By Rafiqi Yusoff
GOMBAK, 27 May 2022: Mohammed Hamdan intends to address his concerns on visa and entry procedures faced by IIUM’s international students, according to his manifestos unveiled today.
A postgraduate student (Masters in Marketing) from the Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences (KENMS) who hailed from Bahrain, aspired to contest for International Affairs Central Seat in the IIUMSU 2022 student union election.
Acknowledging that there are issues in relation to the travel and visa procedures which are often raised by the international students, Hamdan revealed his actual reason in running for this seat during the interview with IIUMToday.
“I have specific experience when I landed in Malaysia, there was a lack of people to help me in terms of visa and passport procedures. So, I’d like to stand in this election to help both current and upcoming students so that they will not have to face the same issue as I had.”
He envisions to alleviate the burdens and problems faced by the international students in visa-related matters by pushing the university management to improve their customer service at the Visa Unit as well as meeting with the Immigration in ensuring the ease of visa application process for international students.
“I even went to Kuantan and Pagoh campuses where I met with international students there, so I am well informed of their concerns and issues faced,” Hamdan said.
Apart from that, Hamdan also aims to promote the unity, integration, and social development of IIUM students through co-curricular activities.
Believing that “Unity is strength” regardless of one’s nationality or background, he pointed out his approach in promoting unity by convincing that all IIUM students should not be categorised into “local” or “international” students.
“My priority is to eliminate the gap between the international and local students because I believe there is a segregation there. With that, I would make sure that there is no segregation among all students despite the different campuses (Gombak, Kuantan, Pagoh) as we all should be called ‘IIUM students’,” Hamdan remarked.
In line with his manifestos, Hamdan also stressed on his execution plans in which he intends to organise events aimed at increasing student involvement in intercultural activities, including the TED talk programme which he is planning to do in his tenure.
“Bringing the TED talk platform into our university is really a big achievement as it is where students can interact and develop skills and meet new people, simply to have the experience of integration and diversity,” Hamdan said.
While waiting for the election day (28 May), Hamdan has been making all-out efforts towards Student Union to advocate teamwork by organising and attending programmes to establish his credibility as a future leader.
Asked about the qualities of a good leader, Hamdan reckoned that “a good leader should help the community in terms of serving the students and establishing good relationships with them because at the end, it is our responsibility as a good leader who is serving the students”.
Hamdan, therefore hoped that this election will be the best for all as he believes that the IIUM students and the Student Union members will come up with the best choice for themselves.***