MCA Youth welcomes Appeal Court ruling on AUKU Section 15(5)(A) shouldnt have been inserted in the first place!

Press statement by MCA Youth National Chairman cum Deputy Minister of Education Datuk Dr Ir Wee Ka Siong

MCA Youth welcomes Appeal Court ruling on AUKU Section 15(5)(A) shouldnt have been inserted in the first place!

MCA Youth welcomes the recent judgement by the Court of Appeal in finding that Section 15(5)(A) of the Universities and Universities Colleges Act or better known by its acronym AUKU in Bahasa Malaysia is unconstitutional and violates freedom of expression.

In overturning the High Court ruling, the Appeals Court has demonstrated the independence of the judiciary as well as upholding our Federal Constitution. This gives the Opposition something to ponder about since Pakatan Rakyat parties have thrown doubt unto the independence of the Malaysian judiciary.

One of the resolutions passed during this years MCA Youth Annual General Meeting called for the abolition of Section 15 of AUKU to return the right to freedom of assembly and association to university students. This is consistent with MCAs stand is that university students be allowed to participate in any activities organized by political parties so long as they do not hold any positions in the said political parties.

It does not make sense to allow student elections on campus yet deny undergraduate and post graduate students to take part in political activities. Moreover, the case of double standards scream loudly when Malaysian students pursuing higher learning abroad are not subjected to AUKU but students enrolled in public or private institutions of higher! learnin g locally are subjected to AUKU.

It is an archaic law to deny students the right to political activities when many of them have reached the age of majority i.e. 21 years and have a right to be a registered voter, yet prevented from any form of political activism or campaigning on issues which students are capable of having an independent mind in desiring to have their say on policy making.

Student idealism via activism should be acknowledged. Stubbornly holding on to Section 15(5)(A) of AUKU renders policy makers as unbending and stifling student movements which is unhealthy for any democracy to mature. It also veers on looking down on students as children incapable of making independent decisions. Such perspectives have no place in todays wired IT age where students have easy access to all forms of information on the internet and may even cause an opposite effect against the ruling federal government.

So long as students are not unruly during their political activities where responsible freedom of expression is practised and do not touch on seditious or criminal content, MCA Youth fails to see why Section 15(5)(A) was even inserted in the first place.

Meanwhile, it should also be pointed out that the Appeal Court ruling is not a carte blanche for students to start rampaging the streets similar to the London riots under the guise of freedom of expression and association.

Datuk Dr Ir Wee Ka Siong
MCA Youth National Chairman
Member of Parliament of Ayer Itam
Deputy Minister of Education

-MCA online-