No Obvious Tension In Malaysia For Residents

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30395, 20 March 1964, Page 2

No Obvious Tension In Malaysia For Residents

Malaysia was not the “hot spot” to live in that many New Zealanders seemed to imagine it to be, said Mrs R. N. Rae in Christchurch yesterday. Mrs Rae has lived in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore for the last two years.

The tense political relations between Malaysia and Indonesia did not seem to make any difference to Europeans living there, she said. The various races —Chinese, Indian and Malayan —lived very harmoniously together.

The former Miss Mary' Ryan of Christchurch, Mrs Rae said she had the greatest admiration for the Prime Minister of Malaysia (Tunku Abdul Rahman). “He is a wonderful person and has done a great deal for his country. But he is not young and, as yet, there seems to be no-one w'ho could take over from him.”

Malaysia, today, was a strong bastion against communism in the area. “Communists who have been •placed’ in the schools and universities to try to influence the young people are gradually being weeded out,” she said.

Mrs Rae said she herself did not think the President of Indonesia (Dr. Sukarno) would really go so far as to start a war against Malaysia.

dren regard themselves as “working tourists.” "We thoroughly enjoy moving around,” she said. “In a foreign country we do not stick with European groups, but mix as much as possible with the indigenous people. In this way we, and the children, learn how the people live, their customs, ways of doing things and their food (which I don’t always like). “I made some very good

“He knows, if he did, he would bring in the power of the British and Americans against him,” she said. “Working Tourists” Married to a pilot and aircraft engineer, now with a charter flight company in Nairobi (Kenya), Mrs Rae, her husband and three chil-

friends among the Chinese, Indians and Malays in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. I did not join any of the European women’s clubs and get involved with their activities.” Travelling also made New Zealanders appreciate their own country, she added. “New Zealanders don’t re-

alise how lucky they are until they look around the world and see how small other people’s expectations are.”

It would, however, be a long time before the Rae family came back to New Zealand to live. “While we are young we want to see as much of the world as we can,” she said. Mrs Rae and her children will return to Nairobi to join Mr Rae next month. Likes Heat “We are looking forward to living there. It is on the equator, but it is 5000 ft above sea level so at least we should get cool nights,” she said. “In any case, I like the heat. New Zealand is too cold.” Born and educated in Christchurch, Mrs Rae met her husband when she was working in Hamilton and married him in Sydney. She is now staying with her mother, Mrs W. G. Turton, of Pines Beach, and will take her children on a visit to her husband’s family in Hamilton before leaving New Zealand for East Africa.