UM elections see status quo maintained

Penggerak Mahasiswa (Penggerak), sometimes referred to as Pro-Aspirasi, won 29 out of 41 seats in the Universiti Malaya Students' Representative Council (SRC) elections.

Meanwhile, the Pro-Student or Pro-Mahasiswa coalition, comprising student groups Angkatan Mahasiswa, Demokrat UM and UM Association of New Youths (Umany), won seven seats.

Neosiswa, a Muslim-only outfit that preaches Islamic values and solutions, won three, also the same number of seats. The last seat was won by an independent.

A total of 8,966 students voted in the latest election with a turnout of 64.95 percent.

The results, which was announced this evening, meant that the status quo was largely maintained.

In the last campus election where 40 seats were contested, Pro-Aspirasi won 29 seats while Pro-Mahasiwa won six seats and Neosiswa won three. The last seat was a tie between Pro-Aspirasi and Pro-Mahasiswa.

The dynamics of campus elections have been likened to national politics due to the similarities.

Pro-Aspirasi is seen as a pro-establishment group that often has ties with the government and Pro-Mahasiswa is seen as being anti-establishment while Neosiswa takes the religious route.

Members of both coalitions have gone on to become politicians in BN or the opposition.- Mkini