§ Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made in settling the 400,000 Chinese squatters in Malaya.
Mr. GriffithsThe principle has been accepted by State and Settlement Governments that wherever possible squatters should be settled, and given title to land, in the areas where they already live, but that where settlement of this kind is not possible, they should be moved to other areas. Funds have been made available by the Federation Government for roads,78W drainage, police stations and other essential services in existing settlements and in the new areas of resettlement. Voluntary organisations such as the Malayan Chinese Association have helped to provide subsistence payments to squatters, transport and building materials. Squatter committees have been set up in a number of districts and Chinese-speaking resettlement officers have been appointed in several of the States most concerned.
A great variety of schemes is now in progress, and more are planned, ranging from the re-grouping and concentration of scattered communities to the large-scale resettlement of several thousand persons in a single new area.
The completion of this formidable task involving as it does very large numbers of human beings, and the bringing of settled administration and police protection to the rural communities will inevitably take time. The High Commissioner has however constantly impressed upon the State and Settlement Governments the urgency of the problem.