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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Putrajaya risks alienating youths with Fahmi’s scholarship threat, says Pakatan

Fahmi (centre) with other student leaders from the Universiti Malaya Undergraduates Association at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur last Friday. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, November 12, 2014.Fahmi (centre) with other student leaders from the Universiti Malaya Undergraduates Association at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur last Friday. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, November 12, 2014.Putrajaya risked alienating youths, who represent an important chunk of voters, with its high-handed action against student leader Fahmi Zainol, say Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers.
With the Public Services Department (PSD) threatening to revoke his scholarship, the MPs said this further proved that there is no academic freedom in Malaysia.
PKR's Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said instead of lauding Fahmi's leadership qualities which is an inspiration to his peers, the Universiti Malaya Undergraduates Association (PMUM) president was being treated like an "enemy of the state" by local public universities and the Barisan Nasional-led government.

"Penalising him will drive young thinking students further away."
The Election Commission (EC) had noted that 70% of the estimated 4.2 million unregistered voters were between the ages of 21 and 40. Some 450,000 Malaysians turn 21 each year, the eligible voting age in the country.
Fahmi was slapped with two charges by the PSD in a letter dated November 6.
The first charge relates to the event involving PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who gave a public address to UM students on the university grounds on October 27.
PSD claims that Fahmi had proceeded with the "40 Years from Universiti Malaya to Prison" programme despite the UM administration declaring the event illegal.
The second charge relates to an article which appeared on The Malaysian Insider on October 26, for which Fahmi has been accused of criticising Putrajaya.
The Social Administration and Justice final-year student is alleged to have made negative statements about Putrajaya by mentioning the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong and the student revolution in Indonesia.
This is on top of the nine charges against him by UM's disciplinary panel.
Sim said this latest move is turning Putrajaya into a laughing stock, noting that even China special administrative region of Hong Kong treated the recent Umbrella Revolution with greater tolerance.
However, the Penang representative is hopeful over the support that Fahmi had received from his peers all over Malaysia and overseas.
"This shows that finally students have overcome phychological barriers to speak up and are ready to participate in democratic process in the country," he said.

Putrajaya's action against Fahmi pretty much summed up the state of affairs in Malaysia where it tries to intimidate and suppress freedom of expression and assembly for extremely paranoid reasons, DAP's Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari (pic, left) said. 
"The government should be ashamed of itself for cracking down on a mere student. This proves there is no academic freedom, and furthermore, it goes against the spirit that led to AUKU amendments," he said in using the Malay acronym for the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA).
UUCA was amended in 2012 to allow students to participate in political activities and expressions. The UUCA and the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012 also do not prohibit students from participating in assemblies.
"The Najib administration is headed towards a more draconian phase. There is no moderation, only paranoia-driven intolerance. And the government talks about building human capital for the 21st century?
"There will be no knowledge economy if our universities are treated like factories instead of being the centre of learning, thinking and debate," Zairil said.
Another PKR representative, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akil termed the actions currently levied at Fahmi as "cruel" but was confident that such actions, which are aimed at scaring students, will instead give undergraduates the movitation to fight on to ensure universities remain an institution for academic freedom.
He suggested the 23-year-old file his case in court as a means to fight PSD's action and to send a message that the department cannot threaten students in such a way.
"The scholarship is from taxpayers and not from BN," Shamsul said.
Pandan representative Rafizi Ramli said as the national scholarship body, PSD should not be used to inhibit academic freedom and freedom of expression as the funds are derived from taxpayers.
"Despite differences of opinions, those who are on scholarships should be encouraged to voice their views as this will expose students to different viewpoints.
"By punishing them just because they take a different view is going against the spirit of awarding the scholarships," he said.
He said PSD had been using the threat to revoke students' scholarships as "a weapon" to keep its scholars in line and not being critical of the government.
"Fortunately, this has not failed to stop students from voicing their views or their activism," he said in referring to another PSD scholar Aslam Abd Jalil, who was issued a show-cause letter after the Australian National University (ANU) graduate had taken part in “seditious” activities.
- TMI

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