An aspiring student leader in Universiti Malaya has filed a police report claiming that she was offered bribe to contest for the rival faction in the student polls.

Shah Rizul Ayuni Zulkiply lodged the report at the Pantai police station yesterday.

The student claimed that she received an envelope containing RM100, with a letter purportedly signed by vice-chancellor Student Affairs and Alumni Dr Arzrae Idris.

Shah Rizul, who is a pro-Mahasiswa candidate, also alleged that the letter was sent to her dormitory through the office of the Fourth Resident College.

She had only noticed the letter yesterday which asked her to be present at the Student Affairs Department before Jan 13.

"The attempted bribe is truly embarrassing and this shows that certain parties are out to buy students to forward their own interests," she said in her report.

The nomination process at UM started this morning on a questionable note following the sudden withdrawal of two pro-Mahasiswa candidates from the Sports Science Faculty.

The pro-Mahasiswa group is seen as anti-establishment. There are 41 seats up for grabs in the UM campus elections.

One candidate withdrew last night and another early this morning. Their withdrawal paves the way for their traditional rivals pro-Aspirasi to win the seats uncontested.

Pro-aspirasi group wins big in UTM

At Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, the pro-Aspirasi group emerged victorious, taking 35 out of the 45 seats in the student representative council.

However, the pro-Mahasiswa group fared better than last year, winning 10 seats from the previous eight. They had also fielded 26 candidates this time around, 11 more than the previous year.

Pro-Mahasiswa external affairs exco Lee Long Hui told Malaysiakini that the Student Affairs Department announced the results at about 11.30pm last night.

"We are satisfied with the decision as it was expected," he said, adding there were positive signs this year despite the defeat.

Pro-Aspirasi candidates won six seats uncontested following the end of nomination process.

The UTM contest saw 85 candidates contesting for 45 seats - 30 faculty, 10 general positions and five more for its campus in Kuala Lumpur.

UPM nomination on Friday

Meanwhile, Universiti Putra Malaysia’s nomination process is slated for Friday.

Today, aspiring candidates from the pro-Mahasiswa and pro-Aspirasi factions picked up their nomination forms from the Student Affairs Department.

When contacted, pro-Mahasiswa external co-ordinator Lau Wai Seng said: "We are not satisfied with the limited campaign period. Nomination starts on Friday, while polling day is on Monday."

"That leaves only two days for campaigning for the weekend. We are worried that students may go home over the weekend," he said.

Lau also said that pro-Mahasiswa will field candidates to contest all the seats. UPM has 46 seats, comprising 32 faculty and 16 independent seats.