Strip-tease dancer becomes spy for MPAJA

Travelling by bus from Kuala Lumpur to Penang many years ago, I was sitting beside a man with silver hair and etched complexion.

As the bus passed Jalan Cowan in Ipoh, he pointed to the neon lights of Jubilee Park and said: "There! It all began there."

"What?" I said with a start. "Are you talking to me?"

"I'm sorry," said the man. "I got carried away by my memories of Susie Soong and Michael Mok."

"Who are they?" I asked.

The man said: "Since we have a long journey ahead of us, let me tell you their tragic story.

"Susie was a Penang girl who caused a scandal in Ipoh during the 1940's. Her parents were sinkek (immigrants) who had toiled to give her the best. They hawked tok tok mee at Swatow Lane but business was bad. Her father was also an incorrigible gambler, so the couple had died penniless.

"Wishing to escape from the memories of her childhood poverty, Suzie went to Ipoh when she was 18. She first worked as baby-sitter for a British couple. Eager to make fast money, she then got a job as a strip-tease dancer at the Jubilee Park.

"At that time, the Park was where all the action and nightlife were in Ipoh. Leong Fu wrestled there. 'Tiger' Maniam and 'Thundebolt' Aziz boxed against the Britishers there. Even Rose Chan did a short stint there. The ronggeng girls were also crowd-pullers in their tight-fitting sarung kebaya. A customer could buy a ticket for only 10 sen and dance a round of ronggeng with any girl. Of course, these people were during your grandparents' era. So I doubt you've heard of them.

"Anyway, Michael Mok was an Oxford graduate who had just returned to Ipoh. He went to Jubilee Park and saw Susie perform. It was love at first sight. For the next seven nights, Susie performed in an almost empty hall. Her only audience was Michael who had bought tickets to all the seats in the hall. After each performance, he would go up to the stage to present her a bouquet of flowers. A whirlwind courtship started.

"The whole town gossiped. Michael's father, who was a highly respected tin-mining tycoon, disapproved of his son's liaison with Susie. But as they say -- love is blind. Michael continued to see her, and was eventually disowned by his father.

"The couple came to Kuala Lumpur to start life afresh. Michael got a job as a clerk in a rubber factory while Susie sold flowers at the Pudu wet market. It was 1941, and the Japanese invaded Malaya. In the confusion amidst the bombing, the couple were separated. Their rented shack on High Street -- now called Jalan Tun Perak -- had also been blown to pieces.

"Months passed. Susie found a job as a waitress in a bar. A senior Japanese officer who was a regular customer took a liking to her.

"Outwardly, she returned his affections. But unknown to the Japanese officer, Susie had joined the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army or MPAJA in short. She managed to extract information from the Japanese officer which she passed to the MPAJA.

"Then disaster struck. During a rendezvous with some MPAJA leaders one night, she was arrested by the Kempeitai. They were the dreaded military police famed for their cruel torture methods.

"At her trial, an informer of the Kempeitai was produced as a prosecution witness. When Susie and the informer saw each other, they nearly fainted. The infomer was Michael Mok, who had become a 'running dog'! He did not know that Susie had joined the MPAJA.

"Susie was shot after the trial and Michael was so overcome with grief that he commited suicide. According to rumours, he tied a boulder to his body and jumped into the Gombak river."

Tears flowed down the man's cheek and he hugged me momentarily as if for comfort. I patted his shoulder.

At that moment, the bus conductor yelled: "Taiping, Taiping."

"This is where I get off," said the man and left the bus.

I leaned back and thought about the story. Suddenly, I realised that I had fallen for the man's ruse. My wallet had been picked!

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