2018 NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Bismillahirrahmannirahim
Assalamu’alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh and Salam Sejahtera
Shaping the Future with Today’s Mind
I begin this message with very well wishes of happy New Year 2018 to everyone.
As I begin my second year as dean of Faculty of Syariah and Law, USIM, allow me to say a few words of gratitude and appreciation to all of those who have been so supportive. With your support and doa, the Faculty surely will continue to soar upwards for its innovation, ingenuity, and commitment to excellence.
As we embark on the fourth industrial revolution, it is clear that we are now living and working in very challenging times. Indeed, with these great challenges we have no option other than to continue our hard work at thinking creatively, strategically, and boldly about how best to achieve and meet our vision, mission, aim and objectives. I firmly believe that this is the right time for us to rethink and restrategise our central premises and refocus on our central aims and objectives.
Alhamdulillah, last year brought some great successes and significant milestones to the Faculty.
Our faculty members continued to distinguish themselves with their myriad contributions and achievements. This was acknowledged through significant awards and prizes they received in various competitions and occasions. Outreach to the Shari’ah and legal community also a prominent part of last year’s agenda. We organized many programs and series of lectures and talks by prominent scholars and distinguished practitioners not only to share their knowledge and valuable experiences but also to discuss many contemporary issues of significance to our students and to the profession. In collaboration with different institutions and organization such as the Malaysian Bar, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Malaya University and Yayasan Tun Sufian, we successfully organised significant events such as Malaysia-New Zealand International Symposium on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Studies, International Law Course, Public Lecture of Chair on Syariah and Law, Tun Suffian 10th Memorial Lecture, Syariah and Law Lecture and Pertandingan Perbicaraan Mahkamah Olok-olok Peringkat Kebangsaan. Another good news, our very own journal, the Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law (MJSL) is also now registered and indexed in MyJurnal and insyaAllah ready to be upgraded to the next level.
We always consider students as our priorities and we must continue to educate and equip them for a successful future in a dynamic profession. It is my great pleasure to share many achievements of our outstanding and talented students at national and international arena. After several years of waiting, our student, Nor Akma Mohd Dali finally received the Royal Education Award during the 15th USIM Convocation ceremony for her achievement in academic, leadership in extracurricular activities, exemplary personality and dedication to the community. Our Arabic Debaters created another history when they qualified to the final and emerged as the first runner up of the International University Arabic Debate Championship (IUADC) in Doha, Qatar. Our students also dominated main awards during Majlis Anugerah Kecemerlangan Siswa (AKSIS). Not only that for the first time, the Faculty also sent our students to attend conference and training on International Law at the International Law Weekend Conference, Fordham University, New York.
The financial challenges faced by the university require us to look for new sources of revenue and income. This is necessary and important for us to continue our planning and commitment for further development of the Faculty and simultaneously to reduce some financial difficulties of our students. Alhamdulillah, we have started aggressively our fundraising since last year and managed to get quite significant amount of money particularly for our students.
Despite last year’s of great achievement and progress, we have experienced some losses to our family. We suffered a particularly painful loss with the passing of our beloved colleague, Dr. Resali Muda as well as our respected figure, Dato’ Faiza Tamby Chik. With their remarkable contributions, I must admit that their loss is immeasurable.
With the experience, expertise, knowledge, supports and spirits that we have at the Faculty, I anxiously and enthusiastically look forward to truly exceptional achievement to come in 2018. InsyaAllah, this year, we will try our best to offer some innovative new programs including our LLM (International Law), Ph.D in Law, Bachelor of Shari’ah (Halal) with Honours, DIJAP Executive and lifelong learning courses and certificate. We are also in the midst of improving our infrastructure, facilities and services from time to time. In short, we have planned so many things and the best is yet to come.
It is important to note here that this year is very crucial for us. We will face rigorous MQA evaluation and assessment in March. In this regard, the Faculty really needs full support, commitment and cooperation from everyone.
Last but not least, I thank all of you for your hard work, support, advice, and friendship during this past year. My sincere gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to the members of the Faculty, PMFSU, students, alumni and everyone for your continuous support and commitment. A very happy new year to all of you and look forward to continue our work together in the year ahead. Together we shape the future with today’s mind.
Thank You Very Much and Best Regards
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
DEAN
FACULTY OF SYARIAH AND LAW
UNIVERSITI SAINS ISLAM MALAYSIA
