University and University College Act 1971 () or AUKU is the main legislation that governs the establishment, organization and management of public universities and public university colleges in Malaysia. It was passed by the Malaysian parliament in 1971 and went into effect on 30 April the same year. The government body that is responsible for the implementation of this Act is the Ministry of Higher Education.
The Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, in its current form (1 August 2012), consists of 5 Parts containing 27 sections and 2 schedules (including 6 amendments).
According to Abdullah Haji Abdul Karim, Director of the Central PAS Youth Department for Student Affairs, in a statement he made on the Harakah Daily website, although it was obvious that AUKU 1971 bill was passed to provide for the establishment, maintenance and administration of University and University Colleges and for other matters connected therewith, in the new sections that were entered into it after the 1975 amendment (argued for by then-Education Minister Mahathir Mohamad) through the A295 Amendment Act, among which are Sections 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 16A, 16B and 16C, clearly opposed the principles of justice within the law. The main goals of the 1975 amendment blocks:
However, the 2012 and 2018 amendment abolished Section 15A, thus providing students' involvement in politics. Despite these amendments, several student activists demanded that the law to be abolished to re-establish democracy in campus.