KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — University students can join demonstrations
including an upcoming electoral reforms event as long as it is legal and
not organised by any political party, Higher Education Minister Datuk
Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said today.
The authorities have come down hard on students taking part in protests, citing the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which prohibits students from being participating in politics.
“I think any demonstration has to go according to the law for the sake of national security. If the authorities issue them a permit, then I can’t say anything. Then it also depends on who the organiser is,” Khaled said today.
The Pasir Gudang MP told reporters after the first National Student Consultative (MPPK) meeting of the year here at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) that the UUCA was raised during the meeting, which was expected.
“To me, in regards to AUKU, the issues raised is nothing new, and since the conditions are still the same, the answer will also be the same,” he said, using the Bahasa Malaysia acroynym for the law.
The law prohibits students from associating with any society, political party, trade union, or any other organisations, whether it is in the university or outside the university, or even out of the country.
In addition to that, a university student who is detained, or is subjected to any order imposing restrictions on him or her, shall immediately cease to be a student of the university and shall not remain in or enter the campus or of any other universities.
Election watchdog Bersih 2.0 said it will organise a protest on July 9 as the government has ignored its demands for electoral reform, according to PAS central committee member Mohamad Sabu.
The election watchdog held a massive rally of tens of thousands in the city in November 2007, a few months before the historic Election 2008 that saw the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) lose its two-thirds parliamentary majority and five states for the first time since independence.
The authorities have come down hard on students taking part in protests, citing the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which prohibits students from being participating in politics.
“I think any demonstration has to go according to the law for the sake of national security. If the authorities issue them a permit, then I can’t say anything. Then it also depends on who the organiser is,” Khaled said today.
The Pasir Gudang MP told reporters after the first National Student Consultative (MPPK) meeting of the year here at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) that the UUCA was raised during the meeting, which was expected.
“To me, in regards to AUKU, the issues raised is nothing new, and since the conditions are still the same, the answer will also be the same,” he said, using the Bahasa Malaysia acroynym for the law.
The law prohibits students from associating with any society, political party, trade union, or any other organisations, whether it is in the university or outside the university, or even out of the country.
In addition to that, a university student who is detained, or is subjected to any order imposing restrictions on him or her, shall immediately cease to be a student of the university and shall not remain in or enter the campus or of any other universities.
Election watchdog Bersih 2.0 said it will organise a protest on July 9 as the government has ignored its demands for electoral reform, according to PAS central committee member Mohamad Sabu.
The election watchdog held a massive rally of tens of thousands in the city in November 2007, a few months before the historic Election 2008 that saw the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) lose its two-thirds parliamentary majority and five states for the first time since independence.
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