KOTA KINABALU: Students from private and public higher learning institutions are the ideal mediators to convey the 1Malaysia Persatuan Wanita (PERWANI) community cause, said deputy state secretary (administration) Datuk Asnimar Sukardi.
“Through the 1Malaysia PERWANI Siswi program, their involvement as national community transformation agents is apt because they are not only part of but are obviously the closest to the community in their respective institutions,” elaborated Asnimar at the launch of the program at Wisma Wanita here yesterday.
PERWANI Siswi’s role and responsibilities are big and go beyond the boundaries of their college community. They also play a part in providing information and raising the understanding of the local community, she said.
“With the exception of politically related activities, students can carry out beneficial activities in all areas through PERWANI Siswi,” added Asnimar, who also encouraged the students to fully utilize the social media such as Facebook and Twitter so that the communication between members and the community would be updated quickly.
The 1Malaysia PERWANI Community initiative, announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) on March 17, 2013, intends to establish 100,000 PERWANI groups throughout the nation, stated Asnimar.
According to Asnimar, 3,000 target groups have been set for Sabah but only a total of 675 groups with 10,565 members were formed since early this year.
“Thus, the participation of women in the group is encouraged so that it will be parallel with the present 48.6 percent population of women in the country,” she said.
The expansion of PERWANI program at tertiary level would provide exposure to the students and express the government’s hopes for all groups to enjoy the facilities provided by the government, clarified Asnimar.
“It is hoped that the creation of PERWANI Siswi as the path of unity for the future generations will lead to the prosperity and development of the country,” said Asnimar.