The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya has fixed April 15 to hear the appeal of a former Universiti Sains Malaysia student against a High Court decision which dismissed her judicial review application to challenge the constitutionality of Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA).     

A three-member panel comprising Justices Clement Allan Skinner, Lim Yee Lan and Datuk Rohana Yusuf fixed the new date after postponing the hearing which was scheduled today due to time constraints as the court had other cases to hear.   

On June 4, 2010, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Soh Sook Hwa’s judicial review application after ruling that she did not have grounds to challenge Section 15 of the Act because the Act has since been amended and the section abolished.  

Soh, a former communication student, had filed the application on Aug 16, 2005 to challenge the UUCA after being punished by the university for her alleged involvement in the 2004 election, naming the higher education minister as respondent.   

She sought to quash the minister’s decision to disallow her appeal to set aside the university’s disciplinary board decision to reprimand and fine her RM200 after finding her guilty of breaching the UUCA for allegedly campaigning for Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) during the 2004 general election.   

Section 15 bars students from being affiliated with political parties or associations.

Soh, 31, who is now freelancing in Penang, was represented by lawyer M Lavendran and Ang Hean Leng while the minister was represented by senior federal counsel Noor Hisham Ismail.   

- Bernama