Universiti Malaya has postponed disciplinary proceedings against four student activists who held up placards during 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy's visit to the university last October.

Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) president Kon Hua En said the proceedings will be held on Feb 24 instead of this Wednesday.

The quartet facing disciplinary action are Umany's deputy president Tan Jia You, its publicity bureau head Chua Hun Ti, secretary-general Lau Li Yang, and former president Ho Chi Yang.

They are accused of being undisciplined, disrupting public order and inciting or participating in a boycott of an official university function.

If found guilty by UM's disciplinary committee, the four can be fined up to RM200, suspended, or expelled.

The four had held up placards which read “Students want answers”, “1MDB don’t spin”, “1MDB - We want answers”, and "1MDB - Return the people’s money" during a town hall meeting on 1MDB hosted by the Special Affairs Department (Jasa).

"UM's action show that the university authority does not understand what freedom of expression is.

"A university should be a place of freedom, with no interference of politics in its administration. A university should always uphold the truth and justice," Kon said at a press conference today.

He said when students protested during US President Barrack Obama's speech at UM in 2013, the American embassy had supported the rights of students to freedom of speech.

The town hall involving Arul Kanda was held three months after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated their civil forfeiture suit to confiscate funds allegedly embezzled from 1MDB.

According to the DOJ, some of the funds went to accounts belonging to one "Malaysian Official 1 (MO1)", whose description fits Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak - the main architect behind the establishment of 1MDB.

Najib has consistently denied misappropriating 1MDB funds, while attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had cleared the premier of any wrongdoing

Recently, UM suspended three students over their involvement in the "Tangkap MO1" rally last August.