By Nurul Saadah
GOMBAK, 9 April 2021: The representative for Kulliyyah of Engineering (KOE) for the upcoming Student Union, Abdulrahman Baqeel has pledged to do his best not only for the students in his constituency but also for the university students as a whole.
He won unopposed in the Student Union election when the results were earlier announced on 4 April.
In presenting his manifestos, Abdulrahman Baqeel emphasised on the future improvements he wants to bring to KOE and IIUM, and how the plans will shape both the kulliyyah and university in the long term.
The pledge was made when he presented his manifestos at the Speakers Corner session on Tuesday (6 April) which was broadcast live via Enginius IIUM YouTube channel.
“I will put all these humble experiences in a practical thing at a higher level with the highest body of the student representation, so that I can provide the best for the students. It is a huge responsibility, but with the students’ support, we can make it happen,” he said.
The live session was moderated by Alya Syafikah, Assistant Financial Controller Enginius XXVII and also joined by Ridhuan, President Enginius as well as Dr. Hasmah Mansor, Deputy Dean of Student Development and Community Engagement (DDSDCE).
On Sunday afternoon (4 April), it was announced that Abdulrahman Baqeel won the seat uncontested. Nonetheless, Ridhuan encouraged the IIUM community from every campus, especially the KOE community, to be alert and spread awareness on this election.
Dr. Hasmah Mansor added, “The first Student Union’s leader in 2019 was Irham Dollah, who previously was the President of Enginius. Therefore, we should believe that this year forward, the voices of KOE students will be rightly fought by Abdulrahman Baqeel as the KOE representative.”
“As a student representative, surely Abdulrahman Baqeel is someone with ample experiences by engaging in a variety of activities and serving the people.”
Abdulrahman Baqeel is from Yemen and has participated in a number of activities of voluntary groups there in helping the disabilities. With his three years of experience in Malaysia for now, he has worked with the Yemeni embassy and contributed to the university by organising international conferences.
Currently, he is also the Head of Public Relations of Al-Salam club which represents all Arabic students and a member of Biochemical-Biotechnology Engineering Students’ Association (BESTA).
Changing the stereotype
Abdulrahman Baqeel hopes people would view engineering students positively in leadership qualities, with a good grasp to fight for students and can represent KOE and the university as well. It should not be viewed as a group of people who spend their life in a laboratory and workshop.
Minimising the gap between the industry and the students
Students need to prepare for job seeking after their graduation. However, he says that students are not that exposed to professional companies. Thus, he would like to work on building good relationships between the students and potential employers by inviting them to university and having a workshop or industrial links. This is an initiative to prepare the students by having engagement with experts from the outside.
Exchanging and enhancing soft skills between kulliyyahs
Every kulliyyah has its own advantages and expertise. Through involvement with representatives from different kulliyyah, Abdulrahman Baqeel targets to form a good connection between all kulliyyahs in IIUM. From this connection, IIUM students can work closely and understand the skills that other kulliyyahs have. This act of giving one thing and receiving another will help students to develop more.
Abdulrahman Baqeel aims to help on behalf of the students through different perspectives, in every possible way. Therefore, the opportunity to join the Student Union would fulfil his objective to give his best for the IIUM community.
The full video of œSpeaker’s Corner: Session with KOE candidate can be viewed here.***