Uuca Amendments Passed Amid Abuse Concerns From Mps

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PARLIAMENT | The proposed amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) passed with a majority voice vote in the Dewan Rakyat today, but not before government and opposition lawmakers raised concerns.
During the second reading of the eighth amendment for the UUCA, MPs across the divide voiced their concerns over Section 48(11)(4)(a) of the First Schedule.
The relevant section was inserted to enable university boards to manage the length of time a student may serve in a student representative council.
Suhaizan Kaiat (Harapan-Pulai) said allowing university boards to do such a thing will open up the possibility of abuse of power.
“This means, I think, that there is something like a violation of democracy there.
“We give them (students) democratic room, but we restrict them by restricting the length of time (they serve in the student council) based on the board’s decision,” he said during his debate of the UUCA amendments in the Dewan Rakyat.
Creating ‘campus dictators’
He expressed concern that students who protest against university decisions or rules will be punished with such restrictions.
This is especially worrying considering that students elect their representatives in student councils, he added.
Similarly, R Yuneswaran (Harapan-Segamat) cautioned against completely handing over power to university boards in deciding on the matter.
Segamat MP R Yuneswaran“I request for the minister to reexamine this new provision considering that it allocates the full mandate to the university board to determine whether a member of the student council needs to continue their service or the reverse,” he said.
Students have their own sense of dignity and credibility and are future leaders who must be respected by university boards, he added.
He also warned against giving university boards the autonomous room to become “campus dictators”.
Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir tabled the second reading for the bill, which includes amendments such as Section 15A, which allows student bodies to take part in the collection of funds from any person or any body, and Section 16B, which transfers authority from the vice-chancellor to the student disciplinary set up by the board to handle disciplinary cases.
Return power to students
Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas) said the power to determine the length of student council representative appointments should be returned to the students.
“Not to mention that some of these university boards are political appointments and sometimes their leanings cannot be denied.
“Their political leanings, I mean,” he said.
Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli ShaariBesides that, Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar) said this would indirectly affect the voices of students who had voted in campus elections.
Afnan agreed with Suhaizan’s remarks, saying: “We are the same but not alike.”
He pointed out that a student council that holds similar views to the university board may have its appointment extended and vice versa.
A total of 23 MPs participated in the debate.
Last year, then higher education minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said repealing the UUCA may result in the abolishment of the establishment and administration of 20 public universities.
The act was the source of authority that binds the accountability of universities to the government and society, he said.
In November, Khaled presented the first reading for the amendment in the Dewan Rakyat.
He earlier said the amendments would create more space for student activism, including the autonomy to manage their finances.
However, the next month, a coalition of university students’ groups called for the abolishment of the act.
Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth president Ten Kang Yeaw slammed the proposed amendments, saying they were purely cosmetic. - Mkini

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