The former executive councillors of Universiti Malaya Chinese Language Society (CLS) have strongly condemned the society's one-term suspension.

"The university's action has dealt the heaviest blow to CLS since its re-establishment, simply on the grounds that some reversible administrative errors were committed.

"This is not only unconvincing but it also violates the principle of 'proportionality', whereby 'the punishment of an offender should fit the crime'.

"We strongly condemn the unjustified action by the university and sternly demand the withdrawal of the suspension of CLS in order to return to the students a clean and democratic space for student activities," the former CLS exco members said in a joint statement released yesterday.

The CLS has made significant contributions to the university, its students and the community at large, they said, pointing to the CLS debate team, which has won numerous international achievements.

The society's Yao Lan Shou music composing unit has also been continuously scouting and developing production and musical talents while their community service unit has consistently helped out socially vulnerable groups, the former exco members added.

"The suspension order has paralysed the operations of all activities under CLS, particularly a few significant major events such as the national university Chinese debate competition and Quan Zhong Hu.

'A loss to the community, nation as well'

"This is not only an irreversible loss to CLS, but also to the community as well as the nation," they said.

The university should advocate inclusiveness and openness to diversity, they said, as well as facilitate the development of all student organisations.

It should not allow red tape to hinder the operations of student organisations, the former exco members added.

On Nov 30, CLS held a press conference announcing its suspension due to four alleged violations, as per the show-cause letter issued by UM's Student Affairs Department.

The four alleged violations were unauthorised activities, unauthorised use of the venue, posting of notices without permission and that the notices posted were only in Chinese, with no Malay or English translations.

Similarly, the university's Muslim Students Association (PMIUM) was also allegedly suspended for a month, beginning Nov 17 to Dec 17 this year, after UM's administration rejected its annual general meeting (AGM).

PMIUM president Ahmad Syifaa Abd Khaliq said in a statement last Saturday that the university administration wanted PMIUM to hold its AGM again.

However, association has decided not to obey this order, saying it stood by the leadership line-up that was chosen at the last AGM.

"The Student Affairs and Alumni Division's most basic mistake was not to send their representative to the AGM.

"This failure was made worse when they simply accepted a complaint from someone who cannot be proven to be a valid PMIUM member," Ahmad Syifaa said.

PMIUM has tried its best to obey the set guidelines, he added, and it is unfair of the university to force PMIUM to hold its AGM again without any fair tribunal investigation.

"We urge for this order to be cancelled immediately and for the university to unanimously accept the leadership chosen in the previous AGM based on the set methods," he said.