Students in seven major public universities will go to polls today which is expected to see another heated contest for domination at the student councils.

The polls is contested by two factions, Aspirasi and Pro-Mahasiswa, which are known for their pro-establishment and anti-establishment ideologies respectively.

As every campus poll nears, the Pro-Mahasiswa faction often grab media attention with allegations that they face numerous hurdles set by campus authorities.

They also accuse their bitter rivals of receiving tacit support from the federal government and being given preferential treatment by the campus authorities.

Currently, the Pro-Mahasiswa team controls student bodies in Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) - three of the most prominent campuses in the country.

However, the Aspirasi faction dominates virtually every other university which includes Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI).

NONE Pro-Mahasiswa nasional chairperson Edikoup Lakip Sediyanto ( right in photo ) said the race in UM was expected to go down to the wire, but was confident of holding on to UKM and UIA.

"It's going to be tough in UM... We face restrictions. We can't campaign freely in hostels, particularly among first-year students who have never voted before," he said.

He predicted that his faction will do well in UIA, its traditional stronghold, and hoped to pick up more seats in USM, UTM, UPM and UPSI.

Another major hurdle, said Edikoup, was the alleged federal government-backed Ops 20/20 campaign to bolster the Aspirasi faction.

Aspirasi confident

Meanwhile, Aspirasi's spokesperson Mohd Hafiz Ariffin was quoted by Sinar Harian Online yesterday as saying that his faction expect to win big.

"We are heading towards victory because our strategy involves training our potential leaders from the grassroots - from the campus clubs.

"They have been getting close to the students for a long time. So it is easier for them to (gain their support)," he said.

Efforts by Malaysiakini to contact Mohd Hafiz have been futile.

Other campuses that will be holding polls today are Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten), Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unirazak).

The first round of polls on Sept 20 saw the Aspirasi faction sweep seats at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia (UteM) and Universiti Tun Hussein Malaysia (UTHM).

Results are expected as early as 6pm.

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