Expecting to have a much-anticipated dialogue with the prime minister yesterday, student representatives of Universiti Putra Malaysia found themselves signing a declaration in support of the government instead.

The students said they did not object to the declaration itself, but were peeved at the manner in which the event at Seri Perdana Complex was carried out.

Organised by the Federation of Malay Peninsular Students head (GPMS), Suhaimi Ibrahim, the event was to include a dialogue between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and 200-odd recently elected student representatives from 18 universities.

However, the dialogue did not take place due to time constraints on the premier's part, who only broke fast with the students before joining them for the Maghrib, Ishak and Tarawikh prayers.

UPM representative Zaid Ismail told malaysiakini today the situation after the cancellation of the dialogue was "tense".

To reduce the heightening atmosphere, some representatives decided to sign the declaration, he said.

The students did not want to be mistaken as being anti-government, hence they complied and signed their support, he added.

However, some felt uneasy after that because of the lack of notice given to them about the declaration.

"We did not have sufficient time to discuss the matter with other members of our respective councils. It was further complicated by the fact that not all heads of student councils attended the event," he said of their objections.

In the declaration, the students reiterated their commitment to their studies, and pledged their support for the prime minister and the government in development efforts. It was also stated that students are not to take sides in politics nor be influenced by any party.

'No dissent'

However, a Universiti Islam Antarabangsa student representative expressed surprise at news that several of those present were dissatisfied with yesterday's events.

"There was no dissent and the representatives present signed the declaration voluntarily," said Zamri Mat Esa when asked if students were made to feel obliged to sign the declaration.

He also disagreed that there was lack of proper notice.

"We were informed two days before the event," he said.

Meanwhile, the Universiti Utara Malaysia representative, Shamshuhardi Basir, refused to comment on his stand yesterday, saying that a press release will be sent out tomorrow to clarify the UUM council's position on the matter.

The Star today had quoted him as saying yesterday that "[the declaration] was given to us only today and we did not have the time to put it before the students whom we are representing."