Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) deputy vice-chancellor Dr Alias Mohd Noor has been rebuked for his ' racist and defamatory ' remark when commenting on the university's controversial decision to make it compulsory for all its students to stay on campus.

In a statement today, UTM students' ad-hoc 'hostel crisis team' urged him to retract his statement. The team was set-up after the university announced that from July onwards some 4,000 students living on their own must return to campus.

"We opine that the deputy vice-chancellor's statement has slandered and hurt the feelings of students staying off-campus.

"He racialised a campus issue without solid evidence, this will further polarise students," said the team's representative Kuek Ser Kuang Keng.

Yesterday, Alias told malaysiakini that the new ruling aims to curb social ills as Malay students get involved with drugs, the Chinese cohabit and the Indians foray into gangsterism, when they live off campus.

He claimed that the problem was at a 'serious level' but did not provide any statistics to substantiate this, beyond saying that six students had been threatened over the past five years.

'Unnecessary shame'

"The deputy vice-chancellor as an academician and an administrator of the university should not have made such an irresponsible statement because this not only brings unnecessary shame to students but UTM as well," Kuek said.

The 'crisis team' also urged the Higher Education Ministry to look into the matter and take the necessary action.

Kuek reiterated that students should be allowed the freedom to choose where they want to live and they should be consulted before new rulings are passed.

Alias also said that the ruling would help foster racial ties as all the students will be placed under one roof.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Fu Ah Kiow said yesterday that there is no need to implement the new ruling.

Apart from the freedom aspect, students are also complaining that they will face problems in terms of the furniture and household appliances they have purchased as well as the cancellation of tenancy agreements.

VC also under fire

Meanwhile, controversy also dogged another top UTM official.

A UTM lecturer has accused vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Zulkilfi Ghazali and the university administration of a series of wrongdoings.

On Saturday, Associate Prof Abdul Hamid Yeop Zainuddin attached with the UTM's mathematics faculty lodged a police report against the vice-chancellor for libel after he was issued a show-cause letter over an alleged sale of information on the setting up of the science faculty's grading information system.

In the report, he has alleged 128 of irregularities committed by Mohd Zulkilfi and the campus authorities.

Higher Education Minister Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh was quoted in a front-page Utusan Malaysia report today that special investigation committee would be set up in a week and its finding would be submitted to him within a month.