UMS’s board of directors chairman Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the previous date of Nov 29 was set without knowing that the Election Commission would announce the same date as polling day for the state election.

“So legally, we cannot hold a programme that hinders, let’s say people from Sandakan or Tawau to show up for the convocation.

“So we feel responsible to postpone the convocation date to the 30th,” he told reporters at the Mara Women’s Empowerment Programme and Malaysia Madani statehood seminar in Kota Kinabalu today.

Rahman said the decision was made as a compromise to allow students and their families to vote without disrupting the convocation.

He said many families staying far away would have already bought tickets but would still like to cast their vote.

“So we postpone it for a day as a compromise,” he added.

The EC has set Nov 15 as nomination day, with early voting on Nov 25 and polling day on Nov 29.