University Students Form New Party

(Photo: Malaysiakini)

Today, a group of university students form a new party, Parti Mahasiswa Negara (PMN) or National Student’s Party, which positions itself as the third force between the ruling coalition and the existing opposition parties.

Led by activists from Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (GAMIS), a student group traditionally closely associated with PAS, the new-born party has vowed to participate in the coming elections. Its coordinator Meor Isfandy said its members were neither BN nor opposition supporters but a group of independent-minded students dissatisfied with the current political atmosphere.

Its spokesperson Sheikh Omar compared both BN and PAS to clowns for engaging in hollow quarrels as the people suffered. He criticized the ruling coalition for corruption and cronyism and also lamented the opposition parties’ failure to provide check and balance.

The birth of the new party was announced today in front of Election Commission (EC) office at Putra Jaya. The new party which claimed to have 2,000 members and was actively recruiting members amongst university students and graduates would submit its application for registration to the Registrar of Society next week.

Isfandy, a graduate from IIU, said the party would disregard the University and University College Act (UUCA) which prohibited students from participating in politics, claiming that the act was unconstitutional.

Read reports from MStar, Malaysiakini (Chinese) and Merdekareview (Chinese).

Update:

PNM has been quoted by a prominent Taiwan social activist Jian Xi Jie as a role model for Taiwan.