Educated in New Zealand to serve Malaysia’s development, then and now

Part 3 of a series of 4 - The stories of Malaysian students who were educated 8000km away from their homes during the 1960s and 70s.

To this day, thousands of Malaysian students have strolled through New Zealand university campuses. The legacy of the first Colombo Plan scholarship recipients lives on through modern Malaysian students and graduates motivated by the same purpose: to make their home a more prosperous and sustainable nation. To push for development and change.

After completing her bachelor's degree in forestry at the University of Putra Malaysia, Agkillah Maniam applied to work for the government. But the job interview left her questioning the system instead. This questioning led her to Auckland in 2013, where she signed up to study for her PhD in politics and international relations with a forestry focus.

She had never set foot in New Zealand, but it was to be home for the next five years. Motivating her was the question: "Do I want to keep quiet about how things are or should I do my best to contribute to change?"

Before her move, Maniam had to complete a course delivered by the government's "National Conduct Bureau", which everyone given a government scholarship had to complete.

"We were told the same thing: You can't participate in political activities, you can't speak against your country."

Similarly, Colombo Plan scholars in the 60s and 70s had to agree to refrain from "engaging in political activity", which could bring criticism to them and the plan. But coming from Penang, a state known for being "rebellious", Maniam was not worried.

Maniam said there was only one Malaysian student in her faculty and he completed his PhD the day she started her own.

"But I did make friends with Malaysians who were part of the Bersih Group," she said.

Bersih, meaning clean, was a political movement that started in 2004 after claims the Malaysian elections were rigged. Only 60 years after independence did Malaysia see a change in government.

"When I moved to New Zealand, it was just a month before elections in Malaysia. So the Malaysians mobilised and asked around for support and I joined them. We also had potluck dinners and discussions about the country's political movements," she said.

"That's where I realised a lot of second-generation, third-generation Malaysians had moved to NZ and lived there."

A history of Malaysian protest on New Zealand soil

During the 2016 Bersih protests, protesting Malaysians risked being banned from travel by their government. But Malaysians are no strangers to protesting.

Student activists were mobile in the early 1970s, and the Malaysian government, seeing them as a threat, introduced laws stating that no university student or staff could engage in political activity; otherwise, they would be expelled and arrested. In response, there were protests by Malaysians in New Zealand. many of them students themselves.

In 1972, the then-Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand Jack de Silva alleged Malaysian students in New Zealand were being subverted by communist propaganda. This was refuted by both New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdul Razak.

However, one Canterbury University student (Khoo Ee Liam) was arrested when he returned to Malaysia for being politically involved in New Zealand - demonstrating the Malaysian government was monitoring its international students.

The New Zealand University Students Association campaigned in solidarity with Malaysian students, handing a petition to release arrested students to Razak, who toured New Zealand in 1975.

The controversial laws banning students from protesting and political involvement were only removed in 2018.

Maniam's scholarship, sponsored by her Malaysian university, echoed sentiments similar to those of the Colombo Plan - students would get further education and then return to Malaysia - but Maniam could have stayed in New Zealand. However, although decades apart, Maniam, like Tan Sri Leo Moggie, was called home by the same desires - that her usefulness lay back in Malaysia.

Today, Education New Zealand found 75 percent of international students return to their home countries within three years of graduation.

"I'm an expert in tropical forests, and although New Zealand is known for forestry and conservation, the systems and issues are different," she said. "Very few people here work in the nexus of environmental policy, politics and governance in Malaysia."

Now, she's a director of the Malaysian Timber Certification Council, leading the forest management unit. She ensures forest managers expand their work to include sustainable and conservation practices. The story of the Rainbow Warrior motivates her work today.

"I've always felt that if you believe and stand for something, that's how it should be. It doesn't matter how small you are, you have a voice."

The "new" Colombo Plan scholarship

Danny Ler and Mary Anne Ng both received the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship to study at Auckland University in 2019. These scholarships are provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to students from more than 70 developing countries, a cousin to the Colombo Plan, which scholarship scheme finished in 1978. MFAT anticipates Manaaki's expenditure to be approximately $100 million this year.

While immersed in the New Zealand environment, learning with people from different backgrounds and values, Ler said his worldview grew.

"I think it's important as it helps build our perspectives. If we are always cocooned in our own culture and with the same group of friends with the same mentality, it's hard to understand why people think differently."

He volunteered as a committee member for Generation Zero, learning more about sustainability as New Zealand passed the Zero Carbon Act.

"Now in Malaysia, sustainability is becoming more important. I'm practically surfing the wave right now and being one of the pioneers in this area. I wouldn't say I'm an expert in this area yet. I'm still very new professionally, but I bring passion and hope that helps things."

Ng said her own education in New Zealand, completing her Bachelors at Otago and her Masters at Auckland University, had "opened her eyes" to the options of improving Malaysia's own healthcare system and population health.

Importance of cross-cultural education

Senthil Balan chose Auckland University over an offer from the London School of Economics and Political Science. During his time there, he became President of the Malaysian Student Club, the biggest club on campus. He also worked as the Student Union's treasurer.

He said the Kiwi "can-do" attitude has inspired his fruitful career working on the development of Air Asia, paving the way for a low-cost airline and bringing Uber to Southeast Asia (SEA). He is now working at Petronas' renewable energy branch.

"If you don't have a cross-cultural experience in terms of friends and networks, or studying or working, it limits you in terms of how you can understand the world better and contribute better in this world," he said.

Balan has supported the New Zealand government's efforts to encourage Kiwi businesses to trade in Southeast Asia.

"Kiwis need to better understand cross-cultural issues so as not to be afraid to trade in this part of the world. It's overwhelming because sometimes, they feel like coming to SEA, where there are 10 different countries, 10 different languages, 10 different payment channels, and 10 different cultures."

He believes this understanding starts from the education system; "potpourri the system".

All Colombo Plan recipients said they would have different lives without their cross-cultural education in New Zealand.

"People must associate with each other, it doesn't matter whether they associate with your own people, rather that you associate with people other than your own!" said Otago graduate Hashim Yaacob. "This is what the world is all about."

"You can't even begin to understand what the world is all about if you don't have this exchange of people. And it must be an actual exchange of people, not what you read in books or see in the movies," agreed Canterbury graduate Hamid Bugo.

"The world is globalised and how can you understand what that means if you never leave your own home to experience other places? I think this is the big problem with some countries because over 90 percent of the people never leave home, never leave the country."

Yaacob said he's noticed a huge difference between people who have been educated solely in Malaysia and those who were also educated overseas.

"Katuk Bawah Tempurong," - frog under a coconut shell, says Yaccob. "A frog that lives under a coconut shell believes the shell to be its entire world… but they are belligerent and narrow-minded in their views."

*Samantha Mythen travelled to Malaysia supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation. This is part three of a series of four.

You can read the rest of the series here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4