Publication: Berita Harian, p 12 Date: 24 October 2009 Headline: A safe and comfortable environment attracts students from Saudi to Singapore

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SALING MENERIMA: Pelajar SMU dan Arab Saudi melakukan satu kegiatan bersama dalam majlis pertukaran budaya. - Foto SMU

Selamat dan kemudahan tarik pelajar Saudi ke sini

SEKITARAN selamat dan ter- atur serta mudahnya mendapatkan makanan halal mendorong bebera- pa pelajar Arab Saudi memilih Singapura sebagai tempat melanjut- kan pelajaran.

Antara mereka ialah Cik Rowa Adel Bawarchi, 23 tahun, yang ber- kata ibu bapanya membenarkan beliau ke sini kerana mereka tidak sedikit pun berasa bimbang ten- tang keselamatan di Singapura.

"Kami memilih Singapura kera- na negara ini sangat selamat, teruta- ma bagi seorang wanita Arab Sau- di. Di Arab Saudi, wanita ke sana dan ke sini hanya dengan menaiki kereta. Karni juga mempunyai pe- mandu peribadi," ujar Cik Rowa.

Beliau antara 20 pelajar negara itu yang berada di sini atas biasis- wa Raja Abdullah. Baru-baru ini mereka menyertai satu sesi pertu- karan budaya dengan pelaiar Uni-

- - d

versiti ~engurusan Singapura (SMU).

Ini kali pertama Cik Rowa bera- da di Singapura, bagi menyertai kursus Bahasa Inggeris di British Council selarna setahun. Beliau ber- harap dapat memasuki SMU kelak dan bercita-cita melanjutkan pelaja- ran dalam bidang sistem maklumat di peringkat doktor falsafah (PhD).

"Di sini kami bebas ke mana- mana. Masyarakat Singapura sa- ngat teratur dan patuh undang-un- dang. Kami juga tidak perlu risau adakah kami dapat bergaul dengan masyarakat Islam di sini," ujarnya semasa ditemui di sesi di SMU itu.

Adiknya, Encik Faris Adel Ba- warchi, 20 tahun, juga berada di si- ni dan akan memulakan kursus ke- juruteraan elektrikal peringkat sar- jana muda di Universiti Teknologi Nanyang (NTU) Ogos tahun de- Pan.

Encik Faris berkata Singapura negara yang senang didiami.

"Masyarakat di sini tidak memi- lih bangsa dan agama. Hidup di sini

senang bagi kami, terutama sekali budayanya sangat terbuka kepada agama dan budaya lain," ujar be- liau.

Seorang lagi pelajar Arab Sau- di, Encik Walid Yahya Almajarshi, 23 tahun, bersetuju dengan panda- ngan itu. Beliau menyebut juga ten- tang mudahnya mendapatkan ma- kanan halal di sini.

"Kami tidak perlu susah-susah mencari makanan halal. Terdapat banyak makanan halal dan keba- nyakan restoran makanan segera di sini juga halal," ujar Encik Wa- lid, yang bakal melanjutkan pela- jarannya dalam jurusan sistem maklumat di peringkat sarjana mu- da di NTU juga pada Ogos tahun depan.

Encik Walid, yang tinggal bersa- ma sebuah keluarga India-Muslim sejak awal tahun ini, berkata be- liau bahkan sekarang sudah berasa seolah-olah menjadi salah seorang anggota keluarga angkatnya itu.

Source: Berita Harian O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Publication: Berita Harian, p 12 Date: 24 October 2009 Headline: A Safe and comfortable environment attracts students from Saudi to Singapore

Source: Berita Harian © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

A safe and comfortable environment attracts students from Saudi to Singapore A safe and organised environment, as well as the ease of finding halal food, has encouraged several Saudi Arabian students to choose Singapore as a location to further their studies. Among them is Ms Rowa Adel Bawarchi, 23 years old, who said that her parents permitted her to come here as they are not at all worried about her safety here in Singapore. “We chose Singapore as this is a very safe country, especially for a Saudi Arabian woman. In Saudi Arabia the women go from place to place only by car. We also have personal drivers,” said Ms Rowa. She is among 20 students from Saudi Arabia who are here on a King Abdullah scholarship. Recently they were part of a cultural exchange session with students from Singapore Management University (SMU). This is the first time Ms Rowa is here in Singapore, to enrol in an English language course at the British Council for a year. She hopes to be enrolled in SMU after that and aspires to eventually pursue doctoral studies in Information Systems. “Here, we are free to go anywhere. People in Singapore are very organised and law abiding. We also don’t have to worry if we are able to assimilate with the Muslim community here in Singapore,” she added when we met her at the session in SMU. Her younger brother, Mr. Faris Adel Bawarchi, 20 years old, is also here and will commence his undergraduate course in Electrical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), August next year. Mr. Faris said that Singapore is a comfortable place to stay in. “The people here do not discriminate based on race nor religion. Life here is suitable for us especially in a society that is so embracing of other cultures and religions,” he said. Another Saudi Arabian student, Mr. Walid Yahya Almajarshi, 23 years old, agrees to that view. He also mentioned how easy it is to find halal food here in Singapore. “We do not have to go to the trouble of searching for halal food. There is a lot of halal food available and most of the fast food restaurants here serve food which is halal too,” said Mr. Walid, who will be continuing his studies in the field of Information Systems also in NTU, August next year. Mr. Walid, who is staying with an Indian-Muslim family since early this year, says that he now feels like a member of this newly adopted family.