1001b Of Food Cooked By Malayan Students

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29916, 1 September 1962, Page 13

1001b Of Food Cooked By Malayan Students

Providing a menu of Malayan dishes for the buffet and social held last evening by the Canterbury Malayan Students' Association to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Malayan Merdeka (Independence) Day required a high degree of organisation and teamwork.

Though 150 guests were invited, about 200 arrived to take part in the celebrations. For some students it was the first time they had eaten traditional dishes since they arrived in New Zealand. To make the fish and meat curries and omelettes, the catering team under the direction of the association’s vice-president (Mr M. Yunus), prepared and cooked 401 b of rice, 181 b of steak, 151 b of mutton, 241 b of ling and flounder, 12 dozen eggs and eight savoy cabbages. Sherry and spices, nuts and a mixture of pineapple and onions were added to give the food its distinctive taste. The 1001 b or more of ingredients were distributed to the inhabitants of seven houses. Cooking started yesterday morning and two cars were used to collect it and bring it to the Oddfellows’ Hall, where the celebrations were held. About £3O was spent on the food, said Mr Yunus. Focal point of the decorations was the coat-of-arms of the Malayan Federation placed at one end of the hall and surrounded by crescents and stars. Flags representing the 11 States of the federation were placed along the walls, and balloons were hung from the light fittings along the ceiling. Candles arranged in groups of three on tables set down both sides of the hall completed the arrangements. A display of Malayan handiwork was arranged on the stage. It included examples of handbags woven from palm leaves and stoles hand embroidered with gold and silver threads.

The official guests included the Mayor (Mr G. Manning), the Chancellor of the University of Canterbury (Mr C. H. Perkins) and Mrs Perkins, the Commanding Officer R.N.Z.A.F. Station, Wigram

(Group Captain S. G. Quill) and Mrs Quill, the president of the Pan Pacific League (Miss M. McLean), the secretary of the Young Contingent of the Victoria League (Mr R. K. Godfrey), the Rev. Fr. T. Curnow, Mr A. W. Robertson, representing Rotary, Mr B, G. Ross, representing the warden of Lincoln College, the overseas students’ councillor at Lincoln College (Mr D. B. MacSweeny) and Mrs MacSweeny, and the president of the Canterbury Students' Association (Mr B. Ulrich). The president of the association (Miss Minnie Ng) said that this time next year the students would be celebrating Malaysia merdeka. Since her independence, Malaya had progressed socially, economically and politically. Her peoples had put aside racial differences and were working together to build a free nation, she said. It had been a remarkable piece of social and political engineering by the peoples of Malaya to achieve cooperation among their three or four different races and to form a progressive federation, said Mr Manning in congratulating the students. A message to the students from the Prime Minister of Malaya. Tunku Abdul Rahman, was read.