Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth said a judicial review would be needed to protect student autonomy which it said was slowly diminishing in light of purported guidelines by a department of the higher education ministry.
A copy of the purported guidelines has been leaked on social media. However, higher education minister Khaled Nordin said yesterday that he had no knowledge of the guidelines and no proposal had been submitted to him. He said his preference was for tertiary students themselves to set the guidelines and monitor the events.
Despite Khaled’s statement, the student association said today there had been no announcement that the guidelines have been withdrawn and students would still be bound by the “unreasonable guidelines”.
“It is our concern that once the guidelines are implemented, it opens the floodgate to similar absurd restrictions on future activities such as cultural performances, song creation, cross talk and debates.”
On Friday, China Press reported that the proposed guidelines called for concert-goers to dress modestly. Outfits that featured Illuminati, pro-LGBT, or pornographic symbols, and punk hairstyles would be banned. Performers would be prohibited from cross-dressing or wearing attire typical of the opposite sex. Men and women in the audience would be required to sit apart from each other.
Muslim student groups hit back
Separately, a group of Muslim student associations have criticised Umany for labelling the proposed guidelines as conservative, arguing that it is actually progressive as it helped with the “spiritual” and moral development of students.
The group, led by Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam SeMalaysia, said that allowing concerts at which men and women could mix freely, was “not progressive” as it would have negative repercussions.
The groups also took issue with Umany comparing the government to the Taliban regime should it pressure non-Muslims to compromise with conservative agendas.
“The guidelines are far from extreme and in fact reasonable to prevent sexual harassment,” it said in a joint statement, which also included Ma’aruf Club Universiti Islam Antarabangsa and Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Universiti Malaysia.