By Siti Nabilah Shaikh Omar
GOMBAK: Many may not realise that the Association of Singapore Students in IIUM, also known as ASSIIUM, has been in existence as old as IIUM itself. It is an association that gathers all Singaporean students studying in the acclaimed University and has been kept alive throughout the years through the dedication of its fellow Singaporean students.
The association was first founded with an objective to serve the needs of the Singaporean students by being a platform for the members to voice out their concerns since they were away from their home. The main concern of this association is the well-being of its students, and at the same time, to strengthen the bonds between them in its own small community.
This association has gained the confidence and earned the trust from the students and their families by assuring that the Singaporean students are not alone in IIUM, instead, they do have their own support system, their new family.
Occasional events such as orientation day for every new student, farewell gatherings at the end of every semester, talks by guests and recreational activities have been organised by the association for the students. These are the opportunities for the students to get together and to take time off their hectic student routines.
ASSIIUM also reaches out to the community back in its homeland and has received recognition and accolades from Malay-Muslim organisation and Madrasah in Singapore. Its mission is to mould a generation of Muslim intellectuals, educated in IIUM but nurtured as a Singaporean, and to encourage the students to play active roles back home, to the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore.***
Photo of ASSIIUMSG