MALAYAN RUBBER AREAS

Evening Star, Issue 25782, 3 May 1946, Page 7

MALAYAN RUBBER AREAS

, BRIGHT REHABILITATION PROSPECTS LESSONS OF THE OCCUPATION .Rubber plantations in the East Indies, while suffering a setback through neglected cultivation caused; by the Japanese occupation, are in' much better condition than had been expected, according to Mr L, E. White, the manager of the Dominion Rubber Company’s estate in Kelantau, who left for Malaya to-day after a brief visit to Dunedin. Most of the company’s plantation is overgrown with weeds and secondary jungle, but labour has already been mobilised to clear the growth. “ Trees generally show an excellent growth despite the lack of attention,” said Mr White, “ and it appears that this growth is similar to that expected from plants which have been kept under normal methods of cultivation. This might have an important bearing on future methods of cultivation.” The native labour force residing on the, estate and in adjoining villages remained there during the whole occupation, and just succeeded in keeping alive, he ,added. There was evidence that the proposed union olf Malayan States as well as the Japanese influence, during the occupation years had politically influenced a certain section of the native population, but Mr White believed that the return of normal conditions,would discount these factors. Mr White, who is manager of the Tebing Tinggi and the Ulu Kusial estates, which are owned by the Dominion and the New Zealand Malay (Rubber Companies respectively, was imprisoned for 44 months in the notorious Changi camp. The principal food supplies was 6oz of rice daily and 2oz of fish a week, but the inmates managed to eke out their rations by a soup which was made mainly of potato tops. Although morale was well maintained for the greater part of the period of internment, the weakened physical condition of the prisoners was reflected in a degeneration of it during the last six months. On one occasion he and four others, including a woman, were placed in solitary confinement in a cell in which there was no room for a person to lie down. No reason was given for this action as far as Mr White was concerned, although it appeared to be a case of mistaken identity. The Japanese took an interest in the plantations during their occupation, and a test tapping undertaken by them of an experimental area on the Dominion Company’s estate showed unusually high yields. .