MALAYSIA MANILA HUMMED WITH EXCITEMENT AS DELEGATES GATHERED FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL 
MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA . PHALANXES OF MOTORCYCLE 
POLICE ESCORTED SHINY OFFICIAL LIMOUSINES TO MEETINGS AT THE MODERNISTIC PAVILION 
OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD . IN THE PANELED, HIGH-CEILINGED 
CONFERENCE ROOM AND AT DIPLOMATIC COCKTAIL PARTIES, AN ENDLESS STREAM OF 
DIGNITARIES STROLLED UP TO GREET THE MAN WHO WAS THE FOCUS 
OF EVERYONE'S ATTENTION, MALAYA'S STOCKY, SMILING PRIME MINISTER ABDUL RAHMAN, 60, 
THE GOLF-PLAYING EX-PLAYBOY WHO THIS SUMMER WILL BRING INTO BEING A 
NEW ASIAN NATION . TO ONE AND ALL, ABDUL RAHMAN HAPPILY 
TOOK CREDIT FOR THE FORMATION OF THE MALAYSIAN FEDERATION . AS 
HE PUTS IT, " I AM THE FATHER OF MALAYSIA . 
" STRICTLY SPEAKING, THIS IS NOT TRUE ; THE IDEA HAS 
LONG BEEN THE DREAM OF ASIAN NATIONALISTS . FOR YEARS, BRITAIN 
TOO HAS ADVOCATED THE PLAN AS A NEAT WAY TO TIE 
UP ALL ITS REMAINING ASIAN COLONIES (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HONG 
KONG) INTO ONE TIDY INDEPENDENT PACKAGE . BUT THE TUNKU (IT 
MEANS PRINCE) WAS THE INDISPENSABLE CATALYST WITHOUT WHOM MALAYSIA COULD NOT 
HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED . HE WOOED, BULLIED AND CAJOLED THE FOUR 
OTHER COUNTRIES INTO THE FEDERATION AGREEMENT, WAS THE ONLY LOGICAL CHOICE 
TO SERVE AS THE NEW NATION'S FIRST PRIME MINISTER . HAPPY, 
NOT MIGHTY . UNLIKE MOST OTHER NEW ASIAN LEADERS, ABDUL RAHMAN 
IS NO RABID NATIONALIST . HE HAS REMAINED ON CLOSE, FRIENDLY 
TERMS WITH THE BRITISH, HAS NO INTEREST IN PIE-IN-THE-SKY ECONOMIC SCHEMES 
. HIS POLITICAL AIMS ARE SIMPLE : " FOOD INSTEAD OF 
BULLETS, CLOTHING INSTEAD OF UNIFORMS, HOUSES INSTEAD OF BARRACKS . " 
HIS NEW NATION HAS A COMBAT ARMY OF ONLY SEVEN BATTALIONS 
AND AN AIR FORCE SO SMALL THAT THE PILOTS OFTEN HAVE 
TROUBLE FINDING A FOURTH FOR BRIDGE . " MY AMBITION IS 
NOT A MIGHTY MALAYSIA, " SAYS ABDUL RAHMAN, " BUT HAPPY 
MALAYSIA . " BUT MANY PRESSING PROBLEMS THREATEN THE TUNKU'S AMBITION 
. MALAYSIA'S CURRENT PROSPERITY IS ENDANGERED BY ITS DEPENDENCE ON A 
ONE-CROP ECONOMY . SYNTHETICS HAVE ALREADY CAPTURED HALF THE WORLD'S ANNUAL 
5,000,000-TON RUBBER MARKET AND FORCED DOWN THE PRICE OF LATEX . 
ON TOP OF THIS, BRUNEI'S OIL RESERVES ARE FAST DEPLETING . 
TO COUNTER THE ECONOMIC THREAT, MALAYA HAS EMBARKED ON AN AMBITIOUS 
DIVERSIFICATION PROGRAM, IS OFFERING A FIVEYEAR TAX HOLIDAY TO NEW INDUSTRIES 
AND PUSHING A BIG LAND-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR NEW CASH CROPS . 
POLITICALLY, MALAYSIA HAS ALREADY EXPERIENCED SOME ACUTE PAINS . FEARFUL THAT 
A STABLE NEW NATION WILL CURB COMMUNIST SUBVERSION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, 
RUSSIA HAS BRANDED THE FEDERATION " A CUNNING INVENTION OF LONDON 
" SET UP WITH THE " UNQUALIFIED SUPPORT OF U.S . 
IMPERIALISTS . " BOTH NEIGHBORING INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES HAVE LAUNCHED 
A CAMPAIGN OF INVECTIVE AGAINST THE WHOLE IDEA . WALLS OF 
PREJUDICE . BY FAR MALAYSIA'S MOST COMPLEX AND FESTERING PROBLEM IS 
THE SIMMERING RACIAL HOSTILITY BETWEEN THE NEW NATION'S CHINESE AND MALAY 
POPULATIONS . THROUGHOUT THE FEDERATION, THE ASTUTE, PROSPEROUS, HARD-BARGAINING CHINESE DOMINATE 
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY AND TRADE, HAVE ECONOMICALLY FAR OUTSTRIPPED THE RURAL, EASYGOING 
MALAYS . CHINESE TYCOONS CONTROL NORTH BORNEO'S BOOMING YOUNG TIMBER INDUSTRY 
AND SARAWAK'S VAST, ROLLING PEPPER GARDENS ; IN MALAYA, ABDUL RAHMAN'S 
GOVERNMENT HAS COMPLAINED THAT THE RICH, INBRED CHINESE BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAS 
ERECTED A " WALL OF PREJUDICE " AGAINST AMBITIOUS YOUNG MALAY 
BUSINESSMEN . THE MALAYS HAVE BUILT SOME WALLS OF THEIR OWN 
. BY MALAYAN LAW, ONLY ONEQUARTER OF THE GOVERNMENT JOBS CAN 
GO TO NON-MALAYS, WHILE MALAYS GET SPECIAL CONCESSIONS IN THE GRANTING 
OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND LICENSES FOR NEW BUSINESSES . RIGID CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS 
HAVE BEEN SET UP FOR THE CHINESE (MALAYS ARE AUTOMATICALLY CITIZENS), 
AND THE BORNEO TERRITORIES PLAN IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS TO KEEP CHINESE BUSINESSMEN 
OUT . " SPECIAL PRIVILEGES ARE LIKE A GOLF HANDICAP, " 
RATIONALIZES MALAYA'S CHINESE FINANCE MINISTER TAN SIEW SIN . " THEY 
ARE NOT TO HOLD THE CHINESE DOWN, BUT TO HELP THE 
MALAYS ALONG . " GOLF EVERY MORNING . IT IS IRONICALLY 
FITTING THAT THE COMPLICATED PROBLEMS OF FEDERATION ARE THE PROVINCE OF 
A MAN WHO, ON THE FACE OF IT, IS SO UNCOMPLICATED 
HIMSELF . " I AM A LAZY MAN, " ADMITS ABDUL 
RAHMAN CHEERFULLY, AND SIX YEARS AS MALAYA'S PRIME MINISTER HAVE NOT 
ALTERED HIS EASYGOING WAYS . THE TUNKU PLAYS GOLF EVERY MORNING 
(HANDICAP : 24), CHECKS THE RACING CALENDAR BEFORE MAKING ADVANCE POLITICAL 
ENGAGEMENTS, ALWAYS TAKES A NAP IN THE AFTERNOON . AN AVID 
SOCCER FAN AND SPORTS-CAR BUFF, HE IS CHRONICALLY LATE FOR APPOINTMENTS, 
EXPLAINS : " BEING PUNCTUAL ALWAYS WEARS ME OUT . " 
THE TUNKU HAS THE CHARISMA OF THE REALLY SUCCESSFUL POLITICIAN . 
HIS TITLE DRAWS ENORMOUS RESPECT FROM THE MASSES, AND AT THE 
SAME TIME HIS GENUINE CHARM AND EASYGOING MANNER QUICKLY WIN THEIR 
CONFIDENCE . THOUGH HE IS A DEVOUT MOSLEM, ABDUL RAHMAN ENJOYS 
BRANDY AND SODA ; HE IS ALSO AN EXCELLENT CURRY COOK 
. WITH HIS THIRD WIFE, SHARIFAH RODZIAH, AND THEIR FOUR ADOPTED 
CHILDREN (TWO OF WHOM ARE CHINESE), THE TUNKU LEADS A LIFE 
OF CHEERFUL DISORDER IN KUALA LUMPUR'S OPEN, AIRY PRIME MINISTER'S RESIDENCE, 
ALLOWS THE 70 CHILDREN OF HIS SERVANTS THE RUN OF THE 
HOUSE ; VISITING DIPLOMATS ARE OFTEN SURPRISED DURING A CONFERENCE TO 
SEE A SERVANT'S CHILD WANDER INTO THE SITTING ROOM AND CLIMB 
UP ONTO THE TUNKU'S LAP . THE TUNKU HAS SOLVED THE 
PROBLEM OF PAPER WORK SIMPLY : HE DOES NOT READ IT 
. HE HAS ALWAYS HAD AN AVERSION TO THE PRINTED PAGE, 
AS A STUDENT PICKED UP THE KNACK OF ABSORBING PERTINENT PASSAGES 
FROM BOOKS OR PAPERS THAT WERE READ ALOUD TO HIM . 
BUT THOUGH HE HAS NO INTELLECTUAL PRETENSIONS, THE TUNKU COMMANDS UNSWERVING 
LOYALTY FROM HIS BRILLIANT SUBORDINATES FOR HIS ALMOST CHARMED ABILITY TO 
AVOID POLITICAL MISTAKES . SAYS AN AIDE : " HE UNDERSTANDS 
THE MALAY MIND BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE EVER HAS . " 
ABDUL RAHMAN AGREES . " I HAVE THE FEEL OF THE 
PEOPLE, " HE SAYS . " I HAVE THE TOUCH . 
" THE TUNKU'S FIRST WIFE, WHO DIED OF MALARIA IN 1935, 
WAS THE MOTHER OF HIS TWO CHILDREN, DAUGHTER KATHIJAH, 29, WIFE 
OF A MALAYAN STUDYING IN BRITAIN, AND SON NERANG, 27, NOW 
A MAJOR IN THE MALAYAN ARMY . HIS SECOND WIFE WAS 
A WHITE ENGLISHWOMAN, VIOLET COULSON, WHOM HE MARRIED OVER THE PROTESTS 
OF HIS FAMILY ; THEY WERE DIVORCED IN 1946 . THE 
PLAYBOY PRINCE . ABDUL RAHMAN WAS THE SEVENTH SON OF HIS 
FATHER'S SIXTH WIFE AND, WITH HIS 44 BROTHERS AND SISTERS, LIVED 
THE PLUSH LIFE BEFITTING THE OFFSPRING OF THE SULTAN OF KEDAH 
. HIS SIAMESE MOTHER DEMANDED THAT HE BE CARRIED TO SCHOOL 
ON THE SHOULDERS OF A RETAINER, AND THOUGH HE WAS AN 
INDIFFERENT STUDENT, HIS ROYAL BIRTH WON HIM A SCHOLARSHIP TO CAMBRIDGE, 
WHERE HE BEGAN TO READ LAW . BUT THE TUNKU SKIPPED 
MOST OF HIS LECTURES, SELDOM MISSED A TEA OR DINNERDANCE, DISTINGUISHED 
HIMSELF MAINLY BY PICKING UP 28 TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS IN HIS SILVER 
RILEY WITH RED FENDERS . NOT UNEXPECTEDLY, THE PLAYBOY PRINCE FLUNKED 
HIS BAR EXAMS . SO FAR DOWN THE LINE OF SUCCESSION 
THAT HE HAD NO CHANCE OF EVER ATTAINING HIS FATHER'S SULTANATE, 
THE TUNKU RETURNED TO MALAYA AS A MINOR CIVIL SERVANT IN 
A NUMBER OF REMOTE OUTPOSTS . ON FOOT AND ON ELEPHANT, 
HE TRAVELED THROUGH THE BUSH GETTING TO KNOW THE LAND AND 
THE PEOPLE, ONCE EVEN WORKED AS A MANUAL LABORER TO HELP 
BUILD A NEW MOSQUE, WHICH THE GRATEFUL MALAYS NAMED RAHMANIAH AFTER 
HIM . WORLD WAR II AND JAPAN'S SWIFT CONQUEST OF THE 
MALAYAN PENINSULA HASTENED ABDUL RAHMAN'S MATURITY . AS A USEFUL DISTRICT 
OFFICER, THE TUNKU WAS KEPT ON THE JOB BY THE JAPANESE 
. SECRETLY, HOWEVER, HE HELPED HIDE ESCAPEES FROM JAPANESE DEATH CAMPS, 
KEPT IN CONTACT WITH BRITISH GUERRILLA UNITS, WHICH WERE SUPPLYING ARMS 
TO ANTI-JAPANESE COMMUNIST IRREGULARS IN THE JUNGLES . " WHO THE 
HELL IS HE ? " ABDUL RAHMAN WAS ALSO IN CONTACT 
WITH THE MALAYAN INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT THAT BEGAN TO TAKE ROOT WHEN 
THE JAPANESE OUSTED THE BRITISH . WITH THE END OF THE 
WAR, AT THE AGE OF 42, THE TUNKU RETURNED TO ENGLAND 
TO GET HIS LAW DEGREE, BEGAN TO PLAY A LARGER PART 
IN THE CAUSE OF MERDEKA (FREEDOM) . HE INSISTED THAT IT 
WAS THE DUTY OF EVERY MALAY IN BRITAIN TO JOIN THE 
NATIONALISTIC MALAY SOCIETY . BECAUSE OF HIS AGE AND LONG EXPERIENCE 
IN THE CIVIL SERVICE, YOUNGER MALAY STUDENTS LOOKED TO HIM AS 
THEIR LEADER, CALLED HIM BECAUSE OF HIS DARKER SKIN " BLACK 
UNCLE . " IN FIERY POLITICAL BULL SESSIONS WITH YOUTHFUL FOLLOWER 
TUN ABDUL RAZAK, THE SEEDS OF A FUTURE POLITICAL PARTNERSHIP WERE 
BEING SOWN ; TODAY RAZAK IS THE MOST TRUSTED MEMBER OF 
HIS CABINET . BACK HOME, THE MIDDLE-AGING LAWYER JOINED THE UNITED 
MALAY NATIONALIST ORGANIZATION, SLOWLY BEGAN BUILDING UP A POLITICAL FOLLOWING IN 
HIS NATIVE KEDAH . IN OTHER MALAY STATES, THE TUNKU'S FIREBRAND 
FOLLOWERS FROM THE LONDON DAYS BEGAN PUSHING HIM FOR THE PARTY 
LEADERSHIP ; FINALLY, IN 1951, ABDUL RAHMAN TOOK OVER AS BOSS 
OF THE U.M.N.O . " NOBODY HAD EVER HEARD OF HIM, 
" AN OFFICIAL RECALLS . " I REMEMBER PEOPLE ASKING " 
WHO THE HELL IS HE ? " ' THEY SOON FOUND 
OUT . CONVINCED THAT HE COULD ONLY ACHIEVE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AT 
THE HEAD OF A MULTIRACIAL UNITED FRONT, ABDUL RAHMAN MUTED HOTLY 
ANTI-CHINESE SENTIMENT IN HIS OWN MALAY PARTY, STUMPED THE COUNTRY URGING 
CHINESE AND INDIAN LEADERS TO UNITE BEHIND HIM UNDER THE BANNER 
OF A NEW ORGANIZATION CALLED THE ALLIANCE PARTY . TO FINANCE 
HIS CRUSADE, HE SOLD HIS EXPENSIVE CARS AND MOST OF HIS 
OTHER PROPERTY . " I WORKED LIKE MAD, LIVING AND SLEEPING 
ON TRAINS, " SAYS THE TUNKU . " I WAS OFTEN 
HOME ONLY ONE DAY A MONTH . " BUT ABDUL RAHMAN'S 
ZEAL PAID OFF . IN THE 1955 GENERAL ELECTION, THE ALLIANCE 
SWEPT 51 OF THE 52 SEATS IN THE FEDERAL LEGISLATURE, AND 
THE TUNKU TOOK OVER AS CHIEF MINISTER UNDER THE BRITISH HIGH 
COMMISSIONER . MERDEKA . ABDUL RAHMAN WAS SO BUSY POLITICKING THAT 
HE HAD TAKEN LITTLE MILITARY INTEREST IN THE BRUTAL, BLOODY GUERRILLA 
WAR THAT 350,000 BRITISH AND MALAYAN TROOPS AND HOME GUARDSMEN WERE 
WAGING AGAINST COMMUNIST INSURGENTS IN MALAYA'S TANGLED JUNGLES . BUT AFTER 
HIS 1955 ELECTION LANDSLIDE, THE TUNKU GREW AFRAID THAT THE BRITISH 
MIGHT USE THE EMERGENCY TO DELAY INDEPENDENCE, ARRANGED TO MEET THE 
COMMUNIST REBEL CHIEFTAINS IN NORTHERN MALAYA TO SEE IF SOME SORT 
OF SETTLEMENT COULD BE WORKED OUT . / MY IDEAS ABOUT 
COMMUNISM WERE DETERMINED BY THAT MEETING, " SAYS THE TUNKU . 
" I BECAME CONVINCED THAT ONCE A COMMUNIST, ALWAYS A COMMUNIST 
. THEY COULD NEVER COEXIST WITH US IN AN INDEPENDENT MALAYA 
. / AS THE WAR IN THE JUNGLE BEGAN TAKING A 
TURN FOR THE BETTER, ABDUL RAHMAN FLINTILY TOLD BRITAIN THAT THE 
TIME WAS LONG OVERDUE FOR MALAYA'S INDEPENDENCE . AFTER MONTHS OF 
HAGGLING AND DELAY, THE TUNKU FINALLY FORCED BRITAIN'S COLONIAL SECRETARY ALAN 
LENNOX-BOYD (NOW LORD BOYD) TO THE CONFERENCE TABLE . THROUGHOUT THE 
GRUELING, THREE-WEEK SESSION IN LONDON, THE TUNKU REFUSED TO BUDGE FROM 
HIS ULTIMATUM THAT INDEPENDENCE MUST COME NO LATER THAN AUG . 
31, 1957 . " WHEN THE SIAMESE HAVE NO INTENTION OF 
YIELDING, THEY JUST APPEAR STUPID, " HE TOLD SUBORDINATES . " 
I'M HALF SIAMESE, YOU KNOW . " AT LAST, LENNOX-BOYD GOT 
THE POINT AND CAVED IN . ON THE TUNKU'S TARGET DATE, 
INDEPENDENT MALAYA AT LAST CAME INTO BEING . " GOOD OLD 
TUNKU . " THE TUNKU HAD NO REVOLUTIONARY BLUEPRINT FOR HIS 
NEW NATION, BROUGHT INTO HIS CABINET HIS OLD LONDON CRONY, ABDUL 
RAZAK, TO HAMMER OUT A PROGRAM FOR ORDERLY PROGRESS . WHILE 
ABDUL RAHMAN GROUND DOWN HARD ON RED SUBVERSIVES, MINISTER OF RURAL 
DEVELOPMENT RAZAK (IN THE POST HE WILL RETAIN IN MALAYSIA'S NEW 
GOVERNMENT) STARTED A PROGRAM OF NEW ROADS, SCHOOLS AND CLINICS TO 
BOOST THE STANDARD OF LIVING IN THE PRIMITIVE KAMPONGS (VILLAGES), WHERE 
THE COMMUNISTS WERE TRYING TO GAIN A FOOTHOLD . IN THE 
AIR-CONDITIONED " OPERATIONS ROOM " OF HIS MINISTRY, GADGET-LOVING RAZAK CAREFULLY 
WATCHED THE PROGRESS OF HIS BULLDOZERS ON DOZENS OF CHARTS, MOVIE 
SCREENS AND MAP DISPLAYS, KEPT HIS PROGRAM CONSTANTLY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE 
WITH HIS COLD INSISTENCE ON RESULTS OR ELSE . ABDUL RAHMAN 
MADE NO EFFORT TO SQUEEZE THE BRITISH OUT OF THE COUNTRY, 
WAS CONVINCED THAT THE CONTINUED ECONOMIC AND MILITARY PRESENCE OF THE 
BRITISH WAS THE BEST POSSIBLE INSURANCE FOR MALAYAN STABILITY . TODAY 
A BRITISH OFFICER COMMANDS THE MALAYAN ARMY, FIVE SENIOR BRITISH CIVIL 
SERVANTS HOLD KEY POSITIONS IN MALAYAN GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES, AND BRITISH BUSINESSMEN 
CONTROL MORE THAN HALF OF THE RUBBER INDUSTRY, REPATRIATE $86 MILLION 
IN PROFITS ANNUALLY . " IT'S WONDERFUL HOW THIS PLACE HAS 
FLOWERED SINCE INDEPENDENCE, " SAYS ONE BUSINESSMAN . " WE'RE REALLY 
MUCH BETTER OFF . GOOD OLD TUNKU . " PARLEYS ON 
THE GREEN . WITH HIS YOUNG NATION BOOMING, ABDUL RAHMAN LOOKED 
WITH INCREASING FEAR AT THE PREDICAMENT OF NEIGHBORING SINGAPORE, JUST THREE-QUARTERS 
OF A MILE ACROSS THE JOHORE STRAIT . THERE COMMUNISM WAS 
SPREADING LIKE AN INFECTION AMONG THE UNDERFED, UNDEREMPLOYED MASSES IN SINGAPORE'S 
SQUALID, TEEMING TENEMENT QUARTERS . BY STRIKES, RIOTS AND BOYCOTTS, THE 
PEKING-ORIENTED, COMMUNIST-FRONT BARISAN SOCIALIST PARTY TRIED TO TOPPLE THE TOTTERING GOVERNMENT 
GLUED TOGETHER BY SINGAPORE'S SHIFTY, BRILLIANT, CAMBRIDGE-EDUCATED PRIME MINISTER LEE KUAN 
YEW, 39 . NEVER TOO CHOOSY ABOUT WHERE HE GOT POLITICAL 
SUPPORT, " HARRY " LEE FIRST TRIED COOPERATION WITH THE COMMUNISTS, 
LATER ADOPTED A " LEFTIST, NOT EXTREMIST, NONCOMMUNIST, NOT ANTI-COMMUNIST " 
POLICY . IT DID NOT WORK ,SAVE HIS POLITICAL NECK, HE 
WAS FORCED TO GO FOR HELP TO AN OLD GOLFING PARTNER 
ABDUL RAHMAN . LEE'S VACATION HOUSE BORDERED A FAIRWAY OF KUALA 
KUMPUR'S RAMBLING SELANGOR GOLF CLUB, WHERE THE TUNKU SHOT HIS DAILY 
ROUND . FROM TEE TO GREEN, LEE TRIED TO CONVINCE ABDUL 
RAHMAN THAT SINGAPORE'S RICKETY COALITION COULD NEVER SURVIVE ANOTHER ELECTION, AND 
THAT A RED SINGAPORE COULD ONLY SPELL TROUBLE FOR MALAYA . 
GRADUALLY, THE TUNKU CAME TO THE FRIGHTENING CONCLUSION THAT SINGAPORE MIGHT 
WELL BECOME " A CHINESE CUBA . " ONE SOLUTION TO 
THE " SINGAPORE PROBLEM " WAS OBVIOUS : A MERGER, SO 
THAT MALAYA'S POWERFUL INTERNAL SECURITY POLICE COULD MOVE IN AND HELP 
SINGAPORE AUTHORITIES HOLD RED SUBVERSION IN CHECK . BUT THE TUNKU 
SHUDDERED AT THE PROSPECT OF UPSETTING HIS NATION'S MALAY RACIAL PREPONDERANCE 
BY THE ADDITION OF SINGAPORE'S 1,300,000 CHINESE . / IN ORDER 
TO BALANCE THE POPULATION, " HE SAYS, " I THOUGHT OF 
THE BORNEO TERRITORIES . / WINING & DINING . SARAWAK, BRUNEI 
AND NORTH BORNEO, HOWEVER, WERE LESS THAN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE FEDERATION 
SCHEME . BORNEO LEADERS RESENTED BEING INVITED TO JOIN MERELY AS 
A POLITICAL AND RACIAL ACCOMMODATION, DESIRED INSTEAD SOME SORT OF INDEPENDENCE 
OF THEIR OWN . THEN BRITAIN BEGAN PUTTING QUIET PRESSURE ON 
THE THREE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS, TRIED TO PERSUADE THEM THAT UNION IN 
MALAYSIA OFFERED THEM FAR MORE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL POWER THAN THEY 
COULD EVER ACHIEVE BY THEMSELVES . BUT IT WAS ABDUL RAHMAN 
WHO SOLD THE SCHEME . THE TUNKU WINED AND DINED A 
CONTINUOUS STREAM OF BORNEO DELEGATIONS IN KUALA LUMPUR, WARMED UP BORNEO 
LEADERS COOL TO THE FEDERATION WITH PROMISES OF FAVORED POLITICAL POSITIONS 
IN THE NEW NATION . HE SHREWDLY OFFERED THE BORNEO TERRITORIES 
70 SEATS IN THE FEDERAL PARLIAMENT, AGAINST ONLY 15 FOR FAR 
MORE POPULOUS SINGAPORE AND 104 FOR MALAYA . HE PROMISED TAX 
CONCESSIONS AND A $12 MILLION DOLLOP OF MALAYAN AID ANNUALLY TO 
THE TERRITORIES, AGREED TO KEEP FEDERAL HANDS OFF BRUNEI'S OIL RESERVES 
. IT WAS THE TUNKU'S FONDEST HOPE THAT THE NEW NATION 
COME INTO BEING ON AUG . 31, 1963, THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY 
OF MALAYA'S INDEPENDENCE . THEN LAST DECEMBER CAME A BLOW THAT 
THREATENED TO DESTROY THE TUNKU'S TIMETABLE . IT WAS THE UPRISING 
IN BRUNEI . " JUST TOO MUCH . " DISCONTENT WITH 
THE SULTAN OF BRUNEI'S CORRUPT, INEFFICIENT AND AUTOCRATIC REGIME HAD LONG 
BEEN FESTERING IN THE TINY, DELAWARE-SIZED TERRITORY . LAST YEAR THE 
SULTAN'S GOVERNMENT SPENT ONLY $50,000 ON DRUGS AND MEDICINE FOR ITS 
PEOPLE, WHILE LAYING OUT $47,000 FOR ELECTRICAL ILLUMINATION ON THE SULTAN'S 
BIRTHDAY ACTION ON REQUESTS TO THE GOVERNMENT USUALLY TOOK FROM SIX 
MONTHS TO THREE YEARS . THE DOMINANT BUT POWERLESS PEOPLE'S PARTY 
WAS ALSO DEAD-SET AGAINST MALAYSIA ; THE PARTY'S ERRATIC, GOATEED ONETIME 
VETERINARIAN LEADER, SHEIK A . M . AZAHARI, 34, WANTED INSTEAD 
TO ALIGN BRUNEI, SARAWAK AND NORTH BORNEO INTO A SINGLE INDEPENDENT 
STATE WITH HIMSELF AS ITS LEADER . WHEN IT FINALLY ERUPTED, 
THE REVOLT WAS POORLY ORGANIZED AND BADLY LED . FOUR BATTALIONS 
OF BRITAIN'S TOUGH LITTLE GURKHA TROOPS LANDED ON BRUNEI, INSIDE OF 
A WEEK SENT THE SHATTERED REMNANTS OF THE 3,000MAN REBEL ARMY 
SCUTTLING BACK INTO HIDING IN BRUNEI'S STEAMING JUNGLES . BUT THE 
BRUNEI REVOLT AT LAST GAVE THE PHILIPPINES AND INDONESIA, FOR DIFFERENT 
REASONS, AN EXCUSE TO DISPLAY THEIR OPPOSITION TO THE SCHEME . 
OBLIVIOUS TO MALAYA'S SUCCESS AGAINST RED INFILTRATION, THE PHILIPPINES FEARED THAT 
LEFTISTS WOULD ULTIMATELY TAKE OVER THE NEW NATION, THUS PUTTING A 
CUMMUNIST NEIGHBOR RIGHT ON THEIR DOORSTEP . DUSTING OFF AN OLD 
CLAIM TO NORTH BORNEO, THE PHILIPPINES MAINTAINED THAT IN 1878 THE 
SULTAN OF SULU HAD ONLY " LEASED, " NOT SOLD, THE 
TERRITORY TO THE BRITISH . LONDON STIFFLY REJECTED THE FILIPINO CLAIM 
TO THE REGION . INDONESIA SHOUTED THAT THE TURMOIL SHOWED THE 
DEEP DISSATISFACTION WITH MALAYSIA IN THE BORNEO TERRITORIES, AND THAT THE 
FEDERATION WAS ONLY A PLOT TO EXTEND BRITAIN'S COLONIAL INFLUENCE IN 
ASIA . RABBLE-ROUSING PRESIDENT SUKARNO KNEW THAT A BRITISH-BACKED, ECONOMICALLY VIABLE 
MALAYSIA WOULD NOT ONLY DERAIL HIS AMBITION TO EXTEND HIS INFLUENCE 
OVER THE BORNEO TERRITORIES, BUT MIGHT ALSO SERVE AS AN INDUCEMENT 
TO REBELLION FOR THE PEOPLE OF DEPRESSED INDONESIAN BORNEO . MOREOVER, 
ABDUL RAHMAN HAS IGNORED EVERY " REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLE " FOR WHICH 
SUKARNO STANDS, HAS IN THE PROCESS CREATED A CONSERVATIVE, PROSPEROUS NATION, 
WHILE REVOLUTIONARY, LEFTIST INDONESIA, WITH ITS 100 MILLION PEOPLE, HAS SLID 
TO THE EDGE OF ECONOMIC RUIN . SAYS A DIPLOMAT :. 
" TO HAVE A LITTLE COUNTRY LIKE THIS EXTENDING ITS INFLUENCE 
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA WAS JUST TOO MUCH FOR SUKARNO . " 
SOUND GROUND . IN A DRUMFIRE OF PROPAGANDA OUTBURSTS, INDONESIA HAILED 
THE " BRUNEI FREEDOM FIGHTERS, " LASHED OUT AT " BRITISH 
MERCENARIES AND PUPPETS, " GRANTED POLITICAL ASYLUM TO BRUNEI LEADER AZAHARI, 
RAVED THAT ABDUL RAHMAN WAS " ROUND THE BEND . " 
(RETORTED THE TUNKU : " WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM A 
PIG BUT A GRUNT ? / ) DJAKARTA MOBS HANGED THE 
TUNKU IN EFFIGY, AND SUKARNO DECLARED A " POLICY OF CONFRONTATION 
" AGAINST MALAYA . INDONESIAN JETS BUZZED MALAYAN SHIPS IN THE 
SOUTH CHINA SEA, AND ARMY LEADERS DARKLY THREATENED " INCIDENTS OF 
PHYSICAL CONFLICT " ALONG THE BORDER OF BRUNEI AND INDONESIA . 
SUKARNO DID NOT DARE TO INVADE ; HE PLAINLY HOPED TO 
INDUCE THE UNITED NATIONS TO STEP IN AND PLACATE HIM AS 
IT DID WITH WEST NEW GUINEA THUS SPARING HIM THE NECESSITY 
OF FIGHTING FOR WHAT HE WANTS . HOWEVER, THE U.N . 
SEEMS UNWILLING TO PLAY SUKARNO'S GAME ; A U.N . OBSERVER 
TEAM TOLD HIM THAT MALAYSIA IS " ON SOUND LEGAL GROUND 
. " PROMISE TO " BROTHERS . " LAST WEEK IN 
MANILA, THE ACRID DISPUTE BETWEEN INDONESIA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND MALAYSIA ADDED 
AN UNDERTONE OF TENSION TO THE OTHERWISE CALM MEETING OF THE 
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA . NOT ON THE OFFICIAL AGENDA, THE 
MALAYSIA QUESTION CAME UP REPEATEDLY IN LONG PRIVATE DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN ABDUL 
RAHMAN AND PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL . THE TUNKU WAS ANXIOUS 
FOR THE WHOLE MATTER TO BE SETTLED QUIETLY . IN AN 
ATTEMPT TO BE REASONABLE AND FRIENDLY WITH HIS " MALAY BROTHERS, 
" HE AGREED TO LOOK INTO THE FILIPINO CLAIM TO NORTH 
BORNEO, LUKEWARMLY ENDORSED A PROPOSAL FOR AN ASIAN SUMMIT MEETING BETWEEN 
HIMSELF, MACAPAGAL, AND INDONESIA'S SUKARNO . BUT THE TUNKU VETOED THE 
SUGGESTION THAT HE POSTPONE THE CREATION OF MALAYSIA UNTIL SOME SETTLEMENT 
COULD BE REACHED ; THE FEDERATION, HE SAID, WOULD COME INTO 
BEING BY AUG . 31 AS PLANNED . FROM THE STANDPOINT 
OF LANGUAGE, RELIGION, CULTURE OR GEOGRAPHY, MALAYSIA IS NOT A NATURAL 
NATION . BUT ABDUL RAHMAN HAS FACED PROBLEMS SIMILAR TO MALAYSIA'S 
IN HIS OWN MALAYA AND THERE A DECENT SOCIETY HAS FLOURISHED 
. HE DOES NOT PROMISE THE MOON TO HIS NEW NATION, 
ONLY A SANE, HUMANE, WORKABLE GOVERNMENT . UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, MALAYSIA 
CAN BE, AS JOHN F . KENNEDY HAS SAID, " THE 
BEST HOPE OF SECURITY IN THAT VITAL PART OF THE WORLD 
. / 