KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Free higher education for those from low-income backgrounds and subsidised tertiary tuition fees for those from the middle-income groups.
These are just two of the 15 demands put together by 33 university student unions ahead of the 15th general election.
The other demands include abolishing the University and University College Act and capping the tenure of the prime minister to two terms, and MPs to five terms.
Alif Naif Mohd Fizam, who heads the International Islamic University Malaysia Student Union, told a news conference here today that political parties would get their whole-hearted support and campaign backing if they would just include these 15 items as part of their respective election manifesto this year.
“We are confident that in the building of a democratic and successful nation, the role and potential of the young generation should not be ignored.
“We also realise that the future of the country is on the shoulders of the young generation,” he said outside Restoran Amjal in Bangsar here this afternoon.
He said the student unions would be embarking on a nationwide journey to encourage their peers to exercise their right to vote in GE15.
“We will reject political parties who did not consider the students in their manifesto,” Ahmad Farhan Rosli, president of the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students, chimed in at the same press conference.
The university student unions said they will start their nationwide tour next week.
Other student union representatives present include Universiti Malaysia deputy president Arvinkumar Mohan as well as his peers from the same campus UM Association of New Youths (Umany), Demokrat University Islam Sultan Zainal Abidin (Uniza), Demokrat Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Muslim Students Solidarity (Ikatan).
The 15th general election will have the largest pool of eligible voters after Parliament amended the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age to 18 from 21 and enable automatic registration for those who come of age.
Both amendments came into effect last year, adding around 5.6 million voters to the electoral roll.
