Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah will be meeting PAS Youth leaders to discuss the issue of undergraduate involvement in politics.

NONE In a rare move by a ruling party leader, Saifuddin ( right ) - also an Umno supreme council member - confirmed that he will be meeting the opposition in his capacity as a party official next Monday.

"They want to pass to me a memorandum on university students' participation in politics," he said in a text message to Malaysiakini .

However, he insisted that he is not rebelling against cabinet directives.

"I'm not in any way going against the cabinet decision. I'm meeting them as an Umno supreme council member," he said.

It had been reported  earlier that Saifuddin would also be bringing up the matter at the council's Aug 27 meeting.

Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin had previously announced that the cabinet had shot down the proposal and that  its stand against students participation in politics would not change, upholding the Universities and University Colleges Act.

Saifuddin, a known advocate of student activism in party politics, had openly declared his views in the wake of the government announcement allowing teachers to be involved in politics.

The Temerloh MP also caught the attention of several PKR lawmakers with his clarion call, and subsequently they invited him to lead a bipartisan parliamentary caucus on the issue.