A scuffle between students and police broke out during a sit-in protest yesterday by over 100 students.
Liga Mahasiswa Malaysia president Alyaah Hani Anuar said students had previously communicated their plans to the vice-chancellor’s office, which raised no objections, Malaysiakini reported.
She said she was taken aback by the actions of the police at the event, adding that she fell down during the altercation.
According to Alyaah, the police later forcefully snatched placards bearing the vice-chancellor’s image from the students.
“We previously carried images of (Prime Minister) Anwar Ibrahim and (deputy prime minister Ahmad) Zahid Hamidi and the (auxiliary) police never had an issue with it.
“Why are they restricting our freedom of expression?” she was quoted as saying.
She added that the students will lodge a police report over the matter.
The protest, held in front of UM’s chancellery to oppose the university’s direct disciplinary punishment policy, drew more than 100 students from various UM-based student groups, including Liga Mahasiswa.
They called for the complete withdrawal of the recently announced policy.
Newgen president Lennards John Johnson said that the regulations meant that university students were being treated “like primary school students”.
A memorandum submitted to the vice-chancellor’s office during the protest contained three key demands: that the university abolish all forms of disciplinary punishment within seven days, halt the use of financial penalties and conduct a review of the student disciplinary framework.
Lennards said they would escalate the matter to the higher education ministry and stage another rally if their demands were not addressed within the seven days given.
Fineable offences under the new policy include violation of the midnight curfew for students living on campus, excessive noise and violation of the university’s dress code. - FMT
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