Zambry Abdul Kadir said University Malaysia Sabah postponed its convocation ceremony so that parents and guardians could exercise their right to vote.
KOTA KINABALU: No higher education institutions, public or private, have ever barred their students from going back to their hometowns to vote, including the coming Nov 29 Sabah elections, according to higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir.
He cited the example of Universiti Malaysia Sabah which decided to postpone its convocation ceremony so that students could return to vote.
He said while opinions were initially divided on the idea of postponing the ceremony, UMS decided to do so in view of the fact that 60% of its students were Sabahans.
Zambry said that university officials understood the concerns of parents and guardians who would have to attend the graduation ceremony and at the same time, their right to vote.
“We do not want to be in the way of students (who are) exercising their constitutional right. So we allowed them to return to their hometowns,” he said.
Asked to comment on a proposal to allow university students to vote by post, he said his ministry has yet to discuss the matter with the Election Commission. “However, we are leaving it to the EC (to decide).”
