The row between former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has spilled on to the streets of Kuala Lumpur ... albeit briefly.

Yesterday, malaysiakini spotted two banners near Universiti Malaya (UM) expressing support for the former premier. Hours later, they were gone.

One of the banners was strung-up near the university's Kuala Lumpur entrance next to the Ar-Rahman mosque while the other hung from a nearby pedestrian bridge.

Both banners bore a picture of Mahathir and in bold letters stated: " Terima kasih, Tun Dr Mahathir. Perjuangan mu memang belum selesai ." (Thank you Mahathir, your struggle has definitely not ended)

One of the banners also read, ' Uni Malaya menyokong mu' (Universiti Malaya supports you) and the other: ' Uni Perdana menyokong mu ' (The premier university supports you).

Upon closer observation, it was discovered that both banners had been tampered with. The original word ' rakyat ' was replaced with 'Uni. Perdana and Uni. Malaya'.

(UM is also known as Universiti Perdana as it is regarded as the nation's premier university)

'We don't know'

However, the university claimed to be in the dark over the banners.

"We do not know about it. The area outside the campus including the mosque is not under the management of UM," said its public relations department head Che Ramlan Abd Rahmah when contacted yesterday.

A check revealed that no such banners were put up in the campus grounds. Whereas the two banners have also gone missing since this morning.

Student leaders told malaysiakini that disgruntled factions in the university could be responsible for the banners.

They claimed that it could be an attempt to create problems for the university's newly appointed vice-chancellor Rafiah Salim.

Rafiah, the nation's first woman VC, was appointed this May to replace Prof Dr Hashim Yaabob, whose contract was not renewed causing disgruntlement among some of the academic staff.

Deputy minister stunned

Meanwhile, the weblog ' Cuit Sikit ' claimed that the banners were removed because Deputy Information Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had delivered a speech at the university yesterday.

According to the blog, Ahmad Zahid, in his speech, had allegedly portrayed Mahathir as a person suffering from memory loss due to his age.

This had prompted one of the students present to question if it was right for the deputy minister to belittle a leader who has contributed immensely to the nation.

"Ahmad Zahid was stunned by the question and could only respond by asking all quarters to support the government of the day," read the article on the blog.

The blog also featured a photograph showing two men removing one of the banners ( right ).