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EDITORIAL
January, 2011
PO Box 265, Mt. Eden, CA 94557
An affinity with Late Haji S. A. Hussein M H Koya (PhD) Editor-Publisher
PHONE : 510-677-4488 FAX : 510-781-4884
Email: fijisun@gmail.com www.fijisun-usa.com
FROM FIJI SUN ARCHIVES
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“In Haji Syed Ahmed Hussein I always saw a touch of some of my Koyauncles specially late Senior Magistrate Abbas Koya for whom he had a lot admiration as old golf players. I enjoyed and absolute ease and freedom to discuss a wide range of things from sports to politics and business to family issues.” Our initial meeting
I met late Haji S A Hussein when I was 18 years old at a Quran Dars program at late Haji Hanif and Shah Mohammed’s residence – the famous Popular Furniture Limited owners in Lautoka. The three were married to the different sisters in the same family. Impressed with my short presentation at the program, uncle Hussein moved and sat closer to me and chatted through the rest of the evening. Given his fame and the popular myths about the rich and famous of Suva City where he owned his
resolve several legal issues that stood in the way of a smooth operation.
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Nadi College trusteeship case l
Uncle Hussein was a keen community worker. While he worked round the clock for Hibiscus Festival and Fiji Soccer Association for several years on the sports and entertainment front, his passion for college education was always dominant. He was one of the pioneer trustees of Nadi College Education Board along with his brothers in law the late Haji Mohammed Hanif and Shah Mohammed. Due to his immigration to USA, the Board secretary Dr. Shaukat Ali Sahib dismissed him from the trusteeship. When uncle Hussein brought up the issue in personal discussions with me, I browsed through the documents and found Dr. Sahib had breached several constitutional provisions and acted with improper authority. In addition he had reneged on a long standing Board resolution to transfer Nadi College to Fiji Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. Based on the documentary evidence and minutes of the Board meeting,I prepared and Affidavit for uncle Hussein’s attorneys Sherani& C0.,which the attorneys filed verbatim in the High Court of Fiji. The documentation was so foolproof that the respondents settled of out court and uncle Hussein received $15,000 in compensation and reinstated to the Board.
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Winding up the business
Suva Electric Co. one would think this was just a onetime affair but it continued in subsequent years. Every time I had an opportunity to meet uncle Hussein the warm, respect and affection he generated was the same throughout his life. I used to be very embarrassed whenever I walked into any gathering he would stand up to greet me – a respect as a junior I had the bounden duty to pay him. Our affinity grew fonder with the passage of time especially when I moved to Hayward City where uncle Hussein had lived for almost four decades since first immigrating to USA. On several occasions he chose me over many of his closest friends and relatives to be a guest speaker at family events and wedding ceremonies. I knew he loved Urdu that he had inherited from his late father Maulavi Syed Hussain so I would fill in a few couplets in my addresses for him. Uncle Hussein was also a regular at the various Mushairah and Quran Dars programs I hosted in the Bay Area.
His business and legal analyst
As a skilled businessman uncle Hussein was shrewd and careful with his money. However, some of his executives in his Denney’s Franchise in the Stockton/Lathrop area did not perform well. He sought my input and I stepped in and corresponded on his behalf as his legal analyst helping him
A few years ago uncle Hussein expressed a desire to wind up his business and asked me to draw up a Sales And Purchase agreement. I suggested him to sell the business to his elder son Sadiq Hussein but he decided to sell the business to his elder daughter and her husband. I wrote out Sales/Purchase Agreement with stringent clauses protecting his interest.
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Secret of our affinity
Many must have wondered about our affinity not being blood relations although more recently my cousin magistrate FayazKoya, elder son of late S M Koya, married into the family. This is one juncture where we met on sacred grounds of our faith that we deeply shared. In 1970s when Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan a prominent member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and a two-time judge of the International Court of Justice visited Fiji, uncle Hussein played a key role in the background. He got very close to the Ahmadiyya Jamaat Fiji as he was already very familiar with the teachings with his previous association with the Lahore Anjuman Ahmadiyya. Uncle Hussein’s deep association with Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Fiji and Maulana Shiekh Abdul Wahid Fazil and Maulana Al Haj NurulHaq Anwar atSamabula Islamic Library a black away from his home led him to take pledge into the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
1. Above members and friends of American Islamic Academic committee. 2. Mr. and Mrs. Yakub Khan with guests posing with Begs at their wedding. 3. Bollywood singer Ms. Bhatnagar (red sari) with friends. 4. Ms. Shabnam Khan with daughter and son at Begs wedding.