KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh should stop being “elitist” and address claims that some varsity students are starving due to lack of finances, Lim Kit Siang said today.

In a statement today, the DAP parliamentary leaders said that Idris should “stop arguing” about whether the problem actually exists and should instead resolve the problem for students.

“Instead of spearheading a campaign to deal with such a serious issue, Idris could only think of browbeating the media by ordering them not to highlight such issues,” he said.

Lim said that pledge by a coalition of NGOs called Kami Sayang Mahasiswa (Kasih) to provide aid for the struggling students was “timely and welcomed”.

“By continuing to deny the existence of the problem, Idris is not providing leadership or doing any service to university students or higher education in Malaysia,” he said.

The Gelang Patah MP also said that public university administrators must cut down bureaucracy and help students to prevent students from “turning to soup kitchens for food.”

Putrajaya has expressed scepticism over the matter, despite several reports of starving students, including one student in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) who allegedly ruptured her intestines due to poor eating habits.

In response, Idris had said that he “goes hungry at times too”, while Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that the reports of starving students were being “sensationalised”.