The campus elections for all public universities in the country "will be held on Sept 27", according to the Higher Education Ministry.

Or will it?

While there is a letter purportedly stating that the date has been fixed for campus polls, Universiti Malaya (UM) deputy vice-chancellor Azarae Idris however told Malaysiakini that the said letter was a fake.

The letter, which Malaysiakini has seen, stated that the ministry had informed the universities of the date for the campus polls.

The letter was purportedly signed by Azarae.

This followed a meeting held with all deputy vice-chancellors (student affairs) in Putrajaya on Sept 17.

The letter said that students council (MPM) in all universities were dissolved yesterday. The universities will issue a notice to all their faculties and colleges informing them on the date of the elections.

According to sources, UM's vice-chancellor Rafiah Salim had confirmed during a meeting with the UM anti-establishment coalition yesterday that the campus election process will kick off on Monday.

However, when contacted today Azarae denied that a date has been fixed for campus polls.

He said the letter which was making its round was a fake and that he did not sign such a letter.

Two-day campaign period

Meanwhile, a former student activist explained that Sept 21 will be set as the date for groups to purchase nomination forms. Nominations will take place three days later.

This means that students will have a two-day campaign window before the ballots are cast.

Previously, many student leaders such as Solidarity Students of Malaysia (SMM) president Sheikh Omar Ali had voiced out their concern over the short time frame given for campaigning.

On Sept 12, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Aziz, who also heads the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights, promised to urge the Higher Education Ministry to extend the campaign period.

In the past, campus polls have been riddled with allegations of vote tampering, intimidation and discrimination.

These allegations are often raised by the anti-establishment factions, which are seen to be pro-opposition. The other factions known as 'aspirasi' (aspiration) are seen to be 'pro-government'.