Strong support for peace in Myanmar at SMU and NTU

Tan Tze How Kelvin | tzehow@nus.edu.sg
The Ridge News
A NUSSU Publication

Oct. 4, 2007

Students from the Singapore Management University and the Nanyang Technological University received strong support from their school administrations in the Myammar Peace Awareness Day programme on Oct. 4.

Organizer Myo Myint Maung, a second-year business undergraduate at SMU, told The Ridge that students are happy that his school was “very supportive.”

“There is little, or rather no, bureaucratic restrictions at all,” he said.

“We informed the school authorities, and they responded immediately,” he added.

According to Myo, SMU has set up a special financial grant of $1,000 for Myanmar students in the university.

“The deans, the presidents and the administrators are really concerned about emotions and financial problems,” Myo said.

Peace Pillar at the Singapore Management University
(Photo by Tan Tze How Kelvin)

For NTU, Scott Teng, a third-year School of Communication and Information student, told The Ridge that he was “pleasantly surprised.”

When The Ridge called Teng at 1 p.m., they had received about 200 signatures for the petitions, which will be sent to the junta in Myanmar and to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretariat in Jakarta, urging peace and open dialogue.

“The response from students was very good, and we are reaching our target of 300 [signatures] very soon,” Teng said.

According to Teng, the NTU university administration has been very supportive as well. Police permission was also granted. However, the activities in NTU had to be ended at 3:30 p.m. due to Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew’s visit to the university.

Teng, a Singaporean, said that he does not want to be an arm-chair critic, so took the opportunity to volunteer as NTU’s point-of-contact for the event.

“The series of activities in Myanmar has been very disappointing to me personally,” he said.

Related Article:
Two NUS campuses, two different responses