By Muammar Hadi
GOMBAK, 17 October 2022: The IIUM Student Union (IIUMSU) managed to crowd fund a total of roughly RM60,000 from 141 donors among students, alumni, and staff members with a large chunk came from IIUM’s shareholder, Etiqa.
Vice President 1 of the IIUMSU, Mohammad Rafiq Shahmie Bin Mohd Suhaimi, shared the story behind the success of the restoration project of the KENMS bridge.
In an interview with IIUMToday, the fourth year student from the Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences (KENMS) mentioned how one of the panels of the bridge has been broken since his first year and has worsened over the years.
He recalled how he and the current president of IIUMSU, Aliff Naif, questioned the bridge’s condition even prior to their election last semester and was told that the university had no extra funds to repair the bridge.
In commenting the effort to crowd fund, he said, “We still went through IIUM channels like the Finance division and the Development division to hold the crowd funding.”
He also urged students to support the university and be more mindful of the university’s circumstances as the university’s budget has been cut off by 2 million ringgit due to Budget 2023.
“We try to improve our students’ living conditions and I don’t think the work is done yet,” said Mohammad Rafiq implying the Student Union’s work is never over.
He also emphasised that the university’s efforts need to be recognised particularly the Development division, which liaised with contractors, the Finance division in managing funds as well as the Academic staff association that reached out to IIUM alumni.
“I want the students to speak up and reach out to us or their respective authorities so we can bring many problems to light and solve them,” he concluded at the end of the interview.***