KUALA LUMPUR: Seven sections relating to students, including aspects of freedom provided for under the Universities and University Colleges Act (AUKU), will be given priority in the process of repealing the Act, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.
He said of the total 44 sections in AUKU, seven of them relate to students while the remainder cover various aspects including the establishment, administration and governance of universities.
Zambry said AUKU needs to be viewed in a more comprehensive context because the Act is not only related to students, but is the parent Act that forms the basis for the establishment of a university.
"Matters related to AUKU have also been discussed at the Cabinet level, and the details concerning it will continue to be refined.
"AUKU is the parent Act of universities, the main one for the establishment of a university. This means that without AUKU, there would be no university, except Universiti Malaya, which has an old Act, the 1961 Act. But all other universities do not have one; all of them depend on AUKU for their existence," he told reporters after the opening of the 2026 Higher Education Institutions Sports (SUKIPT) at the Universiti Malaya (UM) Arena here on Saturday (Aug 29).
Meanwhile, Zambry said AUKU, which is five decades old, should be reviewed by taking into account the country's developments, including in the field of education, in line with the view of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who wants legal aspects relating to students to be reviewed.
He said follow-up measures would be taken to ensure that the process of repealing AUKU could be implemented comprehensively.
The Prime Minister had previously informed that the proposal to repeal AUKU was aimed, among other things, at giving students room to speak freely as well as develop their innovative capacity, creativity and critical thinking. – Bernama
