Barely one month after being elected to their posts, four Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) student representatives may lose their seats following a university proceeding last Saturday which found them guilty of breaching the campaign code.

Malaysiakini learnt that the campus election commission found the four had not used the approved photo in their campaign posters during the recent campus election.

Under the election campaign code, all campaign materials must be passed by the student affairs department and candidates found in possession of unapproved materials will be penalised.

The four were among seven charged for the offence. The commission found six of them guilty and dismissed the seventh charge.

As two of those found guilty lost the election, they were let off with a stern warning. The remaining four who won were disqualified as student representatives. However, they have an avenue for appeal in the university's vice-chancellor.

Appeal filed

Contacted today, UPM student affairs deputy vice-chancellor Prof Madya Dr Idris Abdol who headed the commission, confirmed that the four have filed their appeal against the judgment.

"The issue isn't settled. The students have filed their appeal to the vice-chancellor and a decision will be made within 30 days," he said.

The vice-chancellor is empowered to overrule the judgment under Article 16(6) of the code. Students are allowed to file another appeal to the Education Ministry if rejected by the vice-chancellor.

Asked why the four were only charged after they were elected into position, the deputy vice-chancellor said it was due to unavoidable technical problems pertaining to lack of time.

"We received protest letters from several students before the election results were announced and immediately after that the election commission initiated the investigation," he said.

He added that the commission has also launched an investigation into other candidates charged with the same offence.

Brief campaign period

Asked whether the brief campaign period was one of the reasons the four breached the regulations, Idris said every candidate had the same time frame.

The two-day campaign period it was one day in some universities was widely criticised by students as too short for campaigners to put up their banners and posters or lobby for votes.

The non-mainstream group in UPM maintained their dominance in the December election when they won 13 out of the 15 general constituencies and 21 out of 30 faculty seats.