In 1957, I was posted as Commissioner of India to Singapore, which was then a British colony, covering also the British territories of Sarawak, Borneo and Malaya. My residence was first in Singapore. Within months, Malaya became independent and I was then posted as High Commissioner of India to Malaya with residence in Kuala Lumpur and covering the other three territories as Commissioner from there. The posting as High Commissioner came as a surprise to me, as I was then only thirty-eight years of age.

We had excellent relations with Malaya under Prime Minister Tungku Abdul Rahman. The country had many states under their sultans and it was decided that the Head of State would be each sultan in rotation. They were all very friendly to India.

Malaya had a large Indian population and a still larger population of Chinese, but at that time, there was no serious conflict between these communities. The Indians were mostly workers in rubber plantations, but the problems which have since arisen were not present then.

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