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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1963)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1863 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON End Of Terrorism in Malaya Leaves Country Firm Legacy Bv PATRICK J. KILLEN United Press International KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (UPI) The year was 1948. It was the year when Communist terrorists opened up a war to make Malaya a "people's republic. On June 16 of that year, on a mhher estate in northern Mala ya, three young Chinese rode up on bicycles to the office of Arlhur Walker. 50, a British planter. "Tabak, Tuan" ("Salutations, Sir") one of them said, ana shot Walker through the head. Thr-v rode awav without touch ing hundreds of dollars in the office sate. That same day they killed two other Britons and two Chi nese anti-Communists, 'ihe siay ings forced an uncertain , Brit ish Malayan government to de clare an "emergency," a nice word for what was already in progress a dirty jungle war. The emergency was supposed to be over in time for Christ mas. The officer commanding the Malayan district, Maj. Gen. Charles Boucher, calmly told the legislative council: "I can tell you this is by far the easiest problem I have ever tackled. In spite of the appal ling country and ease with which he can hide, the enemy is far weaker in technique and courage then either the Greek or Indian Red." His statement was one of many wild miscalculations. The emergency lasted 12 years. It endured through t h e Korean War, continued while one war ended and another be gan in Viet Nam. By the time the emergency was cancelled on July 31, 19G0, more than 11,000 persons had been killed. The Malayan guerilla war had many similarities to the present fighting in Viet Nam. It was a hit and run affair in the countryside with terrorism a prime weapon. The United States has a large body of military "advisors" in Viet Nam, but the British had fighting troops in Malaya and the authority to make any changes, set any military policy they wished. The British and later the Ma layan government won, but they never did crush or smash or obliterate the Communists. Rather, they starved and iso lated them to death. I hey beat them through rewards, intelli- cence reports, psychological warfare, new villages and finally by gelling the vast majority of the Malayan pcoplo on mar side It was a slow, sordid business. The first few years of jungle war were a national nightmare. Terrorists shot up police sta tions, slashed rubber trees, murdered planters. Either out of sympathy or fear, Malayan villagers smuggled food to the Terrorists and generally refused to cooperate with security forces. Line of DrfwiMV Planters and miners formed (he first line of defense. They trained young Malayans into a special constabulary, ringed their estates, factories, dredges with barbed wire. Arc lights shone at night and booby traps were rigged to keep the I or rorists away. But everything outside those perimeters was a jungle of terrorism The years 1950 to 1951 were the crisis years. The war was in doubt and the Terrorists were staging their biggest raids. In May, 1950, Lt. Gen. Sir Harold Briggs, came out of re tirement to become military di r;ctor of operations, He was a veteran of the African desert and the Burma campaign. Under Briggs, the British pushed forward with a new concept the new villages or strategic hamlets in which farmers were pulled together into communities and both guarded and placed under guard. He ordered a food control program designed to starve the Terrorists from the jungles. Briggs developed the idea of war by committees in whicn the military, police and civilians from the capital down to the smaller settlements participated in the fight. The joint planning and exchanges of information gave everyone a stake in the fight, The resettlement olan was by far the most ambitious. Before it was over, an estimated half million persons, nearly all Chi nese squatters, were persuaded, cajoled or forced into 400 "new villages. They previously had provided the terrorists with a supply line of food and other equipment. Under the resettle ment, that could be halted. In two years the face of Ma laya was changed with new villages appearing on the maps where nothing had been before. Briggs drew up the blueprint for victory but no one seemed to know it with the possible excep tion of the Communist high command. He departed in 1951, broken man, and died n months later. Moral Sank A month before Briggs left, Malayan morale sunk to its lowest level. On Oct. 7. 1961, Terrorists killed Sir Henry Gurncy, the British High Com missioner to Malaya on a road near the mountain resort oi Frascr's Hill, 60 miles from the sweaty capital of Kuala Lumpur. Winston uuircniii personally picked General Sir Gerald Tern pier, an old line military man, to take command in Malaya, both as higher commissioner and supreme commander o( armed forces. Templer began by pulling to. gefher the worried military forces. He made lightning lours. He sent congratulatory lele- grams to units which killed Tor- orisls. He sent angry rockets to those which did not. He put an entire town of 20, 000 on 22-hour curfew because they did not cooperate with the armed forces against Terror-1 isls. He closed all the schools, put everyone on one-half rice rations. Within a month, the lown was free of Terrorist at tack. Propaganda methods were in tensified. Intelligence informa tion was increased by use of a post office box number in Kuala Lumpur where informers could send letters. Rewards were in flated $84,000 on the head of guerilla leader Chin Peng. "Voice aircraft" made their appearance. These wore slow moving planes which flew over the jungles and beamed loud speakers at the Terrorists. The messages listed guerilla's com rades who were killed or had sur.-endercd the day before. Templer spent three days and finally memorized a message in Mandarin for use by the planes: 'This is General Templer speaking to all armed members of the Malayan Communist Party. You need not be afraid and can surrender. This is my personal pledge to you. You will not be ill-treated." Malayan newspapers began running pictures of ex-Terrorists dining on suckling pig and toast ing each other with brandy to show how well surrendered guerillas were treated. One of Templer's best de cisions was the introduction of "white areas," regions which had been cleared of T rorists and where harsh restrictions could be lifted. Terrorism Control By the time Templer left In June, 1954, overt terrorism was under control. The elections brought to pow er the Alliance Party of Tengku Abdul Rahman. The party com bined Malays, Chinese and In dians into one political group for the first time. It was dedi cated to ending the emergency and one of its first acts was in granting an amnesty. Th Tengku gained a promise that the Reds would lay down their arms when Malaya won its independence. The promise was never kept; but it was the begir-:ng of the end. Independence came on Aug. 31, 1957, and lt did much to finally win over the majority of the people to the govern ment. The nation now belonged to the Malayans Chinese, Malays and Indians and it was now their war to win. Communists began surrender ing in large groups. Emergency Hurts The factors which finally ended the emergency were these: Independence and the am nesty. Massive deployment oi troops in selected areas. Intensive intelligence activi ties. Psychological warfare cam paigns. Rigid controls which denied food to Ihe Communists. Massive resettlement and establishment of "new villages." Today the Malayian govern ment reports there are about 500 Terrorists hiding in Ihe deep jungles along t h e northern border with Thailand. They sel dom do more than steal pigs. The emergency is little more than a grim memory to most Malayans. No one ever men tions il. Perhaps its firmest legacy is the fact Hint Malaya and its successor. Malaysia, re mains one of the staunchest anti-Communist nations in the world. 13 jrwwEWTW! I 1 ".v.. IIP'" It takes a darn good marinade to give meat gourmet flavor and juicy tenderness in just 15 minutes W. , w .- J li iM k ft ,'. u- i :i i I H , i UUME1 tMIIR AtO JUICY 1MQCKKES t Mlt i 1 This is a darn good marinade look for Adolph's Instant Meal Marinade in the meal section ol your market WHAT IS LAW? The English language uses one word, "law," to express two distinct ideas. In many foreign languages these two meanings are expressed by two different words. When we speak of the "rule of law," we are thinking of the whole body of law, under which we live together in a civilized society. In Latin the word law in its broad concept is "jus," but for a spccitic statute it is "lex, from which our word "law" is derived. In French it is "droit" and "loi"; in Spanish, "dere cho" and "ley." The French word for law is identical with the world f o r : "right." This is not a coinci dence. The whole purpose of the law is to define and enforce our rights. We are forbidden to speed on the highway so that others may enjoy their right to travel Ihe same road in safety. Laws specifying how wills and deeds shall be made have been adopted for Ihe benefit of I h e people. Our rights arc in three broad groups. First, specific legal rights; thousands of these have been established through t h e years as the law strives to keep itself responsive to the changing needs of the people it serves. Second, fundamental rights such as the right to vote, to hear arms and to participate in government. j And third, there are "basic rights" so basic that they be long to all men everywhere in , this country. Call them God-given rights, if you will rights guaranteed under law and nam ed in the Declaration of Inde pendence life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. White City Post Office Remodeled Remodeling of the White City Post Office lias been completed in time for the Christmas mail load, Acting Medford Post master Al Bradford reported In day. New fixtures have been in stalled and Ihe box section ex panded to serve 500 patrons. Patrons of Ihe post office, who have boxes, will now be able to enter the building at any time and pick up their mail. Prior In the remodeling the lobby was closed when the post oflice win dows were closed for .service. Norman Jahn is the supcrin lendenl in charge at Ihe White City branch. The remodeling project was carried owl by Ratzcr Construct-on Co.. low bidder on the con Iracl. The Bal.er bid of Slw5 including moving the post office from the old quarters, remodel ing Ihe new location, formerly the Town and Country Shop, and installing the new box sec lion and equipment. mm WHEN FRIENDS DROP-IN, serve TOM & JERRY The Holiday Hospitality l VlCri'mtC !Unin .;,m. ppjimpn from f'RS and ARC were ,J filming visitors to Lee Oswald's grave in Rose Hill Cemetery at Fort Worth, Texas, this week. Few visitors were passing by. During one hour period only six passed by, mostly in autos tak ing a quick glance. (UPI) IT'S YOUR LAW ncfiprcl for Lav Makes Democrat Live Editor's note: The following ! article was prepared by the Ore gon State Bar and is not intend ed to be legal advice. Persons having a legal problem should consult an attorney. Youfi Charged With Sunday Burglary A 15 jear - old Meiifoi ri area youth is being held in Ihe .lack- son counlv imenile detention home charged with burglary of Ihe Rogue Valley Spoiling Goods store Sunday night, the sheriff's office said Deputies arrested the youth Tuesday on the charge. He ad mitted verbally to the burglary and was still being questioned. He also admitted nine car thefts in Medford and the rest of the county, sheriff's deputies said. A number of guns were taken from Ihe store, but deputies have no! determined how manv. MEDFORD'S FINEST MEATS SINCE 1940 rouge Small Lean Tender Sides Spore-j g C FRESH WHOLE CRABS Limited Supply (2 Lb. Avg.) Heavy Mejted FRESH CRAB MEAT $89 NO WASTE lb. FRESH CHOICE LEAN JUICY GMD CHUCK LB. OUR OWN DELICIOUS PORK PURE CAIICAfii: 49c lb. tfdRkff 2 Ik EW FRESH PACIFIC AVCTETDC Small Size VI VI hlltf 12-OZ. JAR FANCY 8 to 10 Oi. LOBSTER TAILS EACH 5139 "CHOICE" Sweet and Tender FRESH Gr'nd Beef 1I375 BONELESS PORK LOIN ROAST PORK TENDERS 98' lb. 79 "CHOICE" BONELESS BEEF ROAST TIPS RUMPS TOP ROUND M-D WHITE TOILET TISSUE CHIFFON WHITE FACIAL TISSUES 2 SI ROLLS I KRAFT Ift&CAKQNI DINNERS Jpkgs. Spkgs, 1 SALTESEA CLAM CHOWDER tins MARY C I V ELLEN JELL! it Concord Grape -fc Blackberry Rod Currant 310-oz. $$C1 GLASSES 0 NABISCO COOKIES -Ar Chocolate Pinwheels k Fudge Sandwich Striped Shortbread P K G QUICK FROZEN BREADED SHRIMP TID-BITS Mb. S ! 39 Box I i Lux Liquid ., ,49 Cascade Dishwashers pkgs. l DEL ROGUE FREESTONE PEACHES 3 No. 2Vi TINS SHOO SPRY sib, SHORTENING ,ln 59c FISHER'S VACUUM PACKED sa n a mm KING SIZE TIN A STANDBY 49k ETTI JC TOMATO 7 IIP 7Q JUICE ... WJBJ HS?5s CHOICE CALIFORNIA NAVEL b u D urn LTX m mi n n am t mm n m mmr- siw INDIAN RIVER , RU3Y B-l.-ll O 0 ff (QC rec yiapeiruit0R fl HI GOLDEN g IB. DELICIOUS J BUG APPLES 49' i 1 FLAV-R-PAC" IDAHO Instant Mashed m Potatoes-:.: V i)!:nir.rio si iiimh l i n TILLAMOOK (V!ri) -lVdica-lion o( a now Il'j-mile link of U. S. Highway lOl holwren B.iy City nnd Hohsonville was sched uled Wednesday. - FANCY NO. 1 BANANAS SOLID ARIZONA HEAD LETTUCE SWEET SLICING CUCUMBERS lbs. Urge heads for 29 Jfflfijll Phone 773-7444 222 West Main Street ' NEXT TO POWER COMPANY CLOSED SUNDAYS
