Mansuh Auku sahaja tak jamin pengundi muda sokong PH, kata penganalisis

Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim recently announced that the University and University College Act (Auku) would be repealed due to several issues remaining unsatisfactory among students after several amendments. While repealing Auku may help Pakatan Harapan (PH) rebuild credibility among young voters, analysts warn that such a move alone cannot guarantee continued support from a block in the ballot box.

Mazlan Ali from the University of Technology Malaysia and Tawfik Yaakub from the University of Malaya stated that students have long campaigned for the repeal of the act, making its repeal a significant political and reformative step for the government. Mazlan added that no government has dared to repeal the act since it was introduced in the 1970s.

The government's announcement is seen as a step to ensure young people support PH, as they would view the repeal of Auku as a bold move, said to FMT. Students may view this as a heroic action from the PH government, and it will encourage them to support it. Tawfik, on the other hand, argues that repealing Auku can help PH restore part of its credibility in the reform agenda, especially among students and young people, particularly those who value free speech, campus democracy, and institutional reform.

However, both Mazlan and Tawfik believe that the repeal alone is not enough to gain widespread young voter support for PH. Tawfik says that repealing Auku is just a gateway for PH to reconnect with young voters, not a solution to the broader challenges PH faces in gaining their support. Young people constitute a far larger group than students, and they also consider issues like jobs, wages, housing prices, living costs, student loans, and opportunities for social mobility, said Tawfik.

He also noted that the PRN Johor results, which saw Malay youths shift support to the Barisan Nasional (BN), show that young voters are not a homogeneous and stable bloc. Tawfik also said that many student groups demand clear timelines for Auku's repeal, showing they not only want a statement but also action. Consequently, the political benefits to PH will only be seen if the repeal truly gives universities greater autonomy, wider academic freedom, freedom of association, and space for students to express their views without unreasonable restrictions.

Thus, repealing Auku appears as the key to opening the pathway to a comprehensive reform process for young voters, who will assess PH based on a larger package, including democratic freedom, job opportunities, wages, living costs, education, and government integrity, said Tawfik. Anwar Ibrahim announced Auku's repeal during the PKR National Congress 2026 at the International Trade Centre (MITC) in Melaka on Saturday, promising that it would address the long-standing concerns of students after several amendments.

Introduced in 1971, Auku has long been a topic of debate regarding students' freedom to protest, organize, and express their views on political and public issues. It was last amended in 2024 to give students greater autonomy to raise funds and engage in other activities. The Ministry of Higher Education previously stated that they have no plans to repeal the act entirely.