Memo in support of UTMs 15 submitted to Suhakam
About 20 undergraduates from various institutions of higher learning today submitted a memorandum to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) in support of the 15 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students hauled up by the university for alleged violation of campus regulations.
The two-page memorandum was handed over to Suhakam commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan at the commission's office in Kuala Lumpur.
The memorandum claimed that the 15 were "wrongly accused" and urged Suhakam to ensure that they would not be "punished". It also called on Suhakam to make an official declaration that the students have the right to express their opinion.
The students also wanted Suhakam officials to be present at the hearing for the 15 charged. UTM had since postponed the hearing following an application from some of the students that they did not have enough time to prepare for it. A new date has yet to be fixed.
The 15 were among those who protested against alleged irregularities in their students' council elections last November. They alleged that ballot boxes were tampered with during the elections and nominations of several candidates were made under questionable circumstances. The case was also brought to Suhakam's attention last December.
No guarantee
At the meeting with the students today, Hamdan said he could not guarantee that action would not be taken against the students. However, he assured that Suhakam would follow up on their memorandum.
Hamdan said, if necessary, Suhakam may consider calling the students to testify as witnesses in an inquiry into the case. He added that he would bring up the matter at the commission's meeting next week.
"It's good for UTM to look from the human rights perspective and not just regulatory and procedural views when dealing with Suhakam," Hamdan told malaysiakini after the meeting.
"Suhakam, after all, was established to ensure a healthy human rights culture in Malaysia and the university should be a good model for Malaysians to practise good human rights values", he added.
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