THIS DOCUMENT
IS
THE
PROPERTY
Printed
OF
HIS
BRITANNIC
for the Cabinet.
June
MAJESTY'S
GOVERNMENT
1950
SECRET
Copy No.
C P . (50) 125
13th June,
1950
CABINET
PRELIMINARY
REPORT
ON
VISIT
TO
MALAYA
AND
SINGAPORE
M E M O R A N D U M B Y T H E SECRETARY O F S T A T E F O R T H E C O L O N I E S
Introduction
1. I p r o p o s e , with the S e c r e t a r y of State for W a r , to circulate as s o o n as
possible for t h e i n f o r m a t i o n of t h e C a b i n e t , a general r e p o r t o n o u r visit t o
M a l a y a . W e shall also be b r i n g i n g f o r w a r d individual m a t t e r s in detail t o the
Malaya Committee.
2. M e a n t i m e , I wish t o let m y colleagues h a v e this s u m m a r y of t h e m a t t e r s
arising o u t of m y visit o n w h i c h i m m e d i a t e a c t i o n is r e q u i r e d a n d is being t a k e n .
The
Emergency
3. T h e Secretary of S t a t e for W a r a n d I a r e completely satisfied w i t h
G e n e r a l Briggs's o p e r a t i o n a l p l a n s . T h e y a r e b a s e d o n full c o - o r d i n a t i o n of t h e
military, police a n a civil forces. T h e military forces will clear t h e p e n i n s u l a a r e a
by a r e a , f r o m s o u t h t o n o r t h : the j o b of t h e police a n d civil a d m i n i s t r a t i o n will
be t o establish effective c o n t r o l in e a c h a r e a as it is c l e a r e d t o e n a b l e t h e m i l i t a r y
forces t o m o v e o n t o t h e next. O p e r a t i o n s u n d e r this p l a n b e g a n in J o h o r e o n
1st J u n e .
4. N o t i m e d p r o g r a m m e c a n b e w o r k e d o u t for " o p e r a t i o n s " of this k i n d ,
a n d it will b e a lengthy t a s k . A n i n d i c a t i o n is t h a t G e n e r a l Briggs (i) d o e s n o t
expect t o h a v e c l e a r e d t h e t w o s o u t h e r n m o s t States of J o h o r e a n d N e g r i S e m b i l a n
before N o v e m b e r of this y e a r , a n d (ii) h e does n o t c o n t e m p l a t e b e i n g a b l e t o
release a n y t r o o p s f r o m M a l a y a b e f o r e A p r i l 1951 w i t h o u t seriously prejudicing
his o w n c a m p a i g n .
5. T h e speed of the p l a n d e p e n d s entirely o n the capacity of the civil a d m i n i s ­
t r a t i o n t o c o n s o l i d a t e b e h i n d t h e military o p e r a t i o n s : a n d t h a t in t u r n is m a i n l y
a q u e s t i o n of p e r s o n n e l . I t is vital t o t h e success of the w h o l e c a m p a i g n t h a t M a l a y a
s h o u l d receive, within the next two to three months,
the civil r e i n f o r c e m e n t s
n e e d e d , p a r t i c u l a r l y for t h e Police. T h e Police calculate, with their present s t r e n g t h ,
to b e able t o i m p l e m e n t t h e Briggs P l a n in t h e S t a t e of J o h o r e a n d p a r t l y in N e g r i
S e m b i l a n : they have no reserves to meet further phases of the Plan.
Police
6.
Reinforcements
T h e i m m e d i a t e Police r e q u i r e m e n t s a r e : —
(i) 117 officers,
(ii) a p p r o x i m a t e l y 175 British n.c.os.
T h e officers n e e d e d are trained
policemen (United Kingdom inspectors or
sergeants), of 3 0 - 3 5 years, p a r t i c u l a r l y those with C.I.D. experience. T h e F e d e r a ­
tion G o v e r n m e n t is p r e p a r e d t o offer p e r m a n e n t a p p o i n t m e n t s or c o n t r a c t s . T h e
Colonial Office will seek t o recruit from every possible source, b u t t h e b u l k of
these m e n m u s t c o m e from the U n i t e d K i n g d o m Police F o r c e s . I a m i n t o u c h
with the H o m e Secretary a n d I h o p e t h a t there will b e n o difficulty in m e e t i n g
this need, w h i c h m u s t b e r e g a r d e d as the first priority. T h e British n.c.os. r e q u i r e d
38863 32
will b e r e c r u i t e d t h r o u g h t h e C r o w n A g e n t s in t h e o r d i n a r y w a y . T h e a b o v e
r e q u i r e m e n t s of officers a n d n.c.os. will e n a b l e t h e Police F o r c e t o m e e t their
obligations u n d e r t h e first half of t h e Briggs P l a n : t h e r e will b e a n a d d i t i o n a l
d e m a n d for the second half b u t this will n o t be l a r g e .
7. In a d d i t i o n , G e n e r a l Briggs p r o p o s e s t o b u i l d u p t h e Police " jungle
s q u a d s " i n t o 45 c o m p a n i e s , w h i c h a s a military b r a n c h of t h e Police will b e able
t o relieve t h e military forces of i n t e r n a l security d u t i e s as t h e c a m p a i g n progresses!.
H e is n o t asking U n i t e d K i n g d o m h e l p o n this, b u t h a s s o u g h t assistance from
t h e Service Chiefs in t h e F a r E a s t in recruiting n a t i o n a l s e r v i c e m e n (w.os. a n d
n.c.os.), a b o u t t o t a k e their discharge, for service o n c o n t r a c t w i t h t h e M a l a y a n
Police as P o l i c e L i e u t e n a n t s (platoon leaders) in t h e " j u n g l e c o m p a n i e s . "
8. It is m o s t desirable, particularly i n view of t h e l a r g e r e i n f o r c e m e n t s f r o m
outside, to i n c r e a s e t h e n u m b e r of A s i a n officers in t h e F e d e r a l Police F o r c e . F o r
this p u r p o s e , a local police officer t r a i n i n g college is n e e d e d . T h e F e d e r a t i o n
G o v e r n m e n t a r e p r e p a r i n g plans for this college as quickly as p o s s i b l e : the
C o m m a n d a n t of t h e College a n d the Chief I n s t r u c t o r will h a v e t o b e recruited f r o m
t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m a n d I shall seek t h e assistance of t h e H o m e Secretary a s
s o o n a s firm p r o p o s a l s r e a c h m e f r o m M a l a y a .
9. T h e F e d e r a t i o n G o v e r n m e n t h a v e a g r e e d in principle t h a t a r e g u l a r
police force of a b o u t 40,000 m e n m u s t b e m a i n t a i n e d after t h e emergency.
Administrative
Reinforcements
10. T h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r h a s a s k e d t h a t 25 a d m i n i s t r a t i v e cadets a l l o t t e d
t o M a l a y a this y e a r s h o u l d b e sent o u t i m m e d i a t e l y w i t h o u t t a k i n g t h e u s u a l
y e a r ' s t r a i n i n g course. T h i s is being a r r a n g e d . A b o u t 15 of these officers w e r e
i n t e n d e d t o b e C h i n e s e - s p e a k i n g officers a n d t h e y will be given a t h r e e m o n t h s '
intensive c o u r s e in C a n t o n e s e b e f o r e sailing. I a m c o n v i n c e d of t h e need, b o t h as
p a r t of t h e Briggs plan a n d for t h e f u t u r e , for closer a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o v e r a g e of
t h e c o u n t r y a t t h e " district officer " level, b o t h i n C h i n e s e a n d M a l a y a n a r e a s .
F u t u r e r e q u i r e m e n t s a r e b e i n g reviewed o n this b a s i s ; already, in a d d i t i o n t o t h e
25 officers m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , 30 o t h e r s h a v e b e e n asked for b y M a l a y a as i m m e d i a t e
appointments.
Repatriation
of Chinese
detainees.
11. I f o u n d all c o n c e r n e d in M a l a y a agreed, a n d I a m c o n v i n c e d myself,
r e n e w a l of t h e r e p a t r i a t i o n of C h i n e s e detainees to C h i n a is a n essential
requisite t o t h e success of G e n e r a l Briggs's p l a n . T h e p r e s e n c e of detainees in
increasing n u m b e r s —
(i) constitutes a m o s t serious security risk,
(ii) w a s t e s m a n p o w e r on g u a r d duties a n d , a b o v e all,
(iii) is a serious b r a k e o n i n f o r m a t i o n , t h r o u g h t h e C h i n e s e p o p u l a t i o n ^
of b a n d i t s still in t h e c o u n t r y in d e t e n t i o n c a m p s .
that
pre­
ever
fear
12. I discussed with the C o m m i s s i o n e r - G e n e r a l , t h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r a n d
t h e G o v e r n o r of S i n g a p o r e , t h e p r o s p e c t s of r e s u m i n g this traffic t o C h i n a , t h r o u g h
o r d i n a r y c o m m e r c i a l c h a n n e l s . A first step m i g h t b e m a d e early in July, a n d I
p r o p o s e t o t a k e u p this p o i n t i m m e d i a t e l y with t h e F o r e i g n Secretary.
Information
and
Propaganda
13. T h e r e is r o o m for i m p r o v e m e n t in t h e I n f o r m a t i o n Services in M a l a y a ,
a l t h o u g h they a r e by n o m e a n s ineffective at p r e s e n t . T h e r e is n e e d h o w e v e r for
b e t t e r d i r e c t i o n of effort against t h e C o m m u n i s t s in b o t h (a) general p r o p a g a n d a
w o r k a n d (b) direct " psychological w a r f a r e " a g a i n s t t h e b a n d i t s . T h e latter is
in its infancy, a l t h o u g h a s t a r t h a s n o w b e e n m a d e by t h e a p p o i n t m e n t of a Public
R e l a t i o n s Officer t o G e n e r a l Briggs's staff a n d of a " p r o p a g a n d a section " of the
C.I.D., w h i c h w o r k s in close c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h h i m .
14. I p r o p o s e
(a) to investigate i m m e d i a t e l y t h e possibility of securing an a n t i - C o m m u n i s t
p r o p a g a n d a e x p e r t for M a l a y a , w h o s e a p p o i n t m e n t w o u l d b e welcomed
by the Federation Government;
(b) to see w h a t a d d i t i o n a l financial assistance c a n b e given t o t h e M a l a y a n
F i l m U n i t , since all c o n c e r n e d locally agree t h a t films a r e t h e m o s t
effective m e d i u m ;
(c) t o p u r s u e w i t h the B.B.C. a suggestion t h a t t h e y p o s t a p e r m a n e n t r e p r e ­
sentative i n M a l a y a , w i t h a view t o c o r r e c t i n g t h e misleading
i m p r e s s i o n s of t h e s i t u a t i o n i n M a l a y a s o m e t i m e s given t o t h e w o r l d
b y foreign c o r r e s p o n d e n t s w h o s e l d o m m o v e f r o m S i n g a p o r e .
15. T h e r e is little d o u b t t h a t t h e m o s t effective line of a n t i - C o m m u n i s t
p r o p a g a n d a a m o n g t h e Chinese in M a l a y a is t o p l a y u p t h e b a d conditions of
their relatives in C h i n a u n d e r the C o m m u n i s t regime. A c e r t a i n a m o u n t of n e w s
of this k i n d is filtering t h r o u g h privately a n d is h a v i n g a g r e a t effect: b u t it c a n n o t
be used in official p r o p a g a n d a in view of t h e p r e s e n t directive u n d e r which t h e
local I n f o r m a t i o n Officers w o r k . I p r o p o s e t o r e - e x a m i n e this p r o b l e m .
Financial and
Economic
16. I f o u n d a m o n g all c o n c e r n e d i n M a l a y a , from t h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r
d o w n w a r d s , a k e e n a p p r e c i a t i o n of t h e n e e d for developing t h e r e s o u r c e s of t h e
c o u n t r y a n d i m p r o v i n g the s t a n d a r d of living, as a l o n g - t e r m c o u n t e r t o C o m ­
m u n i s m . D e s p i t e t h e e m e r g e n c y , t h e F e d e r a t i o n G o v e r n m e n t is being i m a g i n a t i v e
a n d farsighted. A d r a f t d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n h a s b e e n p r e p a r e d for c o n s i d e r a t i o n b y
the Councils of the States a n d S e t t l e m e n t s , a n d it is h o p e d will h a v e r e a c h e d t h e
stage of a p p r o v a l b y the central Legislative C o u n c i l in J u l y . A m a j o r feature of
this p l a n is a s c h e m e for t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a R u r a l D e v e l o p m e n t A u t h o r i t y
which, t h o u g h n o t exclusively for t h e M a l a y section of t h e c o m m u n i t y , is a i m e d
at d e v e l o p i n g t h e e c o n o m i c p o t e n t i a l of t h e r u r a l a r e a s w h i c h are p r e d o m i n a n t l y
Malay.
17. I a m c o n v i n c e d t h a t , if t h e s e p l a n s are n o t to be j e o p a r d i s e d (and it is t o
my m i n d essential t h a t w e s h o u l d b e r e a d y t o p u t t h e m i n t o o p e r a t i o n as soon as
the e m e r g e n c y is e n d e d , if n o t earlier), t h e F e d e r a t i o n m u s t h a v e a d d i t i o n a l financial
assistance f r o m the U n i t e d K i n g d o m . T h e £3 million c o n t r i b u t i o n for 1950 f r o m
the E x c h e q u e r t o w a r d s t h e cost of t h e e m e r g e n c y w a s b a s e d o n a n estimate m a d e
in A u g u s t 1949 t h a t t h e e m e r g e n c y m i g h t e n d d u r i n g 1950, a n d is clearly i n a d e q u a t e .
T h e F e d e r a t i o n is i n fact r a p i d l y r u n n i n g i n t o a serious financial crisis. I h a v e
discussed t h e w h o l e q u e s t i o n with t h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r w h o will be p u t t i n g t h e
financial situation i n detail before m e b y d e s p a t c h very s h o r t l y ; he t h o r o u g h l y
appreciates the n e e d for c o u n t e r b a l a n c i n g a n y increased c o n t r i b u t i o n from H i s
Majesty's G o v e r n m e n t b y t h e m a x i m u m possible increase in local t a x a t i o n . I t will
be necessary t o clear t h e F e d e r a t i o n ^ r e q u e s t very quickly w h e n the High C o m ­
missioner's d e s p a t c h is received a n d , if t h e principle of further h e l p is t h e n accepted,
I shall p r o b a b l y h a v e t o ask for a s u p p l e m e n t a r y e s t i m a t e d u r i n g t h e present session
of t h e H o u s e .
J. G.
Colonial
nth
Office,
S.WA.
June, 1950.