One of two student activists arrested during a sit-in protest near the Education Ministry’s headquarters this morning is vowing to continue his protest until Education Minister Maszlee Malik resigns from his post at the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM).
Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi said the group will press on until the minister addresses the issue of his appointment with them.
"We will strategise again, and we will surely come back if he does not respond to us about the issue of him stepping down, not about the protest.
"It's just a matter of time,” Asheeq Ali told Malaysiakini when met in Putrajaya.
The activist rubbished the claim that ministry officials had sought to arrange a meeting between Maszlee and the activists.
"There’s nothing. Earlier, they said they can fix an appointment to be just through a phone call, and the minister declined it.
"I was informed by the officer that Maszlee already has my number, and until today, no call; nothing," he said.
'A violation of IIUM's autonomy'
In a statement, Asheeq said they were protesting because the minister's appointment as the president of IIUM is a "violation" of the university's autonomy.
Though he understands that Maszlee possesses the credibility to hold that position, he believes that by principle, there is still a conflict of interest as Maszlee is now a cabinet minister.
Previously, he said, the education minister had himself explained that five university board directors were sacked as they were political appointees.
"The rules should apply across the board," he said.
Asheeq also pointed out that Maszlee was not the first political appointment since the 14th general election, as Maszlee's political secretary was also appointed to the board of directors at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).
"We don't want the same thing to repeat itself like it was back during the era of the old Malaysia where universities became factories for the government to indoctrinate and control students," he said.
Asheeq also revealed that he and Siti Nurizzah Tazali were detained and investigated under Section 447 of the Penal Code based on a police report lodged by the Education Ministry.
Section 447 deals with punishment for criminal trespassing.
Police: Arrest based on report by ministry official
In a separate statement, Putrajaya district police chief Rosly Hassan said that the demonstration at the Education Ministry was done peacefully and received the permission of the minister's representative.
The students were treated well, however, their discussions with the ministry representatives, including Maszlee's adviser Wan Saiful Wan Jan, were unsuccessful.
According to Rosly, more than 15 hours after the demonstration started, Wan Saiful informed the students that it would be up to the police to take action.
Shortly after, a police officer arrived and persuaded the students to disperse. All of them left the area, except for "one woman and one man" who refused to budge.
The two of them were eventually arrested and brought to the Putrajaya police district headquarters.
"We were forced to take this action after taking into account the duration of the demonstration which was too long, almost till midnight, with the intention of staying on.
"At 2.21am, an officer from the Education Ministry lodged a police report about this gathering.
"The police have recorded statements from both the students...and they were freed on police bail around 6.30am this morning," the police chief said.
Maszlee busy in S'wak
When contacted, Maszlee's special officer Wan Saiful Wan Jan said Maszlee had turned down the phone appointment with the students because he has been busy with back-to-back meetings in Sarawak.
In addition, he said there was no opportunity to convey the possibility of meeting the minister on Wednesday because the students were insistent on speaking to the minister at that very moment.
He also denied threatening the activists with arrest.
Instead, he claimed he merely conveyed what he learnt from a briefing by the government complex's security personnel.
This involved telling the activists that standard procedures required a police report to be lodged if the gates were blocked, even if late at night, after which it was up to police to take action.
Although the protestors had told him to speak to the police on the matter, he said it was beyond his jurisdiction once the activists left the vicinity of the Education Ministry's building.
"They are in effect asking me to bend the rules for them, but it is out of my hands once they leave the MOE (Education Ministry) building," he claimed.
He added that after the arrests, he had been in contact with the police to ensure that the students would be released quickly.
-Mkini
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