A group of Pakatan Rakyat MP’s were barred from entering the Universiti Malaya (UM) chancellery to hand over a petition to lift the punishments on seven student activists.

 

They were Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, Padang Serai MP N Surendran, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin and former UM alumnus as well as Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.

 

“This is utterly shocking that I am not allowed to enter when the university is in my constituency,” said Nurul Izzah.

 

Kok was also surprised that she, as an alumnus of the university, was not allowed to enter.

 

“The university is suppressing freedom of expression and rights here. It was so different from when I was studying here, when politicians would be invited in.”

 

They were told by security officers that they were not allowed in due to security measures.

 

Nurul Izzah added that this was unheard of as only two weeks ago Umno Wanita chief Sharizat Abdul Jalil was allowed in the campus for a talk.

 

The Pakatan MPs wanted to hand over a petition that was signed by 42 MPs to the university management to lift the punishment imposed on seven student leaders.

 

The lawmakers claimed in their petition that the punishment was meted out under Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act that has already been ruled out as ‘unconstitutional’ since 2011.

 

“This is unfair to the students and violates their freedom of expression as the law that has been used to charge them, is not valid anymore,” said Khalid.

 

The petition was signed by 42 MPs from Pakatan including de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali, Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli, Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli and Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming.

 

The petition was finally handed over to a representative of the university’s assistant vice-chancellor in the hope that the punishments be lifted as it would “encourage and celebrate academic freedom”.

 

Disciplinary hearing

Eight UM students, popularly known as UM8, had to face a disciplinary hearing for their part in Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's talk on campus on Oct 27, which was barred by UM.

The university management had locked the gates, prompting 2,000 students and supporters to storm into the campus.

Two students, including former student union president Fahmi Zainol, were suspended, four fined and one issued a warning. One was found not guilty.

 

Since the announcement of the punishments, students have been camping out at the university to protest the decision.