LULL IN MALAYA FIGHTING

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25581, 24 August 1948, Page 5

LULL IN MALAYA FIGHTING

BRITISH PATROLLING INTENSIFIED

RUMOURS OF CHINESE ACTIVITY IN SIAM (Rec. 11 p.m.) SINGAPORE, Aug. 22. An uneasy lull has developed In the Malayan guerrilla war, in which sporadic clasnes are still reported throughout the,.country. The British forces are intensifying their patrols, and police and military strengths are being steadily built up. The Ist Battalion, Inniskilling Fusiliers. which was recently transferred to Singapore from Hong Kong, participated in its first' operation yesterday, when it helped to sweep the jungles of eastern Johore in the biggest combined drive yet launched from Singapore. The comb-out was part of the precautions intended to prevent terrorists from infiltrating into Singapore Island from the Federation. No contact was made with the enemy, but valuable information was gained. The Royal Air Force to-day attacked targets in the bills lu miles southwest of Ipoh, and ground forces followed up the attack. “Chinese forces are believed to be concentrated in Slam, within five or 10 miles of the Malaya border.” says the “Straits Times.” It adds that frontier villages are full of rumours that at least five groups of armed Chinese of 300 to 400 each are hidden in the Siamese jungle. High Government and police officials in Khota Baru agreed that if the reports were true there was a serious threat to the northern border province of Kelantan. The Acting-High Commissioner of the Federation of Malaya (Sir Alee Newboult) and the Commander-in-Chief of the Far East (General Sir Neil Ritchie) have held long conferences on the spot, and it is believed that they have been fully Informed of the situation. Many Kelantan residents consider the frontier defences are inadequate. Within 10 miles of the frontier are innumerable Chinese-owned rubber estates and gold mines.