Association president Kamil Saifuddin said more than 80 students took part in modern sports, including netball, basketball, indoor soccer and "ultimate" frisbee at the Unipol sporting facility and the College of Education gymnasium on Saturday.
This was the first time the two-day sports festival had been held, and the association would consider making it a more regular event in future, he said.
Up to 200 students also took part in traditional Malaysian games, and heard lively performances of Malaysian music and sampled traditional desserts, at the university's Hunter Centre yesterday, on the second day of the two-day event.
The event was also attended by Salmah Kassim, cultural attache at the High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington, and who has a bachelor of education degree from Otago University.
The festival aimed to raise awareness of Malaysian games, food, music and culture and to foster closer links with other students at the university, he said.