The glass door of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) administration building was shattered during a scuffle between pro-Mahasiswa (pro-M) student activists and security guards.

The scuffle broke out this afternoon after vice-chancellor Radin Umar Radin Sohaidi refused to meet the students over their disgruntlements on campus polls.

upm scuffle 230211The students who have been gathering outside the building since 10pm last night are demanding for Radin’s explanation why the university authorities initially annulled the victories of 11 pro-M candidates during the election for the UPM student council on Monday.

Although the annulment was reversed after a brief meeting between Radin and pro-M representatives this morning, the students insisted that Radin has yet to give them a satisfactory explanation about the annulment attempt.

Around 3.30pm, some 100 students, losing their patience, issued Radin an ultimatum to meet with them and started counting down from 20.

According to eyewitnesses, the students then charged for the main entrance of the building and were locked in a scuffle with security personnel who tried to stop them.

This resulted in the shattering of the glass door to the main entrance. Three students and three security guards suffered injuries from glass shards.

Authorities call for meeting with students

Tensions dissipated following the accident and deputy vice-chancellor in charge of student affairs Mohd Fauzi Ramlan called several student representatives for a discussion at about 4.15pm.

During the 35-minute meeting, Fauzi promised to have further discussion with the students tomorrow morning.

upm scuffle 230211"Fauzi will discuss with pro-M representatives and listened to their demands," a student who was at the scene told Malaysiakini, adding that most of the students had dispersed after 5pm.

During the campus polls held on Monday, pro-M won 11 seats while the rival Aspirasi faction grabbed 31 seats. However, the annulment of the pro-M wins was announced late last night, ostensibly because candidates “campaigned in groups”, which is an apparent infraction under the campaign rules.

This was immediately followed by a demonstration outside the UPM administration building which began last night.

The pro-M faction claimed that the complaints received by the authorities were fabricated as the alleged complainant has denied filing any complaint.

They also pointed that it is unlikely for a single complainant to file protest against all 11 pro-M candidates because the complainant needs to pay RM100 for each complaint lodged.

The pro-Mahasiswa faction is a national student activist movement that is generally critical of the government and seeks greater involvement of students in the campus administration.

Their rivals took up the name 'Aspirasi' because they are said to uphold the 'government's aspirations', and are traditionally more accommodating of the authorities.

Pro-M faction protest for 19-hours in UPM