Malaise in Malaya
It has been apparent for some time past that the situation in Malaya, so far from being (as seemed a year ago to be the case) precariously stabilised, is deteriorating. A Gurkha brigade from Hongkong, about which Mr. Dugdale, the. Minister of State for the Colonies, made a statement of singular ineptitude, thereby serious exacerbating feelings in Malaya, is on its way to Singapore ; and a squadron of Lincoln bombers has been dispatched from this country to play its thankless, uncongenial and it is to be feared not particularly effective part in anti-bandit operations. But despite these reinforcements all the ingredients of a crisis of confidence are present in Malaya. Mr. Attlee's statement of last April to the effect that " there will be no premature withdrawal" was hardly a rallying- cry calculated to stimulate the confidence of the inhabitants in our long-term intentions ; and the realistic Chinese, who form the most important element in tale population, can be forgiven for wondering to what extent it will pay them to co-operate with the security forces in a protracted and indecisive campaign against the Communists, whose regime in China has been recognised by the British Govern- ment. They know to their own cost that our military effort ' is not so far achieving its objectives ; and they remember, whether appositely or not, the precipitate manner of our with- drawals from India and Burma. Being for the most part some- what cynical, they can be forgiven for hedging, a practice which they will continue to adopt until it is manifest that by backing us they are, backing the winning side. This will not be the case, until the security forces can wrest the initiative from the guerrillas, a terribly difficult task towards which the appointment of Lt. Gen. Sir Harold Briggs to be Director of Operations may make a useful contribution.
Previous page
