Students from AIKOL have also banded together to form an online protest on the university’s decision to convert the AIKOL cafe to a mini-library.
In one such poster, the students, well versed in the rules of law, have come up with four grounds for the petition to reverse the decision made by the university. The four grounds include:
- Students were not given prior notice from the authority
- There were no valid and justified reason for the closure,
- As the reasons available for now can all be classified as rumors among students
- Neither SRC nor LAWSOC were informed on the matter, and the decision was made arbitrarily
- The sudden closure by the authorities had left the students with no alternatives
Commenting on the online movement to save the café, SRC Welfare Head Wan Ahmad Khairi said that he, as an individual, supports the movement to petition against the closure.
Brother Wan Ahmad Khairi said the petition had grounds as it not only denied students’ rights, but the authorities too did not reach out to discuss matters with the student representatives of AIKOL prior to the closure.
The issue of the AIKOL café closure came to light last Tuesday with AIKOL SRC Representative, Sharina Farhana Nor Sa’ari, expressing her views on the IIUM Online Facebook group.
Sister Sharina stated in her post that the decision to close the cafeteria is causing severe inconvenience to students who now have to resort to the Economics cafeteria to get their meals.
This is particularly a problem during lunch hour where the crowd is heavily dense.
Photo source: Bantahan Penutupan kafe Aikol