Kota Kinabalu: The British tried to exclude Tun Mustapha Harun from participating in the Malaysia negotiations by sending him away to England on the pretext of a chance to improve his English before independence.
Sabah’s first journalist, the late Datuk Mohd Fauzi Patel, revealed this in his posthumous memoir “What Sabahans Should Know” that was launched recently.
Patel said he warned the future first Governor and later Chief Minister – Mustapha became Sabah’s third but first elected CM after the first State election was called in 1967 – not to fall for the colonial trap when he sought his (Patel’s) advice on whether to take up the offer.
Mustapha’s decision to stay in Sabah turned out to be one of the most important choices he ever made. Patel believed that had Mustapha not sought his advice, taken up the offer and left, his place in Sabah’s history and political future could have been different.
The book was put together from written materials Patel left behind as well as exclusive interviews before he passed away in 2012 by Daily Express Chief Editor Datuk James Sarda and Universiti Malaya History Professor Datuk Dr Danny Wong.
Patel said Mustapha told him that he and fellow native chief Datuk Yassin Hashim had both nominated for the course.
Both were the two most powerful native leaders in Sabah, holding the rank of Orang Kaya Kaya (OKK) First Class. Both took turns chairing the Native Chiefs Conference, a body that had full authority over native affairs, local laws and village matters.
Patel said despite the British being present at these meetings, it was Mustapha and Yassin who were in charge and not the colonial officers. Mustapha made this very clear on one occasion when he told a British officer exactly where he stood.
“You are my secretary. Just take down what I am saying. Do not tell me what to do. We know what we are doing. I am the chief. You are my secretary,” Mustapha bluntly told the officer, recalled Patel.
“Between them they had control over all the native chiefs and Ketua Kampongs,” Patel said. “So you can imagine how influential and powerful they were and the British knew this.”
It was this very power, according to Patel, that put both men in the crosshairs of the British. As independence drew near, the British came up with the plan.
Aware that both Mustapha and Yassin were not strong in formal English, they offered them a six-month English course in the UK.
However, Patel believed the real reason was to keep them away from Sabah during the most important period in its history.
“Just before independence, since both were very weak in English, the British offered them an opportunity to study English in the UK for six months. By then independence was around and both would not be here,” he said.
Yassin took up the offer, but Mustapha was not so sure and went to seek advice from the one person he trusted (Patel).
“He came to see me in my Sabah Times office in Gaya Street. He sat down and said, ‘Pat, apa macam ini British mau send saya ke London. Independence is coming and they want me to study English,’” Patel recalled Mustapha telling him.
“I told him, ‘Datuk, I give you an example. If we are independent, whether you know or do not know English, it is no use.’ I told him what happened in India when Maulana Azad had no English education and could not speak a word of English and yet became the first Education Minister (of independent India).”
“That was enough for Mustapha. He was very sharp and did not go,” Patel said.
The book also offers a warm and personal glimpse into the friendship between Patel and Mustapha in those early years.
Mustapha would travel by small boat from Kudat the day before Legislative Council meetings and check into the Jesselton Hotel. He would then walk across the road to the Sabah Times office to get Patel’s help writing letters and preparing his speeches for the assembly (Legislative Council).
“If he wants to say something, he will say ‘I want to talk about this’ and I will write in very simple English so that he would not make mistakes. He will return to the hotel at night and rehearse so that he would not make any mistakes,” Patel said.
It was a friendship sealed over many cups of coffee. “He used to order Kopi-O to be sent from the Jesselton Hotel to the Sabah Times office and we would drink together,” Patel said.
The book, “What Sabahans Should Know” is a firsthand account of Sabah’s early political years as seen through the eyes of Patel. He joined the Sabah Times in 1952 as a proof reader before becoming its first Reporter and later its Editor.
The 500-page book is not available online but may be purchased at RM50 each from Jessie Lee at 013 – 728 0138 during office hours.
Schools, colleges and universities may request for free copies for their libraries. However, these requests are until stocks last and must be on an official letterhead signed by the school head or librarian.
Schools outside Kota Kinabalu may also apply. The request may also be emailed to Jessie at editorial@dailyexpress.com.my
