PETALING JAYA: A programme aimed at raising awareness on the hazards of the Sedition Act turned into a “life lesson” for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) students after the invited speaker, law lecturer Associate Professor Dr Azmi Sharom, was “chased out” of the venue by security guards.

Azmi, who was charged with sedition on Sept 2, had been invited by Gabungan Mahasiswa UKM to launch an anti-Sedition Act movement and speak with the students on the colonial-era law at UKM’s campus in Bangi on Wednesday night.

But the Universiti Malaya law professor discovered several roadblocks mounted in the campus to prevent him and the media from attending the event.

“One of the organisers picked me up at the entrance and told me we had to enter on foot due to the roadblocks,” Azmi told The Malaysian Insider.

“So we sneaked into the campus, only to be chased out by the guards when we reached the venue. They didn’t give any reason. They just said that the university management had “haramkan” (banned) the event.

“Hundreds of students had already arrived at the venue, but the guards politely and adamantly told me to leave. So we congregated at a parking lot outside the campus, and I gave a speech for about 20 minutes as it was just really hot, dark and uncomfortable, and it was getting late.”

Despite this, Azmi laughed off the experience, saying that it was a good “life lesson” for the students on how far authorities would go to stifle their freedom of expression.

“It’s certainly more interesting than anything I could have taught them if the programme had gone on smoothly.”

Police were also present on campus as cars slowly entered the premises. The vehicles were inspected at the many roadblocks set up every few hundred metres apart. — The Malaysian Insider


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 3, 2014.