PROBRITISH

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21209, 4 September 1940, Page 9

PROBRITISH

MALAYAN NATIVES "SINGAPORE IS IMPREGNABLE” POLICE OFFICIAL ON LEAVE (By Telegraph.—Special to Times) AUCKLAND, Tuesday “I believe Singapore is impregnable. It is a seething mass of troops and is bristling with guns,” said Mr G. R. Livett, assistantsuperintendent of police at Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malay States, who has arrived in New Zealand on furlough. Mr Livett said the native population of Malaya was extremely pro-British. “Both the British and Asiatic populations have responded marvellously to the war fund and patriotic fund appeals,” he continued. “In Singapore itself over 5,000,000 dollars has been given by Europeans, Malays, Indians, Chinese and people of various other nationalities. The laws relating to compulsory military service apply only to the European population, but Asiatics compose a large proportion of the volunteer forces. Machine-gun Nests ‘‘Life in Singapore is normal, except that the defences have been increased. There has been no evacuation from there, but there are barbed wire entanglements on the sea-front, and obstructions to guns have been cleared away. The island is ringed with machine-gun nests and gun emplacements.” Mr Livett said that on his way to New Zealand he visited Batavia and Sourabaya. He noticed particularly the air-raid shelters and the signs of air-raid precautions, for which careful provision seemed to have been made. Meanwhile, as far as he could learn in a brief stay, the Netherlands East Indies were continuing normally. New Caledonia Trouble “Our ship omitted its usual call at New Caledonia, owing to reports of internal disturbances there,” said Mr Livett. “Reports of internal trouble at New Caledonia, owing to public disapproval of the actions of the Vichy Government, reached the ship before it was due at Noumea. We gained the impression that there was every prospect of the people demonstrating against the authorities, who are controlled by the Petain Government.”