Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol. 40 Number 4. March 21 1977
Editorial
Editorial
One only has to look at the circular sent by the Department of Labour to realise the invidious position that Overseas Students are placed in.
The large majority of our Overseas Student population are Chinese Malaysians and have come here because the educational opportunities are limited in their own countries. Most of them come on private sponsorship by their families.
They encounter many problems in New Zealand, least of all harrasment by NZ Officials. Many have been sent letters saying that they must leave the country. This is not the only way that our officials are trying to decrease the numbers of students here. Regulations mean that Overseas Students are not allowed to work to gain extra money to keep them going during the year.
What is the reason for these harsh restrictions and cutbacks in numbers of Overseas Students
The restrictions have been carefully worked out by the Governments of Malaysia and New Zealand. Next week we will be featuring a history of the cutbacks.
The political effects of a large number of Malaysian students in New Zealand is considerable for the Malaysian Government. Surveillance of Malaysian students is tight to ensure that they do not start thinking about the social conditions back home.
What is happening to Malaysian and other Overseas students is what shortly may happen to ourselves. New Zealand students should defend the right of Overseas students to study in New Zealand.
We must stand up and defend the rights of groups that are being subjected to unfair treatment.
The Government is unwilling to act—we must do it ourselves.