Students plan legal challenge over purported concert rules

 

A student group has protested against purported guidelines which include a rule that men and women must sit apart at concerts on campus. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A student body has appealed for public donations to fund a judicial review of purported guidelines for concerts at universities, following controversy sparked by an alleged suggestion to segregate the sexes at such events among other rules.

Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth said a judicial review would be needed to protect student autonomy which it said was slowly diminishing in light of purported guidelines by a department of the higher education ministry.

A copy of the purported guidelines has been leaked on social media. However, higher education minister Khaled Nordin said yesterday that he had no knowledge of the guidelines and no proposal had been submitted to him. He said his preference was for tertiary students themselves to set the guidelines and monitor the events.

Despite Khaled’s statement, the student association said today there had been no announcement that the guideline has been withdrawn and students would still be bound by the “unreasonable guideline”.

“It is our concern that once the guidelines are implemented, it opens the floodgate to similar absurd restrictions on future activities such as cultural performances, song creation, cross talk and debates.”

On Friday, China Press reported that the proposed guidelines called for concert-goers to dress modestly. Outfits that featured Illuminati, pro-LGBT, or pornographic symbols, and punk hairstyles would be banned. Performers would be prohibited from cross-dressing or wearing attire typical of the opposite sex. Men and women in the audience would be required to sit apart from each other. - FMT