DAP lawmaker hits out at UM after latest action on students

A DAP lawmaker today condemned Universiti Malaya's action on six students who held a press conference against a plan to impose an internet quota limit on campus. Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim said the students, now dubbed the UM6, had only protested because some 98% of UM students were against the quota limit. It was the second time a group of UM students were penalised, after eight students known as UM8 were found guilty by the university in December 2014 for inviting former opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to speak. "The decision of the discipline proceedings against the students was unfair, without basis, undemocratic, wrong and should be set aside," Sim, a UM alumnus, said in a statement. Nur Hananie Chow Abdullah, Suhail Wan Azahar, Fahmie Nuaiman, Muhammad Luqman, Ho Chi Yang, and Chua Hun Chi were found guilty of breaching campus regulations by holding a press conference without prior approval. They were let off with a warning. They had called a press conference on university grounds on December 14 to complain about Internet quotas at their campus, following cuts in allocations to institutions of higher learning announced in Budget 2016. The UM management has since denied the plan for quotas and said it would only monitor Internet usage. Sim said the decision was "very disappointing" but not surprising. "They are only emulating their superiors, the government of Malaysia, that do not allow the people to criticise the government," he said. Sim (pic, right) said last year alone, 91 people had been investigated, charged or convicted under the Sedition Act. He added that even within the ruling Umno, dissenters were silenced, the latest being Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, who was removed as Kedah menteri besar last month. He said UM should focus on alleged mismanagement on campus, citing the 2014 Auditor-General's Report that had highlighted several administrative problems. They included 379 procurements worth RM3.26 million made without going through the e-Procurement tender process; a delay of over two years to build a workshop and laboratory building on campus resulting in RM1.3 million in losses for the university; assets worth RM13 million that could not be traced; and expenses of RM610,835 to organise programmes without following procurement procedures. "What is the outcome of investigations and actions into the issues highlighted? Did the vice-chancellor and upper management face disciplinary proceedings because of mismanagement that cost UM to lose millions?" Sim asked. He said the university should not be so quick to punish students for raising issues that affect them on campus while not taking action on those who had cost UM so much money. – February 18, 2016.]]>