Outspoken student activist KS Bawani, who shot to fame after the 'Listen, listen, listen' video went viral, yesterday won a seat in what appears to be the closest battle in the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) student body elections in recent history.
"Thank you to all my comrades who are always teaching and guiding me... This victory is also your victory. The struggle against oppression continues," Bawani said on Facebook.
She became one of 13 pro-Mahasiswa-aligned candidates who trumped their opponents, making major inroads in the UUM student body, which like Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), is largely seen as a pro-establishment stronghold.
This is two seats less than the Aspirasi candidates, who won 15 seats out of the total 36 contested. Another group, Hijrah, won six seats while independent candidates won two seats.
The pro-Mahasiswa (Pro-M) movement positions itself as a counter to the Aspirasi student movement, which is more pro-establishment. Hijrah is seen as a pro-M splinter group.
Last year, the Aspirasi-aligned candidates made an almost clean sweep in UUM, taking 34 out of the 36 seats up for contest.
Hung results
According to Student Progressive Front leader Goh Chee Kian, the situation in UUM is now "hung".
Goh said the student government will only be formed after the elected representatives attend a compulsory two-day briefing, and that "heated negotiations" are now under way.
"The representatives will elect the student council chairperson after the briefing, so we will try to persuade Hijrah to side with us.
"If they side with us, we can form the student government and vote for the new chairperson (from pro-M)," said Goh, who is a third year law student at UUM.
The Student Progressive Front is a student aligned to Pro-M.
"Thank you to all my comrades who are always teaching and guiding me... This victory is also your victory. The struggle against oppression continues," Bawani said on Facebook.
She became one of 13 pro-Mahasiswa-aligned candidates who trumped their opponents, making major inroads in the UUM student body, which like Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), is largely seen as a pro-establishment stronghold.
This is two seats less than the Aspirasi candidates, who won 15 seats out of the total 36 contested. Another group, Hijrah, won six seats while independent candidates won two seats.
The pro-Mahasiswa (Pro-M) movement positions itself as a counter to the Aspirasi student movement, which is more pro-establishment. Hijrah is seen as a pro-M splinter group.
Last year, the Aspirasi-aligned candidates made an almost clean sweep in UUM, taking 34 out of the 36 seats up for contest.
Hung results
According to Student Progressive Front leader Goh Chee Kian, the situation in UUM is now "hung".
Goh said the student government will only be formed after the elected representatives attend a compulsory two-day briefing, and that "heated negotiations" are now under way.
"The representatives will elect the student council chairperson after the briefing, so we will try to persuade Hijrah to side with us.
"If they side with us, we can form the student government and vote for the new chairperson (from pro-M)," said Goh, who is a third year law student at UUM.
The Student Progressive Front is a student aligned to Pro-M.
Goh also claimed 500 students from two residential colleges were barred from voting allegedly as campus authorities said they did not “register as voters”.
He also claimed the e-voting process was “not smooth” as the wireless Internet connection was unstable.
Voters were also “unable to recognise pro-M candidates” who campaigned using the colour purple as the computer screens were in black and white, he said.
The Aspirasi movement won the student body elections in Universiti Sains Malaysia while Pro-M won in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah students will hit the polls on Oct 31, while Universiti Tekonologi Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia are expected to hold their elections in November.
The campus election date for Universiti Malaya has not yet been set.
In the 'Listen, listen, listen' video, Bawani spoke out against what she believed as wrongful depiction of Bersih co-chairpersons A Samad Said and Ambiga Sreenevasan by a panellist at a UUM campus event.
The panellist, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin of Suara Wanita 1Malaysia, was later dubbed 'Kak Listen' and widelylampooned, including in advertising (as above, left) for her rant against Bawani.
He also claimed the e-voting process was “not smooth” as the wireless Internet connection was unstable.
Voters were also “unable to recognise pro-M candidates” who campaigned using the colour purple as the computer screens were in black and white, he said.
The Aspirasi movement won the student body elections in Universiti Sains Malaysia while Pro-M won in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah students will hit the polls on Oct 31, while Universiti Tekonologi Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia are expected to hold their elections in November.
The campus election date for Universiti Malaya has not yet been set.
In the 'Listen, listen, listen' video, Bawani spoke out against what she believed as wrongful depiction of Bersih co-chairpersons A Samad Said and Ambiga Sreenevasan by a panellist at a UUM campus event.
The panellist, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin of Suara Wanita 1Malaysia, was later dubbed 'Kak Listen' and widelylampooned, including in advertising (as above, left) for her rant against Bawani.
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