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The Malay Communists had no direct land connection with the Communists of Red China or Russia; they had British arms, parachuted to them during World War II, and some of their leaders had been trained in British guerrilla schools. Themselves Chinese, they raised money by extorting it from Chinese businessmen. Their firmest support came from tens of thousands of Communist sympathizers at the jungle's edge, mostly poor Chinese squatters. From them the Communists got food and information.
The British saw what had to be done. Said Operations Director General Sir Harold Briggs: "You can't deal with a plague of mosquitoes by swatting each individual insect. You find and disinfect their breeding grounds. Then the mosquitoes are finished." To separate the Communists from their supplies, Briggs planned to resettle the Chinese villagers in large new settlements beyond the danger areas. Special police were recruited, the army reinforced, planters armed. But somehow the plans did not work. In the villages the Communists continued to spread propaganda and collect food. More than 2,600 bandits were killed, another 1,300 wounded, and 1,500 captured or surrendered, but still the Communist forces seemed to stay about the same. For one thing, army and police efforts were poorly coordinated. Said one police officer: "This is a dirty little war, and we never really know what is going on in time to take proper action."
That was the situation General Templer inherited last January.
Winning the People. Templer took a hard look at Malaya, and said: "I could win this war in three months if I could get two-thirds of the people on my side." He had a directive read, promising that "Malaya should in due course become a fully self-governing nation . . . within the British Commonwealth." At Kuala Lumpur, Templer took over the hilltop King's House which is the traditional home of the High Commissioner. This was where he, his wife and two children (Jane, 18, and Miles, 6) would be spending many months. A practical soldier, he ordered barbed wire to be set up around the house. Returning later and finding the wire unlaid, Templer picked up the telephone and called the Public Works Department.
"P.W.D.?" said Templer.
"Yes, sir."
"This is H.E. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Are you certain you can hear me?"
"Yes, sir, very clearly, sir."
"Well then, where the hell is that bloody wire?"
Templer told the Malayan Civil Service : "If you don't make a decision and it's a mistake, you'll be put on the next boat; if you make a decision and it happens to be a mistake, you'll be put on the next boat, but somebody'll be there to see you off." Templer began touring the country in an armored car—instead of the Rolls-Royce used by his predecessor. At one stop Templer listened for the second time to a planter angrily complain about inadequate police and army protection.
"Do you ever go down and talk to the troops?" asked Templer.
"Of course not."
"Do you ever visit the special police?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's not my job."