UNIVERSITY students will be given greater freedom to criticise the government and national leadership under proposed changes to the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (AUKU), which will be tabled in Parliament within the next two weeks.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the proposed amendments aimed to remove regulations that unnecessarily restricted students from expressing their views and voicing criticism.
"Within the next one or two weeks, we will table this in Parliament to repeal any regulations that restrict students' freedom to speak out and voice their criticisms," he said during the Anwar Meets Young National Heroes session in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
He said students should be free to criticise the country's leadership, including the Prime Minister, provided their views did not involve threats or incitement to violence.
However, Anwar cautioned that freedom of expression must not be abused to incite others or encourage unlawful activities, stressing that students must exercise their rights responsibly.
He also emphasised the importance of developing wisdom alongside knowledge among the younger generation to enable them to assess issues critically and express their views with maturity.
He said society needed not only knowledgeable individuals but also those capable of applying their knowledge with sound judgement. - November 15, 2026
