The Kuala Lumpur Traveler

I am not sure how serious Parti Mahasiswa Negara (PMN) is when it comes to election and politic. After all, PMN is not even registered yet. How many members does it has? How is the party going to fund its election campaign? What are their manifestos? I dont think the public knows about this PMN yet.

Photo courtesy of Malaysiakini

Having said that, I like the idea of university undegraduates getting themselves involved in politics. We need them to be trained to become second generation leaders. At the moment, the BN Government bars students from being involved in politics using the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) but everyone knows the act is instituted only to prevent the students from getting involved with opposition parties. It is an open secret that students who are involved with UMNO’s political activites are not only left untouched but also supported in every way possible.

Similarly, the opposition parties are never allowed to have anything to do with any school but the BN component parties are having field days when it comes to political activities at the schools.

Funny thing though, Malaysian students overseas are not regulated by the act. In fact, they can even join UMNO club and rub shoulders with Malaysian politicians that always love to go overseas, sometime at the expense of public money, to build up the supports for their political survival. Every year, some of them even get all-expenses-paid trips back to Malaysia to attend ‘Persidangan Agong UMNO’ at the Putra World Trade Center. So, I cannot understand why local students are barred from politics and overseas students are allowed, but I dare to say that the BN Government is practicing double standards in this regards.

So. when the Parti Mahasiswa Negara idea was mooted, I thought it was a good idea but I still think the unregistered student-based party is just too young to get involved in the 12th Malaysian general election. Having said that, PMN should consider it a challenge for them to prove me, and everyone else who do not really have confidence in them, that they mean business.

If PMN is so serious about getting involved in Malaysian politics, I think they should work to establish strong bases first and gain more supports before getting their feet wet in what is predicted to be the dirtiest election ever. They surely can make a difference by helping to raise awareness among the Malaysian public about their presence and let the people know what are on their agenda for a better Malaysia. They should also try to fight for their freedom first by mobilising their members (hopefully large enough in numbers) to free themselves from UUCA that have been a stumbling block for all local Malaysian students to have their say in Malaysian politics.

If PMN is so adamant to contest in the coming general election, may I suggest then, that PMN leaves Kepala Batas alone and let the more senior, experienced and influential politician to challenge Pak Lah there. Don’t insult Pak Lah in this 12th general election by forcing him to fight with a student… let’s give him some face, right?

It would be a very good idea, however, to put up challenges where your favourite Higher Education Minister Mustapha Mohd and Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Onn are nominated. PMN’s challenge to fight with these two Education Ministers will symbolise the struggle of the students to free themselves from the act that have been unfairly exercised on them. This will be a perfect scenario for Parti Mahasiswa Negara to test their strength, if they have any at all.

I wish all the very best to PMN in their political endeavour and I can’t wait to see what kind of young leaders we have in them after beng controlled by the UUCA all these years.

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