The cabinet has allowed the Higher Education Ministry to proceed with an appeal over a recent judgment that Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) is unconstitutional.
Chinese language newspaper websites, quoting cabinet sources today, said the decision was made because the Court of Appeal decision was deemed to have “gone against the spirit of separation of powers”.
“The decision was judged a personal interpretation of the law. If (the judgment) is made a precedent, then it will affect cases in the future, so the cabinet opines that (the government) needs to appeal,” a news report says.
This was corraborated by Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, who on micro-blogging site Twitter said: “China Press reported that cabinet has decided to appeal the CoA decision on UKM4. I’ve heard the same from sources.”
Lawyer: Keep in mind legal reality
Meanwhile, in an immediate reaction Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, the lawyer representing the four former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's students, said it is the government's right to appeal.
"It is also a question of constitutional importance on which the Federal Court should declare its views. I trust the government will keep in mind the legal reality that in Malaysia, it is the Federal Constitution, and not the Parliament, that is supreme.
"Though Parliament can make laws to restrict free expression, those laws must be reasonable and proportionate. How the government intends to argue that the sub-section (15 (5) (a) of the UUCA) is reasonable will be of great interests to Malaysians," he told Malaysiakini.
Article 4 of the Federal Constitution clearly states that the constitution is the supreme law of the federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day that is inconsistent with the constitution shall, to the extent of inconsistency, be void.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal in a 2-1 majority landmark decisiondeclared Section 15 (5) (a) which bars university students from being involved in politics unconstitutional and as such, null and void.
The four UKM students are expected to call a press conference later today.
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