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Fahmi Zainol rearrested in Sabah

UM defers Fahmi Zainol’s disciplinary hearing to Dec 9

Universiti Malaya (UM) students' representative council leader Fahmi Zainol was once again detained by police last night at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), just five hours after he was arrested and released on the same day.

Pro-Mahasiswa Nasional chairman Abdul Muqit Muhammad said Fahmi and seven others were arrested and‎ brought to the Kota Kinabalu police headquarters at 10pm yesterday.

"Fahmi and seven other students were arrested without any reason. The police said it was due to safety reasons because they were concerned a scuffle might break out given that 'Umno thugs' were also in attendance last night," Muqit told The Malaysian Insider.

But he said the authorities' excuse was suspicious as the eight were detained until 11.30pm.

"It is very strange because they (the police) released‎ all eight students, including Fahmi, at 11.30pm, and Fahmi said he was not treated well," said Muqit.

Muqit said he believed Fahmi was arrested to prevent him‎ from exposing how Umno had allegedly donated RM10,000 to student party Pro-Aspirasi during the last campus election.

He said they had planned to disclose this in UMS last night, but the authorities had stepped in at the middle of their programme.

"The information regarding Umno's donation was from a recording of UMS students' representative council president Juhar Harun's announcement of it in a closed-door event with Aspirasi and Umno.

"The event was‎ attended by Umno Sabah Youth chief Yamani Hafiz Musa Ahmad," he said.

Fahmi is president of the UM Undergraduates Student Association (PMUM), which is the elected body of student representatives.

Muqit, Fahmi and eight other students are in Sabah for two days as part of their "Jelajah Reformasi" nationwide roadshow, and Fahmi was slated to speak in UMS at 8pm last night.

At noon yesterday, the students were arrested when giving a speech at Jalan Gaya ahead of their programme at UMS that night.

"It is part of our activity in Sabah to explain to the rakyat about 'reformasi', academic freedom and the repeal of the Sedition Act," Fahmi told The Malaysian Insider.

It is understood that Fahmi and his peers were also told to undergo a urine test before they were released‎ at 5pm yesterday.

Muqit said the UMS student affairs staff had allowed the group to carry out their programme last night, although not inside the university hall.

"They allowed us to enter, but only outside (the hall), and while we were addressing about 100 UMS students, the authorities came to take Fahmi away.

"About 10 suspected Umno thugs were also in the area," said Muqit.

Fahmi got into trouble with his university's management when he invited PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to give a speech at UM on the eve of the sodomy appeal.

Despite the administration's ban on the event, Fahmi went ahead with the October 27 programme.

He and seven other students were hauled up before the UM disciplinary panel last Friday for an explanation.

Last Friday, Fahmi and his friends had also gathered at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM)‎ in Gombak as part of their "Jelajah Mahasiswa" roadshow. – November 10, 2014.