For all his militancy, [James] shared Carr-Saunders’s view that the social function of the university was to develop a united, non communal and self-governing Malayan nation and, as general secretary of the students’ union, he strove to avoid compromising its apolitical standing or incurring the hostility of the majority of its members.
A.J Stockwell “The Crucible of the Malayan Nation ; The University and the Making of a New Malaya, 1938-62“
James was part of the left-wing intellectuals (known to the Special Branch as the English-Speaking Intelligentsia or ESI) that gained increasing influence in the students’ union in 1949–1950.