MOHE TO EXAMINE GUIDELINES FOR ACT 605 REVIEW - HIGHER EDUCATION DG

GOMBAK, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) will study the guidelines of the Statutory Bodies (Discipline and Surcharge) Act 2020 (Act 605), to consider granting exemptions to higher education institutions in several matters.

Higher Education director-general Prof Dr Azlinda Azman said that the ministry is committed to conducting a thorough review of these guidelines, as stated by the Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.

“We are still in the discussion stage,” she told reporters after attending the presentation ceremony for educational aid to public university students, at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), today.

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Also present at the event were the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar; IIUM Rector Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Osman Bakar; and the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation (YAPIEM) Datuk Mohd Radzif Mohd Yunus.

On Thursday, Zambry, during Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat, said that there was a need to review Act 605, to ensure that public universities in the country are not bound by the entirety of the circulars issued to statutory bodies.

He explained that the move is to ensure that the environment and ecosystem within public universities, especially for lecturers, allow freedom of expression without constraint.

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Meanwhile, Osman expressed IIUM’s support for the initiative to review Act 605, highlighting the importance of safeguarding academic freedom, while preventing potential misuse of that freedom.

“At the university level, particularly at IIUM, we are committed to upholding freedom of speech, especially concerning academic matters... The key is to ensure that such freedom is responsibly exercised,” he said.

Earlier, Mohd Na'im presented YAPEIM’s Didik MADANI educational aid, totalling RM2.34 million, to 20 public universities across the country to support students in financial need.

He noted that this cash assistance, of RM1,000 per recipient, would benefit 2,340 newly enrolled Bachelor's degree students for the 2024/2025 academic session.

“This initiative by YAPEIM aims to alleviate the financial strain on students and their families, by assisting with registration fees and easing the overall burden associated with university enrollment,” he said.

-- BERNAMA