UM graduate barred from convocation for supporting protest

KUALA LUMPUR: Student activist Wong Yan Ke's university mate was barred from attending his graduation convocation on Tuesday (Oct 15).

The 23-year-old accountancy graduate Edan Kon Hua En claimed he was barred because Universiti Malaya (UM) feared that he might pull off the same protest as Wong.

“This morning, I was ready to enter the hall with my friends and was waiting for the convocation to start.

“However, while I was waiting outside the hall, I was pulled away from the line by security guards, who brought me into a room.

“They questioned me on several things, and asked if I was going to do the same thing my friend (Wong) did, ” said Kon.

Kon told the guards that he would not be protesting and “begged” them to allow him to receive his graduation certificate, but they responded by saying they were instructed by a higher-up not to let him into the hall.

“They said someone from the management would see me, but (until now) nobody has met with me, ” said Kon, who claimed the university has not informed him whether or not he will be allowed to receive his certificate.

Kon, a former president of UM Association of New Youth, said he suspected a reason he was barred from the ceremony was that he had made a Facebook post in support of Wong’s protest.

On Monday (Oct 14), UM lodged a police report against Wong, who staged a solo protest calling for the resignation of the varsity’s vice-chancellor, Datuk Abdul Rahim Hashim.

Wong had allegedly shouted “Ini Tanah Malaysia” while carrying a placard with the words “Tolak Rasis” (reject racism) and “Undur VC” (step down VC) on stage during his graduation after he received his degree scroll.