Three universities have acknowledged sending teams to Ijok to track down students actively involved in the run-up to Saturday's by-election.

Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia (UDM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) all confirmed playing a 'monitoring role' to determine if their students are taking part in campaign activities by political parties.

Contacted for confirmation today after a tip-off from students, the university representatives said they were acting on a directive from the higher education ministry.

UTM deputy vice-chancellor Alias Mohd Noor said that the students are allowed to vote but not to campaign on behalf of the political parties.

UTHM administration assistant Razali Ahmad, contacted in Ijok, said that the monitoring process would continue until the by-election is over.

An official from the students affair department of UDM, who declined to be named, said the university had set up a mobile office in Ijok for the same purpose.

Under the Universities and University Colleges Act, students and lecturers are barred from engaging in political activities.

Cameras come out

Earlier, non-governmental group Youth for Change (Y4C) had informed malaysiakini that a four-member team of students was being followed around Ijok where it has been conducting an election-related survey.

One student said the team was conducting a house-to-house survey when its members noticed several vans and four-wheel drive vehicles parked nearby.

Later, when they were having lunch at a coffee shop, seven people approached and tried to take their photographs.

"But they did not succeed because a student challenged them to state their purpose. The officers did not wear name-tags, but there were vans from various universities in the area," said the student, identifying these as from UDM, UTM and UTHM.

The officers did not give up but continued to track their movements when they left for a village in Bukit Badong nearby, where several Y4C teams were conducting the surveys.

When there was another attempt to take their photos, one student turned her camera on the university officers. Following this, the team was allowed to proceed to an estate without the 'escort'.

Y4C had previously explained that the students were among a number of youths on an exposure trip to experience the by-election process and that the exercise does not have a political agenda.

According to some students, the universities' checks had started during the run-up to the Machap by-election held on April 12.