By Aqilah Zanil
GOMBAK, 21 December 2020 : As 2020 is coming to an end, which means that Election 2021 is just around the corner, a talk was conducted to discuss useful tips on how to elect student representatives wisely.
It is a talk series on Public Opinion 2.0 with the title œWould Manifesto Be Enough: Best Tool to Assess Election Candidates organised by IIUM Student Union Election Commission (IIUMSUEC).
Moderated by the Exco of Public Relations, SUPC Kuantan, Zaki Jamaludin the panelists consist of students from various societies in IIUM.
They are the public relations representative of Arus Siswa, Muhammad Ziyad, Partner Congress IIUM, Huzayl Mohd, and Vice Chairperson of “We Unite for Islam” (WUFI), Nur Syamimi.
In this one and a half- hour virtual session, the panelists shared their thoughts regarding the election especially on the most fundamental aspect, the manifesto of the candidates.
Huzayl Mohd laid out his points by stating the purpose of manifesto followed by his definition of a good manifesto.
According to him, the best manifesto is subjective but according to him, there are four characteristics of a good manifesto.
He highlighted that the manifesto should be inclusive to all students in a way that it caters to everyones needs.
He also pointed out that the manifesto should be realistic and achievable. The manifesto should be relevant and fit in the current context.
“A good manifesto must therefore have values,” Huzayl explained.
The best tool to assess election candidates, he said, is by analysing the vision of the candidates.
The second panelist, Muhammad Ziyad answered the same question by agreeing with Huzayl Mohd’s opinion regarding a good manifesto saying that “it should be realistic and achievable”.
He also mentioned that the candidate should think of something in long term.
Meanwhile, the third panelist, Nur Syamimi tackled the question by explaining the role expected of a student representative. She mentioned that a student representative should act as a source of information for the students.
Hence, the manifesto acts as a way to convince the students and what they can expect for the candidate to achieve.
As a member of WUFI herself, Nur Syamimi laid down the four core elements of a good manifesto according to WUFI. The first one is to ensure that the idea and the solution must come within the maqasid syariah.
She further explained the core elements where the second one is to put the needs and the welfare of the students as top priority.
She also highlighted the third element on the need to be alert with current issues and difficulties that students are faced with so that they can provide solution to the problems.
Nur Syamimi touched on last core element which is ummatic integration where she emphasised the importance of unity for Islam and the need to establish unity in IIUM regardless of race and nation. ***