UKEC

The United Kingdom and Eire Council (UKEC) for Malaysian Students. It is an umbrella body of the the Malaysian Students Societies in the universities and colleges in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Founded in 1995 as the UK Executive Council for Malaysian Students, the body has in 2006 amended the constitution and UKEC’s name to include the Republic of Ireland or Eire. [ [http://www.ukeconline.com UKEC official website] ] Its current chairman is Khairil Rizzuan, a law student at King's College London.

History

Malaysia Students activism in UK started actively in early 1960s when the first coalition of student bodies established as MPPM UK ("Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar Malaysia"- Malaysian Students Representive Council.)The coalition ended in mid 1980s.Adlan Benan Omar the then UKEC chairman and Mohd Hirmiadi Don bin Rahim the then President of UKEC Supreme Council were the co-founders of the UKEC.

Purposes

The purposes of the organisation are:

1.To facilitate interaction and friendly relations among the various Malaysian Societies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland based on the principle of mutual respect.

2. To achieve co-operation in solving problems of a social, cultural and economical character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for the Malaysian way of life and for universal kinship without distinction as to race, sex, language, religion and political affiliation.

3. To provide an outlet for social, cultural and academic activities amongst Societies and to assist the administrative duties of the Malaysian Students Department (MSD), and any of its other functions as may be necessary for the benefit of the Malaysian Students.

4. To be a centre for harmonising the actions of Societies in the attainment of these common ends.

Membership

The membership of the council is opened to all other Malaysian students societies registered with a university, polytechnic or institution of learning; or academic bodies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Members

According to its website, the council members are the Malaysia Students Societies at;
# Lancaster University
# University of Bath
# Cambridge University
# University of Hull
# University of Exeter
# University of Glasgow
# University of Cardiff
# Imperial College
# King's College London
# Oxford University
# University of Edinburgh
# Leicester University
# University of Liverpool
# London School of Economics
# Birmingham University
# Newcastle University
# Bristol University
# Queen Mary University
# University of Surrey
# University of Manchester
# University of Southampton
# University of Warwick
# University of Sheffield
# York University
# Queen University,Belfast
# Kent University
# University College of London
# Portsmouth University

Partners

The council also weaves its partnership with other Malaysia Students organisations in France and Germany.

Activities

The UKEC could be assumed the most active Malaysia students council in the world. With the plethora of the networks that it has,the UKEC has organised many forums,talks,seminar and social gatherings for Malaysia students for the last ten years since its establishment.

Since 2007, the UKEC is widely known for organising the Malaysia Students Leadership Summit(MSLS). The annual summit is known to be the platform for Malaysia students to discuss and share their thoughts through the forums and the Q&A sessions with the prominent speakers.In 2007, the summit had attracted almost 1000 participants and invited speakers with the likes of Tony Fernandes, Raja Nazrin Shah and the then Higher Education Minister, Dato' Mustapa Mohamed.

The summit had also created issues when the boo-incident happened when one of the invited speakers, the Vice chancellor University of Malaya Datuk Rafiah Salim was greeted with boos and catcalls when she said public university students had the freedom to express their thoughts and ideas.

Hearing their disapproval, Rafiah retorted: "Behaviour like this is exactly what causes people not to respect you. You won’t even give me a hearing. And you won’t get respect." "If you behave like that, nobody will listen to you because it is not worth listening. You are not respecting others." [ [http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/first_malaysian_student_leaders_summit_2007_raja_nazrin_stick_to_constitution.html Malaysian Bar] ] On 2nd and 3rd of August 2008, the council had successfully organised its second MSLS.

Rumors and Speculation

Critics said that the council is a vehicle used by ambitious people trying to get into the committee in order to get a nice CV in order to climb up their career ladder by using the networks and influences throughout the governments and corporate sectors.

Notable Alumni

*Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the assemblyman of Seri Setia,Selangor

*Adlan Benan Omar, former Secretary of Keadilan Youth Movement

*Mohd Hirmiadi Don bin Rahim,Chairman of the Young Professionals Chamber of Malaysia (PROMUDA)

*Ziad Razak, special officer to the Prime Minister

References