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'Amendment of act is long overdue'

Monday, 19 December 2011 08:53am

©The New Straits Times (Used by permission)
by FAHIRUL N. RAMLI AND PUNITHA KUMAR

Student leaders say they should be consulted on decisions that will affect them

About 200 undergraduates of Gerakan Menuntut Kebebasan Akademik (Bebas) held a peaceful demonstration from the Masjid Jamek LRT station in Jalan Tun Perak to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) office and Umno headquarters at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) yesterday to hand over a memorandum calling for the abolition of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) 1971.

The group briefly stopped to address the crowd and passers-by at Jalan Dang Wangi before proceeding to the Suhakam office at Maju Junction where they met Suhakam commissioner Mohd Sha'ani Abdullah.

They then marched on to PWTC, where they handed over the memorandum to Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

Earlier in the morning, Saifuddin chaired the inaugural roundtable on the proposed amendments to the UUCA.

He said although the ministry plans to amend the UUCA, there were also proposals to repeal and replace it with a new act.

"The ministry is open to all possibilities. We are organising open discussions to sincerely seek opinion and feedback from all stakeholders."

Participants at the dialogue were divided on whether to amend or totally abolish the act.

International Islamic University Malaysia student representative council chairman Mohamad Iqbal Ab Wahab said the act should be amended to remain relevant and ensure the younger generation received proper political exposure.

"Implementation is a matter of trust and the ruling government must trust and initiate change for a better Malaysia."

Malaysian Students Association of India (Chennai chapter) leader Venkates Rao said age should not matter as what was important was one's political maturity.

"Some students who are only 18 years old have the same political maturity as a 21-year-old and they should not be forgotten," he said in reference to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recent announcement that the government would soon amend section 15 of the UUCA to allow students aged above 21 to become members of political parties.

Universiti Teknologi Petronas student representative council president Hamzah Nawawi said the amendments to the act were long overdue.

"The government should hear us out and hold more discussions such as these to achieve a middle path in making decisions that will affect a huge number of students."

Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unirazak) student representative Muhd Faiz Affendi Yunus Mohd Fathil said as vital stakeholders, it was important for student leaders to sit in during the meetings of the special committee working on the amendments.

"Students need to be involved and consulted during the decision-making process."

The roundtable saw representatives from public and private universities, academic bodies, Suhakam, Majlis Profesor Negara, Malaysian Youth Council, political party representatives and selected parliamentarians.

Others who attended the discussion were Universiti Teknologi Mara Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister and MCA vice-president Senator Gan Ping Sieu, Malaysian Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee and Centre for Public Policy Studies chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.

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