[Bakti Siswa 2019] – An Interview with Program Director, Amer Danial

 

Bakti Siswa 2019 – Mahasiswa D’Hati Rakyat, conducted by the Student Representative Council of 2018/2019, will be taking place in Kampung Pachitan, Port Dickson from 11^th-14^th April 2018. It is the third installation of the Bakti Siswa series, and a tradition started by the Student Representative Council of 2016/2017 in Kampung Lahar, Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang. Muhammad Amer Danial bin Rahmat, program director and president of the Student Representative Council of 2018/2019, describes Bakti Siswa 2019 as a volunteerism event for UNITEN students to immerse themselves in a rural kampong setting and adjust to the lifestyle of the locals, while contributing to their adopted families and the kampong as well.

This year’s Bakti Siswa involves the most participants yet, comprising 160 participants from both Putrajaya and Muadzam campuses of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). NADi was able to observe decent feedback from the participants after they were involved in Bakti Siswa’s Training of Participants (TOP), which took place in the Leisure Hall from 6^th-7^th April 2019. Nur Syafiqah binti Mokhtar, one of the many participants, is feeling especially excited for Bakti Siswa 2019 after attending TOP, “I felt that the TOP was tedious and unnecessary at first, but I quickly turned around. I really enjoyed the activities and the bonding between the participants. I’m more excited now to meet my foster family and participate in the activities to come for Bakti Siswa.”

Syafiqah (left) is excited to meet her foster family and participate in Bakti Siswa.

With much anticipation and expectation from the participants around the activities, NADi asked Amer regarding the expected itinerary for Bakti Siswa. “We can’t disclose much,” chuckled the 22 year old program director, “I can say however that our Program Team has worked hard to provide fun, intriguing modules, especially for the participants.” He did however mention that all participants would have to work together to build a monument out of stone and cement at the kampong, as a reminder and a keepsake for the cherished memories born from the event. “This is what makes Bakti Siswa 2019 unique,” he explained.

Apart from the monument, Bakti Siswa 2019 has other perks that separates its from its predecessors. This includes the launching of Bakti Siswa 2019’s theme song, entitled “MDR SELAMANYA”, written by Firdaus Zahari, or more affectionately known as Jeng, and En. Mohd Shariffbudin bin Mohd Nur from the Students Affairs Department, and composed by Haziq and Thesideband. “We hope it becomes the official song for the Bakti Siswas to come,” said Amer.

Amer also thanked the sponsors of Bakti Siswa 2019 for providing the financial means to conduct this event. This year’s sponsors include Yayasan Canselor UNITEN (YCU), Tabung Amanah Zakat UNITEN (TAZU), Masjid UNITEN, ADABI and SOUTHERNLION. “Alhamdulillah, this year’s Bakti Siswa will be much more elevated thanks to them,” said the grateful director.

Amer Danial, program director of Bakti Siswa 2019, giving a speech in TOP.

For his closing remarks, Amer explained the crucial need for programs like Bakti Siswa. “We named the program ‘Bakti Siswa – Mahasiswa D’Hati Rakyat’ for a reason. Our students don’t attend UNITEN just to learn in the classroom; they want to volunteer and contribute to the heart of society. Based on all our installations, we have been able to see an overwhelming response from our students to join the program. In fact, we have never gotten lesser than 100 participants. We’ve carried out Bakti Siswa in three locations before: Kepala Batas, Pagoh and Port Dickson, and we hope that we can pass the torch to the next generations to help out more kampongs and spread the name of UNITEN throughout Malaysia.”

His last comment rings true to the core of Bakti Siswa: “Kita bantu apa yang kita termampu,” which translates to “We help where we can.” The event promotes the power of students – though what we can do is limited and constrained, it is important that we, as students, do what we can and help where we can anyway.

Bakti Siswa 2019 – Mahasiswa D’Hati Rakyat unfolds this upcoming Thursday to Sunday. Stay tuned for live updates through Skuad Media Uniten via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

 

Written by: Ahmad Danial \’Irfan bin Husain

Credits: Skuad Media Uniten for the photos.