Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced that the government will abolish the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (Auku), citing continued concerns among students over restrictions under the law.
Anwar, who is also PKR president, said several amendments had previously been made to provide students with greater freedom. However, he acknowledged that some students remained dissatisfied with certain provisions and had submitted a memorandum calling for further changes.
“Students feel they should be given more freedom. We have given them greater freedom through amendments to Auku, but some are still dissatisfied and have submitted a memorandum. So today, I want to announce that we will abolish the Act,” he said.
He made the announcement during his keynote speech at the 2026 PKR Congress at the Melaka International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh.
Auku was most recently amended in 2025, with changes aimed at giving student associations greater autonomy in areas including fundraising and other activities. Despite those amendments, calls for the law to be scrapped entirely continued.
The Higher Education Ministry had previously stated that it had no plans to abolish Auku in its entirety. The position prompted 40 students representing more than 30 student groups to march to Parliament on Feb 9 to demand the full repeal of the Act.
DAP’s youth wing also called for the ministry to revive a committee established in 2019 to study the abolition of Auku, arguing that merely reviewing the legislation would not address students’ demands.
In April, student movement Sekretariat Mansuh Auku launched a nationwide campaign calling for the Act to be repealed. The campaign targeted both public and private universities, including Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Utara Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
The proposed abolition marks a significant development in the long-running debate over student rights and academic freedom in Malaysia, particularly as calls for greater autonomy on university campuses continue to gain attention.
