PBB agrees with proposed UCCA 1971 amendments

January 10, 2012

KUCHING: PBB is fine with the proposed plan to amend certain clauses of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UCCA), 1971. The party agrees, in principal, with the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had declared Section 15 (5) (a) of the Act as unconstitutional.

The collective stand of PBB was achieved during a meeting chaired by its legal advisor Datuk Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah.

It was attended by several Supreme Council members with legal backgrounds. Assistant Minister of Youth Development Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who was also present, told The Borneo Post that PBB agreed with the Court of Appeal’s decision.

“After looking into the matter from various angles, we felt that university students should not be restricted from participating in politics.

Participation of university students in politics should be allowed, but with certain limitations.”

He said the party’s resolution would be submitted to representatives from the Ministry of Higher Education, who were here to obtain feedback from various quarters before amending the Act.

It was learned that the federal government had been compiling public views and opinions after the Court of Appeal ruled last year that Section 15 (5) (a) of the Act, aimed at restricting students’ support or against any political party, as unconstitutional.

The 2 to 1 Court of Appeal majority decision also described the section as irrational, unreasonable, and violated freedom of speech.

The ruling, which was a landmark decision, was made over the appeal brought by four political science undergraduates of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), who faced disciplinary action for being present during the campaign for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election on April 24, 2010.

Justice Datuk Mohd Hishamuddin Mohd Yunus, in passing the judgment, said “Universities should be the breeding ground of reformers and thinkers, and not institutions to produce students trained as robots. Clearly, the provision is not only counter-productive but repressive in nature”.