§ 21. Mr. Pickthornasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what period he referred when, on 15th September in the House, he said that the workers in Malaya followed official advice, that there was no chance for Communists to influence them in their ordinary work and that few or no strikes took place.
§ Mr. Rees-WilliamsI have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friend was referring to the period immediately prior to the armed attacks. What he said must he read in its context. As his remarks show, he was indicating the course of the Communist challenge to the authority of Government which, in its earlier stages, 15W was directed to engineering organised strikes on a large scale. The failure of that attempt was due in a large measure to the increasing response of the trade unions to the advice of Malayan Government officials and experienced British trade unionists.