| SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

“Shoot down hosting of Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam for the sake of education”

By Azman Zakaria
Photo by Mohd Hasrul Hamdan



SERDANG, Oct 25: Working at Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM), becoming the host of a television talk show and pursuing his study in a university could prove to be arduous and challenging for Mohd Hariri Mohamad Daud but he made it through.

Mohd Hariri, 32, the host of Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam screened on TV1 and fondly known as Ustaz, received the Master of Human Resource Development at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)’s 40th Convocation, here.

“What I normally did was to do revisions and assignments before Subuh…it was tough, no doubt, when I had to perform three forms of responsibilities at the same time, but praise be to Allah, I was able to complete my study,” said Mohd Hariri who is Assistant Director (Syariah Index Unit) in JAKIM, Putrajaya.

Sometimes, the second of five siblings, said he had to turn down hosting the programme if it clashed with the lectures or held outside Klang Valley.

“My priority at that time was working and studying…I had to divide my time wisely…that is why sometimes I had no choice but to shoot down moderating for Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam talk show,” he said.

For the undergraduate level,  he did a dakwah programme at other university but continued his Master’s degree in Human Resource Development at UPM.

He took up the course as human development programme is one of eight key areas of focus by JAKIM, with the emphasis on development and training.

“In the first few days attending lectures at UPM, I wanted to hide my identity as the talk show’s host but some colleagues and lecturers continued telling me that my face looked very familiar.

“And when they knew me and my background, of course, their expectations of me were high,” he said expressing his gratitude to friends and lecturers who had been supporting him as the course was new to him.

He started working in JAKIM in 2010 and in the same year, he became the host for television station, RTM, which was at that time scouting for talents. He has been the host for national- and international-level Quran Recital Competitions from 2010 until today.

“I am excited to be the host of Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam, a talk show on Islam that has been screened by RTM since years ago and until today, it is still being screened and boasts the highest rating…when I was small, I always made it a point to watch this show, and when I grew up, I became its host,” he said. – UPM


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