Southeast Asian politics in 1974 was dominated by dissent ? worker and student riots in Burma; student agitations in Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore; and clerical protests in South Vietnam and the Philippines. In some states, the dissent was partly an effect of the increasing social and political controls exerted by the governments; in most states, it was a reflection of unresolved bread and butter issues. Meanwhile, the world economy was reeling on the brink of a major recession in the wake of the oil crisis which occurred at a time when most countries were already in the grip of serious inflation. For the energy-impov erished states, it was a time of grim realization of how fragile the balance was between the availability and the demand of vital raw materials. Although the earlier fears of a major shortage of oil had been allayed, oil prices had quadrupled. Coupled with this, the soaring prices of essential commodities such as rice, sugar, and fertilizers eroded the strength of nearly all the governments of the region. The region's college and university campuses boiled with unrest; in fact, some of the most violent expressions of dissent came from this quarter. In countries where legally constituted opposition was lacking, students provided the character and style as well as the shock-troops of challenge to governmental policies. However, their total impact was minimal although they achieved some success in reorienting government priorities. In Indonesia, opposition to the Suharto government centred round its economic strategy which its student critics stridently denounced as benefiting only the Japanese and a small local ?lite. Violent student demonstrations broke out in January during the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka to Indonesia, culminating in the death of eleven people. The trial of student leader Hariman Siregar, who was subsequently convicted and imprisoned for six years for masterminding the overthrow of the Suharto r?gime during the January riots, provided enough evidence to suggest a spilt in the country's top leadership. In Malaysia, where student militancy is a recent development, there were widespread student riots against the government's alleged lack of concern for the nation's rural poor. The United Malay National Organization raised fears of an attempt to topple the government and the Home Affairs Minister accused New Zealand and Australian students of interference in the internal affairs of the country. Several student leaders and some faculty members were subsequently interned. The Burmese student riots of December began with the bizarre theft of U Thant's body. And to a lesser extent, there were expressions of discontent by students in Laos, Cambodia, and Singapore. Singapore's counter-?lite continues to be essentially foreign-based do-gooders ? Malaysian, Hong Kong, and Australian students among them. The dissent ended with the expulsion of six foreign students from the Republic.