‘Occupy UM’ protestors set 5pm deadline on Memo

The students have threatened unspecified retaliation if the university does not accept the memorandum.

KUALA LUMPUR: The protestors staging “Occupy UM” have threatened unspecified retaliation if the Students Affairs Department (SAD) does not accept a Memorandum from them on the disciplinary punishment meted out recently to eight fellow students.

The protestors have set a deadline of 5 pm on Monday for Deputy Head of SAD, Rohana Yusof, to receive their Memorandum. It was learnt that the students were told that Rohana was at another university and wasn’t available.

The students then demanded that SAD staff show them Rohan’s schedule for the day.

“We know what to do,” said Muslim Students Association (PMIUM) President, Khairul Hisham, on how they would retaliate if the Memorandum was not accepted by the deadline.

About 100 of the protestors pitched a tent outside the main door of SAD but were told by Rohana’s staff to move it to one side to avoid obstructing entry to the premises.

The UM Inquiry Panel, earlier in the week, suspended students Fahmi Zainol and Safwan Shamsuddin for being involved in a talk on October 27, “40 Years: From University of Malaya to Jail”, where Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim spoke a day before his Sodomy II case.

Fahmi, the former Student Council (PMUM) president and identified as the “ringleader”, was suspended two months. Shamsuddin, the Pro-Mahasiswa chairman, was suspended one month.

They were also fined RM600 and RM300 respectively.

Abraham Au was the only one among the UM8 who was not punished while another was let off with a warning.

PMUM vice-president Haw Yu Hong, secretary-general Nur Syamimi Munirah, Adam Fistival Wilfrid and Khairul Anwar were fined RM150 each.