Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Volume 31, No. 25. October 8, 1968

'Encouragement of racialism'

'Encouragement of racialism'

Salient has received letters from two Malaysian students supporting charges of government intervention in the establishment of the Malaysian Students' Association.

Laying down the law. Mike Rashbrooke selling Free Press outside Wellington College, on a recent afternoon. That morning Bruce Preston and he had been "assaulted" by prefects from the school and had had 200 copies taken.

Laying down the law. Mike Rashbrooke selling Free Press outside Wellington College, on a recent afternoon. That morning Bruce Preston and he had been "assaulted" by prefects from the school and had had 200 copies taken.

They have since sent a letter to the head prefect asking for restitution for the 200 copies.

"It is time to say," writes one student, "that, with pressure from High Commissioner Dato Donald Stephen who successfully urged Malaysian Students to form a "Malaysian Students' Association", racialism, encouraged by our Federal Government is developing among a few of our students."

"The minority are undermining a principle of democracy by opting out, with the intention of leaving the Singapore students to form an association by themselves.

"At the least this is unfriendly, and at the worst provocative."

"I would like to inform you frankly, Sir, that a large number of Chinese educated students in this University are opposing the education policy of our present Government, which is oppressing Chinese education," says the letter.

"Even the M.S.S.A. has not represented the Chinese educated students."

According to the second letter the new Association is supported by "no more than 25 individuals, out of a total of nearly 200 (Malaysian) students."

Majorities of Malaysian students had been opposed to the formation of a Malaysian, as distinct from a Malaysia-Singapore, Students' Association at both a panel discussion on the subject, and at the Annual General Meeting of the Malaysian-Singapore Students' Association.

This letter notes "the suspicious coincidence of timing" in the formation of the new Association and the visit of the High Commissioner.

It goes on to challenge: "Will the High Commissioner deny that he did mention the word. 'Blacklisting' in his conversation with certain students?"

This letter has a postscript: "It would be suicide to reveal the author. Should you decide not to publish this please destroy it: I would rather that nobody else sees this letter in the present form.