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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 23. 23rd September 1973

Orders from Above

Orders from Above

Michael Lim attacked the "big guns" from NZUSA and VUWSA for being at the meeting. He said it was his "perennial action" to move the dissolution of MSSA (even though his motion was defeated every year) but he and his supporters were not denying anyone the right to form association. Mr Lim also denied "a rumour" that he was moving the dissolution motion at the instigation of the High Commission.

Students Association President Peter Wilson accused Michael Lim of misrepresenting VUWSA's position by claiming that the Association was interfering in Malaysian students's affairs. He said his only reason for being at the meeting was to see that members of MSSA were free to organise themselves without interference from hostile elements like Mr Lim. He added that charges of discrimination by the Students Association in favour of MSSA were false because the Executive had allowed MSA to operate on campus as though it was an affiliated club, which it is not.

MSA President Steven Oh also attacked New Zealand students for interfering in Malaysian affairs and denied "rumours" that MSA had been insidiously plotting the dissolution of MSSA' He said he was at the meeting as an individual, not as a representative of his association.

After an orderly debate, compared to the rest of the meeting the dissolution motion was put and overwhelmingly lost. The final resolution of the meeting, deploring the actions of the High Commissioner "in respect of his blatant intimidation of Malaysian students studying in New Zealand universitites," was carried with little discussion and the sole dissent of Michael Lim.