International Student's Committee of IIUM Kuantan

International Islamic University of Malaysia. Emphasis on the word “international”. Being in an international university, we are sure to have international students (like duh!). On the 18th of January, in this new year of 2007, Kuantan’s very own society of international students held their first function together.

What is the name of this society you ask? It’s called the International Student’s Committee of IIUM Kuantan (ISC). It’s members consist of Kuantan’s international students (duh! again). When was it established? It’s still in it’s “embryonic” development I guess. It’s only about 3 weeks old. It was established under a directive from the director of the International Students Office (ISO) in Gombak. At the moment, it’s not an official society yet, although insyaAllah the status of the society will be made official in the near future. Whether or not Kuantan campus will have it’s own ISO in the future still remains unknown, but in the mean time, the ISC will remain as our society for international students. The society is advised by two lecturers, Dr. Raid Salleh Ali Shatat, from the Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohammed Fauzi Abd Rani , the Head of Internal Medicine, Kulliyyah of Medicine.

We had a chat with the president of the ISC, Bro. Haris bin Akram. He is a 2nd year biomedical student from India. He was appointed president via a voting by the international students. According to him, we have approximately 50-60 international students here in Kuantan, which is quite small when compared to the number in Gombak. Even so, we should be expecting the number to slowly increase as the years pass. When asked about the activities he had planned for the rest of this semester, he told us of a cultural night which could be held towards the end of the semester insyaAllah.

The day's event, which was held at our very own KOS, included a ta’aruf session, fun-filled activities, and concluded with a dinner catered by our own resident “chef wan” (2 thumbs up to the food by the way).

As a final word, Bro. Haris expressed his hopes on how all students of IIUM Kuantan, local and international, can create a bond, a brotherhood, which will last for generations. I encourage all Malaysian students, not to avoid the internationals, but rather get closer to them. Treat them like family. Make them feel at home. Make them enjoy their stay here in Malaysia. Indeed in Islam, there is only one brotherhood, which shows no discrimination towards skin colour, race, or nationality. As Allah mentioned in the Holy Quran, in verse 92 of surah Al-Anbiya, “Verily, this brotherhood of your’s is a single brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve Me (and no other).”

We don’t need to do much to be able to help out the internationals here in Kuantan. Bro. Haris had this to say to the students, “We’d love to learn BM!!” The internationals have been encountering some difficulties when it comes to communication. So make it an effort to teach them some basic BM, help translate for them, or learn to communicate better with them. Language, is the most important factor in communication (a final duh!)