Campus activism may see sparks of revival at a forum tomorrow on 'ISA, UUCA and Students' Rights', organised in conjunction with Malaysian Students' Rights Day.

The theme refers to the Internal Security Act (ISA) and Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), the main laws that bar student participation in a range of organised activities including politics.

To be held at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur, the forum will kick off with a multimedia presentation at 8.30pm.

The date coincides with the date of the arrest of the ISA 7 - seven university students detained on June 8, 2001 for allegedly being part of an illegal assembly to demonstrate against the ISA.

The panelists are Mohd Iqbal Jusoh, the former president of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Students' Association, and lawyer Amer Hamzah who successfully defended the ISA 7.

The forum also aims to highlight the tortuous path faced by student activists in obtaining justice when detained.

For instance, the trial of the ISA 7 was postponed eight times before it resumed in July 2003. They were acquitted in April without their defence being called.

Bigger scale

The forum is organised by Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM), formerly known as the Undergraduates' Anti-ISA Movement. This is a loose grouping of student activists from various universities who have an interest in social, human rights and political issues.

Co-ordinator Hoon Chia Ming said the group is looking forward to augmenting the scale of future events.

"We are aware that this year it will be slightly difficult to mobilise more students to participate in the event since we are in the midst of a semester break," he said.

"Next year however, we plan to launch a campaign a month in advance to kick-start our commemoration of this day and create more awareness of its significance and implications in restoring democracy in the country."

This is the first time that an event in conjunction with the day is being opened to the public since it was first declared by a group of student activists in 2000. The theme this year is 'Students Seeds of Nation, Free the Students and Prosper the People'.

SMM's activities have included organising non-partisan campaigns during the 2004 general election and drafting resolutions to seek free and fair proceedings during nationwide campus elections in pubic universities.