by Farah R
Edited by Harith Syafiee
With enthusiasm to make this long weekend insightful, my friend and I woke up early with anticipation of the CONGRESS IIUM's event taking place last 11th November. It was ‘Sekolah Kesatuan’ organised by CONGRESS IIUM in collaboration with its shareholders; WAWASAN IIUM, PKPIM IIUM, HARMONI IIUM and GPMS IIUM. Sekolah Kesatuan is a project aimed at educating students regarding student autonomy and enhancing the understanding of Student Union among university students, particularly, IIUM students. The programme took place in the R&R area of Dar-Al Hikmah Library and was conducted from 9 am to 5 pm. The itinerary was divided into three sessions with different discussion sessions between amazing speakers and participants.
The first session, ‘Student Power!’ was a talk session with Dr. Muqit from the University of Malaya (UM). As an experienced activist who was actively involved in the student movement, he apprised the participants about the history of Unionism among university students. The speaker took the participants to the 1960s, by introducing how an organisation is created from scratch. I was invested when the speaker mentioned how mindset and stance played an initiating role in an “organisation”, which I personally feel are the aspects everyone often overlooked. In fact, the speaker repetitively referred to university students as intellectuals. He added that students as intellectuals who may aspire to be a part of an organization should be specific in what they actually want to bring to the university.
Furthermore, the speaker also stressed how the foremost students have always been unconsciously manipulated by the university as “free labour”, doing the administration’s work. Regarding these arising concerns, he highlighted a few examples of these unseen matters such as how the representative students have to take care of new students’ admission, having to address students’ accommodation issues and the one which went the most unnoticed was the lack of financial aid from the university’s management. Following these issues, he advised how the student union should have used the opportunity of having the capability to demand something more deserving towards students and to always request the best for the sake of students’ welfare. The speaker then concluded his session by reminding students to always be practical in devoting themselves to unionism as it is neither a simple nor hard job, which I think is true.
Group photo from the first session
Following the tentative of the day, the second session, ‘The Political Scene: IIUM Version’ by Amin Mubarak took place after a short break. The second session kicked off with group discussions and brainstorming sessions between participants. Initially, participants were randomly divided into six groups involving participants with various backgrounds but still united under the title of 'students'.
I was assigned to be in the third group with total strangers. Honestly, I was nervous as I did not expect that I would need to speak here. I literally thought I would come and listen to the talk only and never had any idea it would be an interactive sitting between participants. As we sat in our assigned groups, Amin Mubarak began his session by inviting participants to list down the rights they demanded as students in educational institutions. We were given time to discuss and voice out our opinions in groups and each group would send out a representative to propose each team’s outcome and find mutually outstanding proposed rights. I would like to give a shout-out to my group for being so active in participating in the discussion. I felt so inspired that I was comfortable sharing my opinions too.
Photos of participants discussing in groups
After listening to the proposed rights by the participants, the speaker then argues how students are the biggest stakeholder in the university and students are given the right to be vocal about any worries they have. This is due to the fact that, when one does not raise their voice and keeps themselves silent, the voice will not be heard and the concern that students have to endure will never find its solution. Ultimately, it would lead to greater problems among the university’s management as well as affecting other students.
The presenter then proceeded to his next slide and introduced the participants to the importance of politics in organisations or unions. According to the speaker, every organisation needs a third force, also known as a third spokesperson, to function in understanding the psyche of students today. This is to protect student organisations from the abuse of power and corruption among the higher-ups which eventually will have a significant impact towards other students, as well as the university.
Group photo from the second session
The final session of the day, ‘The Reality’, was a symposium session that invited all participants to sit in a circle. The session was conducted via a cross-questioning participants method, it includes every participant’s opinions and an exchange of discourse with reference to what had been discussed in the last two sessions. Most participants eagerly stated their clear visions of how students are included in an important role in society, as well as the nation’s politics. From my observation throughout the sessions, I found that participants have been so vocal in expressing their utmost worries concerning about how their autonomy as part of the university has been devalued, especially when it comes to university decision-making. They argued their opinions on how students should be included when it comes to decision-making as the ones who will be affected are them and not the management.
The round-table debate continued with the last motion regarding how to fix political ideology in students. It was mesmerising seeing the microphone moving around so much as participants had been so engaging in the discussion. One notable claim made by participants was how having well-known figures would help students to be aware of how politics is vital to them as potential future leaders and golden assets of the nation. Finally, the discussion is sealed by the moderator concluding the whole discussion, followed by closing words by the Chairwoman of CONGRESS IIUM, Sister Aaliyah. I was captivated when the Chairwoman revealed her emotions about wrapping up this very first project as one of the certified NGOs! I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate CONGRESS IIUM for the achievement!
Group photo of the third session
Sekolah Kesatuan called it a day at 5 pm and we were given refreshments before dispersing. As one of the contributing participants, I personally have gained a lot of new knowledge regarding my place as a university student. From Sekolah Kesatuan, I had come to realise how students are always being underestimated when it comes to administration and when justifying their rights just because of their title as ‘students’. It is saddening how stereotypical society views us. As a whole, Sekolah Kesatuan has become an eye-opener and a wake-up call for every student to recognize their own authority in the lenses of society. As one of the attendees, I thoroughly appreciated all of the time and effort everyone, especially the committees put into this anticipated event, and I hope that other student organisations will take further steps in the future to raise awareness of student power and unionism!
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