No such thing as concert guidelines for universities: Khaled

PETALING JAYA – Despite Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin saying that the concert guidelines for universities that went viral was not final, a student body said last night they wish to initiate a judicial review.

Much has been said about the proposed guidelines for entertainment activities (concerts) in higher education institutions over the past few days.

It began with the Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) issuing a statement slamming the guidelines, calling it an attempt at moral policing.

They claimed that the proposed guidelines included gender segregation among event attendees, calling it a "conservative wave making its way into university campuses".

“The content of these guidelines is extremely conservative, prohibiting actions such as mixed seating of males and females and artists wearing shorts.

“Surprisingly, it is not led by Perikatan National, but rather by the unity government which claimed to be ‘progressive’ in the past elections,” Umany claimed.

In the guidelines that Umany shared, among the rules included were that the genre and lyrics to be performed at concerts within campus grounds must first be approved by university management.

Male performers are also not allowed to wear shorts.

As for the audience, apart from the segregation of male, female and family attendees, concerts within campus grounds must also not include a mosh pit area.

In his reaction to Umany's statement, Khaled said that the ministry would leave it to the students and management of higher education institutions to set guidelines on the organisation of any entertainment activity or concert at their institutions.

“I am more inclined towards tertiary students themselves setting and monitoring (the guidelines). So, no such guidelines (that have gone viral) will appear," he had said.

However, Umany, in responding to Khaled's assurance that the guideline that went viral was not enforced, said they were not convinced.

They have now launched a crowdfunding campaign to initiate a judicial review of the guideline.

“Although the Minister of Higher Education, Khaled Nordin claimed that the guidelines have not been approved, there has been no announcement of the guideline withdrawal written in black and white.

“Therefore, students are still currently bound by the unreasonable guidelines. Otherwise, the universities will have the right to use the guidelines to regulate or even dismiss students’ concert-related activities,” Umany claimed.

The judicial review, according to Umany, is to protect students’ autonomy which they claimed was diminishing with the ministry's actions.

“To raise litigation costs, Umany has launched a crowdfunding campaign, hoping that as many people as possible can support us in defending the multiculturalism of the campus and the freedom of students to organise activities,” they said.

Umany gave assurance that the funds raised would be used for all costs of the judicial review process and that they would handle the matter openly and transparently. – The Vibes, September 3, 2023