Malayan Reform
That a radical reconstitution of administration in Malaya is essential is common doctrine, and the plan which the Government, building on the intentions of its predecessor, has outlined in the White Paper issued on Wednesday meets the requirements of the situation satis- factorily. Two separate colonies are to be organised, one consisting mainly of Singapore (to which will be added a couple.of small islands adjacent),under a Governor with an Executive and Legislative Council, and the Malayan Union on the mainland, taking in the formerly federated and unfederated Malay States, will be given a similar constitution, but with the important proviso that in matters comcin- ing the Mohammedan religion and Malay custom each State will be autonomous, under the Malay Ruler with an Advisory Council. A Governor-General over both colonies will co-ordinate the policies of the two. One important question is left open, in that the status of various territories on the island of Borneo is as yet undetermined. It is obvious that small administrative areas like British North Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak must be brought under the ultimate control of the Colonial Office. Without that there can be no adequate guarantee for the welfare of the native populations. That is the supreme con- sideration, and there is no doubt that in such a principality as Sarawak, about which some little controversy is blowing up, Colonial Office administration is far more likely to be satisfactory than any other arrangement.
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