Student leaders have decried the Higher Education Ministry's call for the expulsion of students who took part in last Saturday's gathering in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking to Malaysiakini , Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen (Kami) chairperson Muhammad Hilman Diham described this as an overreaction.

"I think that this is totally improper and unfair. After all, the gathering was peaceful. It was not aggressive or subversive in nature. It was a gathering to promote democracy," he said.

More import student protest 230110 antly, Muhammad Hilman explained, the gathering was a way for the students to express their views.

"As future leaders, we must be allowed to express ourselves," he added.

He suggested that the ministry call up the students involved and meet with them in a dialogue.

"The ministry should ask the students: why did they do it? What were the roots of their dissatisfaction? They should discuss the problems that we are facing," he said.

Muhammad Hilman also rubbished the ministry's claim that any grouses by the students should be aired through proper channels and confined to the campus.

"This is very backward thinking. It shows how conservative their views are," he said.

‘Outside of ministry's purview'

Meanwhile, Gabungan Mahasiswa Bantah E-Voting (Bantah) chairperson Mohd Aizat Mohd Salleh said the matter is actually out of the ministry's hands.

"This is actually under the jurisdiction of the universities. The ministry does not have the power to expel.

"It can issue directives to the universities, but the university has autonomy. For example in the e-voting directive, not all universities chose to follow it," he said.

But even if the universities decide to take action, Mohd Aizat said the case would still have to be brought before the university tribunal (disciplinary body).

"It must be referred to the tribunal and investigated, in reference to the University and Universities Colleges Act (Auku) and also the federal constitution.

"Only if they are found guilty, can any action be taken. But even the police have yet to charge us with anything, let alone take action," he added.

‘Complaints unheeded'

On the matter of airing their grouses in public, Mohd Aizat said: "We brought the matter to the public so that the concerns of the students will be made known. We have tried airing our views to the student affairs department (HEP), but they did not listen."

The News Straits Times today reported that university students involved in Saturday's protest would be expelled if found guilty of illegal assembly.

The rep student protest 230110 ort quoted the ministry's student affairs division director Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Ramlan who said: "Students, while they had every right to air their views, need to do so via the proper channels and on campus grounds."

Muhammad Hilman and Mohd Aizat were among those who led Saturday's gathering where some 100 students gathered at Menara Tun Razak in Jalan Raja Laut and marched to the nearby Sogo shopping complex.

They had planned to distribute flyers to the public highlighting their plight but the police stepped in to disperse the gathering.

Muhammad Hilman and Mohd Aizat were arrested along with seven others for allegedly failing to disperse and not acquiescing to police's requests to provide proper identification.

They were released later.

Meanwhile, Malaysiakini 's attempts to contact several deputy vice chancellors in charge of student affairs to verify the matter has been unsuccessful.

According to one student affairs department staff who answered the call, senior university officials are all currently busy with the ongoing campus nominations.