By Rafiqi Yusoff
GOMBAK, 2 January 2022: Moving forward into 2022 with new goals set for future success, both the President and Rector of IIUM shared their New Year messages on the prospects for development of IIUM and a call for everyone’s commitment.
IIUM President, Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar reckoned that everyone maintains his or her positivity and hope for 2022 to be a more promising and a brighter year that brings positive outlook despite the challenges faced in the last two years of the pandemic.
“We need to be tolerant of all the difficulties and be grateful for all the blessings and bounties that Allah has bestowed upon us,” said Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar.
He advised that “as we progress into the new year, we need to be thoughtful of others” stating that “humans are good because they have mind and virtues”. And he added that “leaders are good because they are supposed to have strong integrity.”
Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Daud highlighted that IIUM aims to produce humans with thoughtful minds and virtues apart from producing those with leadership potentials according to the Quranic verses which outline the roles of leadership.
He emphasised that as students, administrators, and academic staff who are equipped with the necessary knowledge, they need to know exactly the important skills and tips for every step they are taking to move forward.
“May Allah make the year 2022 full of success and victory,” he said urging everyone to work hard to look for the means or instruments behind the success story of 2022.
Meanwhile, IIUM Rector, Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abd Razak in his New Year message, emphasised his concern towards different situations, mainly the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent floods that the nation had to deal with at the end of 2021.
According to Tan Sri Dzulkifli, the experience of COVID-19 for almost two years had made everyone more matured in tackling this sort of problem so “we will be more effective, efficient and united in addressing a problem common to all”.
He believed that it is crucial for all IIUM community members to give their support and commitment in providing assistance to those affected, not only within IIUM campuses, but simultaneously beyond the university.
“This is the time to think of everybody else instead of thinking only of ourselves, our university, and our family alone,” Tan Sri Dzulkifli said.
The Rector expressed his delight with the number of IIUM students, staff and academics who devoted themselves by helping to alleviate the burdens of the affected communities.
“I am indeed very proud of you, and I hope this will be something that we can make it as part and parcel of the mission of the university for a long time to come,” he further said.
As the community engagement brings significant roles in higher learning institutions, Tan Sri Dzulkifli perceived the recent floods as the test from the Almighty God to show how committed IIUM students and staff are, to the mission of community engagement.
“When there is a crisis in real term, we would be there and help them out,” the Rector said pointing out that IIUM has a strong tradition of volunteerism serving the community.
He also reminded the IIUM community that “it is the time for us to actually introspect ourselves as students and as Muslims to particularly understand what education, university’s mission, and our roles are all about”.
The New Year remarks by both the President and Rector of IIUM were recorded and streamed via OfficialIIUM YouTube Channel on Friday (31 December 2021).
Click the links below to watch the recording of the remarks: