UniMAP SUKSIS Continues Serving International Community

Arau, 2 August – Differences in language and culture should not be a hindrance when the main focus is to serve the community.

This was proven by Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) Police Undergraduate Voluntary Corps (SUKSIS) when they selected Pulau Panjang, Satun, Thailand as their third venue for the SUKSIS Community Outreach Program & Engagement (SCOPE) III Programme recently.

UniMAP Vice Chancellor and SUKSIS Corps Commandant Dato’ Prof. Dr. Zul Azhar Zahid Jamal said that crossing borders should not be a hindrance to serve and help those in need.

“UniMAP is committed to contributing to the international community that require aid and support especially in academic and social development.

“Thailand is Perlis' closest international neighbour and UniMAP is among the nearest public university to the border of Satun,” he said in his opening speech at Satun.

He added that less than 40-minutes of travel time attracted UniMAP to help develop the community there.

“UniMAP will certainly return. Moreover UniMAP's expertise especially in the engineering and technology fields could help create new innovations to augment the village's existing amenities,” he said.

SCOPE III is the continuation of the SCOPE Programme, an international community-oriented initiative, which began 2 years ago.

The two-day one-night programme was attended by 35 SUKSIS Corps officers and trainees with the support of the SUKSIS Corps Commandant.

Dr. Zul Azhar also believes that even with limited time, the UniMAP students were able to gain much experience with various activities and opportunities to interact with the locals.

Among the activities held were the painting of a school, changing of a mosque's signpost, enlivening the mosque's lecture room and a motivational talk with schoolchildren.

Also present were Director of the Security Department Dato' Zull Aznam Haron, Director of UniMAP Co-curriculum Centre Prof. Madya Dr. Khairul Nizar Ismail Residential College Principal Kartini Hj. Alir and Pulau Panjang Village Chief and Representative of Pulau Puyu, Satun, Adnan Johari.

Besides community activities, the UniMAP SUKSIS Corps also visited the Satun Province Police Headquarters and had bilateral talks with the Royal Thai Police.

The delegation that was headed by Assistant Superintendent SUKSIS Corps (ASP/KS) Raja Shah Erman Raja Arifin was greeted by Deputy Commander of Satun Police along with senior police officers.

Among the issues discussed is the cooperation between UniMAP SUKSIS Corps and the Thai Royal Police in joint community-oriented policing activities in the future.

The delegates were also taken to visit areas near the police station and briefed on their daily operations as well as their approaches to reduce crime.

The first SCOPE was held in Cambodia in 2016 and SCOPE II took place in Acheh in early 2017.