The Department of General Studies parked under the Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) organised a public forum titled “NGOs & Social Harmony” on 22 August 2019 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus.
Front row: Thinavan, Shah, Dr Poonam and Ric See with participants
The panels and the attendees
The keynote speaker of the forum was Prof Dr Kamar Oniah Kamaruzaman, Head of the Unit of Comparative Religion and Intercultural Dialogue of the Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) of IIUM. Three panels were also invited to share their knowledge, experiences, skills and involvement in the local community based on volunteerism. Among them were Datin Poonam from The Pure Life Society, Founder of Global Unity Network Brother Shah Kirit and Co-Founder of Great Heart Charity Association Ric See Swee Poh.
The forum aimed to provide a platform for the speakers to share knowledge and create awareness on the principle of tolerance and acceptance to preserve peace and harmony among society.
The forum started off with a welcome speech by FCI Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Thinavan Periyayya. In his speech, he said, “We need to celebrate diversity and involve ourselves in volunteerism which will bond people together.” He also said that sometimes unity could be a complex phenomenon particularly when we have a diverse culture. He hopes the attendees will be able to learn and capture the essence of unity and harmony at the forum.
Thinavan delivering his welcome speech
The forum continued with Prof Kamar Oniah’s talk. Her talk mainly emphasised on tolerance and acceptance among Malaysians. She said, “Each scripture has its own methodology which you can’t interpret; each religion defines its religion in its own way; therefore, each religion is religious in its own way. Religion is very structured; it has founders, teachers and prophets. Every religion has scriptures, sometimes more than one and every religion has theology and beliefs.” Then she continued, “We will not have unity if there’s no diversity. Let’s have unity in diversity; celebrate and respect the differences.”
Prof Kamar Oniah delivering her talk
After that, Datin Poonam from The Pure Life Society (PLS) gave a talk about their organisation and volunteerism. Her talk included how the Society provides shelter and assistance to children as well as community upliftment. She said, “We expect the participants to be able to understand the need to help others without expecting anything in return as well as to improve soft skills and communication skills when dealing with underprivileged people. We also want to apply the knowledge and raise awareness of the wider community about the role and commitment when helping others especially those in need. Besides that, we want to cultivate the “give back” to society culture.”
Dr Swagata Sinha Roy, the moderator
Next, Founder of Global Unity Network Brother Shah Kirit delivered a talk on unity. With the slogan “Unity through Knowledge”, the organisation intends to lead the effort of forming a stronger unity among Malaysians besides being the hub of Islamic information so that authentic Islamic information can be conveyed. “From tolerance, we must go forward to acceptance and from acceptance, we must move forward to respect. To respect, we must know it well and it must be mutual,” he said. He emphasised on the importance of respecting cultural and religious diversities by embracing the commonalities in human values and the need to empower each other regardless of our backgrounds or the notions and philosophies we subscribe to.
From left: Ric See, Brother Shah and Datin Poonam
The last talk was given by Co-Founder of Great Heart Charity Association Ric See Swee Poh. The association’s mission is to be the ultimate charity platform of choice to connect contributors, volunteers, and beneficiaries with the end result of making charitable giving a part of everyone’s life. In his talk, Ric See said, “If it’s not now, then when? You may start from young, so as long you are able to contribute something to society. You can also join NGOs to bring possible changes to the world.” He ended his talk with a quote, saying, “Kindness is an instinct as well as a choice. The moment we choose kindness, our life will blossom.”
From left: Datin Poonam, Brother Shah and Ric delivering their talks
The forum ensued with a souvenir presentation by Department of General Studies academic Dr Charanjit Kaur to Dr Poonam, Brother Shah, Ric See, Dr Swagata and FCI Head of Modern Languages Department Maxwell Sim Yik Seng.
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