Campus polls: 24 UTM students face disciplinary action
Pauline PuahPublished: Nov 26, 2004 2:46 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Twenty-four Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students accused of breaching university election rules faced a disciplinary hearing yesterday and their fate will be known next week, said UTM students affairs department vice-chancellor Prof Alias Mohd Nor.
Twenty-four Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students accused of breaching university election rules faced a disciplinary hearing yesterday and their fate will be known next week, said UTM students affairs department vice-chancellor Prof Alias Mohd Nor.
"A formal letter will be sent to the students probably early next week. The panel will have a meeting tomorrow (Friday) to make a decision and then we have to report to the chancellor," he added when contacted yesterday.
The 24, seen to have 'anti-establishment' leanings, had contested in September's campus elections. Twenty-two of them were elected.
UTM authorities later took the students to task for making amendments to their election campaign posters and demanded an explanation for this.
It is learnt that the students were unhappy with the quality of their photographs on the posters and replaced them. The photos were taken by a university-designated photographer.
Complaints received
Alias said the university was forced to take action as it had received complaints from other candidates and students.
"They (the 24) were not charged but asked to give an explanation," he said, adding that the initial charges against the students under the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) were dropped.
"The charges were dropped after the hearing as most of them were not aware of their wrongdoing, they were (instead) heard under the UTM campus election regulations," he said.
The vice-chancellor also dismissed criticism that the university was being undemocratic by taking action against them.
"If we are not democratic, I would have already declared the election result null. We will be very undemocratic if we do not do anything when we have received complaints," he said.
He also denied that the 24 students were hauled up because of their perceived political leanings.
"In UTM, we don't know whether a student is anti or pro-establishment, unlike students in UM (University Malaya) , UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia)," he said.
Unreasonable action
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the UTM Campus Monitor, a body set-up by students to keep an eye on the happenings on campus, called on the authorities not to take action against the 24.
"It doesn't matter if the university uses UUCA or campus election regulations to charge them. As long as they have been charged then it's unreasonable," he said under condition of anonymity.
He called on UTM to form an investigation committee to probe the alleged irregularities and also questioned why the authorities decided to take action only after the elections.
According to one of the 24 students, they were called individually into the hearing and quizzed by the panelists.
"The university registrar read out the allegations against me when the hearing started, then about seven to eight panels took turns to ask me questions," he said when contacted.
Of the total 46 seats which were up for grabs in UTM, 28 were won by the 'anti-establishment' camp.
In September's nationwide campus elections, 'pro-establishment' candidates took control of most of the major universities. The polls were marred by boycotts and allegations of irregularities.
"A formal letter will be sent to the students probably early next week. The panel will have a meeting tomorrow (Friday) to make a decision and then we have to report to the chancellor," he added when contacted yesterday.
The 24, seen to have 'anti-establishment' leanings, had contested in September's campus elections. Twenty-two of them were elected.
UTM authorities later took the students to task for making amendments to their election campaign posters and demanded an explanation for this.
It is learnt that the students were unhappy with the quality of their photographs on the posters and replaced them. The photos were taken by a university-designated photographer.
Complaints received
Alias said the university was forced to take action as it had received complaints from other candidates and students.
"They (the 24) were not charged but asked to give an explanation," he said, adding that the initial charges against the students under the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) were dropped.
"The charges were dropped after the hearing as most of them were not aware of their wrongdoing, they were (instead) heard under the UTM campus election regulations," he said.
The vice-chancellor also dismissed criticism that the university was being undemocratic by taking action against them.
"If we are not democratic, I would have already declared the election result null. We will be very undemocratic if we do not do anything when we have received complaints," he said.
He also denied that the 24 students were hauled up because of their perceived political leanings.
"In UTM, we don't know whether a student is anti or pro-establishment, unlike students in UM (University Malaya) , UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia)," he said.
Unreasonable action
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the UTM Campus Monitor, a body set-up by students to keep an eye on the happenings on campus, called on the authorities not to take action against the 24.
"It doesn't matter if the university uses UUCA or campus election regulations to charge them. As long as they have been charged then it's unreasonable," he said under condition of anonymity.
He called on UTM to form an investigation committee to probe the alleged irregularities and also questioned why the authorities decided to take action only after the elections.
According to one of the 24 students, they were called individually into the hearing and quizzed by the panelists.
"The university registrar read out the allegations against me when the hearing started, then about seven to eight panels took turns to ask me questions," he said when contacted.
Of the total 46 seats which were up for grabs in UTM, 28 were won by the 'anti-establishment' camp.
In September's nationwide campus elections, 'pro-establishment' candidates took control of most of the major universities. The polls were marred by boycotts and allegations of irregularities.
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