Umany president Lim Jing Jet rejects claims that the student group was attempting to touch on the 3Rs and threaten public order by holding a forum on Malaysia’s identity.
Lim Jing Jet, president of the University Malaya Association of New Youth said Umany activists would not back down despite purported pressure from UM management.
“We won’t bow to the suppression, we won’t surrender to any oppression. We will fight on as long as student autonomy is not fully achieved,” he said today at a forum organised by the student group.
The forum, entitled “Malaysia’s Identity Crisis: Is Malaysia A Secular Country or a Religious Country?” was to have been held at UM’s Perdanasiswa Complex on Saturday night. Lim said the group was ordered by the university authorities to call off the event.
The group claimed UM cancelled the event on grounds that the discussion would touch on sensitive topics involving the 3Rs (race, religion and royalty).
However, the student group decided to proceed with the forum tonight at Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, with constitutional lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and lawyer-activist Siti Kasim taking part.
Lim said the UM students union (Umsu) had previously approved the event, but a memorandum submitted by two other student groups, Neo-Siswa Universiti Malaya and Mahasiswa Progresif, led to the forum’s cancellation.
He rejected claims that Umany was attempting to touch on the 3Rs and threaten public order, saying these allegations were just aimed at instilling fear among students.
“How is an academic discussion regarding Articles 3 and 11 of the Federal Constitution an incitement to public order?” he asked. “Even the director of the student affairs department didn’t know how to answer.”
Lim maintained that the aim of the forum was to discuss “the kind of country we want to build together”, especially in a context where public discourse was often framed through a racial and religious lens. - FMT
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