Gerakan Youth has called again for the repressive Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) to be reviewed to allow students to express their political concerns.

The Youth wing said although students in varsities should not be actively involved in political parties, they nevertheless should be accorded their rights to express their views on social and political issues.

"UUCA should not be a factor that deter students from expressing their concerns on various issues," the Youth wing's secretary-general Hoo Saw Ho said when contacted yesterday.

He lamented that many students nowadays only concentrated in their studies and showed little or no interest in current affairs.

Hoo was asked to comment on the case of Soh Sook Hwa, a final year Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) student facing disciplinary proceedings today for allegedly breaching the UUCA over her involvement in campaigning for an opposition candidate in the March general election.

Resolutions passed

He stressed that the Gerakan Youth national delegates conference in 1999 and 2000 had passed a resolution calling for the UUCA to be reviewed.

The Youth wing had also submitted their views and recommendations on the UUCA to the Education Ministry and universities but did not receive any positive response.

"We hope more flexibility could be accorded to the students with a review of the act," Hoo added.

The youth leader also pointed out another worrying situation in the universities in that too many restrictions have been placed on student bodies.

"We feel that student bodies should not face too many restrictions from the student affairs department when they plan on-campus activities," he said but did not cite any specific case.

One of the most controversial clauses in the UUCA is section 15 which bars students from any form of affiliation with political parties or associations.

It also prohibits student from holding any gathering of more than five people, participating in activities outside campus, engaging in part-time work and releasing media statements without the written permission of the vice-chancellor.

Protest outside USM

In a related development, the opposition DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) held a short protest outside the USM main campus in Penang yesterday to oppose the university's action against Soh.

The delegation of six, led by Dapsy national secretary Loke Siew Fook held banners with words 'abolish UUCA, restore student's rights' at the university's entrance.

According to Loke, several plainclothes policemen and university's security guards monitored the five-minute protest but no untoward incident was reported.

"We reiterated the call to USM to drop charges against Soh and the protest is to lend our moral support to her," Loke told malaysiakini .

He said the USM student was merely exercising her citizen rights to show support to her preferred candidate during the general election.

Soh has been accused for campaigning for Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president Tian Chua during the March general election in the Batu parliamentary seat, which he eventually lost. Soh is a registered voter in the constituency.

Double standards

On the same note, Loke also rebutted Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaludin's statement on Soh's case as reported in the press earlier. Khairy reportedly said that students should be prohibited from political participation.

"Let me remind Khairy that they are many Umno clubs overseas in various foreign universities. Why should he practice double standards? Why deprive the students of their basic rights to choose here?" the Dapsy leader asked.

Meanwhile, Soh's request for the presence of her counsel in the disciplinary proceedings today has been rejected by the university.

The university in a letter sent to Ngeow, Tan & Co yesterday rejected Soh's counsel application on the ground that the disciplinary proceeding is a domestic inquiry.

Students and youths bodies are expected to hold a gathering at USM to show solidarity to Soh. The proceeding is scheduled to start at 2.30pm.