[4] Boestamam had been a young follower of the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) from the late 1930s in Perak, emerging after the war as the militant youth leader of Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (API) to the older and more moderate Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmy and Ishak Haji Muhammad (Pak Sako) of the Malay Nationalist Party (PKMM).
AMCJA crafted the People's Constitution in 1947 as the basis for Malayan independence, years before the United Malays National Organisation switched its slogan from "Hidup Melayu" to "Merdeka" under Tunku Abdul Rahman’s leadership.
Boestamam was detained without trial for seven long years from early 1948, before the Malayan Emergency was declared in mid-1948, together with thousands of other Malay youths demanding independence.
In a three-way contest, he defeated Aishah Ghani of Umno/Alliance and independent Yap Kim Swee, winning the seat by a margin of 2,096 votes.
[8] He and Ishak Haji Muhammad established Parti Marhaen Malaysia in 1968 and attempted to re-establish the Socialist Front before the 1974 elections, but failed.