PETALING JAYA: The Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) should be repealed to allow more active student participation in politics, especially now that 18 year olds can even vote, said lawyer Kokila Vaani Vadiveloo.
She said with the implementation of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2019 (CA2019), that reduced the voting age to 18, youths should now respond to issues facing them to ensure their basic human rights are recognised and enforced.
She added that previous amendments to UUCA merely removed subsection (c) of Section 15 (2), which banned students from taking part in political activities within campus, with other sections of UUCA unchanged.
Subsection (c) Section 47 (2) of the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 was also removed. Kokila said this subsection previously banned students from political activities on campus.
“Without repealing the whole of UUCA, restrictions still exist through other sections, where students are not allowed to hold peaceful political activities offline or online without the university’s express approval.”
She said participating in political activities on campus would serve as a platform for youths to propose ideas and suggestions to further the agenda of national reform.
Although Parliament has since passed amendments that allow students to engage in such activities on campus, response has been lukewarm due to previous restrictions imposed.
“There is a decline in the traditional forms of political participation among youths as the original version of UUCA limited students’ rights to assemble, their freedom to associate with political groups and participate in student gatherings, where public speeches were also monitored. This caused them to stay away from political activities.”
On boundaries that should be set in place for political freedom to be practised on campus, Kokila said students need to grasp the concept of political, speech and press freedom.
“Recent incidents of hate speech, including racist slurs and even incitement to violence have reflected a worrisome trend.
“Hence, there is certainly a need to place boundaries to prevent racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance in the name of politics.”
Laila Farhana Awang Bakar, who is a director of Pertubuhan Nisa Malaysia, an NGO representing Muslim females aged 15 to 40, said political freedom is a step forward to ensure national policies include representation by all age groups.
“At the age of 18, one can be subject to a contract, pay taxes, marry, work and be fully responsible for oneself.
“Therefore, university students should also have the freedom to be politically involved as it is just as important as the other responsibilities they bear,” she said.
Universiti Sains Malaysia student representative (general constituency) Jeremy W.H. Lau said politics on campus starts with a competent student union as the central body to represent them.
“Through the annual general election, students are exposed to different political methodologies in a healthy environment.
“With the right to vote and voice their concerns, students are able to exercise their mandate as informed voters to ensure promised milestones are achieved.
“This serves as a stepping stone for students to embark on their journey of political literacy,” he said.
