THE Democartic Action Party (DAP) has thrown its full support behind the proposed abolition of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (AUKU), while urging the MADANI Government to press ahead with wider institutional and economic reforms promised to Malaysians.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said the proposed repeal fulfilled a reform long championed by the party and its Pakatan Harapan (PH) allies, but stressed that the push for change should not end with AUKU.
“DAP gives 100 per cent support after hearing the Prime Minister wants to abolish AUKU because I also studied at a local university and was a victim of AUKU at the time and lived in fear on campus.
“But we would like to propose to the Prime Minister that it should not just be AUKU, but also several other reforms that we promised the people,” he said at the 2026 DAP National Congress in Putrajaya today.
Loke said DAP also wanted reforms to ensure equal access to higher education for Malaysians regardless of their racial background.
Meanwhile, DAP national chairman Gobind Singh Deo said the party needed to take stock of what it had achieved, as well as where it had fallen short, after three-and-a-half years in the Federal Government before deciding its next political course.
The Digital Minister said DAP needed to assess its performance in government and determine whether it would retreat from or continue pursuing reforms it had championed during decades in opposition.
“Three-and-a-half years is not a long time compared with previous administrations that governed for decades.
“But people out there have asked me why, after three-and-a-half years, not all have been implemented. This is something we need to think about,” he said when opening the DAP national congress.
Gobind cited several longstanding DAP reform proposals, including separating the roles of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor, limiting the Prime Minister’s tenure to two terms, and amending the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and the Peaceful Assembly Act.
He said DAP members now had to determine the party’s future direction and identify what it hoped to accomplish during the remaining 18 months of the Government’s term.
Gobind, who is Damansara MP, said recent state election results had further underlined the need for DAP to reassess its strategy and priorities.
He acknowledged that governing as part of a unity administration required parties with different manifestos and political positions to identify areas of common ground and implement policies collectively.
Gobind said the Government had succeeded in maintaining political stability, attracting significant foreign investment and strengthening the ringgit, but stressed that economic pressures affecting ordinary Malaysians still required greater attention.
He said DAP leaders, including himself, had repeatedly urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to give greater priority to economic reforms that would translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
Gobind also proposed special parliamentary sittings to accelerate institutional reforms and address challenges affecting micro, small and medium enterprises, students and the implementation of e-Invoicing. - August 16, 2026
