FAIZ SYAZWAN

  The Week 9 lecture on May 6, 2025, focused on fieldwork observing IIUM as a sustainable campus, emphasizing students as agents of change. The lecture explored the concepts of sustainable and green campuses, highlighting six indicators which is setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, transportation and education. IIUM’s initiatives, like food waste composting (1,329 kg collected April–June 2018), solar energy, and myTREEvolution (planting 150 Karas trees), showcased practical sustainability efforts. Social programs, such as the Food Bank and cat shelters, and environmental projects, like the River of Life, demonstrated IIUM’s commitment. Islamic principles from Surah Al-Isra’ (17:26) and Al-Baqarah (2:60) underscored avoiding waste and preserving the earth. Challenges included water wastage and funding, with solutions like shorter showers and e-bike sharing proposed. The lecture linked to our group project, encouraging proposals to enhance IIUM’s susta...

 The Week 8 lecture on April 29, 2025, explored the roles of institutions in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). It highlighted how global, national, and local institutions collaborate to promote inclusive societies and sustainable progress. SDG 17 emphasizes partnerships, targeting finance, technology, and capacity-building, with indicators like debt sustainability. Malaysia’s integration of SDGs into the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, aiming to provide clean water to 60,000 rural households, exemplifies localization. Challenges include funding, federalism, and data reporting, with tools like the SDG Progress Monitoring System ensuring accountability. Islamic principles of justice and stewardship align with SDG 16, promoting equitable governance. The lecture stressed individual roles through advocacy, linking to our group project’s focus on local solutions, such as community-...

 The Week 7 lecture on April 22, 2025, addressed challenges to sustainable development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. Social challenges include inequalities in access to education, health, food, and clean water, with over 750 million people lacking safe water and 1.3 billion living in extreme poverty. Economic challenges involve unsustainable growth, excessive debt, and waste, requiring efficiency, recycling, and circular economies. Environmental challenges stem from resource exploitation, deforestation, and pollution, with 17 million hectares of tropical forests lost annually. The lecture highlighted systemic inequities socio-economic, cultural, and linguistic driving unsustainability, exemplified by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s comparison of African daily income to European cow subsidies . Islamic principles like Zakat, Waqf, and Mizan offer solutions by promoting wealth redistribution, social justice, and ecological balance. Governance, financial, and human reso...

 The Week 6 lecture on April 8, 2025, examined the roles of universities in advancing sustainable development, drawing on Islamic education principles and the impact of COVID-19. Universities are tasked with nurturing holistic individuals through teaching, research, and community engagement, as outlined by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. This involves integrating fard ‘ain and fard kifayah knowledge to foster stewardship (khalifah) and ethical application of sustainability solutions. Harry R. Lewis’s “Excellence Without a Soul” emphasized moving beyond academic achievement to cultivate moral responsibility and global citizenship, preparing students for real-world sustainability challenges. The lecture highlighted the need for research addressing the “bottom billion,” focusing on affordability, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity. Post-COVID, universities must adopt value-based education, emphasizing empathy and humanity over technocratic approaches. Group discussions likely cent...

 The Week 5 lecture on April 1, 2025, delved into Sejahtera as a local concept of sustainable development, exploring its perspectives and daily practices. Sejahtera, defined as a state of peace, prosperity, and safety, is rooted in Tawheed and emphasizes holistic well-being through faith, good morals, and spiritual connection with Allah. Prof. Kamal Hassan’s insights highlighted Sejahtera’s link to principles like iman, ibadah, and takwa, aiming for eternal happiness (al-Falaah) through righteous living. The lecture connected Sejahtera to the National Education Philosophy, which seeks to develop balanced individuals with intellectual, spiritual, and emotional harmony. Localizing sustainability through Sejahtera involves adapting global SDGs to regional needs, engaging communities, and promoting green practices like energy efficiency and resource conservation. Daily practices include ethical consumption, community cooperation, and environmental stewardship, aligning with Islamic val...

 The Week 4 lecture on March 25, 2025, focused on the international framework of sustainable development and the concept of Sejahtera. Key global milestones included the 1972 Stockholm Conference, which established UNEP, the 1987 Brundtland Report defining sustainable development, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit producing Agenda 21, and subsequent agreements like the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the SDGs (2016). These frameworks emphasize common but differentiated responsibilities, with developed nations leading on environmental issues while supporting developing countries with finance and technology. The lecture introduced Sejahtera, a Malay term meaning peace, prosperity, and safety, as a local implementation of sustainable development. Rooted in Tawheed, Sejahtera encompasses holistic well-being, integrating faith, morality, and justice to achieve al-Falaah (true success) and avoid al-Khusraan (loss). It aligns with the National Education Philosophy, fostering balanced individuals throug...

The Week 3 lecture on March 18, 2025, delivered by Prof. Dr. Suhaimi bin Mhd. Sarif, explored the integration of Maqasid al-Shariah with sustainable development. The session emphasized how Maqasid al-Shariah, which aims to enhance human well-being (maslahah) and prevent harm (mafsadah), safeguards five objectives: faith (Hifz al-Din), life (Hifz al-Nafs), intellect (Hifz al-‘Aql), lineage (Hifz al-Nasb), and wealth (Hifz al-Mal). These align with the UN SDGs’ 5Ps: Peace (life), People (intellect), Planet (lineage), Prosperity (wealth), and Partnership (faith). The lecture highlighted spirituality (ar-ruhiyah) as a foundation for sustainability, with Muslims acting as Khalifah to steward Earth’s resources ethically, as per Quranic verses like 2:168, which promotes lawful and wholesome consumption. Other religions, including Buddhism’s ecocentric view, Confucianism’s harmony with nature, Christianity’s stewardship, and Hinduism’s respect for creation, were discussed for their ecological ...

The second week of the SCSH1201 Sustainable Development course, held on March 11, 2025, focused on the integration of Islam and Maqasid al-Shariah with sustainable development. The lecture explored how Islamic principles align with the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. Key concepts included the prophetic principle of “no damage and no infliction of damage” for environmental sustainability, emphasizing responsible use of resources like water, land, and air. Social sustainability was framed through the roles of man as Khalifah (vicegerent), Shura (consultation), and Amanah (trust), supported by tenets like Shahada, Salat, and Zakat. Economic sustainability was linked to Islamic mechanisms like Zakat, Waqaf, and the prohibition of Riba (interest), promoting wealth sharing and poverty alleviation. The Maqasid al-Shariah, with its five objectives—protecting faith, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth was shown to align with the SDGs’ 5Ps (People, Planet, ...

 The first week of the SCSH1201 Sustainable Development course, led by Prof. Dr. Suhaimi bin Mhd. Sarif on March 4, 2025, provided a comprehensive introduction to the principles and challenges of sustainable development. The lecture, delivered through a video and supported by detailed slides, outlined the course structure, including assignments like a reflective journal, group project, and essay. Key concepts included the Brundtland Report’s definition of sustainable development as meeting present needs without compromising future generations. The session explored the evolution from unsustainable practices to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), organized around the 5Ps: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. Systems thinking was introduced as a tool to understand interconnections among economy, society, and environment. Alarming statistics, such as 6 million tons of CO2 emitted daily and 17 million hectares of tropic...