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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 39, Number 14, 5 July 1976.
Legislation Designed to Scare
Legislation Designed to Scare
The U&UC Act has powers which extend overseas. The constitution also has provisions to cover Malaysians abroad. The Extra-territorial Offences Act 1975 is even more specific in its scope and this stems quite probably from a desire to frighten students rather than to formally acquire new powers which had not been required before. In a country such as Malaysia the formal acquisition of power has never deterred the authorities from taking whatever action their whims desired.
The timing of the Act at the end of Razak's demonstration during his Australasian tour and the failure of any other reasons (fabricated or otherwise) to justify it at that time (such as a spate of aircraft hijackings by expatriate Malaysians or similar events) make it quite clear that the legislation was created to frighten and persecute Malaysian students overseas.
With the passing of this legislation there will be required an intensification of the surveillance programme in New Zealand. If Malaysian citizens are to be prosecuted under its provisions then it is only fair that evidence be given against them. The evidence needs to be provided by agents of the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington. If such agents don't exist then they must be replaced by New Zealand SIS operatives or else there will be no evidence against them at all, except hearsay and rumours. Even the "normality" Talboys-Rithaudeen criteria must be policed to ensure that it is not exceeded.
The "Far Eastern Economic Review" (Oct. 31 1975) quoted a comment made by the Perak State Bar Committee Chairman, on the abuses made possible under the Essential (Security Cases) Regulations 1975:
"Police informers are given rewards for information and some of those informers are people of questionable character. "Informers" will not hesitate in order to get a handsome reward to give false information against innocent people."
The Extra-territorial Offences Act under (2 (1) (b)) applies itself to:- "Any offence under any..... written law the commission of which is certified by the Attorney General to affect the security of the Federation."
'The question of the numbers of overseas students entering New Zealand's universities is currently under consideration by the New Zealand Government. One major aim of offering places in our educational institutions to overseas students is to provide an indirect form of aid to developing countries. The Government is concerned to achieve a better balance between the developing countries in the number of students currently entering our universities. Since the overwhelming majority of overseas students in New Zealand universities are from Malaysia, it is clear that the present review will most affect the number of students from that country. I took the opportunity of my visit to Kuala Lumpur in March to discuss this question with the Malaysian Government, and to explain the need for some type of control. I should also mention that while it is the Government's intention to restrict the proportion of students entering New Zealand from any single country, the number of countries from which we will accept private overseas students is being increased. This will extend the range of experience of New Zealand students, as well as further enrich the educational, social and cultural life of our universities."