Selasa, 8 November 2011

念群与沙登人民同在 | Nie Ching for Serdang

念群与沙登人民同在 | Nie Ching for Serdang

To appeal or not to appeal - Political rather than legal decision

Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:54 PM PST

On 31st October 2011, the Court of Appeal, with a 2-to-1 majority, ruled that Section 15(5)(a) of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) was unconstitutional. It was a landmark decision that shocked and galvanized the normally conservative opinion pundits.

The UUCA has been amended five times but Section 15(5)(a) which forbids undergraduates in public tertiary educational institutions from supporting, sympathizing with or opposing any political party, has remained unchanged all this while.

This provision is deemed to have contradicted Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution which grants each citizen the right to freedom of speech, assembly and the exercise of civil rights.

Public pressure for the repeal of this section has been reverberating across the country for a long time. In 2005, USM graduate Soh Sook Hwa applied to the High Court to rule that the UUCA which forbid undergraduates from participating in politics was unconstitutional.

After 5 years and numerous changes in the lineup of judges, the KL High Court finally ruled on 4th June 2010 that there had been amendments made to Section 15 and therefore, it would be academic to rule the section null and void. Soh's application was dismissed.

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