Groups: No excuse for draconian laws like UUCA

Higher Education Minister Mohd Khaled Nordin seems not to understand that no law may contradict the constitution, human rights group Suaram said today.

"He should not support laws that violate human rights," said the group's coordinator Yap Heng Lung in a statement.

"Section 15(5)(a) of the UUCA has clearly been used by universities and the government to bar students from expressing sympathy, support, or opposition to any political party, even though it contradicts the federal constitution,"

Citing UIA law professor Abdul Aziz Bari's brief suspension as an example, Yap argued that the oppression of students and academics still continue under UUCA and  Aku Janji (I Pledge) letter.

"(There is) no excuse for allowing draconian laws to continue," Yap added.

Aku Janji is a letter that university academics, students, and civil servants are required to sign, pledging among other things that the signee will "not disobey or behave in any way that can be interpreted as disobedience (to the university)."

Abdul Aziz was suspended for about a week from Oct 19 after allegedly "making statements that run contrary to the interests of the university."

Yesterday, the minister defended the University and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA), saying that students' intellectual development can be developed without participating in political activities.

“The main goal of education is to encourage students to think constructively and critically without any restrictions.  

“That is why we feel that it is unwise to allow students to join political parties. If a student holds a position within a party, he will be tied to the party’s ideology," the minister was quoted as saying in The Star today.

Mohamed Khaled said that if freedom of association were deemed more important than education, he has no issues with the arrangement.

He also disclosed that the cabinet would decide on whether to appeal the court decision that declared Section 15(5)(a) of the UUCA is unconstitutional.

Apolitical means more critical?

In a separate statement, Parti Sosialis Malaysia's (PSM) youth wing said that UUCA created a climate of fear that has stifled discourse.

"As long as laws like UUCA exists, it continues to prevent our country from producing graduates who are mature, progressive and bold," said Bawani KS on PSM Youth's behalf.

The appellate court's majority decision on Oct 31 won bipartisan and civil society support, with many calling for UUCA's total abolished.

Opposition party PKR, meanwhile, slammed Khaled for what it said were statements "beset with contradictions."

Taking aim at the minister’s remark that preventing students from engaging in political parties allows them to think critically and independently, the party’s communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad pointed out that universities elsewhere have excelled without similar restrictions on students’ activism.

There are also members in Mohd Khaled's party Umno, who hold contrary opinions on the UUCA, Nik Nazmi noted.

"It was this Act after all that stifled constructive and critical thinking that Khaled states to be the main goal of education."

Suaram, PSM and PKR expressed support for the Court of Appeal decision and called for UUCA to be abolished in its entirety.


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