M.P. SAYS COLONIAL OFFICE WAS BUNGLING IN MALAYA

Wanganui Chronicle, 17 February 1949, Page 5

M.P. SAYS COLONIAL OFFICE WAS BUNGLING IN MALAYA

"Fantastic" Situation; A Few Bandits, Not Well Armed, Hold The Army

LONDON, Feb. 16 (Ree. 6 pm).—'Writing in the “Daily Mail,” L. D. Gammans, Conservative member for Hornsey, who has just returned after a tour of the Far East, says the situation m Malaya is “fantastic,” with about 5000 not very well armed bandits challenging the largest army Malaya has ever had in peacetime, assisted by more than 50,000 regular and auxiliary police.

Gamniaiis admits that Singapore and other large towns are now free from bandit outrages, hut claims that otherwise battle honours during the past few months are no more than even.

After paying tribute to the heroic planters, miners and their wives, who are carrying on under conditions of continuing strain, Gamman warns that the situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely without Malaya’s all important dollar production suffering grievously. A vast defence organisation is costing a great deal of money and before long the resources of the Malayan Government will be exhausted. Mr. Gamman says the British Colonial Office must accept' responsibility for “five acts of folly” which have aggravated the situation since the British reoccupation. (1) The Colonial Office made an illadvised attempt to force through a

new Constitution and later had to reverse this policy. (2) It tried to foster trade unionism, but when it found unions were falling under Communist influence it had to go slow. (3) It relaxed control over Chinese secret societies. <4) It modified the Government’s power of banishing troublesome aliens. <5) When it imported a number of new police officers from Palestine it promoted them over the heads of Malayan officers in such a way that it caused discontent in the police force. "Malaya has suffered from a combination of ham-handed administration and weak and wooly mindedness," says Mr Gamman, who adds that British policy in Burma has not helped and that people in Malaya are now asking what the effect of Communistdominated China is likely to be, unless the Malayan Administration can speedily regain control of the country and re-establish confidence.—(Special N.Z.P.A. Correspondent).