More on Malaysian Students

I would like to add some thought to those of Jordan K. Mangrove (Sept 6 Salient),

Malaysians come to New Zealand and criticise things like the slow pace of contruction or industrial sites, the high prices of material, bursaries etc. They extol the rapid growth of the cities of Malaysia, the growing number of highways, high-rise buildings etc.

However these are not indicators of a good standard of living; the basic fact is that labouring conditions are very bad. Wages are low e.g. the average wage is something like SNZ 2 per day for a labourer (you can get a prostitute for 50c a night). The situation is not as bad as it sounds because with a general absence of sales lax, food prices are low. However labourers come near to being slaves to their employers.

Are the Malaysian students in New Zealand interested in reform? Most of them seem to be working too hard to give it much thought and one suspects that those so bitter against the Malaysian government are only releasing frustrations from failing at their studies. In general, Malaysians are not active in trying to promote reform Why?

Malaysia is a repressive country. Perhaps they are too scared. Then again perhaps they're too stupid. They don't understand how a welfare state works. Malaysia is a rampantly free enterprise stale (ie it gives excessively generous tax exemptions to big companies and doesn't "interfere" with their activities). New Zealand is essentially more leftist (horrors!) and more socialist.

Malaysia gives the appearance of being wealthy but in practice much of the wealth goes out of the country to Japan and the U.S., not the man (begging) in the street.

The Malaysian government can say that the New Zealand system is nearer communism than its own and the Malaysians will then accept it because even if they don't know what is good, they know communism is bad.

Perhaps Malaysians aren't scared or stupid, at all. Malaysian students come to New Zealand to escape the life of the labourer through education. When they return, they will fall half-way between poverty and corrupt riches. No doubt many are "would be if they could be". Though they are politically rather powerless, economically they are content. Is it to their advantage to promote a radical balancing of incomes through more equitable taxation?

Malaysians are stupid! They see all their problems in terms of repression, denial of rights etc. As J.K. Mangrove and others have said, they regard their New Zealand education as a right and while here adopt a "all take no give" attitude.

New Zealanders gain some very expensive "Invisible exports" from the money sent from Malaysia. Their fees may pay for teaching costs (but if so why do other countries charge more) but what about administrative costs e.g. registry and immigration officials' salaries.

In numbers these are too few Malaysians to make them profitable, but enough for them to be a nuisance, Malaysians alto have come to regard it as their right to work over summer to earn enough to get through the next year. However, in the present economic recession, this may mean they sometimes displace legitimate New Zealand unemployment. New Zealand may have some interests in helping Polynesians but what about Malaysians and educated ones at that?

I am not saying that Malaysians should [unclear: lick] our boots as J.K. Mangrove implied, nor that New Zealand is perfect. I'm just saying that the "all take no give" attitude never solves problems only brings them. Has not Malaysia got enough problems to already.