Malay Nationalism Before UMNO

Mustapha Hussain was an extraordinary man, even for one who lived in extraordinary times. This English language translation of his memoirs traces his coming-of-age in a Minangkabau Malay community in Perak and his part in the formation of the Young Malays Union (KMM). During the Japanese Occupation in Malaya, Mustapha Hussain reluctantly accompanied the Japanese army to Singapore, where he was responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of Malay soldiers in the British colonial armed forces. Instead of collaborating further with the Japanese Occupation, he chose to return to a difficult existence, eking out a living on a Perak farm. After the war, he rejoined the anti-colonial nationalist movement, but managing to avoid the severe repression against the radical Malay youth of early 1948. In 1951, he lost the nomination for the presidency of UMNO by only one vote to Tunku Abdul Rahman, who went on to lead the country to independence and became first Prime Minister of Malaysia. This extraordinary memoir must be read by anyone interested in Malay life in colonial Malaya, the origins and development of radical Malay nationalism as well as Malay politics in the mid-20th century.