Situation in Malaya

gangs of 40/50 men. This has since been followed by the Colonial Office admission that clearing up the bandits may take two years. It would be preferable if official announcements were confined to facts, and excluded speculation. In this respect Johore, coming under Singapore command, is better off than the rest of the Federation, and consequently with a greater Chinese population than the other states there have been relatively fewer incidents. As this is the only confidential report I send (the others being typed by the office clerk) I propose to add here some points which it is preferable the staff should not see and discuss, although the points hardly come under 'security'.