International students from various public and private institutions of higher education gather for song and dance competition.
“Whilst the government urges to think in terms of 1Malaysia and for us to extend our friendship to all races, we have gone a step further by having this event that promotes better cultural understanding among all peoples. It is hoped that these events will lead to you, the participants, making new friends from all corners of the globe,” says Prof Dr Lee Boon Thong, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Nilai University (Nilai U). He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the fifth annual 1World Culture event which was co-hosted by Nilai U and Universiti Putra Malaysia.
The vocal category actually had international students tackle tunes in Bahasa Malaysia. This twist is to highlight how well the international students have acclimatised to their new surroundings in two categories – ‘international’ and ‘nusantara’. The latter category is for students from Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore who are familiar with Bahasa Malaysia. At this year’s event, the champion for the vocal category Nusantara (female) was Universiti Utara Malaysia student Yuannisa Aisanafi from Indonesia who vowed the judges and the crowd with her rendition of Siti Nurhaliza’s ‘Percayalah’. However, it was her countryman, Septian M Harris from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, who really got the crowd on their feet with his passionate rendition of Search’s slow rock classic ‘Fantasia Bulan Madu’. He deservedly took first prize in the vocal category Nusantara (male).
In the international vocal competition, Monash University’s Kazi Yasin Islam from Bangladesh won the male category with his spirited rendition of Hafiz’s ‘Bahagia Mu Derita Ku’. In the battle among the ladies, Help University’s Lin Jing Nan from China showcased her vocal range with Sarah Raisuddin’s ‘Ku Teruskan’ which duly won her the gong. Other big winners of the night was the team from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Johor) which won the dance category with a performance that combined elements of Dutch, Indonesian and Malaysian cultures. The team from Universiti Malaysia Perlis walked away with the Best Costume trophy with their intricate Tajik outfits.
In his speech, Prof Lee urged all participants and students to broaden their horizons by extending their hand of friendship to as many international students as possible. “This is one way you can make your varsity years the most memorable time of your lives,” he concludes.
Nilai U was established in 1997 and international students comprise 30% of its student population. To find out more, please go to www.nilai.edu.my or search for ‘Nilai University’ on Facebook. To speak to a counsellor, kindly call 06-8502308 / 07-2262336 / 03079603089.
