COMMUNISTS IN MALAYA

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 102, 13 February 1950, Page 4

COMMUNISTS IN MALAYA

BANDITS AND CUT-THROATS f WELLINGTON, This Day. Communist attempts to rid Malaya of its foreign population are constantly endangering the lives of British and European planters and residents in the interior, according to two New Zealanders from Singapore, who arrived in Wellington to-day on the Wanganella from Sydney. Both New Zealanders, Miss E. Uniacke, of Stratford, a nurse in the physiotherapy department of the Singapore Hospital, and Mr. H. V. Thorne, of Christchurch, a member of the staff of the South British Insurance Company, have paid several visits to Malaya. • Mr. Thorne said the Communists had banded into an organisation called the “Malayan People’s AntiBritish Liberation Movement.” During the war, as the “Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army,” its fighters had done much to harass the Japanese, but now they were equally as harassing to the British, said Mr. Thorne. There was still a large number of Com-munist-led bandits creating trouble throughout the country. “These Communists are simply bandits and cut-throats. They have no respect for property or for human life,” said Mr. Thorne. Their slogan was “Rid Malaya of foreigners,” and they were endeavouring to obtain their objective by a programme of terroristic activities. Already several European and British planters in the interior had been shot or murdered. Their favourite prey were the smaller rubber plantations owned by Indians or Chinese, who could not afford armed guards. Special police forces and air patrols had been formed to combat the Communists, said Mr. Thorne.