DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) condemns University Malaya (UM) for being uncivilised as the administration has failed to respect its students’ freedom of expression.

Five UM students were given show-cause letters by the student affairs division during their exam period and asked to justify their action for holding a press conference to complain about UM’s proposed policy on Internet quota without the university’s permission.

Students are not prisoners of the university. UM should not stop them from expressing their views and fighting for student welfare, by issuing show-cause letters to create terror and fear.

Such an uncivilised move to oppress students’ democratic rights and freedom using the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) is shameful, especially for a globally reputable university like UM.

We urge UM vice-chancellor Mohd Amin Jalaludin to take this issue more seriously, as the student affairs division has been using scare tactics to shut out the voices of the students for the past few years.

One can never really be charged for holding a press conference, but somehow the student affairs division still issued show-cause letters to the students.

Finally, we demand that the UM authorities stop harassing its students and frightening them from exercising their democratic rights and freedom by using the repressive UUCA and other similar regulations.

UM should always remember that its role is to be an educational institution, not a prison.

LEONG YU SHENG is the varsity affairs bureau director of DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy).