Community Engagement Activity Strengthens Esprit De Corps Amongst UUM Foundation Students

Alor Setar – The esprit de corps among the 204 students of the UUM Centre for Foundation Studies in Management 2018/2019 academic session was unmistakably felt when they took part in the Asasi-JITU Community Engagement towards Integrity Building to Gunung Keriang with the Mukim Gunong community recently.

The high-impact programme which was organized by the Centre for Foundation Studies in Management was also jointly supported by the Kedah State, Department of Integrity and Governance (JITU), Mukim Gunong District Head Office, Kota Setar District Health Office, Alor Setar City Council, Wisma Idaman, SMK Seri Gunong, Nurul Iman Mosque and the community of Mukim Gunong.

Director of the Centre for Foundation Studies in Management, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Munif Zarirruddin Fikri Nordin said that the activity which adopted the gotong-royong concept began with the clearing and painting of areas in the mosques, cemetery, school and nearby village, followed by larvaciding activities and the extermination of breeding places of larva done with the help of Kota Setar District Health Office.

According to him, the objective of the community programme at Gunung Keriang is to provide an opportunity for the students of the Centre to show appreciation and demonstrate their soft skills in the form of charity work.

In addition, the programme also provided students with a platform to learn, gain experience, adapt and support the community, especially in Mukim Gunong.

Assistant Director of JITU, Mr. Mohd Afiq Azizi, who represented the Director of JITU, lauded the students of the UUM Centre for Foundation Studies in Management for the successful implementation of the community service programme.

"Indeed, academic success alone is not enough, it should go hand in hand with excellence of personality, therefore, get close to the community to help strengthen your identity," he said.

He also presented a lecture entitled 'Integrity and the Formation of Identity'. Later, he presented donations to 20 recipients from poor families and selected schools.

The closing ceremony of the programme saw a tree being planted on the grounds of SMK Seri Gunong which were attended by Mukim Gunong Penghulu, Mr. Mohd Huzaimi Abd Ghani; Deputy Director of Student Development, UUM Centre for Foundation Studies in Management, Dr. Mohamed Ali Haniffa, representatives of JITU and UUM as well as members of the Mukim Gunong community.