 He noted that there were contradictions between what was said by sir George Hicks, Labour member for East Woolwich and Philip Cunliffe-Lister, Secretary of State for the Colonies as reported in the press on 24 March 1933, and what had been said by the colonial secretary at the legislative council meeting of 6 March 1933.From the newspapers, it was given to understand that London acknowledged that there had been discrimination, and further that the Malayan Civil Service was not part of the colonial administrative service, with facilities for local recruitment.However at the previous legislative council meeting, the colonial secretary had said that the Asiatic service should be entirely separate from the Malayan Civil Service proper, the latter being reserved for candidates of pure European descent, while the former was open to Asiatics or Eurasians.