Campus polls: IIUM should explain hiccup to public 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 :The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) needs to explain to the public the hiccup in its campus election, forcing a re-election to be held soon, says Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

He said his ministry had not received the official report on the matter from IIUM but it was understood to be due to a technical error.

“I believe the university will reveal what actually happened and the source of the problem, which did not occur at the other universities using the e-voting system” he said after opening the International Conference on Islamic Leadership, here, today.

He was earlier asked to comment on IIUM being the only university unable to release its campus election official results yesterday due to a technical glitch to the e-voting system used.

The university’s deputy rector (Student Affairs) Datuk Mizan Hitam was reported to have said that a re-election would be held within a week after the discovery of the number of votes recorded far exceeding the number of registered voters.

Khaled said the ministry welcomed the outcome of the just-concluded Students Representative Council elections at the public universities and assured that it would assist the students who were given the mandate to carry out their responsibilities well.

“Those given the mandate should be aware of and understand the needs of the students and be an effective link between students and the universities, besides helping to fulfil the aspirations of their respective universities.”

In another development, Khaled said his ministry would refer to the Foreign Ministry, the road accident case involving a Malaysian student in Mangalore, India, and that it would always assist students in such situations abroad.-BERNAMA