Reasons to fight AUKU

From: Kenangkan (kenangkan@hotmail.com)

Some said AUKU are cruel because the act was all against the interest of the varsity students. Many believed that AUKU was a pain in their chest because the act will hamper their freedom in doing many things, including activities that are deem illegal in the eyes of other civil regulation. Some student organizations even went to the extend of mobilizing students to join demonstrations and establishing movements that has only one purpose in the movement's modus operandi - Oppose AUKU.

But let us be honest with ourselves, what AUKU had done to our freedom? Are we really students with a hand tied or being blindfolded because AUKU can do so many injustices against us? Our parents are not allowed to visit us in the campus because of AUKU, or we cannot leave the campus during semester break because AUKU says we must stay in the campus until we graduated? What is our greatest fear as a student? AUKU or fail the exam and ending up wasting 4 to 5 additional years in the campus and eventually graduated with a poor degree, and handful of humiliation?

From the legal perspective, I wish to share my arrogance to my friends out there reading my piece right now, that I am firm on my stance to accuse that AUKU is actually a failure, at least by implementation and enforcement. For example, please refer to the act and find the section that reads VC's permission is required for a more than 5 person's gathering.

What a poor law AUKU has become. WHY? Because it was obvious that everyday, there are more than 100 occasions where more than 5 students gather and carry out various activities such as forming study group, discussions, playing games, watch live telecast footballs or even form a smoking group at the café. I must say, those incidents further signified the failure of enforcement of AUKU, because despite the tough wordings written in the Act, the enforcement was way relax than regulations banning illegal parking. At the very least, most, if not all, students in a group of 5 weren't heard being 'tow' away by security officials like how vehicles being dragged away by DBKL tow masters.

I have to argue again, is there any need to put on so much effort to oppose a law that is so poor in enforcement? Is the shouting on the street and submitting of protest memorandum so important because basically, AUKU was no more than just a lazy act that does nothing?

What is the substance in all anti-AUKU movements? To oppose certain sections of the Act, or the Act as a whole? If we as students are encouraged to oppose the Act, is it necessary for us to go all out and 'bantai' certain sections only and let other part of the Act free unchallenged? Should we also submit memorandum protesting sections that ban students from making noise and disturbing others? How about sections than ban activities like porn material and underground gambling? Aren't those sections also aimed to curb our freedom because as adults, we are suppose to have the freedom to do anything we want, anything we like in accordance to basic human rights?

Oh, I hear you laughing…

If you want to question my intelligent, I would like to invite you to walk down the memory lane and try to recall how many of us had actually kept, or at least had watched, porn materials in the campus? How many of us had actually gambled, at least once in a semester, in the privacy of out own room? Never mind 'cho-dai-ti' or 'jinami', gambling is gambling.

When students are caught because of watching and keeping porn materials or gambling, why seldom we heard student movements which was set up to fight AUKU till their last drip of blood (kononnya) submit protest memo to Suhakam or launch an illegal demo to save their fellow students?

Why AUKU must be fight selectively? Why not the whole act? Student movements (legal and haram) are operating on the basis of truth, fair and just. But student movements are not glorified by words, but action! If fairness it is, then fairness it should be. Is there an argument that states fairness must take a back seat when comes to actions that are morally incorrect but politically correct?

I can recalled a case when a student name Rizal, who was sentenced to suspension because of his behaviour during a function organized in UUM campus, chose to take his case to the court, some students from other campuses, including some DEMA monkeys had showed up outside the court and condemning the cruelty and injustice of AUKU. Indeed, Rizal was a brave man, he dare to challenge the authority and although he understood perfectly that his argument has no ground, he overcame his fear and chose to stand on a sharp edge. I salute his spirit, although I strongly believe there is a better approach to end the circus.

To those students flagging banners cheering Rizal like how the Black South Africans saluted Nelson Mandela when he was elected president of the country, I ask - If Rizal was suspended because of illegal gambling or watching porn movies in the campus, which are also ban by AUKU, would you all had stood up for him?

Let's not talk about the so-call original purpose of seeking only for certain amendments of the Act. Just take a look around, run a survey and ask our fellow students how they compare AUKU to a illegal parking ticket or a speeding ticket, I am sure their concern about the possible fine of over RM100 of a speeding ticket are much higher compare to AUKU. The reason is simple, the police and the JPJ will nail your head powerfully if you skip paying a ticket, but AUKU will let you walk because there is simply not enough resources to trace all the so-call illegal activities.

Some of you may not agree with my way of taking porn materials and gambling as comparative examples in arguing the functionality and legitimacy of AUKU, but please take a minute and listen to your innerself - We fight AUKU for a reason, but is it a personal reason or other people's reason?

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