Universities’ Student Councils Criticised For ‘Blindly’ Supporting Gov’t After Condemning Turun Protests

On Saturday (July 23), over 100 people identified as the Turun Movement made up of student groups, turned to the streets to protest against price hikes and the rise in Minister’s salaries outside of the Sogo shopping complex in KL.

Although it was a peaceful protest, the group were halted by the police, who formed several layers of blockade.

Despite the protest being supported by Malaysians, especially the youth, there appears to be some groups who are completely against it.

Recently, the student councils of multiple local universities (MPP) took to their social media pages to condemn the protest and urge students not to participate in it.

The student councils of Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan are amongst those who have released a statement.

Some of the reasons that they were against the protest included not believing in disorder as a method to solve the issue, the idea that demonstrations tarnish the reputation of the country and the government as well as claiming that demonstrations are illegal.

Blindly supporting the government?

The statements released by the student councils of various universities received swift backlash from Malaysians on social media who condemned them for criticising the right to protest of students.

“MPP (are just) followers. They don’t really fight for students and merely follow what the university’s management and ministry wants.”

“It’s time for all universities to have their own student union,” said a user.

Another netizen compared MPPs to the HR department of companies. “They work for management. Not for the students or workers,” they explained.

“Students of this country should be given the opportunity to express their feelings towards any party. MPPs should act as a middleman and not just condemn groups of students that have taken an alternative way to express their feelings. Protect your peers, not go against them,” stated another user.

What do you think of statements by the MPPs?

Also read: Turun Movement Protests Price Hike Nearby Sogo Shopping Complex On Saturday