A group of Universiti Malaya (UM) students staged a picket to protest the recording of ballot paper serial numbers during the campus elections this morning.

The 150-odd students gagged their mouths with yellow cloths, carried placards and chanted 'Hidup Mahasiswa' (long live undergraduates) during the impromptu 15-minute picket.

Immediately after the picket started, university officials and security personnel ordered the students to disperse. A police patrol car was also seen in the area.

Several students managed to deliver speeches while the picket organisers negotiated with university officials. However, they later dispersed peacefully and no untoward incidents were reported.

UM vice-chancellor overseeing development and estate maintenance, Dr Alias Daud, who was present at the scene, told reporters that no action will be taken against the students as they agreed to disperse.

At the main polling station, malaysiakini spotted university officials taking down the serial numbers and recording it on the electoral roll when the students registered to vote.

It is learnt that a candidate's agent who protested to the university officials regarding this, was told that it was permitted.

"Why can't we record the serial number when this practice was allowed during the general election?" he was allegedly told.

Students worried

However, students, on condition of anonymity, told malaysiakini they are worried that their votes will be traced.

They claimed that prior to the polls, students were 'coerced' into voting for 'pro-establishment' candidates only.

"The university via the 'pro-establishment' candidates told us that the quota for Chinese students to stay in the hostel will be reduced by five percent next year if they find out that even if one of the students in the hostel failed to show up to vote for the pro-establishment candidates," they alleged.

It is also learnt that four students filed police reports yesterday after being allegedly threatened with a two-semester suspension if they do not openly state their support for the 'pro-establishment' candidates.

According to one version, the four had allegedly asked why they should support the 'pro-establishment'candidates during an election campaign sponsored by the faction on Monday.

Following this, poison-pen letters and leaflets containing accusations against the university were allegedly placed in their rooms yesterday when the four were out.

When they returned, students close to the university authority had allegedly told them to support the 'pro-establishment' candidates or face disciplinary action.

However, these allegations could not be confirmed.

'Pro-establishment' candidates wrested control of UM's students representative council for the first time in eights years after nomination closed last Saturday due to a boycott by 'anti-establishment' candidates on the grounds that they have been subjected to unfair and biased election rules.

Despite this, there are 10 others seats being contested by Chinese students associated with the 'anti-establishment' faction.

Boycott at UPM

In Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), the electronic voting system was used for the second time under stringent security.

Reporters were initially barred from taking photographs of the polling stations but after an argument, the security personnel relented.

The 'anti-establishment' candidates in this university together with the Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam (PMI) - which is said to have close links with PAS - also launched a boycott campaign urging their supporters not to turn up for voting.

The candidates were allegedly harassed while some of their parents had also received threatening calls.

The Chinese candidates in the 'anti-establishment' faction have also come under fire with widely circulated leaflets accusing them of being the 'most extreme terrorists'.

In another development, one UPM candidate said there was confusion among students over their respective polling stations because there were polling stations in every residential college this year. In previous years, there was only one polling station.

In other Kuala Lumpur-based universities such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA), no problems have been reported so far.

'Anti-establishment' candidates are expecting a severe setback in controlling the student representative councils in most of the universities this year. The faction currently controls three out of the nine key universities.

Politicians have always watched the campus elections with keen interest because this is seen as ascertaining student support for political parties.

It is also learnt that Umno supreme council members were given copies of the 'campus election monitoring report' at their meeting yesterday.

The election results are expected to be announced later tonight.