While it is known that the shorter campaign period and other new restrictions on campus polls have riled the 'anti-establishment' camp in public universities, it now appears that even pro-establishment students are displeased with the changes as all enter polling day today.

One pro-establishment candidate, who is contesting for one of the seven general constituencies in Universiti Malaya (UM), lamented that there was hardly time for contestants to put up their campaign posters and banners.

He said they were further delayed by the regulation of such publications by the student affairs department.

Last-minute pamphlets

"Furthermore, as most students have just returned from their mid-semester break, many are not aware of the election," the candidate said when met by malaysiakini in campus today.

He also rued that most students were only interested in books and hardly cared about campus affairs.

His views were shared by one 'anti-establishment' campaigner who complained that the two days allowed for canvassing votes were hardly sufficient for the candidates to get their message across to the campus population.

Some candidates had to rely on last-minute distribution of pamphlets on polling day, he said.

Similar dilemmas occurred in other major public universities, namely Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

In UKM, a 'pro-establishment' campaigner voiced her disappointment at the 'rushed' election as candidates there had only one day to campaign after their nomination day was postponed due to a state public holiday on Monday.

While voter turnout is likely lower due to the short campaign period, it is expected to improve in USM and UTM as the authorities have imposed disciplinary action on non-voters.

However, even this move was seen as detrimental to meaningful campus democracy as the two-day campaign period was too short for voters to get to know and distinguish the candidates from one another, one campaigner in USM said when contacted.

Irregularities expected

Meanwhile, the 'anti-establishment' group which claims to be concerned about campus affairs and student rights and denies any links with opposition parties is widely expected to maintain its dominance in all universities, although UTM may buck the trend.

An observer from the 'anti-establishment' group in UTM is expecting election 'irregularities' such as those which occurred last year. He believed for one that the ballot boxes might be stuffed to ensure their rival's victory.

Also, whereas students could freely monitor the counting of votes previously, university authorities have ruled this year that observers can only come from student societies, he said.

In addition, the student revealed, ballot papers issued today have no serial number that can help trace any irregularities.