Malaysian students

Press, 1 September 1989, Page 12

Malaysian students

Sir,—The Minister of Education claimed_(August 28) that we,

the Malaysian students who came to New Zealand in 1989, had been well informed on the amount of fees ($BOOO-$24,000) which we have to pay. No doubt some of us who started applying in May last year were informed, but that was not until the middle of January this year, barely two weeks before our departure from Malaysia. Some were not notified at all. During the course of our application, we had to spend a considerable amount of money, undergo a lot of tedious procedure, stop schooling, and even sign a declaration rejecting offers from other countries, to pursue our education. We are from the lower-income group and greatly in need of education aid from developed countries like New Zealand. We are now in a dilemma as we cannot afford to pay the enormous fees and face tremendous hardship to apply to other countries as New Zealand’s seventh-form qualification is not widely accepted, not even in Malaysia. We should be very happy to provide the Minister of Education, Mr Goff, and the Associate Minister of External. Relations and Trade, Ms Wilde, with the evidence to support our claims. We would be extremely grateful if the Ministers could kindly reconsider our case and allow for transitional provisions for us. — Yours, etc., LIEW CHIA WAN. August 29,1989.