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Though his health remains good, Tito proposed the creation of a collective presidency consisting of representatives of Yugoslavia's six republics and of the major national labor and political organizations (as well as Tito). He set no date for his retirement and conceded that his plan was only a "draft and certainly will undergo great changes." Nonetheless, regional leaders are expected to meet in Belgrade in early October to draw up detailed plans.
Transitional Fears. Many Yugoslavs are concerned about what may happen in their country after Tito's departure. His magnetic leadership has held together a confederation of dissimilar peoples who speak three different languages and are sharply divided by ancient regional animosities and modern rivalries for government development funds. Fearful that the country will dissolve into regional bickering after his death, Tito is seeking to reduce Yugoslavia's centrifugal tendencies and provide for a smooth transition.
He has already experimented with a collective leadership in party matters. Last year he set up a 15-man Executive Bureau of the Communist Party, made up of party leaders from different regions. The bureau has been plagued by sectional rivalries but it has at least forced regional party leaders to look at problems on a national basis.
Autobiography. Tito hopes that the collective presidency will relieve him of administrative burdens and give him time for other duties. One of them is tidying up Yugoslavia's foreign relations. He has agreed to exchange ambassadors with the Vatican, and probably will visit the Pope next year. Having begun to patch up his long quarrel with Albania, he hopes to encourage greater cooperation among the Balkan countries.
He also wants time to finish his autobiography, which will tell the still undisclosed details of his momentous break with Moscow. One of the episodes will describe how Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Laurentiev arrived at Tito's villa near Zagreb in March 1948 to deliver the letter from Stalin that denounced Tito and ended with the warning: "We think Trotsky's political career is sufficiently instructive." Stalin thought that his threat would bring Tito to his knees. Though shaken, Tito remained upright. His German shepherd reacted more dramatically. The dog lunged at the Soviet ambassador and bit him.
MALAYSIA
New Man on a Troubled Scene
In the wake of the bloody communal clashes between Malays and Chinese that shook Malaysia more than 16 months ago, the nation, in a quiet way, has become one of the most troubled in a troubled part of the world. A highly praised land-development scheme has fallen a year behind schedule. Parliamentary democracy, suspended after the riots, is not scheduled to be restored for another five months, if then. Perhaps worst of all, racial antagonisms still run so high that skilled Chinese, often treated like second-class citizens, have begun to take flight, worsening the shortage of trained administrators in government agencies.