According to de facto law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, the decision to appeal the Court of Appeal ruling on the unconstitutionality of certain provisions under the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) 1974, is simply to exercise the right of appeal accorded under the law.

NONE “This is (the) due process of the law because under the present law, it is our opinion that they have infringed but we take note of the judge’s opinion and we shall amend it (Section 15) after that,” said Nazri ( right ), who is also the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

This morning, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced in the Dewan Rakyat today that Section 15 of the law would be amended, without however specifying a time-frame.

“The government believes in the maturity and wisdom of our students and respects their constitutional rights... This will allow students to (take part in political activities and) become members of political parties,” said Najib.

However, Najib stressed, students below the age of 21 would still be barred from political involvement and that restrictions against politicians and political activity on university campuses would still be strictly enforced.

Nazri defended the appeal, saying that it did not contradict the decision to amend  provisions prohibiting student involvement in politics.

“It is not contradictory. If you understand the law, we are appealing based on what the law is now. (Section 15) is (still) the law now.

“But once we finish with that (the appeal), we agree that after this, we will amend it,” said Nazri.

The amendments to the much-contested UUCA, he said, have been slotted for the next Parliament session in March.