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9. Cont.)
this was something which had already been discussed in detail with the British High Commissioner in Brunei, Mr Francis Cornish.
10. Following on from this discussion, the Warden of Rhodes House made a similar appeal about the need to bear the political and commercial advantages in mind with regard to the potential success of the scheme viz-à-viz Malaysia. It was important, he noted, that the bursaries/scholarships provided by Oxford for Malaysians of outstanding calibre were seen to be really 'producing the goods' in terms of high quality training and academic tuition. Some discussion then took place about whether British businesses in Malaysia set much store about where key Malaysians in the governmental and commercial worlds were educated, and Mr McCarthy stated unequivocally that this was of vital importance in their view, and that even if Malaysian graduates or postdoctoral students from Oxford never actually worked for the UK Companies which had sponsored their further education, the amount of goodwill and political investment which was generated by supporting such students was crucial for ensuring a favourable investment/political climate in Malaysia for UK businesses. The disastrous decision of the present Conservative Government to double overseas student fees at a stroke in 1979, he said, had done untold harm to British commercial interests in Malaysia, and had deeply angered the British business community. ile also said that, at a time when UK businesses were growing increasingly disenchanted with their investments and commercial prospects in Latin America and Africa, Southeast Asia and the 'Pacific rim' countries were assuming an ever more important role in commercial strategy, especially for big multi-national companies like Lever Brothers.
11. Mr Michael Richards (St. Anne's) now shifted the discussion to the need to consider the social/personal welfare of Southeast Asian students when they came to Oxford, and remarked that ultimately some physical centre (ic a place where seminars/lectures could be held and a small library housed, along with accomodation for visiting academics) was essential. The examples of the N ssan Institute, and the West European Studies Centre in Woodstock Road were cited here as models to follow should a 'Brunei House' ever be established to cater for the needs of Southeast Asian students.
In connection with this, Dr, Barnes asked whether the stress on bursaries/scholarships, and the need to find endowment for a post at the senior level in Southeast Asian Studies, might not mean that the Oxford scheme was losing sight of the need to make academic provision for Southeast Asian scholarship at Oxford. Dr Lin replied here that the provision of a new post in Southeast Asian Studies would inevitably lead to Oxford gaining a better international reputation in this field, and that this would inevitably bring students not only from Southeast Asia, but from other parts of the world to study for advanced degrees on Southeast Asian topics at the University. Professor Stockwin concurred and said that this was already the experience of the members of the Nissan Institute, who were getting a steadily increasing number of students applying to study Japanese related topics. now that the Institute had been est :blished for some four years.
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The discussion en led with a warning that St. Antony's world not take kindly to the idea of further proliferation of Centres at the present time,
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and that if Soutast sian Studies at Oxfor! did attract a substantial endowment for a post or for a physical centre in North Oxford, it should continue as a programme under the aegis of the Asian Studies Centre, which would continue to act is the major coordinating body for studies/seminar programes on th, utheast, Central, and Aut Asia. The i rtance of
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