A group calling itself Kesatuan Mahasiswa Sedar (Kemas) today claimed that UKM students are involved in the Umno general assembly rehearsals and quite possibly in the ongoing event.

As evidence the students distributed to the media at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today, copies of a photograph published in Malay daily Berita Harian on Monday (photo, above) , pointing to three individuals they have identified as UKM students.

The photograph from page six of the daily showed a group of people fully dressed in Umno regalia conducting a mock inspection of the honour guard during the full dress rehearsal for the opening of the Malay party’s AGM.

“These people are clad in the colours of Umno, complete with logos, so we contend that they are involved willingly and intentionally in the event, with the blessing of the university administration” said group spokesperson Fathi Hashim.

   

He likened the students involved to the case of a student, Soh Sook Hua, who was punished under Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) for wearing a T-shirt depicting the logo of a political party a few years ago, and reckoned that those students deserve the same punishment.

NONE Fathi ( second from left in pic ), who is a second year student in the university’s social sciences and humanities faculty, said that they were informed of the matter by a source.

“The source informed us that the three - the two that can be clearly seen and a third partially obscured in the photo - are UKM students from the Islamic studies and engineering faculties.”

“However as of now we shall not disclose their names. We are certain that more UKM students are involved, as they usually deploy in a group,” said Fathi, who is also Kemas vice-president.

               

Blatant disregard of UUCA

They group hit out at what they say is a blatant disregard of Article 15 of the UUCA which prohibits students from being involved in political activities.

“We believe that students should use their time to gain knowledge and not get involved in political activities whether with the opposition or the ruling coalition.”

“We also disagree with the fact that some are allowed to involve themselves in political activities while those that support the opposition are targeted, and we believe that the ban on political activities must be blanket.”

NONE Expressing their strong objection to what they claim is the involvement of students and the university administration in politics, the group vowed to continue to release evidence of such occurrences and will send a memo to the Higher Education Ministry on the matter.

They called upon the Higher Education Ministry and its minister Khaled Nordin to form a special committee to investigate the incident, which they consider as a grave matter.

“We want this matter to be investigated and stern action taken,” concluded Fathi.

Kemas is a coalition of students claiming to represent those who support the UUCA and saw the need to separate student life from politics outside of campus.

They believe that observation and analysis is enough for students, along with experience in campus elections, to understand what they need to learn of society and politics.

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