DEFEAT FOR IMPERIALISM IN MALAYSIA |
The ouster of ‘Singapore from Malaysia August 9 dealt a major blow to the British imperialist scheme of establishing a "bulwark against Communism" in Southeast Asia as protection for nearly $2,000,000,000 in tin, oil and rubber investments.
The "Federation of Malaysia" was set up on September 16, 1963, under sponsorship of the British government. It was an effort. to tie Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo together in the face of ‘strong opposition from the masses in Borneo and Singapore and. the threat of the Indonesian government to respond with permanent guerrilla warfare. The artificially contrived federation now appears
to be in process of breaking up.
Although the successful move to kick out Singapore represents a major setback for imperialism in this part of the world, it was not directly due to action undertaken by the masses or by anti-~ imperialist forces, It was more the result of contradictions within the ruling circles of Malaysia.
Lee Kuan Yew, the cynical labor faker who climbed to power in the island on the backs of the masses and who agreed to the "federation" because he had ambitions about heading it, was bounced not because he represented a threat to private capital but because the semifeudal landlord class governing Malaya in close collaboration with the British planters and mining interests, was not willing to share political power with the merchants and industrialists of recent vintage in Singapore.
International capital was convinced that Lee Kuan Yew was a loyal defender of its special interests. Only a few days before Singapore was ousted, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development granted his government $15,000,000. Participating in the loan were a number of big banks including the Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. of New York,
Popular opposition to the federation never died down in Singapore. It included the opposition of a considerable sector of the workers, This compelled Lee Kuan Yew to be chary of the anti+= guerrilla war in North Borneo and not to get involved too deeply in the campaign against Indonesia. It must be pointed out at the same time that the big Singapore shipping, trading and banking interests were not enthusiastic about this campaign which ied to the big losses for them when Soekarno broke off relations.
What will happen now? London is displaying distaste for the "Malayan extremists" in Kuala Lumpur who forced Singapore out of the federation. The British government can threaten them with "complete withdrawal," thus trying to frighten them with the specter of the "Communist menace from the north" in case they don't return to "reason."' Reason, in this case, would be close military, financial and commercial collaboration between the now independent states of Malaysia and Singapore -- in accordance with the basic needs which the British imperialists hoped to meet through the federation. The weekly Economist, one of the most authoritative mouthpieces of the City, advocates such a solution in its August 14 issue.
But U.S. imperialism may prefer a more sweeping maneuver, The State Department has not been happy about the sharp conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia which had the effect of compelling Soekarno to seek an understanding with Peking. Already Lee Kuan Yew, not without an eye to popular support in Singapore, has announced that in foreign policy his government will seek "nonalignment,." This would put him in position to serve as a go-between in dealing with
Soekarno. Thus dissolution of the federation could open the way to an understanding with Soekarno and his resumption of a policy like that of the Indian government.
A big catch in this is the state of Indonesia's economy, To shore it up on a capitalist basis would require huge injections of dollars. Would the Johnson administration dare run the domestic political risk of making big loans to Indonesia, even under the slogan of "saving" that country from Communism? What guarantees could Soekarno provide Johnson with to meet the vociferous outcry from the extreme right wing? Only a crackdown on the Indonesian Communist party, in the style of the Indian government, would satisfy Johnson, And such a course would signify considerable risk for Soekarnoe
It is thus not easy for either the British or American imperialists to retrieve something from the pieces of the broken "Federa-~ tion of Malaysia."