KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Student activism cannot be so easily quelled regardless how much the authorities do to frighten youths into submission, said Ikram Siswa, the student arm of Muslim NGO Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia.

Referring to the case of Universiti Malaya (UM), which has been under the spotlight for punishing seven of its students for organising the October talk with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Ikram Siswa said it would be better for the university to review the students’ sentences or revoke them entirely.

“Decisions made to frighten the students are not at all smart, because history has already proven that student activism will continue to thrive regardless how much pressure they are put under,” Ikram Siswa president Marwan Abdullah said in a statement.

“Ikram Siswa is of the view that the best solution in this issue would be to return these students their right to activism and to speak out within the confines of the country’s practice of democracy,” he added.

Marwan also reminded UM that the Anwar talk organised by the students had not resulted in any damage of university property.

Classes were not disrupted as well, he pointed out, and the university could carry out its daily functions without any hindrance.

“Therefore, Ikram Siswa feels that the punishments should be reviewed and subsequently revoked,” he said.

On Tuesday, a UM inquiry panel decided to suspend students Fahmi Zainol and Safwan Shamsuddin over the talk featuring Anwar held on October 27, a day before the Opposition Leader’s Sodomy II case.

The suspension order, however, came just weeks before the youths’ final examination.

Fahmi, who is Student Council (PMUM) president and the main driver of the talk, was suspended for two months while Shamsuddin, the Pro-Mahasiswa chairman, was suspended for one month.

Both were also slapped with fines of RM600 and RM300 respectively.

Of the eight students slapped with charges over their involvement in the “40 Years: From University of Malaya to Jail” talk with Anwar, who is also the university’s alumnus, only one, Abraham Au, walked free from punishment.

Apart from Fahmi and Safwan, four were fined RM150 each, namely PMUM vice-president Haw Yu Hong, secretary-general Nur Syamimi Munirah, Adam Fistival Wilfrid and Khairul Anwar.

After the decision, a group of UM students vowed to camp out in protest in front of their campus gates until the university reviews the punishments.