 He served as Colonial Secretary in Jamaica from 1947 to 1952, and was considered in line for a governorship.However, Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos selected MacGillivray to serve as Deputy High Commissioner to General Sir Gerald Templer British High Commissioner in Malaya, where a state of emergency existed.Donald MacGillivray was the only colonial administrator who openly discussed Malaya's independence with the Malays.