| Short Title: | Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 |
| Legislature: | Parliament of Malaysia |
| Long Title: | An Act to provide for the establishment, maintenance and administration of Universities and University Colleges and for other matters connected with it. |
| Citation: | Act 30 |
| Territorial Extent: | Throughout Malaysia |
| Enacted By: | Dewan Rakyat |
| Date Passed: | 18 March 1971 |
| Enacted By2: | Dewan Negara |
| Date Passed2: | 26 March 1971 |
| Royal Assent: | 27 April 1971 |
| Date Commenced: | 29 April 1971 |
| Date Effective: | 30 April 1971 |
| Bill: | Universities and University Colleges Bill 1971 |
| 1St Reading: | 9 March 1971 |
| 2Nd Reading: | 17 March 1971 |
| 3Rd Reading: | 18 March 1971 |
| Bill2: | Universities and University Colleges Bill 1971 |
| 1St Reading2: | 22 March 1971 |
| 2Nd Reading2: | 26 March 1971 |
| 3Rd Reading2: | 26 March 1971 |
| Amended By: | Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 1971 [Act A80] Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 1975 [Act A295] Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 1983 [Act A550] Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 1996 [Act A946] Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 2009 [Act A1342] Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 2012 [Act A1433] |
| Related Legislation: | Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 74, 1971 |
| Keywords: | University, university college |
| Status: | In force |
University and University College Act 1971 (ms|Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti 1971) or AUKU 1971 is an act of Parliament that was legislated by the Malaysian government that was approved by the king on 27 April 1971. It is also an act that is partially under the legislative authority of the Ministry of Higher Education (Malaysia) to "provide for the establishment, organization and management of Universities and Public University Colleges and for matters connected herewith."[1] This act was amended in 1975 and 1995 and became the University and University College Act (Amended) 1995.
The Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, in its current form (1 August 2012), consists of 5 Parts containing 27 sections and 2 schedules (including 6 amendments).
According to Abdullah Haji Abdul Karim, Director of the Central PAS Youth Department for Student Affairs, in a statement he made on the Harakah Daily website, although it was obvious that AUKU 1971 bill was passed to provide for the establishment, maintenance and administration of University and University Colleges and for other matters connected therewith, in the new sections that were entered into it after the 1975 amendment (argued for by then-Education Minister Mahathir Mohamad) through the A295 Amendment Act, among which are Sections 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 16A, 16B and 16C, clearly opposed the principles of justice within the law. The main goals[2] of the 1975 amendment blocks:
However, the 2012 and 2018 amendment abolished Section 15A, thus providing students' involvement in politics. Despite these amendments, several student activists demanded that the law to be abolished to re-establish democracy in campus.