The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) stands ready to play an observer role during the campus elections, even if the briefing promised by university authorities is not held by then.

Commissioner Professor Hamdan Adnan said Suhakam has been waiting for the briefing since June, after the vice-chancellors (students affairs) of various universities met in Ipoh.

"We hope that it will be arranged as soon as possible," he said, adding that this was necessary to ensure there is no abuse of power during the campus elections due on Sept 15.

"We hope to formulate guidelines that will meet the standards of basic human rights and democracy," he said.

Last month, a student coalition had sent a memorandum to Suhakam, urging the commission to be more pro-active in monitoring the elections. They also called for "fair and clean" elections this time around.

17 campuses involved

Yesterday, the Higher Learning Ministry announced that the campus elections would be held in the 17 public higher learning institutions.

Nominations will be filed on Saturday in all campuses, except at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and International Islamic University, which have slotted next Monday for this process.

Hamdan said Suhakam will bring up the students' previous complaints during the briefing by university authorities, to reinforce the need for fair elections..

Malaysian politicians have always watched campus elections with keen interest because these are deemed to be a microcosm of the political scenario.

Since the reformasi movement began in 1998, students dubbed as being 'anti-establishment candidates' have dominated the polls results.

However, 'pro-establishment' candidates last year managed to make inroads into several 'anti-establishment' strongholds amidst tougher election rules and allegations of harassment and money politics.