Rompin, 29 January 2013 - Students Association / i Johor Universiti Sains Malaysia (IKMAR), an association exclusively for students from Johor, proved that they do not just serve Johoreans.

Conversely, on the basis of supporting Gagasan 1 Malaysia, IKMAR has proven that its presence is for the benefit of all through a service programme that was conducted at Kampung Tanjung, Pahang, recently.

Community activities that are known as “Jalinan Mesra IKMAR 2013” (IKMAR Friendly Connection 2013) involved more than 80 participants included university staff, secretariat members and USM students, headed by Project Director, Muhamad Afi Adli Hasnul.

IKMAR Principal Adviser, Assoc. Professor Dr. Mohamad Nasir bin Mohamad Ibrahim said, he simply refused to accept the idea that Johor students should only serve in their own state.

He said that IKMAR is in fact ready to serve anybody who is in need, on the basis of the spirit and the desire to realise the concept of campus community knowledge transfer to all levels of society in the country.

“Although they were serving in other states, the spirit and identity of Johor remains at heart. This programme aims to train students to be agents of transformation in the development of society and this is conducted through the activities carried out,” he said.

He added that the four-day programme comprised gotong royong (communal work) activities cleaning up a mosque vicinity, a playground, a cemetery, and the beach.

“Moreover, games and religious activities were held at night to provide opportunities for campus residents to interact with the villagers,'' he said.

In the meantime, the participants attended a co-councillors course conducted by USM Councillor, Azmi Hassan, through a special programme called "Day at School" that has the involvement of two schools, SMK Tanjung Gemok in Pahang and SMK Ungku Husin in Johor.

The project also saw efforts of IKMAR establishing a computer centre named "One Internet Center".

Each of the two schools received five units from the 10 computer units donated by the Center for Knowledge, Communication and Technology (PPKT), USM.

The programme received sponsorship from Majlis Aspirasi Pemangkin Nasional (MAPAN), Industry and Community Network Division (BJIM), Student Affairs and Development Division (BHEPP), the National Civics Bureau of Pahang (BTN), 1Malaysia For Youth (1M4U) and others.