at the college, he quickly became ensnared in the anti-colonialist politics of the era. he became close friends with kyaw nyein and thein pe, leftist students leading the protests against the administration of the university of rangoon, which had decided to close down its constituent college in mandalay because of a budget shortfall. he later wrote that he was never as politically inclined as his firebrand friends, and that his only contribution was to drive kyaw nyein, thein pe and other student leaders around from protest to protest in his father's five-seater whippet. he transferred to the university of rangoon in 1934, and was admitted to the highly selective rangoon medical college (rmc) in 1935. yet he was expelled from school just a year later after getting into a public feud with a british lecturer who he felt had repeatedly denigrated the burmese. he was readmitted to rmc only in 1939, and was a final-year student in march 1942 when the incoming japanese invasion closed down the school.