COMMUNISTS' SECOND VICTORY IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Wanganui Chronicle, 21 December 1948, Page 8

COMMUNISTS' SECOND VICTORY IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Threat Of A "Second Palestine" (From Hoy Macartney, N.Z.I’.A. Reuter Correspondent) SlNGAPORE.—Communists have scored a second victory in South-East Asia by turning Malay against Chinese and threatening to convert. .Malaya, ultimately into a ‘‘second Palestine,” in Ilie opinion of observers here. The armed insurrections they inspired or fanned have been described as ill-timed and abortive but, in the view of these observers the Communists have achieved:

(1) Disruption oi supplies or | rice from Burma which, it is considered, will mean hunger, dis-1 satisfaction and unrest in many j South-East Asian countries next ; year—conditions favourable for I Communist exploitation; (2) In i Malaya, despite convincing mili-! tary defeat, a political success i for Chinese Communists by fan-1 ning the ever-present embers of ’ racial hatred. This, it is considered, has been best underlined by the visit to London of Dato Onn Bin Jaafar, Malay Prime Minister of the State of Johore and president of the United Malays National Organisation. Dato Onn, although acting in an unofficial capacity, made several demands on the British Government which, many observers believe, if acceded to, will give Malays precedence oxer all other races in Malaya and destroy the earlier British concept of a common Malayan citizenship ror all who gave first allegiance to Malaya. Malaya’s finely balanced population makes it vulnerable to the development of a situation akin to that of Arabs and Jews in Palestine. Last census showed that Chinese in the Federation of Malaya and the Colony of Singapore outnumbered the Malays by 2,608,975 to 2,214,295 and were multiplying faster. The Malays claim they arc the indegenous people of Malaya and the country rightly theirs. The Chinese, however, confer this by claiming that most Malays, like themsllves. are immigrants and have come from Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia. They pointed out the Malay population increased from 300,000 in 1875 to over 2,000,000 in the space of 75 years and claim immigration must have played a large part in such rapid increase. However, many authorities on Malaya now accept the theory that Malays originated somewhere in the ‘region of Yunnan and first began to drift down to the Malay Peninsula about four thousand years ago, when they were still a stone-age people. Some crossed to Sumatra, but others stayed behind and colonised the plains of Patani, Kedah and Kelantan where the Malay Race has been living and multiplying ever since. Chinese immigration is now officially stopped and British post-war trying to solve the dangerous racial problem as the peoples of Malaya are advanced towards seif-government, has been to sponsor a common Malayan citizenship. This went automatically to Malays and could be claimed by second-generatin locally-born Chinese and immigrant Chinese who had lived at least 15 years in Malaya, fulfilled other requirements and swore allegiance to the country. This was embodied in the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya inaugurated on February 1, despite obvious Malay misgivings on the citizenship concessions they had made reluctantly in return for other advantages they desired. But the Plan was never tried.

CHALLENGE LAUNCHED. Within four months of the inauguration, Commusist Terrorists launched their- challenge to the Governments ol Malaya. Quickly, the political threat assumed a racial character. Practically all terrorists were immigrant Chinese. Official figures early in October revealed of 343 terrorists then killed or captured, 332 were Chinese. The Malays were quick to note the Chinese populace, partly from terror but largely, they felt, from sympathy for their brethren, made little attempt to aid the forces of law and order bv volunteering either information or their services. Twenty-four thousand armed but unpaid special constable volunteers were enlisted to help defend estate, mine and village against the raiders. Over 22,000 were Malays, only 419 Chinese. Rightly or wronglv, this transformed, in the Malays’ opinion, the insurrection into a bid for the establishment of a Chinese State—be it Communist or Kuomintang—with sympathetic if not active support for the terrorists from the whole Chinese population. This was the background to Dato Onn’s “unofficial” visit to London. In recent months the Malays in press and on platform, had been becoming more aggressive, demanding more say in the direction of the country’s affairs. Many observers felt this was less the result of dissatifaction with British Administration, than the alarm felt at such a strong armed threat to their sovereignty as the Chinese Communists had been able to offer. Dato Onn, 63-year-old Malay

Statesman educated in Malaya and in England, is considered to have crystallised and given voice to this .Malay reaction. There was some criticism from Malays when he decided to go to England but or >ly because they had not had the opportunity to endorse his mission. He left claiming it was sponsored by the Sultan of Johore and the matters to be discussed primarily concerned Johore. Cordially received in London, Dato Onn, however, soon put a viewpoint on overall Malayan affairs since unanimously supported by all Malays. He sought greater Malay participation in the Government of Malaya. Such requests in these days when the British Government is seeking to advance Colonial people towards selfGovernment are usually sympathetically received but Dato Onn was championing the Malay cause, nol the "Malayan.” REQUESTS MADE Dato Onn requested the appointment of a Malay Deputy High Commissioner selected by the Sultan, the an,--ointment of Malays as Federal heads of departments, the expansion of the Malay Regiment (a force at present made up of British-led Malays about one brigade in strength). Kings commission's for Malay officers, more scholarships for Malays and an initia. “gift" of about £10,000,000 from Britain to help Malays to assume a greater share in the economic iife or the country. Dato Onn also wanted the creation of an agricultural bank so the Malay peasantry could escape from the “stranglehold" .of Indian moneylenders- "There is no doubt that the Malay world in South-east. Asia is looking towards what is happening in Malava and the shaping of British policy," Dato Onn declared in London. “Unless something is done the Malays will be alienated and there will' be a revulsion of AntiBritish Policy with consequences that may be extremely disastrous, and I feel that such a position can easily come into being within the next five years,” be said. Observers here took this to mean that Dato Onn was asking support of Malays against the enormous pressure of China and India from the North. He revealed what long-term plans he had in mind to meet this Northern threat when at a Hari Raya gathering in Johore Bahru last August, he is reported to have forecast the possibility of Malaya, Brunei, Sarawak and British North Borneo -ultimately joining a United States of Indonesia.

CRISIS A BLESSING Dato Onn said the present crisis was a blessing in disguise as it had awakened Malays to the danger and their need for unity, newspapers reported. Observers consider it clear that Dato Onn believes if Chinese immigration in Malaya is halted and tlie Malay population increases by large-scale immigration from Indonesia, and if the United States of Indonesia can be welded into a powerful Federation the Malay peoples will be able to resist the tremendous pressure from the north. One result of the crisis has been the introduction of National Registration and plans for a Northern Frontier Force which must ultimately put a stop to tlie stream of illegal" Chinese Immigrants who have been making their wav down overland from Siam or landing on the East of Malaya to defy the official ban upon their entry. Observers now consider Britain must soon make her decision whether to meet the Malay demands and give them the support they request or whether to try to persevere with the concept of Malayan Citizenship. Already the Chinese "and Indian Press have reacted against Dato Onn’s demands and voice the suspicion that an exclusively Malay Army officered by Malays may some day'become an instrument of Malay Communal Politics. Many observers feel despite Dato Onus plans, Malays will never again outnumber the fast-multiplying hardworking commercially successful Chinese and they must play a leadin'- if not dominant part, in the evolution of an independent Malaya. Acceptance by both the Malays and Chinese of the concept of common Malavan Citizenship was held to be essential to hopes that some day Malava might become the centre ol a new Dominion of Malaysia, or perhaps a Republic within the British Commonwealth. But many flunk that suspicion bred by the Chinese Communist Campaign of Taron® seems to have destroyed those hopes.