UMP students begin returning home to cast votes

PAYA BESAR, 16 November 2022 - The excitement of the election began to be felt when some students returned to their hometowns to fulfill their responsibilities to the country and the vast majority are new voters who would vote in the 15th General Election (GE15) for the first time.

For the convenience of students returning to their hometowns, 20 buses were provided by Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) under the coordination of the Student Affairs and Alumni Department (JHEPA) in collaboration with the Centre for Property Management and Development (PPPH) and Sekretariat Anak Negeri to enable nearly 1,500 students to exercise their rights to vote on 19 November 2022 (Saturday).

Eight Sekretariat Anak Negeri were involved in this initiative including Sektetariat Majlis Mahasiswa Anak-anak Pahang (SeMAMPAN), Sekretariat Ikatan Siswa Anak Darul Ta’zim (Iskandar), Sekretariat Persatuan Mahasiswa Anak Terengganu (PERMATA), Sekretariat Mahasiswa Perak (SILVER), Sekretariat Siswa Aman Makmur (ANSAR), Sekretariat Himpunan Siswazah Anak-anak Kelantan (SEHIMSAK), Sekretariat Mahasiswa Negeri Sembilan (Semanes) dan Persatuan Mahasiswa Selangor (PERMAS).

In addition, groups of students took the initiative to rent buses.

According to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni), Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Rusllim Mohamed who performs the functions of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), UMP students are given a lecture and academic activities release to return to vote in GE15 from 17 to 21 November 2022 following the recent announcement of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).

“Almost 1,500 students will be using buses with the first phase travelled at 9:30 last night involving six buses heading to Ipoh, Taiping, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Terengganu, while another 14 buses will be moving throughout the day,” he said.

“Based on data, a total of 1.14 million voters aged 18 to 21 will vote in GE15, including university students.

“Young people aged 18 and over can actually be considered mature.

“They are ready mentally and physically to exercise their rights as voters,” said Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Rusllim.

Meanwhile, representing the Interim Student Representative Council (MPP), Ahmad Fahmi Fazli thanked and appreciated the best initiatives from the UMP management that gave exposure to students to gain experience in managing and organising student movements and at the same time helped ease their own burden.

“This initiative aligns with the MPP’s motto for this session, which is #KebersamaanMahasiswa, which encourages students to be together to fight for their welfare,” he said.

He also advised students to use the opportunity to engage equally in the efforts towards a better country since students are now mature enough and know what they want for the country.

By: Mimi Rabita Abdul Wahit, Corporate Communications Division, Chancellery Department

Translation by: Dr. Rozaimi Abu Samah, Engineering College/Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology