Open Letter to the "Gutless Malaysian Student".

In your letter to Salient dated 14 March 1973 (Vol. 36 No, 3), there were many accusations laid against mc. May I take this opportunity to reply to your accusations and to point out the faults, fallacies, and contradictions in your letter.

Your first fault is that you put too much trust in your trolling mate, Peter Rotherham's 'open letter'. Perhaps you are a TAB fan and could not venture beyond the perimeters of Hun Park to Find out for yourself, the many misleading accusations and statements in Rotherham's open letter.

I admit I did grab and push Rotherham. But I did not thrust my hands under his nose, for to do so would have required 'all the perfumes of Arabia' to clean my hands again. Peter Rotherham is nearly twice my size. If he had any guts, he would have retaliated, instead of playing 'Penguin'.

In the open letter Penguin Rotherham stated that there were no demonstrations planned on Sharpeville Day, implying there were no activities planned at all! How misleading! On Sharpeville Day, the activities organized by the National Anti-Apartheid Co-ordinating Committee were successful, whereas Rotherham's "mass demonstration" crapped out badly, proving my point that 'trotting down the streets was indeed a waste of time.

Rotherham also claimed the mass demonstration was endorsed by, many 'Trade Unionist, Labour leaders, and student leaders'. However he conveniently forgot to mention how he deceived them into endorsing the demonstration. When the cat was let out of the bag again, most of the people who initially endorsed The demonstration withdrew their support. Deceiving and misleading people is nothing new to Penguin Rotherham and his associates, the SAL. It had happened many times before and would occur again. So much for your Hutt Park heroes.

In your letter, you accused me of being 'a pain in the neck on campus'. Perhaps you are right. 1 am indeed a pain in the neck on campus to you and your kind; to the right wing, the fascist and racist on campus; to the University Administration; to your so called democratic mates in Kuala Lumpur; and your trotting mates of Mount Leon. But I am certainly not a pain in the neck to the progressive elements, the left, and those students who put their time, energy and effort into the Students' Association and other progressive organisations.

I am a liability rather than an asset to the cause of Hart, you claimed. The amount of time and energy I put into the cause of Hart is more than the amount of 'rice and lies' you have swallowed. Perhaps if you had cared to venture out of the 4-walls of your Ivory Tower and the perimeters of Hutt Park, you might have vomited out some of the lies and might not have accused me of being a pain in the neck on campus and a liability to the cause of Hart.

Finally, your accusation that to me 'the democratic rights of other students are not important', shows the true colours of your hypocrisy. If you sincerely believe in the principle of "democratic rights of others', you should at least be consistent enough to champion the democratic rights of your own fellow countrymen — your countrymen who happen to hold different views from the facist dictatorial Malaysian government and are now rolling in prison camps dotted all over the country; and your fellow overseas Malaysian students whom upon arrival home, had their passports confiscated, their freedom of association denied and movement restricted, because they had enough guts and convictions to stand up against the injustices of the Malaysian government. Instead you not only prefer but choose to don a "white mask" over your gutless face and throw smearing paints at others, who have the courage of their conviction to stand up and be Counted.

People like your kind not only give me a pain in my neck, but also a pain in my guts as well.

H.T. Lee Australia