Gov’t urged to lift ban on Chinese language club

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Gov’t urged to lift ban on Chinese language club

Andrew Ong Nov 30, 06 7:55pm

Their organisation has been banned for over 24 years. But it didn’t stop the students from seeking to revive the outlawed Chinese Language Society at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). However, their appeal to the campus authorities was rejected. Today, the students took their case to the Higher Education Ministry. Their appeal was made by a student committee set up to re-establish the organisation - which was deregistered in 1972 - through a memorandum to Higher Education Minister Mustapa Mohamed today. The memorandum was received by Mustapa’s press secretary Amar Ikmal, who had a chat with the delegation of 25 students, comprising committee members and several other Chinese-language society members from other universities. After the 30-minute meet however, committee representative Wong Keen Yee expressed disappointment that despite prior notification and the severity of the matter, they were unable to meet the minister personally. “Amar said that the minister was very busy this week. However, he did say that the ministry would look into the matter,” Wong told malaysiakini. Club forges unity The crux of their complaint was a letter by UPM student affairs department, which rejected the application for the society’s establishment because the ministry has a policy against formation of racial or language-based associations. The department said the policy was in place to encourage unity and integration among students. However, repeated attempts by the committee to obtain documented proof of such a regulation from various authorities were futile, thus prompting them to raise the matter with the ministry itself. In the memorandum, the group argued that the society aimed to promote Chinese language and culture, and its membership was open to all. It should therefore not be seen to be a racially exclusive club. “In a country which consist of many ethnic groups and cultures, knowing each other’s language and culture can bring understanding and forge better ties among the people,” read the memorandum. Double standards Furthermore, the committee argued that denying the society’s registration was an act of double standards as similar societies already exists in UPM and other universities. Examples include silat clubs (Malay martial arts), English debating clubs, Buddhist associations and Islamic students clubs. The committee urged the university and the ministry to allow the registration of the society and show transparency in revealing the guidelines and regulations regarding the formation of such societies on campus. In 1972, a crackdown on student activism dubbed ‘Operasi Mayang’ resulted in many student groups being deregistered, including UPM’s Chinese Language Society. At present, only Universiti Malaya and Universiti Sains Malaysia have recognised Chinese language societies, while attempts to revive or establish such clubs exists in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Utara Malaysia.