Evening star., 1949-05-02

ANTHONY EDEN.
but a negligible minority have
stayed at their posts. They are
brave and stout-hearted people.
and they deserve our thanks. But
they deserve more than that;
they deserve our understanding
and support. We are much in
their debt. for Malaya's exports
to the United States still exceed
Britain's in value.
Malaya's most immediate and
complex problem is that of the
squatters. Some of these Chinese
now are cultivating former mining
lands. Others we're simply told
by the Japanese to go where they
now are. The problem is how
to make them good citizens. The
Malays fear a numerical increase
of the Chinese, and there may
already be anything UP to
100000 of these squatters. An
effort has been made to settle
some Of them in other areas of
Malaga, such as the bindings in
the west, and this has been fairly
successful. 1t would seem that
some extension of this plan offers
the best final solution. although
progress must inevitably be slow.
Burmese Strife Recalled.
Over Malaga, as over all her
neighbors. lies the shadow Of the
Burmese calamity. The continued
civil strife and the chaotic con-
ditions from which every section
of the Burmese people suffers
are seen as an awful example.
Nobody today wants to tread the
road to Mandalay. to repeat the
Burmese experience. In Malaga
I found no section eager to hasten
British departure. On the con-
trary. opinions privately expressed
by all communities were unan-
imous that we have Job to do
and that we have no call to skimp
1t.
British troops are doing q fine
Job in Malaga, and they look re-
markably fit. But they don't enjoy
the country. Veterans Of the
Middle East campaigns sigh for
the Western Desert by contrast,
perhaps even forgetting the Hes
which are notably absent from
Malaga. All this is understand
able enough. because military op-
erations in any form are exacting
In such q climate and such a
country. The jungle is at times
50 dense that 1t can take ~ hours
tocover 2 rniles. !, The pEpbh Of
the wounded Is . formida dahls one,
1as 1t is physically almost impos-
sible to carry q wounded man any
distance in the jungle. Use Of
helicopters might be . solution
here.
The immediate security outlook
is still serious. more from the
nature Of the country than from
the nature Of the bandits; but
means of dealing with 1t emprove
steadily. The police are keen and
I thought their organization ef-
ficient and well supported by the
military authorities. 1t seems fair
to estimate that. by the close OF
the year, the marauding bands
will have been driven to more in
accessible jungle areas. Some OF
them are there already.
Area Is One Unit.
But whether or not Malaga re-
turns to q period Of enduring
security, and when, depends on
external factors. In resistance to
the Communist challenge, this
whole Southeast Asian area Is one
unit.
This is the real weakness OF
the situation. No one at the pres
ent time can Justly weigh the ef-
feet on all these countries OF a
Communist China. Nor have
Indo- China or Indonesia settled
their internal problems, while
still dismembers Burma.
Relations between Malaga and
Siam are good. but joint arrange
ments have to be perfected to
control the frontier and to pre-
vent Communist infiltration. and
this is no easy task. All these
considerations compel restraint
when surveying Malaya's pros
poets.
Malaga has also q long-term
problem of her own, the price Of
rubber. Alone Of the worlds raw
materials, rubber still stands at
a prewar price. though costs con-
tinue to rise as elsewhere. A
timely warning about this has
recently been given by Mr.. j. s.
Ferguson, the respected chairman
of Malayan producers. whom I
had the privilege to meet. He has
pointed out that 40 per cent of