Citizens of Malaya
It may well be that the Communists in Malaya will succeed where better-intentioned men than they have failed, and that history will hold them responsible for the creation of a genuine sense of national unity among the divergent races which occupy the Federation. At any rate it looks as though the prolonged threat of chaos has done more than years of peaceful exhortation to bring together the responsible leaders of the Malay, Chinese, Indian and other com- munities, and the recently published recommendations of the com- munities' liaison committee, although unofficial, are a good indication of the extent to which co-operation has already been carried. The starting-point for the committee's deliberations was necessarily the future self-governing Malayan State ; as long as colonial govern- ment continues it is always possible to balance the needs and rights of one community against another by a system of checks and balances. But when independence comes, it must bp accompanied by a genuine sense of nationality, or the new State will collapse. Under the present regime racial antagonisms are cushioned by the constitution, which ensures the fair representation of all sections of the population (by vocation as well as by race), and restricts, as far as possible, active citizenship to those who can show themselves to be " good Malayans" —that is to say, those who have thrown in their lot with Malaya for life. But these assurances against discrimination cannot be expected to survive the eventual departure of the British and, con- versely, the sooner they are shown to be unnecessary, the sooner the British may be expected to pack up—or at least the more willing they will be to delegate their powers.
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