Universiti Malaya (UM) vice-chancellor Ghauth Jasmon has dismissed talk that tight control will be imposed over Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's scheduled talk at the campus tomorrow.

He dismissed sp um campus election result 280110 ghauth jasmon eculation raised on Facebook that only "pre-selected students" will be allowed to attend Wen's talk, also saying their questions will not be vetted.

Ghauth (left) denied this, saying he has no knowledge of any censorship imposed by the university authorities.

"I do not know (of any censorship)," he said when contacted by telephone yesterday.

Ghauth was asked to respond to an apparent change in decision to keep the event behind closed doors and limited to UM staff and students. It was initially said to be open to the public.

According to a Facebook page set up by the UM Chinese Language Society, which is involved in organising the event, the administrator apologised for "miscommunication" in having stated that the event is open to the public.

"Due to miscommunication, Wen's event in UM is in fact only open to university staff and students. We apologise for any inconvenience," reads the message on the page.

Wen's talk is slated for 4.40pm at the Dewan Tunku Canselor. According to a schedule published by a netizen, the Chinese premier will only speak for about 10 minutes, while there is no specific title for his talk.

After his speech, the floo NONE r will be open for just 15 minutes for a question-and-answer session.

This sparked speculation among netizens that this is to prevent members of the public from attending or raising questions that may embarrass Beijing, especially after the recent arrest of artist and prominent activist Ai Weiwei ( right ).

A pro-Mahasiswa student leader said he had heard that the university has screened student participants, after asking student organisations to submit name-lists.

"I also heard that the questions they want to raise have been vetted by the student affairs department," said the student leader who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Asked if students could raise questions deemed sensitive to China, Ghauth said: "It should be okay (because Wen's) intention is to dialogue with the students."

He denied any "pre-selection" of participants, saying the campus authorities welcome the attendance of all students and staff.

"In fact, this is examination week and our problem is to make sure more students attend the function," he said, adding that it had been intended from the beginning that the function would a closed-door affair.

"(Wen's) request is to meet with the students and staff, so it is very difficult to open it to the public."

NONE Ghauth said Wen (right) would arrive by 4.30pm and that he is expected to plant a tree after his speech.

The premier is on a two-day official visit from tomorrow to enhance ties with Malaysia. He is slated to conclude several important bilateral agreements on economy, education and security.

During Wen's visit to Cambridge University in England in 2009, a protesting student had thrown a shoe at him when he was giving a speech.

The student missed his target, and was arrested and charged in court.