in Reversal Regarding the guarantees so far, Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education said the government: Please stop The practice of political parties establishing youth wings at universities.

Datuk Seri Khalid Nordin said it was “not appropriate” to establish a political branch on campus.

“I guarantee that no political party branch will be established within the university,” he told the Diet. “I think that’s a decision that everyone accepts.”

In South Asia, and more specifically in Malaysia, party-affiliated student organizations are controversial, with supporters claiming they provide students with opportunities for civic engagement, while critics say they are polarizing. They argue that it could lead to harassment and incite violence on campus.

But academics said they did not believe the decision was a step in the right direction.

“This is not a good idea,” said Munira Alatas, a visiting professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the International Islamic University of Indonesia.

She said student movements have been “very influential” in Malaysia’s history, noting that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim himself has been involved in student politics.

“If the current government really wants to reform higher education, why should it silence the stakeholders – the students?” she said. “We need knowledgeable young people to act as another check and balance in a government trying to reform the political mess.”

Bridget Welsh, honorary research fellow at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur-based Institute of Asian Studies at the University of Nottingham, agreed.

“There was an expectation that there would be more liberalization and discussion on campus after the Anwar administration,” she says.

But she said the current government appears to be following the lead of previous political leaders who have delivered “more of the same” and failed to “open up political space” for students.

Dr. Welsh pointed out that politically appointed vice-chancellors already control which speakers are invited to campus.

“Opposition parties weren’t actually allowed on campus,” she says.

She added that she believed the government’s move to formally ban student political organizations was “paternalistic” and politically motivated. She said: “The bigger problem is that they fear that the opposition will use students for political mobilization. There is a perception that young voters, especially Malay voters, are voting for the opposition.”

times higher education has contacted the Malaysian government for comment.

pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com