togother in amity and concord. But it is for you to decide how you wish to work between yourselves. Because we believe in freedom, democracy and responsibility, we wish you well, and God speed you in the future".
- 1.33 p.m.
Mr. Colin Turner (Woolwich, West) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Sorensen), because it is clear that in the visits which he has paid to that part of the world, particularly his last visit, he has very well understood the basic problems which concern the States and perhaps the Federation of Malaysia. I feel that he has absorbed many more of the lessons and understood many more of the problems, and because of that has reached far different and far more right conclusions, than has the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway).
As I think many hon. Members already know, in my capacity as the business, as distinct from the editorial, representative of almost all the newspapers covering the Malaysia Federation, I have had a unique opportunity of representing these papers of all races, languages and political views since 1946 and meeting and discussing with them the problems which we have been debating today. When I had the opportunity of visiting the Borneo territories three years ago, I went around North Borneo with a group of councillors from the Council Negri in Sarawak. They were finding out for the first time what their counterparts in North Borneo felt about the possibilities of Federation.
Everything which we have heard today about the speed of events is very true, but I do not agree with my hon. Friend who suggested that events have gone too fast. In these developing Governments, with the emergence of new nations, events always go far faster than some of us would like, but when the hon. Member for Eton and Slough suggested that it was only for strategic reasons that these countries were coming together, I thought that he was only partly right. Many of these territories have realised in recent months the necessity of coming together for self preservation.
We have heard talk today about Indonesia and the Philippines. Hon. Members who take an interest in South-East Asia will have realised my own interest in the area by the Questions which I have put down from time to time about piracy and similar events. From where did these modern pirates emanate? They emanated from Indonesia and he Philippines. We have had a great defence responsibility in the area of North Borneo for the last two or three years. A tremendous effort has been made by the local Government and Her Majesty's Government to assure the people of North Borneo of adequate protection, and this is a vital issue in the area.
As the hon. Member for Leyton said, the Chinese as a whole, whatever their private political views, thoughts or business, tend to admire the emergent Communist State in China and therefore it does not surprise me in the slightest that the Sarawak United People's Party apparently over the last year has had tremendous support from the people and yet when the ballot was held support was not nearly as great as had appeared to be the case. When the ballot is secret the Chinese are apt to vote another way from the support which they are apparently giving in public.
This is not just a one-sided alliance. I believe that North Borneo has a great deal to teach to the other members of this new Federation. Those hon. Members who have the honour and pleasure of going to North Borneo know only too well what a friendly territory it is. In my view it is the most friendly territory of many which I have visited throughout the Commonwealth. Here there is true racial harmony, despite the advent of party politics. I am assured by many of my friends in that territory that this friendship still exists despite the introduction of party politics, which is always a dangerous thing in any emerging territory.
But why is it that in North Borneo racial harmony has been so good? If hon. Members look back it will be clear to them that this is due to the very careful immigration policy which has been carried out by the North Borneo Government since the war. They have been very particular indeed about the people they allowed into the Colony. Those Chinese who entered the territory did so because they had an essential part to play in the development of the economy.
