BRUNEI (Hansard, 10 December 1962)

§ The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Duncan Sandys)
I think, Mr. Speaker, that the hon. Member for Dudley (Mr. Wigg) will find that my reply will give him most of the information for which he is asking.
The House will wish me to make a statement about recent developments in Brunei.
Early on Saturday morning an attempt was made to overthrow the Government of the autonomous State of Brunei. This was organised by an underground body which calls itself the North Kalimantan National Army, and which derives a major part of its support from Brunei Malays.
Attacks were made on the police station in Brunei town and on various Government buildings, and the rebels seized control of the oilfield at Seria. Some incidents also occurred in areas of North Borneo and Sarawak immediately adjoining Brunei, where the population includes a substantial number of Brunei Malays.
The Sultan of Brunei asked us for urgent assistance in restoring law and order, which he was entitled to do under his Treaty with Britain. On receipt of this request, troops were despatched immediately by air and sea from Singapore.
The House will not expect me to give details of military dispositions. But I can say that the following Army units, with appropriate naval and air support, are engaged in the area: the Queen's Own Highlanders, the 1st Battalion the 2nd Gurkha Rifles, the 42nd Commando Royal Marines, and a squadron of armoured cars of the Queen's Irish Hussars. Additional forces are either on their way or are being held ready for despatch at short notice.
Police reinforcements have been provided from Sarawak and North Borneo. The Malayan Government have also offered to sand same of their forces should this be needed.
Order has been re-established in Brunei town. But control of the oilfield at Seria has not yet been regained. 32 Operations there have been greatly hampered by the fact that the rebels hold a number of the European staff of the oil company and at one moment used them as a screen to advance upon the police station.
The rebels have operated as an organised force equipped with rifles and automatic weapons. Their plans seem to have included a plot to kidnap the Sultan and to assassinate political personalities in North Borneo and Sarawak. Azahari, who is the leader of the Raayat Party in Brunei, and who left the country several weeks ago, claims to have been appointed by the Sultan of Brunei as Prime Minister of all three territories.
The Sultan has completely denied this, while political leaders in North Borneo and Sarawak have condemned the rising and have dissociated themselves from it.
It is, I am afraid, inevitable that in certain respects the situation still remains unclear. But hon. Members will understand that in a country like Brunei, where roads are few and where many telephone lines have been cut, it is not easy to obtain quick reports.
Our Commissioner-General in South-East Asia, Lord Selkirk, who has just returned to Singapore from Brunei, is in continuous touch with us. I will keep the House informed of further developments.

§ Mr. Healey
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that statement. We on our side of the House recognise that Her Majesty's Government have a right and duty to protect the lives and property of British people in Brunei and have certain obligations which we recognise under the Treaty with the Sultan.
I think that the House would also wish to express sympathy with the families of those who have already become casualties in the operation.
I do not wish to press the right hon. Gentleman at this stage on the substantive matters at issue while the situation is still so obscure, but since the Sultan himself has so far not made up his mind about Brunei's accession to the Malaysian Federation, will the right hon. Gentleman think carefully before accepting the Malayan Government's offer to send troops to intervene in the situation?

§ Mr. Sandys
I would certainly like to associate myself with the hon. Gentleman's expression of sympathy with the relatives of those affected. All I said in my statement was that an offer had been made to send troops by the Malayan Government, but I fully realise, as, I am sure, the Prime Minister of Malaya fully realises, that there are not only military but political implications in this.

§ Mr. Grimond
I have three questions. First, are we responsible for internal order in Brunei? Secondly, have we any definite information that this rebellion is connected with the proposal that Brunei should join the Malaysian Federation? Thirdly, did we have no prior information that such a rebellion was likely to take place?

§ Mr. Sandys
Our obligation is for external affairs and defence, and defence includes coming to the assistance of Brunei should there be a severe threat to the Government and State. We have no direct responsibility for internal security, except in times of emergency, such as the present moment, when we have stepped in. I do not think that we know very much what the immediate objective of this move is, but the leader of the rebellion, in a statement in the Philippines, has said that his objective is to unite the two British territories of North Borneo and Brunei and to create a Federation of Malaysia on lines proposed by the Philippine Government. It is hard to say exactly what the difference is, except that the rebels have an intention to join a federation of a rather different kind.
The right hon. Gentleman also asked about prior information. In an autonomous State like Brunei, with its large areas of jungle, it is at all times difficult to get accurate and timely intelligence. On a number of occasions we have had warnings and information about underground activities of various kinds, and have also been warned of troubles that might break out. But, previously, these warnings have proved to be unfounded. That is the sort of situation one is faced with. We were not altogether without information about this particular trouble. On the other hand, it corresponded very closely to warnings on previous occasions which turned out to be baseless.

§ Mr. Gardner
Is my right hon. Friend aware of the great anxiety felt in the country about the British people in Brunei, especially at Seria, where there are many British employees of the Shell Oil Company? Can he give us an assurance about the present safety of these people and any comfort about their present welfare?

§ Mr. Sandys
The situation is changing so rapidly that I would hesitate to make any firm statement on that point. We are well aware of the importance of recovering control of the Seria oilfield as quickly as possible, and the Queen's Own Highlanders are now operating in that area. But at the moment I cannot give the House any firm information, although, naturally, we are all anxious to hear as soon as possible that the Seria oilfield and its European staff have been relieved.

§ Mr. Shinwell
Has the Sultan recently expressed any desire to create an independent State outside the Malaysian Federation? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it has been reported in the Press that that is the principal objective of the rebel leader? Has the right hon. Gentleman also noted that the first battalion to be sent to Brunei was a battalion of the Gurkhas? Will he, therefore, be good enough to advise the Secretary of State for War about this matter, if his right hon. Friend is not already aware of it, as it is understood that the Secretary of State for War contemplates reducing the Gurkha Brigade?

§ Mr. Sandys
I am sure that nobody in the House under-rates the value of the Gurkhas or their fine record in the British Army. The attitude of Brunei towards the Malaysian Federation is a matter for the Brunei Government to decide for themselves. The Sultan and his Government have been in consultation with the Government of Malaya, on and off, for some months, but they have not yet reached any conclusion as to whether they wish Brunei to join the Federation. This is a matter for Brunei and Brunei alone to decide.

§ Mr. Eden
Is there any evidence that the rebels are getting support from outside the country and, if so, where that support is coming from? Does not my 35 right hon. Friend agree that this particular action demonstrates not only the importance, as the right hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell) has stated, of the continued strength of the Gurkha Brigade but also of the significant rôole in the maintenance of peace in the area which can be played by the Singapore base?

§ Mr. Sandys
I do not think I need say more than I have about the value we attach to the contribution of the Gurkhas and I am also already on record about the importance of our base at Singapore. There are indications, but they are not yet firm, that the rebel forces have received, or have undergone, a certain amount of military training outside the country.

§ Mr. Wigg
The right hon. Gentleman has told us that intelligence available made him aware that such a rebellion was a possibility. The composite force sent in should, therefore, be balanced and equipped and organised to fight, with reinforcements, if required, available in sufficient numbers and without extensive notice. Will the right hon. Gentleman say how it comes about, however, on the basis of what he has said, that the force is anything but balanced? Will he tell us the kind of aircraft used and confirm whether or not the force has been limited, not by the needs of the situation, but by the capacity of the sea and air lift?

§ Mr. Sandys
If the hon. Gentleman studies my statement he will see that a very adequate force was sent in, and sent in very quickly. More troops are available should they be needed. Some are already on the way, while others are being held in readiness. As for equipment and balance, I have no knowledge—and, certainly, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman has no information—which suggests that the force has not been properly equipped and is not in every way ready and fit to carry out these duties.

§ Mr. Wigg
The right hon. Gentleman has given the details of the forces. They are the Queen's Own Highlanders, the 1st Battalion the 2nd Gurkhas, 42nd Commando and a squadron of the Queen's Irish Hussars. He has said nothing about the services. Has the force been sent in without a signal company, without any R.Es., 36 without hospitalisation? Has the force been sent in without those formations because the right hon. Gentleman lacks the lift to move the rest in?

§ Mr. Sandys
I was not going into every detail about kitchen stoves and the Dental Service, or things of that sort.

§ Mr. Gordon Walker
Has the right hon. Gentleman any information about where the arms, which he told us were coming from outside, have come from? In view of what he has said about the great value of the Gurkhas, does he realise that there is strong feeling in the House that the Government should reconsider what is broadly thought to be their intention to disband quite a large number of these valuable troops?

§ Mr. Sandys
It is not for me to make a statement, arising out of a report on Brunei, on the future of the Gurkhas, but I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War will be making a statement on this subject early in the new year.

§ Mr. Speaker
We cannot go on with this now, without a Question. I am not giving the hon. Member for Dudley (Mr. Wigg) any encouragement. I was about to ask the Clerk to read the Orders of the Day. Does he wish to make an application?

§ Mr. Wigg
I should be the last to take advantage of any encouragement that you gave me, Mr. Speaker, but as I gave notice to the Minister of Defence and was answered by an easy political gibe by the right hon. Gentleman, who suggested that I was referring to the Dental Corps and who did not answer my question about the kind of aircraft which were used in this operation—and I suppose that even hon. Members opposite would think that it was relevant to know whether the troops had ammunition; or do they not?—and as we do not know whether these troops are effectively supplied, I do not know whether to seek permission to move the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order No. 9 so that we can discuss the matter.

§ Mr. Speaker
Either the hon. Member moves his Motion, giving it to me in writing, or he does not. There is no half-way house about it.