Trade northern Malaya for time and intelligence

The plan places the 28th Gurkha Infantry Brigade under direct command as a mobile reaction force rather than dispersing it. Independent companies and battalions watch likely landing beaches, identify the invasion axis, and offer only limited resistance. Their orders are to ambush, withdraw, and repeat the process instead of defending ground until they are outflanked. This approach seeks information and delay while denying the Japanese easy opportunities to surround isolated defenders. The northern campaign therefore becomes a controlled screen for the prepared position farther south.