The animosity between Universiti Malaya's two student factions deepened further with the 'pro-mahasiswa' group decision to boycott the newly-appointed student representatives council led by its rival 'pro-aspirasi'.
The move followed alleged irregularities in the recently concluded campus polls.
The final straw was their exclusion from the council committee, despite winning eight of the nine university-level seats or general seats (kerusi umum).
The UM student representative council elections are contested into two stages - the nine university-level seats represent the entire university, while the 32 faculty seats represent individual faculties.
Though nearly sweeping all university level seats, the 'pro-mahasiswa' faction was edged out of the race for the faculty seats, winning only 17 compared to 21 for its rival.
The first step was boycotting the Friday afternoon ceremony to mark the appointments to the 38-seat council at the Dewan Tunku Canselor.
Following this, the 17 elected 'pro-mahasiswa' student representatives formed a 'shadow cabinet', to serve as an alternative voice for UM students.
Its spokesperson Mohd Fadzil Jamal said the group will boycott all activities organised by the student council.
"The 'pro-mahasiswa' elected representatives will not recognise the newly-appointed cabinet... but we will still fight for the students," said Fadzil, who is also the 'shadow cabinet' chair.
Fadzil (right) said it was unfair that 'pro-mahasiswa' elected representatives are excluded from the council committee and placed only in sub-committees, despite their numbers.
"This is an insult to the students who have voted for us," he said.
E-voting rigging poser
UM is a traditional hotbed of student activism with the two groups keenly contesting campus polls.
The 'pro-mahasiswa' group, often seen as anti-establishment, has consistently complained that the campus administration is backing their 'pro-aspirasi' rivals.
This year witnessed the 'pro-aspirasi' group regaining control of the student council, but the victory is tainted by claims of irregularities in the newly implemented electronic-voting system.
At the height of the 'pro-mahasiswa' faction's protest, hundreds of their supporters surrounded the chancellery to pressure vice-chancellor Ghauth Jasmon (above) to annul the poll results and call for fresh elections.
However, the university administration dismissed their appeals and denied that the new voting system was flawed.
news courtesy of Malaysiakini
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