University students urge political parties to re-evaluate GE15 manifesto

SHAH ALAM - Universiti Malaya (UM) Students' Union has urged political parties contesting in the 15th General Election (GE15) to reassess their manifestos announced, by including two key issues that are important to students.

Its general executive Muhammad Noraiman Zulkifli said the two issues were students’ accommodation and public transportation problems.

He said the issue of limited campus accommodation was a matter that needed to be resolved by the government.

"We know that every year students’ admissions are increasing, but the accommodation quota remains the same and there is no increase.

"Second-year students who were unable to get a place at the residential college were forced to look for rental homes outside and that is burdening those who are less privileged,” he told Sinar Harian on Friday.

Muhammad Noraiman said the situation caused students to rent houses outside the campus, especially in urban areas with high cost of living.

"Therefore, there is a need for the accommodation issue to be taken into account and scrutinised in addition to being included in the manifesto of political parties," he said.

He also hoped for improvements of the public transport system as most students use the service every day.

"Similarly, transportation for students from Borneo should be given emphasis to such as subsidising the cost of flights three times a year for example. These things should be emphasised by the government to make short and long-term plans," he said.

He added that the government that will be formed should implement all its promises offered and not thwart their promises in the manifesto after winning GE15.

"Don't just sow sweet promises before the election but after winning, everything is forgotten," he said.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Islamic Students of Malaysia (PKPIM) president Ahmad Farhan Rosli said there were some of the proposal made by students that were not included in the manifesto such as lowering the age limit for senators, commitment to establish student unions and limits on the term of service of members of the House of Representatives.

"The students will continue to demand for the matters that are not included in the (manifesto) of the chosen government,” he said.

He also suggested for amendments to be made to the Election Offences Act 1954 (Act 5) to ensure that the manifesto promises of political parties were a legislative obligation that must be properly implemented.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Farhan said he was of the view that the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifestos emphasised more on the offer of reform and reform of the system, compared to Perikatan Nasional (PN) which was seen as a one-off.

"Overall, all major political coalitions such as BN, PH and PN have submitted their manifestos that also cover the matters raised by youths and students.

“Certainly, almost 50 per cent of young voters were considered in the making of the offer in the manifesto this time.

"We see that PH has managed to include some of the demands that students need in their manifesto even though not fully," he said.

He said the main concern was PH's commitment to repeal the Universities and University Colleges Act (AUKU) 1971.

He added that the point of concern in the BN manifesto was the establishment of a committee for youth policy reviews in Parliament.

"This is one of the steps forward in the preparation of the BN manifesto this time," he said.