Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will make a visit to his alma mater Universiti Malaya on the eve of the final appeal against his sodomy conviction.

Anwar, a fiery student leader during his time at UM in the 1970s, will attend a Universiti Malaysia student council talk on his journey from UM to what could be his second round in prison.

The Oct 27 event titled ‘Anwar Ibrahim: 40 years from UM to jail’ is scheduled to take place at 9pm at the Dewan Tunku Canselor Square - but the council says it has yet to inform the university of the event.

"We don’t need to apply for permission from the university because the Dewan Tunku Canselor Square is public place.

"Anwar is also a UM alumnus so he has right to enter the UM campus," UM student council deputy president Lee Jin Yang told Malaysiakini .

Lee said that Anwar’s sodomy case is a landmark case in Malaysia and yet many are not fully informed about it.

As such, the event is open to the public.

But, UM says 'no'

"We hope Anwar has the chance to explain to students and to members of the public, and express his opinion.

"This is in line with the freedom of the academia and information," he said.

However, UM media officer Rohaizan Ramli begged to differ.

When contacted, Rohaizan confirmed that the university has not received any application for the event to be held.

 

"If there is no application, then it means this public talk did not get permission from the university," he said.

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