PMN spokesperson Edikoup Lakip Sediyanto (right in photo) told Malaysiakini that the document in their possession is just one of several other items of evidence to prove that the ploy exist.“The minutes of the meeting dated Jan 25 were released by the Students’ Representative Council (MPP), and they are undersigned by the secretary,” said Edikoup.
However, the group had decided to withhold the name of the secretary until they are ready to reveal the rest of the documents, including another copy of the minutes of meeting on the matter from two weeks ago.
“We will call for a press conference and expose more in the near future, now that the individuals involved have denied that Opps 2020 exists and the minutes are fake,” he said when contacted today.
The anti-establishment students’ movement had accused the government of meddling in campus politics to ensure BN’s victory in the general election.
The covert operation dubbed ‘Opps 2020' is allegedly a move to postpone campus elections and take disciplinary action against students under the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA).
The Jan 25 minutes that PMN had released last month were for a meeting that had taken place at Akademi Kenegaraan, which falls under the National Civics Bureau.
PMN has mounted pressure on the government to initiate a probe on the allegations, otherwise the group threatened to expose the leaders involved.
Umno Youth exco member Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, who was named in the list of attendees, however, rubbished the claim and declared the document was fake.
He then lashed out at the students for being “pawns of the opposition” as the minutes of meeting could not be independently verified.
Tun Faisal, who is also Umno Youth’s new media chairperson, added that it is highly unlikely that the meeting was presided over by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s special officer Irmohizam Ibrahim, as the latter has no locus standi in the matter.
It’s an open secret, says Saifuddin
When met at a talk in Bangsar today, Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said it was an open secret that political parties would try to put up their candidates through student movements in university.
“I know because I have friends from both sides of the House and sometimes when we go out for a drink we chat about how each other’s candidates are doing,” he said.
However, Saifuddin added that claims that government officials were involved in influencing campus politics was another matter altogether.
“On allegations that government officers are involved, that to the best of my knowledge, there is no such operation and I have yet to see it, I hope it’s not true,” he said.
Saifuddin added that both Pro-Aspirasi and Pro-Mahasiswa should not be stereotyped as being proxies of BN and Pakatan Rakyat respectively.
“There are also independents in Pro-Mahasiswa and Pro-Aspirasi, students who are watching campus elections closely would know the difference,” he said.
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