Disgruntled students at Adelaide University, in South Australia, today gathered to protest the naming of a courtyard at their alma mater after controversial Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

NONE The protest, which took place at around 10.30am Malaysian time, saw the students gathered at the ‘Taib Mahmud Court’.

It was named so in December 2008 in acknowledgement of “his significant support, and tireless work in helping to promote and strengthen the links between Australia and Malaysia”, according to an article on the university’s e-magazine the Adelaidean .

Taib had been known to make multi-billon dollar donations to the university, of which he himself is an alumni, however, the students have said the university should distance itself from Taib’s “blood money”.

A photo uploaded on the ‘NO to Taib Mahmud Court at Adelaide University’ Facebook page an hour ago showed some 40 people posing together with a large banner which reads: “We say no to Taib Mahmud Court and his blood money at Adelaide University!”

The students previously stated on the Facebook page that they are protesting as they "refuse to accept that (their) education is...funded by the suffering of people, forests and animals".

"We will be demonstrating that we do not want Taib Mahmud, his family networks or his front companies having anything to do with higher education in South Australia."