty and suffering. At that time, an acute awareness
of Malay economic deprivation seared my heart.
Notes
1. Translator’s note: This house had a dirt kitchen floor. When it rained, water poured
in not only through the roof but also through the walls, which had to be patched
with plastic sheets. It was always cold at night. Rain often fell on our blankets as
we slept wherever we could in the tiny house with just one bedroom. There were
twelve of us. Yet this house held good memories for me. It was just outside the
Kampung Jana Malay School. Everyday, I would hang on to the school fence wishing
to join the schoolchildren. As a result, I was sent to school at the tender age of five.
2. I have been fighting for women’s equal employment rights since 1953, and now, in
1976, I am pleased that things are going better for the women of Malaysia.