IT has been almost six months since the Court of Appeal in a landmark ruling declared it unconstitutional to prohibit university students from supporting or opposing political parties under the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA). On 9 April 2012, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin finally tabled amendments to the UUCA, Private Higher [...]

THE quest for greater academic freedom for Malaysian university students has seen an eventful past six months. In October 2011, a landmark Court of Appeal decision declared section 15(5)(a) of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) unconstitutional. The section prohibits students from expressing support for, or opposition against, any political party. In November [...]

DATUK Saifuddin Abdullah says he’s a reluctant politician who got into politics because he wanted to affect change. The Umno supreme council member and first-time MP is seen as being a minority voice of reform within his party and wishes his party was more “progressive”. In this interview, Saifuddin traces his family lineage and student activism, explains the dynamics within Umno, and wishes there was more space at the Malaysian table for space and ideas.

(Corrected at 6:15pm, 4 Sept 2010) THE student movement in Malaysia was once vibrant, independent and autonomous. “Mahasiswa jurubicara rakyat” was the students’ motto in the 1960s. However, the government enacted the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) in 1971 to restrict students’ freedom and their rising influence. Thereafter, the student movement suffered a decline. [...]

ACCORDING to our government, university students are freer than they have been because the UUCA has been amended and there are speaker’s corners on campus. But is there real freedom?

To discuss the climate local university students live and study in today and answer the question why any student would want to be political despite the risk of expulsion, The Fairly Current Show host Fahmi Fadzil speaks with student activist Hilman Idham.