Collectives: Behind ‘Student Power’ and ‘GENG’

Kuala Lumpur: ‘Student Power’ researcher Fahmi Reza is facing obstacles to present the lecture to University Malaya students in campus.

On August 12th, the Student Power lecture was banned from entering the university less than 24 hours after the Dean from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences allegedly gave permission to the Historical Society to organize the lecture on campus.

When contacted earlier today, the Dean, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Redzuan Othman, said that he did not approve the proposal submitted by the Historical Society and did not give permission for organizing the lecture.

The lecture, set to take place on August 24th, was also previously banned from entering Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) on August 10th which forced the organizers to organize the lecture outside campus.

The Student Power lecture looks into the history of the student movement and autonomy in the 60s which originated in UM. Guest speakers include Syed Hamid Ali and Khong Kim Hoong, both prominent leaders of the movement in the 60s.

“In the 1960s, our university students were free, autonomous and independent. Now they are oppressed and colonised by the university administration. Our mahasiswa are now treated like kids. The university administration continuously controls what type of politics or history the students are allowed to be exposed to,” says Fahmi.

In his effort to pressure UM to allow Student Power to ‘come home,’ Fahmi is organizing ‘Kami Tuntut Student Power Lecture’ campaign to mobilize and empower UM students to claim their history.

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