DUTCH SELF-RELIANT

Grey River Argus, 18 February 1942, Page 5

DUTCH SELF-RELIANT

Their Views of Singapore FALL DUE TO WEAK ATTITUDE. (Rec. 11.30). BATAVIA, February 17. The Batavia paper, “lava 1 Bode,” in an editorial on the fall of Singapore, declares:—“Let Singapore's fall be a lesson for all of us never again to expect help from outside, but to have confidence in our own power, as General MacArthur and his heroes have done in the Philippines.” . The paper, “Nieuws Van Den Tag,” says:—Singapore and Malaya fell, not because of Japanese superiority, but because of their own weakness. The situation in the Netherlands Indies, however, is slightly different. Our strength lies in the fact that we have trusted solely in ourselves. Therefore, Singapore’s fall does not make us lose l our heads. “We do not gamble, and we do not bluff. Our strength is built on reality. We have real chances in this game of life and death.”

Loss of Malaya NEGLECT ALLEGED. LONDON, February 13. American refugees who arrived in New York to-day related shocking stories of neglect which, they allege, resulted in the loss of the Malay Peninsula. All agreed that air protection was absolutely lacking and thev said that exaggerated self-con-fidence had been substituted for forethought. Preparations were simply not made. Mr Elliot Simpson, secretary of the Rothschild Company, a crude-rubber importer, said: ‘‘l am going to Washington to lay the whole picture as I saw it before the State Department. My chief complaint will be how the British ordered the evacuation of -British women and children from Penang city without notifying 40 American residents, the Indians, or the Chinese. They would have left us behind. It was just an accident that we learned in time. If the British lose the war, it will be because of pure and unbelievable carelessness.”

Mr Simpson said that there were only about 500 troops in Penang, not one anti-aircraft gun, and no guns of any kind. Camouflage was not attemoted. The red-roofed houses stood out like beacons. Even the American Consul was not notified about the evacuation. Mr Simpson contended that Penang was the key to Singapore. If it had been fortified all might have been saved. Moreover, 7,000 tons of rubber and 5,000 tons of tin < were left on the piers. !