Last month, Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin said the government had no plans to repeal the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, better known as Auku or the UUCA.
But at a youth empowerment fair on 19 March, the prime minister announced that the sections of the UUCA that limit academic freedom will be repealed, and that this would include the sections limiting the freedom of lecturers.
The PM did concur with the higher education minister that the entire UUCA cannot be repealed, as it is a comprehensive act with many sections that deal with other matters. This revives the decades-old debate about whether the UUCA has outlived its purpose.
BFM discusses the need to reform or repeal this act with Emiritus Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi, the holder of the Tunku Abdul Rahman chair at the University of Malaya, and Vince Tan, co-chair of the University of Malaya-Malaysian Bar constitutional literacy initiative.
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Produced and presented by: Juliet Jacobs
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
The poor education system in Malaysia began with the Razak administration after the coup in the 1970s. The move of nationalism that rolled back the English language and the so called ‘ new economic policy’ ( now clearly a disastrous policy that brought corruption to the forefront as a means to be successful in Malaysia) is now what is being ‘reaped’.
Universities handing out 600 PhDs – unheard off – pieces of paper that are probably not even worth anything for the kacang putih seller.
The Bumi policy by the elite keeps [some] bumiputras uneducated , worse still dependent on handouts. This has had a terrible effect on Muslim youth. I see a lot of disaffection which will eventually lead to Muslim radicalism that [could] oust the government.