“Don’t forget that PH had promised to abolish Auku during the GE15 campaign. Many of the leaders had repeated the pledge in the ceramahs,” he said in an Instagram post.

“We must hold on to this commitment. Students must be equipped with critical thinking skills and it starts in the classroom.”

Last week, higher education minister Khaled Nordin told the Dewan Rakyat that the government had no plans to repeal the Auku.

Responding to a question from Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, he said the Act was still applicable for administration purposes in universities.

“The repeal of Auku will affect the governance of public universities, especially during the transitional period of the Act,” he said.

Syed Saddiq said Auku had not only silenced students but it also empowered politicians to decide who administers the universities.

“I was among the many victims of Auku just because I criticised power abuses and corruption like the IMDB scandal. I was sacked as a temporary lecturer and debate trainer at universities.

“It reached a point where I was not even invited for my own convocation, that is why we must fight to abolish Auku. The Act has silenced many students and there are many examples,” he said.

He added that current deputy youth and sports minister Adam Adli was among the student leaders who were oppressed because of Auku, and that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was also not allowed to enter his alumni (Universiti Malaya) to meet with students when he was in the opposition.

Former education minister Maszlee Malik had previously said a working committee for the Act’s abolishment had been formed and tasked with preparing a draft for a new Act to combine both Auku and the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act.

However, this fell apart after the PH government fell in February 2020. His successor Noraini Ahmad was reported to have said that there was no need to replace the two Acts.