Syed Saadiq: UM graduate was insolent but don’t revoke his scroll
SHAH ALAM: Criticise the Universiti Malaya (UM) graduate Wong Yan Ke for his actions but do not revoke his hard-earned degree, said Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
In Twitter post, Syed Saadiq also called out Wong for using the convocation platform to voice his dissatisfaction against UM vice chancellor Abdul Rahim Hashim.
“I don’t agree to the use of the convocation as a protest stage. It is a day for all graduates and parents to have fun. But I also disagree with the calls to forfeit his degree.
“We can criticise and condemn the act without taking away the degree that he has been pursuing for more than 4 years,” he tweeted.
Syed Saadiq made the statement in response to University Malaya Student Activist (PMUM) move to launch a petition on social media calling for the university to revoke Wong’s first degree.
On Monday, Wong courted controversy by staging a protest against Rahim by unfurling a placard at UM”s convocation ceremony and said “Tolak rasis Undur VC. Ini Tanah Malaysia”(Reject racism. VC resign. This is the land of Malaysians).
The following day, another graduate, Edan Kon Hua En, had attempted the same thing but his actions were foiled by the university’s security team.
UM had lodged a police report against Wong and he is now being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code for insulting to provoke breach of peace.
By Hema Subramaniam
