MALAYAN UNION

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21934, 31 January 1946, Page 6

MALAYAN UNION

OFFICIALS NAMED CHINESE INFLUENCE ADEQUATE SAFEGUARDS LONDON, Jan. 29. If Parliament approved the Government’s policy for Malaya s future constitutional arrangements, it was proposed to recommend to the King that Mr. Malcolm Macdonald should be the first Governor-General of the Malayan Union and the new colony of Singapore, said the Colonial Secretary, Mr. George Hall, in the House of Commons. Mr MacDonald will complete his tour as High Commissioner to Canada in April , The Colonial Secretary said the Government would also recommend Sir Edward Gent, an assistant Undersecretary in the Colonial Office, as the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Malayan Union, and Mr. F. C. Gimson, Colonial Secretary at Hongkong, as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Singapore. The Governor-General, in addition to other functions, would have the duty of co-ordinating and directing the policies of the Government as between the Malayan Union and Singapore. The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, Viscount Addison, in moving the second reading of the Straits Settlement Repeal Bill providing for the establishment of the Malayan Union, said the scheme possessed many manifest advantages. Many common services should be developed throughout the whole area under one administrative machine. Viscount Addison promised an inquiry into the future position of Japanese citizens in Malaya and expressed the hope that they would not be tolerated throughout Malaya. Viscount Elibank pointed out that 75 per cent, of Singapore’s population was Chinese. “Unless we are careful, we shall hand over Malaya and Singapore to the Chinese. We cannot ignore the fact that there is a very forceful cult in China to make the East Chinese. “Only last week 5000 students walked through Chungking, shouting: ‘We want Hongkong.’ If we are not careful, the next cry will be: ‘We Want Malaya.’ ” Viscount Addison replied that the Government was fully aware of the safeguards needed for Malaya, and was exceedingly sympathetic, but it must also recognise the rights and privileges of other workers and residents. He added that the rights of the sultans and their privileges and duties regarding religious observances, would be fully safeguarded.