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IlSS. How many would that be altogether; can you give a rough
number ?-Take altogether 200 shops, including smoking shops; that would
be 400 of the clerk class and 400 of the watchman class.
1156. And would it be easy to get 400 Chinese in Johore ?-We should
have to get them from Singapore.
1157. Could you get thent easily from Singapore, do you think ?-My
information is that there is not likely to be any difficulty as to staff, and,
judging by the number of applications I received for appointments in Government
service when I was in the Secretariat here, I should say there is no
difficulty in obtaining as many. of the clerk class as we should require. I
am assuming that these Government shops would be opened gradually and
not simultaneously.
IlSB. Mr. lelf.-Is it not the policy of the Johore Government to
employ its own nationals in the Clerical service and other Government
employment?-That is so; my answer to the previous question was "personally
I should prefer Chinese"; my Qnswer was made subject to the policy
of the Johore Government.
II59. Mr. McLean.-Do you wish to say anything about the registration
of the opium smokers and the fixing of a maximum limit to the amount
a man can buy ?-It is a matter in which I have had extremely short experience
;.nd which I have not dealt with from the point of view of an expert at all;
but so far as J ohore is concerned, if it were possible to introduce registration
and limitation elsewhere, it would be possible to introduce it in Johore, so
long as it was done slowly and carefully and step-by-step.
n60. Dr. Galloway.-Do you mean by that district by district ?-District
by district, beginning in the developed districts, and, as the country
opened up, gradually spreading.
I16x. Chairman.-But, what would the first step, the "only one t'hat
costs", be ?-I do not think that the first step would be taken by the J ohore
Government. I said, step by step, but I meant to say that it would not be
possible to introduce a system over the whole of J ohore and hope to make it
effective in the matter of a few months. You could, for instance, intr-oduce
registration of smokers in the town in Johore Bhar'u or Muar, to begin with,
and gra"dually, as your staff grew, and as your staff grew aJCcustomed to the
work, extend the system.
1162. Then the poor fellow who came on the "bust" from up-country
to Johore Bharu could not get any opium at ,all because he would not be
registered in Johore Bharu ?-No, he would have to buy in his own district.
I do not understand why people should come on the "bust" to the towns; they
would have the shops in their own districts from which they could buy.
1l63. Mr. lelf.-Supposing a man came to Johore Bharu on a holiday,
say, during the Chinese New Year; he would not be allowed to smoke ?-As
long as he is allowed to carry 7l tahils on him, there would not be any difficulty.
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I164. But would he be allowed under this registration scheme ?-I
cannot say.
I165. Chairtnon.-I am getting at this; you might licence district by
district: but I say you may register straight off for the whole State by giving
the smoker the right to purchase chandu anywhere if he produces his pass; you'
may do that?-To issue to each smoker a pass on which he could purchase
elsewhere?
1I66. Only those who have cards would be allowed to purchase; that
I quite understand ?-I personally should have thought that the only way
would be to register each man to purchase at such and such a shop. That
is the only way I can see in which you can keep any control over what he
purchases. .