THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

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programmes and pamphlets, I started selling text books and some small
novels on Malay warriors and freedom fighters. 5
While I was busy putting my shoulder to the wheel of the Rakyat
Trading Company, Malaya gained Independence on 31 August 1957. I
was the happiest Malay on that auspicious day. My heart almost burst
with national pride.
In focusing my attention on the company, my insurance business
suffered tremendously, and I earned no salary. To make up for my lost
income, I sold nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk) in front of a
neighbour’s shop. My two sons, Adlan and Roslan Bayu, aged six and
five, helped during weekends but I still could not earn enough to support
nine children. As a result, when Rakyat Trading Company was back on
its feet in 1958 after eleven months under my management, I handed it
over to Ustaz Abu Bakar. Daud Yatimi from Manong was now to manage
the company, and I went back to my insurance business.
At my last company meeting, company chairman Ustaz Abu Bakar
suggested that it be recorded that it was with my financial assistance, time
and energy that Rakyat Trading Company had been saved. I was happy
to have revived another Malay company under colonial rule even though
I did not earn a single cent during the entire eleven months, besides
losing my business. I had put in about $20,000 in terms of shares and
lost revenue, but I don’t regret it. Daud Yatimi did well, especially at
selling textbooks, but when the building had to be torn down for a highrise,
the company moved to Taiping with a little compensation. There,
Pak Chik Ahmad took over.
Fourteen years after I left Rakyat Trading Company, Ibrahim returned
to visit Malaysia in 1974. He suggested that Pak Chik Ahmad
sell the company if it was too bothersome. I told Pak Chik Ahmad,
“Ibrahim has no right in this matter; he did not invest a single cent in
this company. However, if Pak Chik wants to sell the company, by all
means, do so. But please do not forget its many shareholders.” The company
was sold off that year, either by an individual or by the board of
directors, I am not sure. I received nothing, although I had invested much
in the company.
I salute the late Ustaz Abu Bakar Al-Baqir for carrying on as chairman
of the company from beginning to end. Despite the storms, he was
always cool and collected. I also thank the kind soul who donated such a
large sum to us to revive the company, which lived on until 1974. My
thanks also go to the teachers – Chikgu Mohd Isa Sulaiman, Yusuf bin
Abdul Rahman, Basir bin Uduh, Ariffin bin Ibrahim, Aziz Zaman bin
Abdul Aziz, Enchik Nordin bin Tak – and others who showed concern.