The untimely death of a 21-year-old undergraduate, Vinosiny Sivakumar from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) has come as a huge shock for her family, friends and surely the entire nation whom are still awaiting for an official statement from the university.
Recently, after a huge debate sparked by a statement released by UUM stating a ban on their students from engaging in Vinosiny Sivakumar’s death, they have just cleared the air by issuing another statement stressing that they are not prohibiting any students from showing solidarity to the late Vinosiny.
On 27th May, a statement was issued by the UUM vice-(student chancellor’s affairs) office stating that it effectively prohibits students from staging any vigils in memory of the 21-year-old student or seeking justice for her death.
“UUM hopes students remain calm and reminds them not to get involved in any activity or organise activities such as forums or dialogues, or make any statements, speculations, assumptions, or opinions regarding this case,” it had stated.
In that statement, it can be seen that UUM warned that they might take disciplinary action against the students if they find any student violating this instruction or any of the rules.
That statement has raged the attention of many netizens expressing the point of freedom of speech being jeopardised.
The gag order was issued after UUM promised not to hide the circumstances surrounding the death of the accountancy student. Although the student’s death has been over a week, UUM’s lack of transparency has led to angst against the university.
In response to the previous statement that was issued, UUM released a new notice on 31st May 2022 stressing that there is no prohibition on students showing solidarity.
“For information, the university did not prohibit any student from engaging in any activity to show solidarity over the death of the late Vinosiny A/P R Sivakumar,”
“However, the university has advised students to always be careful in any action as the case is still under investigation by the authorities.” remarked UUM’s Corporate Communication department in the statement.
Meanwhile, Vinosiny’s father has now filed a police report alleging the university’s Sintok campus authorities of negligence. As per Sivakumar, he filed the report as he was displeased with his daughter’s death, and to ensure the students’ safety precautions and the way her death was handled.
In the absence of a post-mortem result, the police have yet to confirm the cause of death.
The death of the Bachelor of Accounting (IS) with Hons second-year student was discovered after her roommate found her lifeless corpse in the room while wearing headphones attached to her laptop. This news honestly startled the whole university alumni community, friends, and especially her family, who only met her a week before her sudden death.
More updates to follow!
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