BRANCH

Melbourne

Melbourne is our largest chapter, and we are mostly based at and around the University of Melbourne. We have members from Monash University plus participants from RMIT and other campuses as well.

The Melbourne chapter hosts a regular discussion series called “Malaysiaku” where we discuss Malaysian politics, issues and culture in an interesting and in-depth manner. Past discussion topics include 1MDB, Dr Mahathir’s political legacy and the Yasmin Ahmad classic Sepet. We run discussions once every two weeks on Friday evenings (during semester time) at the Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre in Carlton, a short walk from the University of Melbourne.

All are welcome to attend and contribute. Light snacks, drinks and prayer room are provided. Follow us on Facebook for information about topics and times!

The Melbourne chapter also organised the Bersih 4 and 5 rallies with our friends at Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia. In 2016, the team launched a Working While Studying campaign to raise awareness for the rights international students have at work.

Events

From the blog

Malaysiaku: Mansuh AUKU!

Malaysiaku: Mansuh AUKU!

Thanks to everyone who came to our discussion on Friday! We weren’t sure that a session specifically on the details of the Universities Act (AUKU) would draw interest, but we were pleasantly surprised. Many of you reported that it was something worth learning about.

What’s in the law

We began the session with a reading of Sections 15 & 16 of AUKU, going through the specific prohibitions listed (of which there are many) and the powers granted to the Vice Chancellors and the University Boards to mete out disciplinary punishment on top of whatever criminal charges the government decides to pursue on student activists. These included the original text of the now-repealed S15C, which violated presumption of innocence in law by placing the burden of proof on students if they were caught with material belonging to an unauthorised group or collective.

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What You Had to Say on #MalaysiaBaru

What You Had to Say on #MalaysiaBaru

Thanks to everyone who came to our first meeting of the semester on #MalaysiaBaru. This session was a little different to our usual format in that it was much more audience-led, and we were glad to see that it did not prevent the audience from raising a wide range of pertinent points on the performance of the new Pakatan government and the role of activists such as ourselves today.

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Malaysiaku: Feminism in Malaysia

Malaysiaku: Feminism in Malaysia

Thanks everybody who came to our second Malaysiaku this year on Feminism in Malaysia, especially those who met us at the Malaysian Contingent at the International Women’s Day march. We’ve prepared this summary for those of you who couldn’t make it.

In this session we went into a brief history of women’s involvement in social movements in Malaysia, the start of what might be described as our modern “feminist” movements, and the political issues faced by women in Malaysia today.

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  • the Gadigal people of the Euroa Nation,
  • the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation
  • and the Ngambri people of the Ngunnawal Nations.

We pay respect to the Elders both past and present and extend that respect to other Indigenous Australians past, present and emerging.

The land was never ceded, and the struggle for Aboriginal recognition continues today. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.