Universities, especially their student affairs departments, need to hold healthy discussions with students leaders on the process of campus polls to avoid untoward incidents, said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the two parties need to establish a good relationship because campus polls was a normal thing which is held yearly.

"It is best if problems crop up, the students affairs departments resolve these amicably. Don't cause dissatisfaction which in the end leads to an unstable situation.

"This needs to be avoided. I urge both sides, work towards the best interets of both the university and students," he told reporters after launching the national-level 'matriculation and the society' programme at the Kedah Matriculation College in Changlun today.

Muhdyiddin said this in commenting on the protests that took place at certain univerities because of campus polls.

Student riots broke out in Universiti Malaya and Universiti Putra Malaysia because of dissatisfaction over the conduct of this year's campus polls, which ended on Monday.

On the action to be taken on students who caused the disturbances, Muhyiddin said this was up to the administrations of the universities concerned.

"They university administrations should view the matter seriously. We do not want a situation where it appears dissatisfaction is festering in the universities especially when campus polls are part of the democratic process and a normal affair.

"Such situations (disturbances) can be avoided," he said.

On allegations that opposition parties were meddling in campus polls, Muhyiddin said he was not sure about this but the students were certainly exposed to both opposition's and government's views.

In Sintok, commenting on the same matter, Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin advised varsity students to resort to dialogue to iron out any grievances.

"Discussions is the best to resolve problems, more so involving university students who are deemed to be intellectuals," he told reporters after holding a meeting with Universiti Utara Malaysia's management today.

- Bernama