§ 20. Mr. Wyattasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that none of the 135 applicants for naturalisation from non-English speaking citizens of Singapore made since October, 513 1951, has yet been granted that this delay has been caused by his Department in London; and whether he will speed up the process of dealing with these applications.
§ Mr. LytteltonSince the 1st October, 1951, only 24 certificates of naturalisation for non-English speaking Chinese have been submitted for my approval. I have approved 14 of these, leaving 10 still outstanding. I am satisfied that no undue delay in handling these cases occurs in my Department.
§ Mr. WyattIn that case, can the right hon. Gentleman explain why, in the Singapore Legislative Council, the member who asked about this was given exactly the same information as is now recorded on the Order Paper, and that the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, who is a colonial official, said that delays had occurred at the Colonial Office in London in dealing with naturalisation requests from all the Colonies? Should not the right hon. Gentleman have some better co-ordination between his officials and officials in Singapore?
§ Mr. LytteltonThe information of the hon. Gentleman, I think, has been garbled. In fact, there were 137 applications for naturalisation, not all from non-English speaking citizens, which is the subject of the hon. Gentleman's Question, and that is where confusion has arisen.
§ Mr. WyattIs the right hon. Gentleman merely trying to evade the point on a technical quibble? Is it not a fact that there have been serious delays in granting these applications, and is not this entirely against the interests of the whole arrangement, which is to make people think they are citizens of Malaya and Singapore?
§ Mr. LytteltonThe hon. Gentleman's information is incorrect. There were 24 applications from non-English speaking Chinese since October, of which 14 have been granted and 10 are still outstanding.