Alick Shaw's Se Asia Tour

Two months ago, Alick Shaw, President of NZUSA, embarked on a month-long tour of SE Asian countries from which he has recently returned, After the reports of some National Officers, he was called upon to report on this trip. He described the [unclear: Phillipines] Governemtn as having 'a great' deal of interest' in the affairs of the delegates to the Student Travel Assn. of Asia Conference in Manila. He said that the student movement in Hong Kong was very impressive and very similar to us and that his visit to Malaysia was useful only to prove to himself and the National Exec. the extent to which Razak's regime in Malaysia is controlling all opposition. Alick was in Malaysia for 45 minutes and after a most unwelcome reception was shunted off to Thailand for a visit which was forced to be unintentionally long.

The meeting then considered the question of the length of Alick's tour. Some have been of the opinion that Alick spent an inordinate amount of time on his trip. In his defence, Alick said that he had brought the matter before National Executive prior to his trip and had specifically asked for discussion on the subject. Such discussion did not ensue, and the tour was approved. The fact that the bursaries campaign escalated while Alick was concerned the Student Travel Bureau. David Cuthbert, after describing the bureau as a 'service to students' (wow), said there had been problems with 'anti-government' forces in Thailand, Laos, and Burma and that some students never come back. (Especially if they have dubious political ties).