{"id":109324,"date":"2016-09-30T14:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T06:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=109324"},"modified":"2016-09-30T18:16:16","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T10:16:16","slug":"we-want-to-improve-welfare-of-kaeds-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=109324","title":{"rendered":"“We want to improve welfare of KAED’s students”"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Azra Farzana Shuib<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Since the result of Students’ Representative Council (SRC) election has been announced, there is bound to be optimism, enthusiasm and unity vibes among students this month and subsequently in the months ahead.<\/p>\n

IIUMToday had a chance to interview the SRC representatives from the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design (KAED), Zul Afiq Zulkifli and Nurul Nabihah Muhamad Shukri. Initially faced with the challenge to campaign within such a limited time in a Kulliyyah where not a lot about SRC is known, the duo are ready to take the opportunity to improve KAED facilities, while at the same time improving KAED students’ intellect and skills.<\/p>\n

\u0153I feel very excited but its still dreamlike,\u009d Zul Afiq said when asked about how he felt after winning the election.<\/p>\n

\u0153I dont know if I can fulfil this or not, but Ill try my best, Inshaallah<\/em>.\u009d Nurul Nabihah also described the same feeling. \u0153The first two days felt unreal like \u0153Really? I’m one of the SRC now?\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 But I tell myself that I need to move forward and keep on going. \u0153<\/p>\n

A change in KAED’s culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zul Afiq is a third year student studying Architecture and he is also the President of the Student Representative Body in KAED, or better known as Archimic. To add to his impressive involvement list, he is also the founder of \u02dcFuture KAED, which is an organisation for KAED students who are passionate in volunteering.<\/p>\n

He said one of the factors that motivated him to be part of the SRC leadership is to make a change in KAED students culture.<\/p>\n

\u0153Before I joined SRC, I took part in an outreach programme with Orang Asli community under JASA club. I noticed that there were only two representatives from KAED when there were five to ten people from other Kulliyya<\/em>h. In my opinion, KAED students lack the interest to engage themselves with society, and it got me thinking, whats the use of being a university student if you dont help the society?\u009d he said.<\/p>\n

\u0153Thats what I wanted to change. Now Im starting my own organisation, \u02dcFuture KAED, which is NGO-like. But its not registered yet. I want to attract the outgoing people in KAED, and now with around 20 members, hopefully more volunteers from KAED will emerge soon.\u009d<\/p>\n

Nurul Nabihah, who is a second year Applied Arts and Design student, has also expressed her worry about the situation. According to both of them, most KAED students have little concern about matters outside their realm \u201c be it in their own country or global problems.<\/p>\n

\u0153Even \u02dcSRC is a term that not everybody knows,\u009d she said. \u0153We hope we can \u02dcopen their eyes so their knowledge on current issues can be up to par with students from other Kulliyyah<\/em>.\u009d<\/p>\n

Concern over voter turn-out and KAED students’ welfare<\/strong><\/p>\n

Their concern is clearly manifested through the fact that the turn-out of voters in KAED were not many – only 51.6% casted their votes. As of 2 p.m. during the Election Day, there were slightly more than 20% of voter turn-out.<\/p>\n

\u0153I think many of them voted for me because I am their friend,\u009d Zul Afiq said jokingly.<\/p>\n

Like all SRC candidates, they have their own manifestos to improve the environment in their Kulliyyah<\/em>. Apart from improving KAED facilities, one interesting manifesto from Zul Afiq is to get a special pass for the female students in KAED to enter their mahallah<\/em> after 1 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u0153I think I need to stand for them.\u009d he said. He also explained that it was not for purpose of having fun. The female students need it to do their work.<\/p>\n

\u0153Lets say a sister finished her work at 4 a.m., and they couldnt go back. But they need a rest. Before this, they will sleep at the musolla<\/em>, but we have cases where males entered the female section of the musolla<\/em>. We do not know whether it was done by our students or outsiders.<\/p>\n

“And the problem settled after we have separated the brothers and sisters musolla<\/em>, but the female musolla<\/em> will close after Ishaa<\/em>. Following that, female students will sleep in studios, and its improper. This has been an issue since a long time and it has never been solved.<\/p>\n

“Its not like we dont want to do our work in mahallah<\/em>, but we need the tables we have in KAED. I have done my work in my room before and its just messy. Night time is the only time we have to do our work. But the lecturers dont really give us the support we need in this issue. I need to settle this issue, maybe by discussing with them. I have some plans to bring to the principals and the top management of KAED, Insha Allah<\/em> I can solve this problem.\u009d<\/p>\n

Nurul Nabihah’s manifesto seemed to be more focused on the welfare of the needy students. Her first manifesto is to establish KAED Treasury Project, of which its main idea is to have a room or a space for KAED students to collect things needed for them to do their project.<\/p>\n

\u0153During the end of the semester, after tirelessly completing our projects, the studios will be in a mess. And there is just a lot of things will be left in the studio. Usually Daya Bersih with the help of a few number of students will clean things up, but the problem is things that can be reused like T-squares, rulers or boards are just thrown away.<\/p>\n

‘Thus, with Treasury Project, reusable things can be collected during the beginning of the semester, especially for students who are unable to afford such things,\u009d she said.<\/p>\n

Nurul Nabihah who has held numerous leadership positions since school years definitely did not let her experience go to waste. Other than Treasury Project, she has come up with another two impressive\u00c2\u00a0manifestos, quite admirable since she is a second year student.<\/p>\n

Improving facilities and setting up of KAED Students’ Fund<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0153My second manifesto is to improve facilities. Since Zul Afiq is focusing more on facilities inside the studio, I am planning to improve the cafeteria. The idea is to increase the sitting places to accommodate more students since the cafeteria in KAED is used not only by KAED students but also by Engineering and CFS students who have classes in Engineering building.<\/p>\n

“Usually during lunch hour, especially during Mondays, the caf\u00c3\u00a9 is just crowded,\u009d she said.<\/p>\n

“But its not easy going through the office. Even HS caf\u00c3\u00a9 took five years to increase the number of tables. Thus, our idea is to add DIY chairs and tables using recycled materials made by KAED students. KAED students are always encouraged to make something out of recycled materials,\u009d she said.<\/p>\n

\u0153My third manifesto is to start KAED Students Fund.\u00c2\u00a0 We have a lot of financial aids in the university but that can take a long processing time, and it doesnt reach all students \u201c not all students know about it. This manifesto follows the steps of AIKOL and Kulliyyah of Economics concerning \u02dcTabung Kuliyyah in which they collected money for the needy students.<\/p>\n

“In SRC Welfare records, KAED students are ranked the first in financial problems. We need a lot of money for our projects. I used to spend more than RM200 for a project and thats only for one subject. Thus, with KAED funds, the needy students can just contact our welfare and well give the money straight away.<\/p>\n

“Well collect the money maybe through donations, or car boot sales since KAED students did a lot of projects. Usually the products of the projects are kept by the students. Lecturers from other Kuliyyah have suggested doing car boot sale so that we can sell our products and raise our income,\u009d she stressed.<\/p>\n

When asked about their hopes for KAED after their tenure, they have undeniably high hopes that their manifestos are successfully applied.<\/p>\n

\u0153I have hopes that KAED students will be more engaged with the society. Besides that, I hope Ill manage to help people who are in trouble, and I hope I can deliver my tasks well, since its tough considering that I’m a final year student and currently in the toughest course in KAED which is Architecture,\u0153 Zul Afiq said.<\/p>\n

Nurul Nabihah also shared her thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u0153I hope my manifesto will be successfully applied, or at least in progress. I also hope to reduce the students burden especially in financial matter, and that they will be more upfront in many issues. I want KAED students to be perceived more positively by other people in terms of knowledge and social skills,\u009d she said.***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Azra Farzana Shuib Since the result of Students’ Representative Council (SRC) election has been announced, there is bound to be optimism, enthusiasm and unity… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":109325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,24],"tags":[],"nelio_content":{"isAutoShareEnabled":true,"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"followers":[],"suggestedReferences":[],"efiUrl":"","efiAlt":"","highlights":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/2016-09-27-08.23.26-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109324"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109324"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109472,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109324\/revisions\/109472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/109325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}