NOVEMBER 8 ― The United Kingdom & Eire Malaysian Law Students' Union (KPUM) expresses its concern at the recent saga of events culminating in disciplinary action taken against 8 Universiti Malaya student leaders.

As a student union which is primarily based in the United Kingdom, we have hosted speakers and leaders from both the ruling government and the opposition parties, without significant interference from our universities. We appreciate that there are nuanced & complex differences between the Malaysian context and that of the United Kingdom. But, we consider that expulsion and/or suspension of the UM8 for organising the talk by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is disproportionate, even for Malaysia. It is an inappropriate calibration of the balance between the desirability of university students engaging in dialogue with prominent Malaysian personalities & the institutional requirements of a university.

We also have the privilege of being educated in an environment where student unions can freely lobby for issues that the university administration may not agree with and have even seen the universities respecting all forms of protests and strikes being undertaken by students and staff. Although we may have differing views on various issues, all these has greatly contributed to our understanding of free discourse and how it contributes to the progress of a democratic society. The lack of academic freedom would prove itself detrimental to the intellectual development and education of the students.

University student dialogue with politicians is desirable, not least because it holds politicians to account. It allows for sustained and sophisticated criticism of policies and politics, a luxury many in society will do not enjoy. Indeed, if the views and stances of a politician are impugned, all the more reason to subject it to withering scrutiny by students, whose very purpose in university is to learn to distinguish the true from the merely seemingly true, the logic from the rhetoric, and the right from the popular. If he emerges unscathed, so be it. If his weaknesses are revealed, so be it. We do not need to add that engagement by politicians with our youth rejuvenates the ideas of and promotes a sense of inclusiveness in our politics.

Furthermore, the issue moves from the restriction of academic freedom to the crack-down on student autonomy. We are also concerned about the considerable amount of discretion enjoyed by the university’s student affairs department by virtue of the UUCA. It is clear that through the years of university history all around the world, student politics and activism is a fertile breeding ground in equipping students with the experience, no matter what field they eventually venture into. None of these can be achieved without full and absolute student autonomy given to student councils and student unions to pave their own way into their own future. Therefore, we are heavily disappointed with the unnecessary crackdown on student autonomy by the UM administration with the heavy abuse of the UUCA in pressing charges against the 8 student leaders. It is our view that none of these contributes to the development of the students, the university and the society as a whole in the long run.

We admit that a university as an institution requires some control over its branding and reputation. However, structures can be adopted to modulate any effect student-organised talks may have. It is abundantly clear to the public that the talk by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was organided by a student body, as opposed to any faculty of Universiti Malaya. If need be, Universiti Malaya can promote the establishment of an entity like the Oxford Union, distinct and separate from Oxford University, to establish critical distance vis-à-vis any controversial figures. In comparison to these methods, penalizing the UM8 with expulsion/suspension seems heavy-handed.

As the UM disciplinary board postpones the decision on the charges brought against them, we plead for the UM administration to drop all charges against our fellow student leaders who were merely attempting to reclaim their rightful autonomy. We would also like to propose for the Ministry of Education and lawmakers of the Parliament of Malaysia to consider amending the UUCA to only regulate administrative areas of the public universities and not interfere with student autonomy and academic freedom.

We stand in solidarity with the 8 student leaders and all of our friends at Universiti Malaya in their aspiration to break free from the chains of unfair treatment and towards being the pioneers of their own dreams. Equally, all of us as students must continue to maintain our commitment to intellectual sophistication and academic rigour.

*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.