There is something in the daily Press every week that
stands out conspicuous. This week I would single out without any hesitation Ward Price's interview with General Templer - in Monday's Daily Mail, not merely because it is the able piece of work which everything by that notable journalist always is, but because of the enlightenment and obvious sincerity of the .views expressed, by the High Commissioner. He is primarily a soldier, but very much more than a Soldier. "The shooting war," said this professional soldier, "is only twenty-five per cent. of my field," going on to add that the best way to wean people from Communism is by the spread of social services, by better standards of citizenship, by reform of land tenure. One of his plans for 1953, he pursued, was the holding of elections in villages and municipalities—part of the process of "building this plural racial society of Malaya into a nation, of driving them along the road to self-government." General Templer has only been in Malaya ten months, but if these are the principles that animate him it is not surprising that Ward Price. revisiting the peninsula after three years, should be greatly impressed by the new spirit of confidence he finds pre- vailing. Nairobi need- not disdain to learn something from Kuala Lumpur. * * * *
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