LETTERS: "We are all Malaysians. This is the bond that unites us. Let us always remember that unity is our fundamental strength as a people and as a nation."
The quote by our first Prime Minister Tuanku Abdul Rahman portrays the utmost importance of being united in order to be strong, and to remain so.
This also shows that historically, being united was the pillar of making Malaysia an independent country. Subsequently, in the present day, the concept of unity in diversity has been widespread among Malaysians.
It usually refers to accepting the diverse cultures of others while preserving one's own, which will in turn foster unity. In Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), we welcome this concept and sincerely embrace it.
As one of the public universities bearing the name of Islam, everybody at USIM strives to pursue the noble value, as mentioned in the Quran:
"O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has at-Taqwa. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware" (al-Hujurat, verse 13).
USIM is currently housing more than 1,000 international post-graduate students from all over the world – Oman, Indonesia, China, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Palestine, Jordan and others. For undergraduate programmes of different faculties, there are 100 international students from various countries such as Japan, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Egypt.
Not only the varieties exist among students, but the diversities are also present among the lecturers and educators of USIM. We have quite a number of international lecturers and educators from more than 20 countries including Japan, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Yemen, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Jordan and others, who jointly work together with local academicians.
The unity in diversity concept is also evident in our academic and non-academic programmes as well as research and community projects. In all the areas, USIM has carefully thought, strategised and reflected on the contents and substances obtained through the numerous USIM experts, with the integration of multi-disciplinary knowledge, human and natural sciences, and Islamic Studies.
In addition, USIM has also encultured its members with the core values of Al-Qawiyy Al-Amin encompassing five main elements: Professionalism, Efficiency, Global (Alamiyyah), Trustworthiness (Amanah) and Solidarity (Muafakat).
Having been established only in the year 2000, and still considered a fairly young university after 20 years of establishment, USIM prides itself on its Islamic based multilingual and international outlook. Lectures are conducted in English and Arabic, and bachelor's students are encouraged to undertake the Global Islamic Student Outreach Programme (GISO).
GISO is acknowledged as one of USIM's successful flagship programmes which is initiated and implemented abroad through the funds raised by the students. More than 40 countries have benefitted from this programme through a range of activities such as Arabic and English Classes, Calligraphy Skills, Waqf, Artistic Therapy, Group and Individual Counselling Sessions, Braille Quran and Sports Clinic.
Additionally, through our community engagement projects which involve local and international societies irrespective of religions, races, languages, and cultures, is another instance of Unity in Diversity practised by USIM.
Indeed, being united whilst celebrating our diversities, based on the principle of Al-Qawiyy Al-Amin, USIM pledges to rise and never cease to emerge as the best higher learning institution.
As a matter of fact, the current development of our country has been created owing to the strong concept of unity in diversity. USIM is without doubt playing its part in ensuring Malaysia not to be left out of the global arena too.
HAZLINA ABDULLAH
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Major Language Studies
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times