DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) today urged the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to monitor the on-going campus elections due to allegations of misconduct by university authorities.

In a letter to Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman, Dapsy national secretary Loke Siew Fook (photo) said if the allegations were true, the right of students to a free and fair elections would be violated.

"There were allegations of misconduct and tampering of election procedures by students' affairs departments of various public universities," he stated n the letter, a copy of which was obtained by malaysiakini .

"Considering that students might be afraid of reporting their cases to Suhakam individually (for fear of) being penalised under the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), Dapsy is bringing this report to the attention of Suhakam," he added.

The one-day campus elections commenced this morning in universities across the country. In the weeks preceding the polls, allegations of intimidation by campus authorities have surfaced in several universities.

Students in two universities in particular - Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) - have complained of unfair electoral practices against candidates not sanctioned by the students' affairs departments.

Probe raids

Meanwhile, Loke also urged Suhakam to launch an investigation into the raids carried out by UPM authorities on the rooms of several women undergraduates, accused of being involved in 'underground activities'.

Labelling the raids as an invasion of privacy, he said university authorities should not be granted any policing powers as even the police need a warrant from the magistrate before they can raid a house.

He added that Suhakam should state its stand with regards to the raids and recommend for the Education Ministry to issue a directive to prevent university authorities from taking similar actions in the future.

"(Suhakam must) ensure justice not only for the affected students but also protect the rights of the entire student community in Malaysia," he said.

Contacted later, he said Suhakam should also investigate another incident reported in a Chinese daily today which had three UPM students alleging that certain persons have telephoned their parents to inform them that their children were participating in 'anti-government' activities.

Investigations underway

He said Suhakam commissioner Zainah Anwar, who received the complaint, told him that the commission had already started investigations based on a similar complaint made by PAS Youth last week.

According to him, she also said that Suhakam sent letters to all universities last Saturday asking for further details about the allegations.

PAS Youth chief Mahfuz Omar submitted a memorandum last Thursday calling for Suhakam to probe into allegations that 'pro-government' candidates were being backed by the students' affairs departments.

Zainah and other commissioners could be reached for comment

Sack USM don

In a related development, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang today called for the sacking of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) deputy vice chancellor of students affairs Prof Jamaludin Mohaiadin for asking students to support the government in the campus election.

Jamaludin was quoted in a News Straits Times report today as saying that students should not vote for the opposition since universities were owned by the government.

"It is shocking and outrageous that an academician could not understand the most rudimentary meaning of free elections whether in campus or in the large society...Jamaludin should be removed as he has proven to be a Barisan Nasional stooge totally incapable of being non-partisan and neutral," said Lim in statement.

The DAP chairperson added that two questions should be answered with regards to campus elections.

"Firstly, what is the use of conducting campus elections if there is no room for freedom of choice?

"Secondly, how can the deputy vice chancellor of students' affairs act so blatantly to openly campaign for 'government' candidates?"

Lim stressed that universities in the country are owned by the public, as taxpayers, and not by the government-of-the-day.

Of the 13 public universities, five of the more established institutions have remained firmly 'anti-establishment' over the past few years. These universities are UPM, USM, Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and the International Islamic University (IIU).

However, the incumbent groups face stiff competition from university-supported groups who are likely to secure victory in at least two of these campuses in today's elections.