Conquest by Dancing

The trackless mountain jungles of Pahang, largest and wildest of the Malaya states, are the special preserve of Sir Abu Bakar Riayatudin Almuadzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdullah, one of the largest and mildest of Sultans. A robust, paternal, fun-loving man who deplores violence and loves to dance and sing with his people, the Sultan of Pahang was shocked and hurt by the support his people gave the Communists when the Reds began guerrilla warfare in Malaya after World War II.

Sheltered, fed and supplied by villagers in the interior, Communist guerrillas spread over Pahang like a plague of locusts, giving the Sultan's demesne a reputation as the "blackest" state in Malaya (where black or white signifies terrorist or safe areas). British security forces and government propagandists were getting nowhere; the Sultan decided to take matters into his own hands.

Revival Meeting. His own way was not the usual way. He invaded interior villages in an armored car, often accom panied by a troupe of dancing girls. Selecting a central site, he would hoist his 6-ft.-1-in., 200-lb.-plus frame onto a platform and deliver a fatherly lecture to the assembled villagers. His message: Communists are your enemies; report them instead of supporting them. (Said an aborigine leader: "Such a big man. Such a big voice. No wonder he is Sultan.") Some times the Sultan asked Communists in the crowd to step forward, like a revivalist calling on sinners to repent. But there the resemblance ended. The Sultan danced, sang and feasted with the villagers far into the morning, then retired, often in the company of a village maiden.

In time the Sultan's barnstorming won friends and depleted Communist ranks. But the Sultan knew he could not keep up this pace forever. He announced his next step: a personal amnesty to all who confessed. At each village, when not dancing or feasting, the Sultan retired to a secluded hut, where villagers arrived singly and in small groups to confess their errors and offer information about the local Communists. More than 300 Communists surrendered to the Sultan personally, and he got so much information about others that the security police rounded them up in droves.

The Last Roundup. Several weeks ago the Sultan started his final tour—through the Temerloh district in central Pahang, where Communists were still active. Dressed in Bermuda shorts and bright sports shirt, he was greeted by idolizing and contrite villagers. They cried: "Ampun, Tuanku, beribu beribu ampun" (Forgiveness, Your Highness, thousand thousand forgiveness). In each village he warned that his amnesty would end with this tour and urged the villagers to purge themselves of Communists.

Last week in Temerloh the Sultan celebrated the collapse of one of Communism's last strongholds in Pahang. Only a few scattered terrorists remain in all Pahang. "His dancing and singing," said an admiring British official, "has been more effective than a couple of regiments."