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Canterbury alumni Siong Sah John Wong helped organise Garry Moore's trip to Malaysia and he made sure Sibu was on the mayoral itinerary.

He knew the University of Canterbury and Christchurch had a special place in the minds of many Sibu residents because young people from Sibu have been coming to Canterbury for their tertiary education for more than 30 years.

Mr Wong grew up in Sibu, which has a population of more than 200,000, and came to Christchurch in 1975 to study commerce. He worked in Christchurch, then Sarawak for six years, before returning to Christchurch in 1987 for his children's education.

Mr Moore's itinerary allowed less than a day in Sibu but Mr Wong said he believed the Mayor would have spent longer there if he had realised he would have received such an enthusiastic reception.

The Sibu newspapers ran front-page headlines and colour photos of the Mayor and his visit attracted a huge amount of interest.

In other cities he met with government officials and mayors but in Sibu he attended a dinner with more than 50 University of Canterbury graduates. He also spoke to 1500 people attending the 101^st anniversary celebration of the Foochow settlement in Sibu. Foochow is the original Chinese community that established the city.

Mr Wong said he had wanted to help arrange the Mayor's visit because closer ties between Sibu, Christchurch and the University of Canterbury benefited everyone.

The more Sibu students who came to Canterbury the more it would encourage others to do the same. A close relationship between the two cities would encourage business linkages, networks and investment in both directions.

Mr Wong maintains strong links with Sibu and with the Foochow community in Christchurch and he would like to see a branch of the Canterbury University Alumni Association set up in Sibu.