BarisaStatement issued by UPM VC stirs more questions than answers!

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Media Statement 
by Lau Weng San
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(Petaling Jaya, Wednesday): Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) vice-chancellor Nik Mustapha R Abdullah yesterday issued an official statement defending the action of campus authorities in seizing a student activist’s laptop and 12 other items during a spot check on his hostel room. 

Nik Mustapha told the media that “the action taken by the UPM security department was in accordance with the rules and regulations that relate to disciplinary violations made by Yee. His accusations are lies” and that “on Sept 14, the security department was notified by the Students Supreme Council (MTM) and Dorm 13 of a spate of mobile phone thefts in the dorm.” 

Common sense will ask that if it is a spate mobile phone thefts, then the spot check should be conducted mainly to search for stolen mobile phones. 

My first immediate question why did the security department bother about other items? Why were there looking for items such as pen drive, MP4 players, laptop, CD etc when they should be looking for unsolicited mobile phones? What’s wrong for students to have these items in their room? How did the security officers know about unlawful items inside these gadgets without opening it? Can a stolen mobile phone be kept inside a laptop?! 

Who is lying here? 

Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Lim Kit Siang, has described UPM is more famous as a Mat Rempit University than as a Research University. This is correct as this is not the first time public witness such Mat Rempit style of running a university.  

During the last campus election in UPM, the university security department also raided rooms of pro-mahasiswa in the campus and confiscated some campaign materials.  

The University also acted unfairly to pro-Mahasiswa students when they were rudely assaulted by another group of students from the Students Representative Coucil (SRC) in July 2006.  

The University also refused to accept memorandum submitted by 23 NGOs and political parties on 25^th July while trying nuisance to disturb the gathering crowd to submit memorandum. When the DAP managed to send numerous memorandum to various government agencies, even to the PM himself, UPM’s refusal to accept the memorandum then was an arrogant act. 

Students this time has to lodge police report to protect their rights in the campus show how serious human rights are abused in the Mat rempit-run UPM. 

We demand the Ministry of Higher Education to interfere and promise that such untoward incident will never happen. 

DAP will definitely bring up this matter in the Parliament through our elected representatives.

(19/9/2007)