Prepared by, PHANG Siew Chin (Alexa)
The Vice President 1 of the Students Representative Council UKM
(PMUKM)
The background
On the 31 Oct 2011, the Court of Appeal majority decision has overruled the High Court decision that Section 15(5)(a) of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) which restricts students from expressing support or opposing any political party is unconstitutional, unreasonable and violates the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
The Respond
Hopefully there will be good news for all the university students in that this case will not be further brought to the Apex Court for appeal. In the judgment, it spelled out what is reasonable for students. The Student Representative Council of the National University of Malaysia (PMUKM) is of the opinion that it has given the students a key to access a field in which they have been worried to discuss and prohibited from having findings of their own to understand and be involved t in politics since it is prohibited under the law. With this, it opens the way for students to feel honestly and passionately about their primary duties of being a Malaysian, and further it allows the development of critical thinking on whether top leaders and parties in the country are actually bringing Malaysia forward and in building our nation.
Before the decision, students have been discussing on what is the significance of UUCA to us? Some have highly opposed the entire law, some did not agree only with a specific provision, and some have accepted it . Students have been thinking on why our right has been deprived? We are the ones that will lead and build this nation. Section 15 of UUCA aims to prohibit the bringing of political agendas into universities, to avoid unnecessary threatening and provocation, and to preserve the healthy learning environment and academic freedom. However, it is time that students be given back their fundamental freedom.
