“Malaysian students are mostly supporters of the Barisan Nasional,” a lawyer and political strategist for a Pakatan Rakyat component party told me recently over a meal. “Our (Pakatan) surveys show our support among the youth comes mostly from the older age group, between 24 to 35 years old, those who have started working.”
It appears somewhat counter-intuitive, that students support Barisan (BN), Malaysia’s ultra-conservative race-obsessed incumbent coalition that has won every general election since 1955. This passivity is also surprising, if we consider our history of passionate anti-establishment student movements, particularly in the late 1960s and early 70s.
Many Malaysian political icons were formed in the university crucible, including, to name a few, Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim, Tian Chua, Husam Musa and Hishamuddin Rais (Universiti Malaya student leader, and not to be confused with home minister Hishammuddin Hussein, whose university ‘party’ activities have been rumoured to be less than idealistic).
Perhaps it is true that our college students have indeed been brainwashed by years of civic studies, RTM, TV3, and flaccid news reporting. There is also the argument that many parents insist that their university-going children must concentrate on their studies and toe the line – this may include telling market researchers that they vote BN.
Any university education is meant to educate our young to be independent-minded, curious and questioning. But it is undeniable that Malaysia’s mushrooming government and private colleges resemble degree or diploma factories far more closely, than centres of excellence or academies for the formation of independent personalities, able to criticise themselves and the society around them.
It may be argued that Malaysia’s youth only begin to vote against BN when they start working. They begin to have personal bitter experiences with run-ins with the bureaucracy, and endure hardship in making ends meet. They may face discrimination because of their lack of business connections to BN power-brokers, or because of their ethnic origin or religion.
Many young Malaysians of working age, of all races, resent the rising prices, underemployment, and low-income, unrewarding work they face in daily life. They are also subject to abuse from our hierarchical society, where young people are considered bottom of the heap, whether in the business world, the bureaucracy, or the trades or professions. Many Malaysian employers and senior professionals subscribe to the idea that they have earned the right to mistreat the young, because they may have once been bullied themselves.
Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin has never faced the obstacles faced by the young he purports to represent. He was born to a high-flying diplomat and enjoyed an expensive education in Singapore and England.
But he repeatedly makes an important observation that 49% of eligible voters in the next general election will be between the ages of 21 and 35. He also points out that 62% of these younger voters, according to Umno Youth surveys, are fence-sitters. This would be fairly consistent with the received wisdom that Umno and PAS/PKR enjoy staunch support among 30% each of the Malay voting population respectively, with around 40% undecided swing voters.
Rebels with a cause
Many of these youths are rebelling against the injustices of corruption and the economic regime, as well as the political strictures binding them.
For example, the notorious Universities and University Colleges Act prohibits students, even those over 21 and entitled to vote, from being members of any political party, or indeed any organisation at all, without the consent of the Vice-Chancellor of a particular university. This unconstitutional restriction was loosened in 2008 to allow membership of non-political off-campus societies.
The original Section 15 Clause 1 states that “No person, while he is a student of the University, shall be a member of, or shall in any manner associate with, any society, political party, trade union or any other organisation, body or group of persons whatsoever, whether or not it is established under any law, whether it is in the University or outside the University, and whether it is in Malaysia or outside Malaysia except as may be provided by or under the Constitution, or except as may be approved in advance in writing by the Vice-Chancellor.”
Section 15 Clause 3 adds that “no person, while he is a student of the University, shall express or do anything which may be construed as expressing support, sympathy or opposition to any political party or trade union or as expressing support or sympathy with any unlawful organisation, body or group of persons.”
I learnt a great deal when I met a pair of undergraduate students in an Islamic university, recently arrested for participating in a demonstration against unjust imprisonment.
“We support the UKM 4,” they said, referring to the four Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia students detained during the Hulu Selangor by-election in April, supposedly because the UKM4 had been distributing leaflets.
The two young, soft-spoken men, talked quietly of their awareness of the prohibition by university authorities on their attendance at political demonstrations, but they said they felt they must follow their conscience.
“When we were arrested, we had 100 students from our college at the demonstration, we came in a few buses,” one student explained. “Half of our group was made up of girls, but only some of us young men were arrested.” It would be far more embarrassing for the police, it would appear, to be seen hauling off young women wearing tudung or headscarves.
praying_handsOther students have been more strident, including the UM5, five Universiti Malaya students who daubed graffiti on a UM wall to protest the visit of PM Najib Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor.
PM Najib himself has tried to tiptoe around the simmering discontent with the UUCA, or its Malay acronym of AUKU.
“I am still thinking about this, even though the Cabinet has decided that it is inappropriate for students to get politically involved. I am still open to it, so that we can debate about it, the pros and cons, and from there we can reach a decision,” he said during a BN Youth Lab Town Hall (sic) metting on August 21.
“We do not want students getting too involved in politicking, but if there’s a balance where there’s healthy politics, I am in favour of that. How to balance this is what we will have to see,” he argued, citing concerns that students might forsake their studies if they become obsessed with politics.
The PM has ignored the view that politics is part of life, as much as economics and religion are. Trying to ban the participation of adults in any of these aspects of our lives is myopic – and pointless.
Sarawakian students
Our local Sarawakian university students keep a much lower profile. UNIMAS and the private colleges remain under tight control by the state government and its academic functionaries.
Yet certain political issues will stimulate strong feeling, even if these are kept pent up for the time being. One is the Umno ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims. Hishammuddin Hussein expressed regret over the ban in the Malaysian Insider on August 1, saying it had left the Home Ministry in “an uncharted landscape”.
“We should have let the sleeping dogs lie. It was triggered by those that believe that the word ‘Allah’ should not be used in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said. The minister later fudged on his regrets of words.
Could the youth in Sarawak, one day, be among the “sleeping dogs” to rebel against political restrictions? - Hornbill Unleashed
by Pak Bui
- malaysianmirror
It appears somewhat counter-intuitive, that students support Barisan (BN), Malaysia’s ultra-conservative race-obsessed incumbent coalition that has won every general election since 1955. This passivity is also surprising, if we consider our history of passionate anti-establishment student movements, particularly in the late 1960s and early 70s.Many Malaysian political icons were formed in the university crucible, including, to name a few, Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim, Tian Chua, Husam Musa and Hishamuddin Rais (Universiti Malaya student leader, and not to be confused with home minister Hishammuddin Hussein, whose university ‘party’ activities have been rumoured to be less than idealistic).
Perhaps it is true that our college students have indeed been brainwashed by years of civic studies, RTM, TV3, and flaccid news reporting. There is also the argument that many parents insist that their university-going children must concentrate on their studies and toe the line – this may include telling market researchers that they vote BN.
Any university education is meant to educate our young to be independent-minded, curious and questioning. But it is undeniable that Malaysia’s mushrooming government and private colleges resemble degree or diploma factories far more closely, than centres of excellence or academies for the formation of independent personalities, able to criticise themselves and the society around them.
It may be argued that Malaysia’s youth only begin to vote against BN when they start working. They begin to have personal bitter experiences with run-ins with the bureaucracy, and endure hardship in making ends meet. They may face discrimination because of their lack of business connections to BN power-brokers, or because of their ethnic origin or religion.
Many young Malaysians of working age, of all races, resent the rising prices, underemployment, and low-income, unrewarding work they face in daily life. They are also subject to abuse from our hierarchical society, where young people are considered bottom of the heap, whether in the business world, the bureaucracy, or the trades or professions. Many Malaysian employers and senior professionals subscribe to the idea that they have earned the right to mistreat the young, because they may have once been bullied themselves.
Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin has never faced the obstacles faced by the young he purports to represent. He was born to a high-flying diplomat and enjoyed an expensive education in Singapore and England.
But he repeatedly makes an important observation that 49% of eligible voters in the next general election will be between the ages of 21 and 35. He also points out that 62% of these younger voters, according to Umno Youth surveys, are fence-sitters. This would be fairly consistent with the received wisdom that Umno and PAS/PKR enjoy staunch support among 30% each of the Malay voting population respectively, with around 40% undecided swing voters.
Rebels with a cause
Many of these youths are rebelling against the injustices of corruption and the economic regime, as well as the political strictures binding them.
For example, the notorious Universities and University Colleges Act prohibits students, even those over 21 and entitled to vote, from being members of any political party, or indeed any organisation at all, without the consent of the Vice-Chancellor of a particular university. This unconstitutional restriction was loosened in 2008 to allow membership of non-political off-campus societies.
The original Section 15 Clause 1 states that “No person, while he is a student of the University, shall be a member of, or shall in any manner associate with, any society, political party, trade union or any other organisation, body or group of persons whatsoever, whether or not it is established under any law, whether it is in the University or outside the University, and whether it is in Malaysia or outside Malaysia except as may be provided by or under the Constitution, or except as may be approved in advance in writing by the Vice-Chancellor.”
Section 15 Clause 3 adds that “no person, while he is a student of the University, shall express or do anything which may be construed as expressing support, sympathy or opposition to any political party or trade union or as expressing support or sympathy with any unlawful organisation, body or group of persons.”
I learnt a great deal when I met a pair of undergraduate students in an Islamic university, recently arrested for participating in a demonstration against unjust imprisonment.
“We support the UKM 4,” they said, referring to the four Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia students detained during the Hulu Selangor by-election in April, supposedly because the UKM4 had been distributing leaflets.
The two young, soft-spoken men, talked quietly of their awareness of the prohibition by university authorities on their attendance at political demonstrations, but they said they felt they must follow their conscience.
“When we were arrested, we had 100 students from our college at the demonstration, we came in a few buses,” one student explained. “Half of our group was made up of girls, but only some of us young men were arrested.” It would be far more embarrassing for the police, it would appear, to be seen hauling off young women wearing tudung or headscarves.
praying_handsOther students have been more strident, including the UM5, five Universiti Malaya students who daubed graffiti on a UM wall to protest the visit of PM Najib Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor.
PM Najib himself has tried to tiptoe around the simmering discontent with the UUCA, or its Malay acronym of AUKU.
“I am still thinking about this, even though the Cabinet has decided that it is inappropriate for students to get politically involved. I am still open to it, so that we can debate about it, the pros and cons, and from there we can reach a decision,” he said during a BN Youth Lab Town Hall (sic) metting on August 21.
“We do not want students getting too involved in politicking, but if there’s a balance where there’s healthy politics, I am in favour of that. How to balance this is what we will have to see,” he argued, citing concerns that students might forsake their studies if they become obsessed with politics.
The PM has ignored the view that politics is part of life, as much as economics and religion are. Trying to ban the participation of adults in any of these aspects of our lives is myopic – and pointless.
Sarawakian students
Our local Sarawakian university students keep a much lower profile. UNIMAS and the private colleges remain under tight control by the state government and its academic functionaries.
Yet certain political issues will stimulate strong feeling, even if these are kept pent up for the time being. One is the Umno ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims. Hishammuddin Hussein expressed regret over the ban in the Malaysian Insider on August 1, saying it had left the Home Ministry in “an uncharted landscape”.
“We should have let the sleeping dogs lie. It was triggered by those that believe that the word ‘Allah’ should not be used in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said. The minister later fudged on his regrets of words.
Could the youth in Sarawak, one day, be among the “sleeping dogs” to rebel against political restrictions? - Hornbill Unleashed
by Pak Bui
- malaysianmirror
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