A new chapter

1. As I’ve mentioned earlier, my father’s appointment as translator had brought him good luck in his career. He had started the work of translating the Enactments as early as 1922 when he was the Assistant Superintendent Monopolies and Customs in Sungai Petani. His earliest work was probably the translation of the Arms Enactment, the Customs Enactment and the Arbitration Enactment. These were completed in December 1922 for which he was paid a bonus of $100 rial.

2. At that time he was caught in a tug-of-war between the British Adviser (Adviser) and the State Council. The Adviser was keen for him to be seconded to the Legal Adviser’s office so that he could carry out the translation work without much interference. However, the Adviser had discovered that he felt it a downward step to be transferred to work as a mere translator and thus the public would think that he had been degraded.

3. To the Adviser’s mind, my father’s thought was baseless on account of the fact that the work was of great magnitude and could only be done by a qualified person. In order to encourage him the Adviser suggested that his transfer be described as “seconded to act temporarily as Assistant to the Legal Adviser.”

4. However, the State Council did not fully support the idea, so it was agreed that he should assume duty as Assistant Superintendent Monopolies and Customs in Sungai Petani and do in addition the special translation work for the Legal Adviser (L.A.). For that he would receive a special allowance in addition to his ordinary pay.

5. The L.A. was not satisfied with the arrangement. In a letter to the Adviser he stated that it had entailed undue delay. The L.A. noted that my father was burning the candle at both ends. As the latter seemed to be spreading himself too thin, the L.A. argued that the arrangement was neither satisfactory to the Superintendent Monopolies nor was it to himself.

6. In his letter, he enclosed a statement showing a list of Enactments and rules which awaited drafting. He pointed out that some of the 27 items on the list need to be translated very urgently and noted that the list would certainly continue to be added to. He stated that if he were to have a competent assistant then his assistant would be fully employed to do the translation work and other related duties.

7. On account of the urgency of the matter, the State Council in its sitting on 7^th October 1923 had decided on the secondment of Che Ismail Merican temporarily to the L.A.’s office to assist him in the translation work and in consequence the transfer of officials affected by the secondment.

8. Thus in November 1923, my father opened a new chapter in his career. He was fully occupied with the load of translation that had to be done. Apart from the translation and checking, he also helped to transcribe into ‘Roman’ characters, as well as translate into English, the records of cases sent up to the Court of Appeal.

9. On account of his hard work and dedication, he gained the confidence and won the favour of his superior. In January 1924, the L.A. in his letter to the Adviser put forward a recommendation that the post of Assistant to the L.A. be made a Class III appointment and that Mr. M.I. Merican be posted to that appointment. Regarding the merits of the latter, the L.A. commented inter alia:

As to the merits of this case, apart from his length of service (13 years) and age (42 years old), I have been much impressed by Mr. Merican’s zeal and ability and the high quality of his work speaks for itself.

10. Consequently, the State Council in its sitting on 6 March 1924 had decided in accordance with the recommendation.

Note: Mine in brackets.