Ever since its victorious, twelve-year
guerrilla war against Communist rebels, rubber-rich Malaya has been an
eye of calm amidst the storm of Southeast Asia. From its plantations
comes 40% of the world's rubber, and scores of new schools and
factories give evidence of its quietly booming economy. But for some
time Malaya has cast a wary eye at the spread of Communist influence
directly to the south. On the island state of Singapore, Red-lining
extremists threaten to topple the local government, and the British-run
territories of Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo are prey to
the expansionist aims of Indonesia's left-leaning President Sukarno.To prevent Singapore from becoming an Asian Cuba off Malaya's coast and
to stimulate the development of the backward Borneo territories,
Malayan Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman last year proposed
a sensible solution: the formation of a Malaysian Federation.No Altruism. The Tengku's proposal would create a new independent nation
of
10 million people with an area a little smaller than Japan. The
federation would provide new political stability and end the
“colonialism” propaganda issue, which has been a feeding ground for
Communist growth. Malaya could use Singapore as a port instead of
competing with it and could channel economic and technical aid into the
Borneo territories with their rich
oil and rubber resources. “There's not a single railroad track in all of
Sarawak,” says Abdul Rahman, “and not one road connecting any of the
territories with each other.” But the Tengku was not being just
altruistic about the Borneo lands; he wants their inclusion in the
federation because, being non-Chinese, they would preserve the existing
cultural balance and keep the Malay-Moslem population from being
swamped by the influx of Singapore's 1,250,000 Chinese.Last week the Tengku was in London hopeful of hammering out the final
details that would make his plan a reality. Britain has already
tentatively okayed the federation, exacting only the promise that it
could have continued use of its military base in Singapore. Sarawak,
Brunei and
North Borneo have all indicated a willingness to join, mainly because it
would give them their independence far sooner than they might otherwise
have expected.Only Singapore remains a stumbling block.Chaotic Alternative. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is fighting
to prevent Red rabble-rousers from ousting his government before the
federation can be established. The once solid majority of Lee's
Political Action Party in the Singapore Legislative Assembly has been
dissipated through defections to a Communist-front known as the Barisan
Socialists, who have been able to marshal tremendous support among the
island's underfed, underemployed, predominantly Chinese masses. Lee's
all too nimble shifting of position from right to left in the past has
also cost him conservative supporters, who now maintain the P.A.P. in
power only because they regard it as a far lesser evil than Communism.
