Seri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has urged the government to explain its move to issue a show-cause letter to a student for allegedly participating in a forum at an Australian university.
He claims that Aslam Abdul Jalil, who is a student at the Australian National University (ANU) under a Public Services Department (PSD) scholarship, was told on Wednesday to explain himself for taking part in the forum.
The forum was titled ‘Race, Religion, Royalty with YB Tony Pua’ was held at the university on April 22. Tony Pua is the Petaling Jaya MP and the Selangor DAP chief.
According to Nik Nazmi (left), this has apparently violated clause 5.5 of Aslam’s scholarship agreement which bars its scholars from participating in “seditious activities or demonstrations... that in the opinion of the government, will have a deleterious effect on Malaysia’s interests or any educational institution”.
Second time
The Selangor deputy speaker added that the letter that Aslam received was similar to the one he received while studying in London in 2002 for organising a forum featuring opposition figures.
“Will the prime minister, the education minister, the foreign affairs minister, the Malaysian High Commission in Australia and the PSD kindly state what they have against students like Aslam taking part in a series of forums on current affairs?” he asked in a statement yesterday.
Nik Nazmi also said the forums that Aslam attended are not seditious, and he challenged the government to explain why it believes otherwise.
In addition, he urged Australian authorities to take note that one of its students is being subjected to “political persecution”.
“I hope that Malaysians at home and abroad will stand by Aslam. He is a courageous and brilliant young Malaysian whose only crime was to have stood up for what he believed in,” he said.
He claims that Aslam Abdul Jalil, who is a student at the Australian National University (ANU) under a Public Services Department (PSD) scholarship, was told on Wednesday to explain himself for taking part in the forum.The forum was titled ‘Race, Religion, Royalty with YB Tony Pua’ was held at the university on April 22. Tony Pua is the Petaling Jaya MP and the Selangor DAP chief.
According to Nik Nazmi (left), this has apparently violated clause 5.5 of Aslam’s scholarship agreement which bars its scholars from participating in “seditious activities or demonstrations... that in the opinion of the government, will have a deleterious effect on Malaysia’s interests or any educational institution”.
Second time
The Selangor deputy speaker added that the letter that Aslam received was similar to the one he received while studying in London in 2002 for organising a forum featuring opposition figures.
“Will the prime minister, the education minister, the foreign affairs minister, the Malaysian High Commission in Australia and the PSD kindly state what they have against students like Aslam taking part in a series of forums on current affairs?” he asked in a statement yesterday.
Nik Nazmi also said the forums that Aslam attended are not seditious, and he challenged the government to explain why it believes otherwise.
In addition, he urged Australian authorities to take note that one of its students is being subjected to “political persecution”.
“I hope that Malaysians at home and abroad will stand by Aslam. He is a courageous and brilliant young Malaysian whose only crime was to have stood up for what he believed in,” he said.
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