ACADEMICS and student leaders welcomed the recent move by the Education Ministry to set up students’ unions at five public universities but expressed concerns about the latter’s involvement and autonomy of the student body.

Re-establishing the unions is an excellent move that is in line with efforts to empower students and expand the political space on campus, said academic Dr Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia.

However, he expressed discomfort with the ministry leading the effort, “since it opens for the possibility that the Education Ministry will use the students’ unions as its proxy on campus or as a way to co-opt students who are critical of the government”.

The ministry should minimise its involvement in establishing the unions, including providing funding, to prevent them from being labelled pro-government, he said.

“What the ministry can do is encourage students to be proactive, ensure – in clear and uncompromising terms – that there is freedom on campus and also ensure the unions have a seat at the highest decision-making level at the university.

“The bulk of the funding for the unions should come from the fees paid by the students themselves, with some infrastructure support from the university.”

However, former student leader Adam Adli, who is involved in the ministry’s initiative to set up the unions, said the government’s involvement is crucial to incorporate the top management of public universities.

“In other words,” he told The Malaysian Insight, “(we need the ministry) to kick-start the transformation from the current Student Representatives’ Council (SRC) system to students’ unions, and also to convince universities that it’s time for students to be allowed to liberate themselves.

“The ministry has also helped organise meetings among student groups and leaders from all the universities to discuss matters concerning students’ unions, which I find to be helpful at this stage.

“The form, the shape and even the constitution of the students’ unions would not be up to the government or the ministry, but the students.

“Even the one at the International Islamic University of Malaysia was not formed by the ministry or the university, but rather through a student consultation process, which involved the current SRC and almost all other student bodies.”

However, the ministry’s recent announcement that five public universities would be allowed to set up students’ unions baffled Movement for Academic Freedom chairman Azura Nasron.

“Does this mean that only the five universities are allowed to set up the unions and not other universities, which might also be ready to set up theirs?” asked the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) student leader.

She said while student bodies should grow organically, some students might not be ready to take up the mantle, thus the need for the authorities’ involvement.  

The university administration may have to carry out capacity-building programmes for the students in areas such as financial management, students’ integrity and their rights, as well as a comprehensive explanation about the role of the university and students, she added.

Wong Yan Ke, a former student leader known for his protest at the recent Universiti Malaya convocation, said students should be sceptical if “the re-establishment of students’ unions is led by the ministry or university administration as it involves the question of power relations”.

“This is because a lot of bureaucrats are unwilling to empower students or revive a completely autonomous students’ union as they are afraid of the students being ‘rebellious’, especially if they are more vocal about defending their rights.

“The ministry should provide opportunities for the students to know the history of UM’s Students’ Union, which has been removed from its official history, as well as engage student leaders of the 1970s.”

Research fellow at UKM’s Institute of Malaysian and International Studies Haris Zuan said the series of meetings between the ministry and student leaders revealed that most student bodies had lost touch with the history of Malaysian students’ struggles, and do not grasp the concept of academic freedom and autonomy.

“For some of these student leaders, freedom and autonomy are merely opportunities to engage in party politics and invite political figures onto campus.

“The previous amendment to Section 15(2)(c) of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which allows political involvement of students, only reflects the narrow interpretation of the ministry regarding academic freedom and university autonomy.”

The status of students’ unions must be clarified and students, he added, should have wider freedom to discuss important issues that have not been debated by the nation’s political parties, such as national identity, the current education system and freedom of religion.

“The continuing presence of the UUCA and powerful Students’ Affairs Department (HEP) poses the question of whether students’ unions possess real authority and power.

“Would the HEP hand over some of its responsibilities to the unions?

“The ministerial announcement on students’ unions should have accompanied one about the diminution, if not eradication, of the HEP.

“If the ministry is serious enough, it should seek the repeal of Section 15A of the UUCA that prohibits any student bodies, with the exception of the HEP, to collect money on campus. Are the student bodies still expected to be dependent on the HEP for funding?” – October 29, 2019.