Anwar to defy ban and address students on UM campus

Tomorrow's event which features Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Universiti Malaya campus has met with strong resistance from varsity authorities. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 26, 2014.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will return to his alma mater, Universiti Malaya (UM) tomorrow night to speak at an event organised by students, defying a ban by university administration.

Anwar's aide Dr Fahmi Ngah told The Malaysian Insider that the PKR de facto leader will attend the event, "40 Years: From UM to Prison", organised by the Universiti Malaya Undergraduates Association (PMUM), despite UM deputy vice-chancellor of student affairs Professor Datuk Dr Rohana Yusof's warning that the programme is illegal.

The university has threatened PMUM president Fahmi Zainol, a final year student of social administration and justice, with suspension and fine if he defies the ban.

The student event looks set to be a contentious affair if Anwar does indeed show up and is barred from entry, as a screenshot of a Whatsapp group message circulated today allegedly shows Fahmi (pic, right) planning to use force if the opposition leader was barred from entering the campus grounds.

The Malaysian Insider's attempts to contact Fahmi on the matter were unsuccessful.

Anwar will spend the eve of his final sodomy appeal shuttling between a few events to meet supporters and the public, in a bid to highlight alleged injustices by Putrajaya over its use of sodomy charges against him, as well as its use of the Sedition Act to silence critics.

He is also scheduled to speak at the Kelana Jaya Stadium tomorrow night, concluding PKR's roadshow in solidarity with Anwar, as part of the party's "#RakyatHakimNegara" campaign ahead of Tuesday's appeal.

Two NGOs, Badan Penggerak Demokrasi and Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH) will hold a dinner talk at Dewan MBPJ tomorrow night, where Anwar is scheduled to speak. The panel will feature opposition politicians, activists and academicians who have either been questioned, charged or are already facing trial under the Sedition Act.

Anwar will face the Federal Court on October 28 and 29 in a final appeal to overturn his sodomy conviction.

He was first acquitted by the High Court in 2012 on a charge of sodomosing his aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, but the Court of Appeal in March this year found him guilty and sentenced him to five years' jail with a stay of execution pending an appeal.

Meanwhile, PKR said the UM management's show cause letter to organisers of the event tomorrow showed it was politically outdated.

The party's Youth vice-chief, Fahmi Fadzil (pic, left), said varsity authorities were being autocratic and anti-democracy.

"The UM management have also successfully belittled the abilities of the UM graduates to think and rationalise independently," he said.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has also warned the UM management against making itself a "laughing stock" of the academic world if it insisted on banning the event.

"Anwar is a former alumni member of University Malaya. He is an elected representative of the rakyat and the opposition leader in Parliament.

"He has spoken at many meetings and ceramah nationwide, hence he should be allowed to speak at the event," she said.

A coalition of student organisations from 10 public and private universities against the Sedition Act, Mahasiswa Ganyang Akta Hasutan (Ganyang), have backed PMUM and its leader Fahmi.

"If the public is allowed to enter and exit Universiti Malaya, what more an alumnus?" Ganyang co-founder Adrian Lim said in a statement yesterday, referring to Anwar, who graduated from the UM in 1971.

- TMI