THE RE-EDUCATION OF COMMUNIST ADHERENTS

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26198, 23 August 1950, Page 6

THE RE-EDUCATION OF COMMUNIST ADHERENTS

EXPERIMENT IN MALAYA

(By a Correspondent in the “Manchester Guardian”) (Reprinted by Arrangement)

Singapore.—A few years ago on th ® Greek island of Makromssos, Colonel Baraiktaris founded a camp for _ the re-education of Communist terror.sts and guerrillas by methods of cussion and instruction. By 1948 more than 25,000 guerrilla prisoners had passed through this camp, °£ under 1000 had proved to be irre deemable. A similar and most m ter esting experiment is being attemptea to-day at TJaiping, in Malay a a centre is functioning for the rehabilitation of prisoners selected from the detention camps. Over-filled detention camps mean demoralisation and embitterment of the inmates, and many of the 11,000 men held in the camps at Majeedi, Mawai, and St. John’s Island are de tained only on suspicion or to be on the safe side.” A denunciation, former membership of a . Communist organisation (in the days when the Communists were still esteemed for their “heroic record” against ,the Japanese), former connexion with a Communist-dominated trade union—any of these things can bring a man into a detention camp. There is little doubt that many hundreds of’the present detainees are “marginal cases” who can become normal, useful citizens. The TaiP ll ** centre has been established to “ e *P them to achieve this status and to attract their loyalty to the democratic way of life. Education The centre originated from an initiative I by the Malayan Chinese Association, the new Chinese body which is aiding the British Government in the struggle against the terrorists and which also represents the Chinese community in Malaya. A far-sighted adviser for Chinese affairs welcomed the suggestion, in December, 1949, the camp came into It £ stands on the former Taiping racecourse, of which the grandstand has been converted to workshops, offices, and classrooms. The junglecovered hills which tower above the camp have been bandit lairs, and the armed guards round the camp perimeter are much more for defence against possible raids than to /prevent escapes by the detainees. There have, in fact, as the centre commandant informed me, been no escape attempts and it has not even been necessary to devise any system of punishment whatever. This is not surprising, for more agreeable conditions of detention could hardly be contrived. There are 230 men in the camp between 18 and 40. No bandits, criminals, indoctrinated Communists, or squatter detainees are selected from the detention camps. The young men picked out have been members of the near-Communist Chinese Democratic League, collectors of subscriptions for the Malayan Communist Party, and so on. In the centre they get instruction and practice in one handicraft (tailoring, cobbling, carpentry, or mechsnics), in one form of farm work (poultry farming, vegetable growing, or flower cultivation), and in reading and writing. An hour and a half is the minimum daily period of manual work, but many do much more. They see plenty of results from their work. Twenty defective bicycles have been “cannibalised” to make seven roadworthy ones. The zinc roof of the former grandstand has been beaten into buckets, ladles, and water-ing-cans, and the proceeds of the sales go into kitchen funds. A hut has been built on a neighbouring estate for the

parents of one of the detainees, who are squatters evicted from their holdings in a bandit area.

When I visited the centre an interhut basketball and table tennis tournament was in full swing. A small and as yet inadequate library and newspaper room is very popular and films are being shown once a week. Twice weekly the detainees go swiming in the town. The minimum period of study is 3J hours daily, and the 11 teachers are carefully chosen Chinese and Malays, many of whom have been recommended by the Malayan Federation Department of Education. About 20 per cent, of the young detainees who come to the Taiping centre are illiterate, and few of the oihers have had rrfore than one or two years’ schooling. The neat and excellent work one sees being done in the classes is sufficient evidence of the appreciation felt by these boys for the facilities they are offered. They are, in fact, enjoying school, a technical centre, and a youth chib rolled into one. The eagerness with which they profit from all this is an indication of the vast gaps in the educational system of Malaya.

So far 19 detainees have been released and 30 more are being processed for release. Some were considered ready for release after two months, others after six months. It is believed that not more than three or four nearcriminal types among the present inmates will fail to qualify for release. Expansion The commandant enlists the aid of the local branches of the Malayan Chinese Association in getting work for every man released and in keeping an eye on his welfare. All the 19 so far released are successfully established in jobs. Six of them recently clubbed together to send a donation Of 100 dollars to the Taiping centre, which they clearly regarded with affection as their “old school,” The next stage at the Taiping centre will be the organisation of lectures and discussions on civic affairs and history. Lecturers from schools and universities and considerable rein-

forcements to the centre’s library will be needed for this more difficult form of re-education if it is to become as fruitful as the other activities so far engaged in at Taiping. The chief factor in the centre’s work to date has beep the personality of its , young commandant, an Edinburghborn Scot and former R.A.F. Wing Commander, Keith Henderson. Such happy touches as the designation of the inmates as “Hok Ven” (students) and the teachers as “Sin Shaang” (Elder Brothers) reflect his attitude, and they are the means of inculcating the kindest elements in the Chinese tradition. As he said to me: “The Chinese have a very high standard of courtesy. Their reaction to polite and considerate treatment is always to reciprocate.” To practical organising ability Henderson adds an undemonstrative friendliness which can be felt right through the centre. Taiping has places for a further 370 inmates, and it is to be hoped that this quota can soon be transferred from the crowded detention camps and

that expansion beyond the present limits can be made possible. To form wherever possible democraticallyminded citizens rather than'embittered prisoners is souhd policy in the struggle against Communism. And a great, deal can be learned from the Taiping experiment about the whole problem of adult education in Malaya.