PUTRAJAYA: The Higher Education Ministry today said universities and higher education institutions have the autonomy power to take action against students who participated in the Bersih 5 rally on Saturday.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said it was also up to the universities to decide the type of actions to be taken without referring to the ministry.
"It is the universities' prerogative. We have given them the green light to take necessary action against students who break the rules.
"They have the right to determine the appropriate actions to be taken against those who joined the illegal rallies." he told reporters after officiating Government-Linked Universities (GLUs) Management Forum, here, today.
The Bersih 5 rally was held on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur despite failure to obtain approval from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
On another note, Idris said private universities are welcome to increase tuition fees but must secure the ministry's approval before implementation.
"Fee structures are different between private universities and colleges. However, despite the flexibility, private universities or colleges are not allowed to arbitrarily raise their fees.
"They must refer to the ministry first and adhere to certain conditions before being allowed to raise the fees. This is to ensure that the increase will not burden the prospective students." he said.
Idris added that the ministry has referred to the Attorney-General Chambers the revision of the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555).
Act 555 seeks to provide for the establishment, registration, management and supervision of, and the quality control of education provided by private higher educational institutions.
At the event, four GLUs comprising Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Multimedia University, Universiti Teknologi Petronas and Universiti Tenaga Nasional signed a memorandum of understanding to form strategic partnership.