41 CONVO BOOK

24 25 CONVOCATION ATTIRE : THEN AND NOW From 1987 to Present The Robe In the early years (1987 -2007), all robes for males and females had the logo of the university in ‘ songket ’. The logo of the university in ‘ songket ’ was stitched along the neckline and lapels of all robes. In the case for students, the ‘ songket ’ along the lapels was up to the waist whereas for robes worn by the Constitutional Head of the University, President, Rector, Deputy Rectors, Executive Directors, Members of the Board of Governors, and Senate members, the ‘ songket ’ on the lapels was to the full length of the robe together with gold embroidery floral ‘ songket ’ at the end of the sleeves which represents the Malay culture. The ‘ songket ’ used for convocation attire was changed to silver metallic embroidery floral ‘ songket ’ from 2008 to present. The logo of the university, which appears on all early robes, ‘ songkok ’ and ‘ tudung ’, represented the aspirations, ideals and objectives of the university. The material used for the robe is a good quality heavy ‘ tenun ’ cloth in turquoise green, which falls well, and thereby reflects grace and beauty. Different shades of turquoise green are used for different levels of hierarchy in the university. The Constitutional Head of the University wears purple, reflecting her royal status. The ' Songkok ' In addition to the graduands’ early robes, the men’s headdress was a ‘ songkok ’ adorned with a gold-coloured university logo on a headband, three-quarters of an inch wide, encircling the ‘ songkok ’. The headband was positioned 1.5 inches above the base of the ‘ songkok ’. The headdress for the women was a cream coloured scarf or ‘ tudung ’ with a headband which had the university logo in gold colour stitched on turquoise green cloth. The Headdress Graduands In the earlier years (1987 -1989) a lighter shade of turquoise green was used with the cloth being much thicker and heavier. In the later years until 2007, a darker shade of turquoise green was used with the cloth being lighter comparatively. Graduating students during the first three years (1987–1989) wore plain green robes without any embroidery or additional stitched elements. Subsequently, the robes featured the university logo in gold embroidery on a dark turquoise cloth stitched along the edges of the lapels around the neck. The sleeves were adorned with coloured stripes representing each kulliyyah. Initially, these stripes were three-quarters of an inch wide, but in 2002, they were widened to one and a half inches. In addition to indicating kulliyyah affiliation, the stripes also signified the nature of the degree, based on the number of stripes used. Convocation attire used for students from 1987 to 1989 A black velvet mortarboard with a black rayon tassel, featuring an embossed university logo on the tassel grip and on the tassel itself, has been used for Undergraduate, Master’s, and Postgraduate Diploma graduands from 2008 to the present. Convocation attire for graduands from 2008 to the present: Undergraduate (one stripe), Master’s (two stripes), and Postgraduate Diploma (no stripe). In 2008, the convocation attire was updated to include the robe, appropriate headgear, and a hood. The coloured stripes stitched around the sleeves, which represented each kulliyyah, were replaced with silver metallic rayon decorative stripes. Coloured hoods were introduced to indicate the wearer’s kulliyyah. The ‘ songkok ’ previously used as part of the convocation attire was replaced by the beefeater and mortarboard. Today, the convocation attire worn by all graduands during the ceremony comprises four items: • Robe • Hood • Mortarboard (for Undergraduate, Master’s, and Postgraduate Diploma graduands) or • Beefeater (for Clinical Master and all PhD graduands) Graduands Robe for Postgraduate Diploma graduands with no stripes Robes with coloured stripes, one and a half inches wide, on the sleeves have been used after 2002: Undergraduate (one stripe), Master’s (two stripes), and PhD (three stripes). Robes with coloured stripes, three-quarters of an inch wide, on the sleeves were used before 2002: Undergraduate (one stripe), Master’s (two stripes), and PhD (three stripes). A black velvet beefeater with a black rayon tassel has been used for Clinical Master and PhD graduands from 2008 to the present. Convocation attire featuring three decorative stripes around the sleeves has been used for PhD graduands from 2008 to the present. Convocation attire featuring coloured stripes and three decorative stripes around the sleeves has been used for Clinical Master graduands from 2008 to the present.