A Universiti Malaya (UM) student has lodged separate reports with the police and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) claiming assault by an university official.

The 22-year-old alleged that the assault took place on the university's premises on Aug 26 after he was called in for a meeting with an assistant registrar at the university at the latter's office.

Following the alleged assault, he lodged a police report on Sept 8. Today, accompanied by a group of friends, he lodged a complaint with Suhakam at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The student, whose name is being withheld to protect his identity, said in his complaint that the university's assistant registrar for student affairs had threatened him and pushed his head twice during their 90-minute meeting.

"After I had entered his office, he closed the door and the windows. He then accused me of distributing leaflets at the university hostels even though I had never done such a thing," said the student when met by malaysiakini.

"During the meeting, he pushed my head twice and pulled my shirt as part of attempts to make me confess to the allegation that he had levelled against me," he said.

The student also claimed the official had tried to punch him but was stopped by a residential college head and a student representative who were called in later during the meeting.

The second year town planning studies student added he was also verbally abused by being called an 'apostate' ('murtad') and an 'infidel' (kafir) at the meeting.

'Depressed, emotionally disturbed'

He said the assistant registrar later seized his mobile phone, his university student identity card and his national registration identity card. His university student identity card has not been returned to him.

He also alleged that in a further effort to force him to confess to the allegation, the official threatened to terminate his study loan and suspend him from university for one semester.

He said after the meeting and upon advice from friends, he lodged a report with the university's security department on Sept 2 followed later by the police report and today's complaint with the Suhakam.

He said he had sought for a meeting with the UM deputy vice-chancellor Dr Mohd Razali Agus over the incident but has not had any response. He added that he is considering legal action over the alleged assault.

"I am very depressed and am emotionally disturbed over this incident. I cannot concentrate on my studies and I am feeling very insecure about continuing to stay in this university," he said adding that without his university student identification card he could not use the campus library or clinic.

The assistant registrar named by the student in his police report and Suhakam complaint could not be reached for comment as he is on leave, according to the university.

Numerous cases

Meanwhile, two other UM students who claimed their hostel rooms were raided by the university authorities in the middle of the night were also present at Suhakam today to lodge complaints.

The duo believed they subject to the midnight raids due to their involvement in the university's Islamic Students Association, a body seen to be aligned to Islamic opposition party PAS.

UM student Syamsul Azura Abd Sani, who accompanied the other students, said the incidence of students' room being raided at midnight or students being subject to 'investigation' by the campus authorities were not isolated cases.

He said so far he has come across of eight cases of students' rooms raided without reason, of 16 students being temporarily expelled from their hostels and of two hostel committee members being suspended from their positions without reason.

He said most of the victims feared to come forward to relate their plights as they felt they would be victimised under the restrictive Universities and University Colleges Act.

Malaysiakini recently reported a series of cases in local campuses involving students who claimed that they were victims of heavy-handed action by campus authorities the result of upcoming campuses elections, expected to be held early next month.