Private Student Limit Planned, Mr Talboys Tells Malaysians

Evening Post March 20, 1976

Mr Talboys, who also signed a double taxation agreement between New Zealand and Malaysia today, said that in view of a big increase in the number of foreign students going to New Zealand, which was putting pressure on university facilities, the Government was proposing to limit the number.

"What we will be doing is determining a formula which will apply to private students from all countries," he said, after his meeting with the Prime Minister.

New Zealand had not asked the Malaysian Government to exercise any restraints itself on the number of private students going to New Zealand, he added.

Half of the 5000 foreign students in New Zealand secondary schools and universities are from Malaysia. Their number has doubled since 1973.

Of the 1024 foreign students who qualified for entry to New Zealand universities last year, 611 were from Malaysia; and the number who qualify to about half the number who apply, according to New Zealand officials.

The Government is concerned that New Zealanders could be denied a university education because of the increasing number of foreign students. It is also understood to be concerned at the high "defection" rate among Malaysian students.

In 1974, 42 percent of Malaysian students who completed their courses in New Zealand applied for and got permanent residence.

Of the 178 foreign private students allowed to stay in New Zealand in 1974, 74 percent were Malaysian.

Mr Talboys said the Malaysian Foreign Minister (Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen), with whom he had separate talks soon after he arrived from Singapore today, had assured him that Malaysia's recent decision to extend its internal security regulations to cover the activities of Malaysian students overseas was not intended to apply to normal student political activities.

He had been told it was intended to use the legislation "sparingly".

"I repeated what I told the New Zealand University Students' Association — that it was the New Zealand Government's view that students came to New Zealand to get qualifications to apply to their own countries on the completion of their studies and that it should be their, intention to return to their own countries." Mr Talboys said.

He had asked the Malaysian ministers how many students had been detained and was told there were only two who had been in New Zealand.

Under the agreement Mr Talboys signed, taxpayers will be spared the burden of double taxation in both countries.

The Malaysian Finance Minister (Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah) said the agreement went further than a normal treaty of that sort.

It provided for any income tex relief granted to a New Zealand investor under the Malaysian Investment Incentives Act to be recognised by the New Zealand Government and given the tax credit for the tax sacrificed by the Malaysian Government.

There were similar provisions for the tax on interest and royalties.

"In this way the tax exemption benefits enjoyed by New Zealand Investors in Malaysia will wholly go to the investors," Tengku Razaleigh said.

Total capital investment by New Zealand in Malaysia had increased from $4,300,000 (Malaysian) in 1974 to $8,600,000 now.