The Malaysian Academic Movement (Gerak) said the UMS students in the protest appeared to be well-intentioned. They were seeking basic human rights for themselves and others to secure a sustained supply of water to the campus community.

“Gerak firmly supports the UMS students’ right to peacefully protest and express their grievances,” the group said in a statement.

“Instead of criminalising the peaceful protest, authorities should engage in meaningful dialogue with the students and address the water-related issues they have raised,” said Gerak’s executive committee.

The group called for “urgent and collaborative efforts” by the federal and state governments to establish a dedicated task force and allocate necessary resources to solve the issues contributing to the water supply problem.

Last Friday, around 80 protestors marched about 3km from UMS to Menara Kinabalu to hand over a memorandum highlighting UMS’s water woes.

They insisted on handing the document to chief minister Hajiji Noor and refused to move until they did so.

The protestors eventually spent 17 hours camped outside Menara Kinabalu until Saturday morning before dispersing. Nine people were arrested and later remanded before they were eventually released.

On Wednesday, Hajiji said the state Cabinet called the Sabah water department for a briefing following the protest, during which the department said it had been supplying four million to seven million litres of water daily to UMS, with a well tube able to supply one million litres daily.

The department also said water supply to UMS was scarce due to the numerous illegal connections supplying water to several villages located behind UMS.

Calling for the department’s enforcement team to dismantle these illegal connections, Hajiji also suggested that a 500-litre tank be installed at the site.