Malaysia Special

Letter from Hamzah, a University of Malaya Student Union Activist Who Went on a Speaking Tour of Australia and New Zealand in October 1974 Written Prior to His Arrest on 7th February 1975.

Hamzah Kassim

Best regards and greetings from me on this Chinese New Year. I hope all of you are in high spirit and confident of success in your exams.

I would like to thank all of you — friends, fellow classmates and lecturers who have been assisting me in preparation of my exam by either giving me tutorials, collecting notes and bases and giving me moral support during the last few weeks. I hope all this assistance will help me get through my exam.

Yesterday morning I together with Adi Satria, Ibrahim Ali and two other graduates have been served with detention order detaining us in Taiping Camp for 2 years and the grounds of detention alleged that I had consistently advocated subversive and militant forms of students activities with a view of overthrowing the government by unconstitutional and revolutionary means. The allegation of facts which was given to me was either baseless or substantially exaggerated. I believe my classmates would be better able to understand it after a year of studying constitutional law.

I am not sure whether it would be possible for me to continue with my studies while under detention after my release. Meanwhile I am making representations against the order to the advisory board of the I.S.A.

Anyway despite such uncertainties over my future I have no regrets over my activities and my conscience is clear that whatever I have done had been in good faith in the spirit of student unity and of the present realities of our country.

Last best regards to everyone.

Sincerely, sgd.