Universiti Malaya student leader Ho Chi Yang received a show-cause letter from the university for holding a press conference on internet WiFi usage on campus.

The Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) president was slapped with the letter on New Year ’s Eve instructing him to explain why he held a press conference on the WiFi quota, without university permission.

“You must reply by justifying your actions in a letter to the student affairs vice chancellor’s office within seven days, or face disciplinary action,” UM vice chancellor for student affairs Rohana Yusof said in the letter dated Dec 29, 2015.

Ho at the press conference held at UM’s main campus in Petaling Jaya, alleged the university planned to impose a five gigabyte monthly limit on students this year, but UM later denied this.

The press conference was jointly held with Universiti Malaya Muslim Students Association (PMIUM).

Condemning the show-cause letter as suppression of freedom of expression, Umany questioned the university’s timing.

“Why is the university choosing our study week (preparation week for examination) to issue a warning letter to the president? Is that really a coincidence or a planned well-timed action?” it asked in a statement.

“The university never seemed to understand the spirit of freedom of speech, but only fond of suppressing students’ opinion and criticism.

“If a university is so terrified of students’ critical thinking and objections, how will talents be produced to serve the country in the future?” it asked.