when we ought to consider whether we ought not in some of these matters to put ourselves on the same footing as other countries in the Commonwealth. That would be an application of a principle already embodied in the Statute of Westminster of 1931, which we have not yet carried through.
One of the things that have made this debate so very interesting to us and will make it very valuable to members of the public who care to read the reports of it is that we have had the advantage of listening to hon. Members on both sides of the House who have recently been in the territories discussed and have been able to bring back to us the knowledge which they have gained and the impressions that they have formed there and to advise us about the provisions of this very important Bill. I have been very glad to listen to them and have waited until they have spoken until venturing to catch Mr. Speaker's eye because I thought it was important that the House should be informed of their views.
It is now more than 13 years since I had the very great privilege of first going to Malaya. That was my first visit to any of the territories after I became Secretary of State. I was accompanied by John Strachey, who was then the Secretary of State for War. I hope the House will permit me to say what an enriching experience it was to go with him on a visit to a country so full of problems, economic and political—indeed, all kinds of problems—and to have the advantage of his rich mind and of conversations with him and his help over those matters. It is indeed sad for the House and the country that we have this week lost John Strachey. I would pay my very sincere tribute to his memory and say that my memories of our fellowship for years in this House and, in particular, on my first visit to Malaya will abide with me all my life.
In 1950 it was a very different Malaya and a very different scene. Malaya was then engaged in a life and death struggle, which could easily have gone the other way. I am turning the pages of memory a little. It certainly was touch and go in 1950, and if it had gone the other way we should not today have been discussing this Bill and considering Malaysia.
It was clear to me then, as it was to my right hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield (Mr. Creech Jones) when I discussed these matters with him, that in the future the problem of the relationships between Malaya and Singapore would have to be considered and dealt with and that a wider field would have to be taken into consideration if we were to build out of these territories a nation which could be economically viable and politically stable and provide for its people the opportunity of a rising standard of life.
It was interesting at that time that many of the young Malay students here talked of "a great Malaysia". In those days they thought of a Malaysia which would include Indonesia. I hope the time will come—it is not yet—when that will be considered. They are so close to each other—and their languages are interchangeable—that, looking to the future, I hope very much that the time will come when it will be possible to extend the present area into a wider federation. I certainly express the hope that in the meantime there will be reasonable cooperation and peaceful relationships between the new Malaysia and Indonesia, for that is very important.
This federation is full of interesting problems. It can, indeed, be the opportunity for the building of a nation which can make a wonderful contribution not only to the Commonwealth but also to the world. The races concerned have different backgrounds, traditions and religions, and will want to preserve them, and they have a right to do so. If they can find a way by which they can live and work together in equality and dignity, it will be a wonderful contribution to the solution of one of the world's greatest problems, that of getting not only black and white but people of all races to live together. How dire the consequences if they divide on racial grounds can be seen in the tragedy of British Guiana. Therefore, I hope the federation will be a success.
I believe that we shall give unanimous assent to the Second Reading of this Bill so that Malaysia will come into operation and will shortly become an established nation. It is vitally important that it should succeed. Federations are always risky ventures. Our experience has not been altogether too happy. But this federation is vitally important.
