Dr Choong Yuen Onn
KUCHING (Aug 15): UTAR Faculty Business and Finance (FBF) in Kampar Campus will soon launch the Bachelor of Public Administration (Honours) programme to train a new generation of civil servants with professional and multiple skills.
In a statement, the university said with the opening of the world economy and the integration and cooperation between governments of various countries, especially post-Covid-19 pandemic, the responsibilities and roles of government departments would have become more important than ever.
“Government departments must make faster decisions and response measures for internal and external matters. Electronisation and digitisation in various fields have made the pace of the world rapid and efficient.
“Plus, the Institut Tadbiran Awam’s recent advocating of the Public Service Transformation Agenda has emphasised that public services must pay greater attention to flexibility and high efficiency,” it said.
FBF deputy dean (research and development, and postgraduate programmes) Dr Choong Yuen Onn, who is also the Bachelor of Public Administration (Honours) programme referrer, expressed his hope for the programme to further strengthen the training and provide more comprehensive human resources to assist the government in efficiently completing the connection between domestic and foreign countries.
“A public administration degree is a good start for students who desire to make a positive impact on the social and economic well-being of individuals, communities and the public.
“Graduates are not limited to working in government departments alone; they can also play their strengths in the private sector,” said Choong.
“As the graduates are familiar with the government departments’ operations, system and legal knowledge, they can join the private sector to help companies to deal with procedural matters to a certain extent. Further on, graduates may also use the knowledge and skills that they have learned to engage in their own careers because skills employed across the field of public administration are often transferrable to manage non-profit/non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other private enterprises,” he added.
Similarly, Department of Business head Dr Tee Chee Wee said the programme should be suitable for students from Arts and Science streams to pursue higher studies, and usually, it would only be offered by public universities.
“Currently, UTAR is actively promoting it in order to let more people know and apply for this professional programme.
“The new programme complies with the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) requirements. “The faculty expects students who have completed the programme to continue pursuing a master’s degree in order to improve themselves according to the needs of future work demands.”
Meanwhile, FBF dean Assoc Prof Dr Au Yong Hui Nee said the existing bachelor’s degree programmes would focus more on the benefit orientation of the private sector, while this newly-launched ‘Public Administration Programme’ would be more inclined to principles, practices and organisational management related to private and public organisations, and would even cover for profit or non-profit organisations.
Assoc Prof Dr Au Yong Hui Nee
“The programme also emphasises the establishment of a solid understanding and foundation of public or government management systems. More importantly, when more people understand the government’s operation and communication methods, it would help reduce the gap and misunderstanding between private companies and the government,” she said.
“The three-year public administration degree programme aims to provide students with fundamental knowledge of governance and public administration, as well as to equip them with valuable skills as required in various work settings, such as analytical skills and problem-solving skills through different subjects.”
Career prospects of the programme would include government relations manager, business administrator, community management professional, executive assistant, event coordinator, foreign correspondent, foreign services officer, human resource specialist, labour relations specialist, management consultant, and public policy analyst.
The programme is expected to commence this October.
For more information, contact UTAR FBF Division of Programme Promotion (DPP), or visit https://study.utar.edu.my/public-administration.php.
UTAR is a university offering courses in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the areas of Accountancy, Actuarial Science, Applied Mathematics, Arts, Chinese Studies, Malaysia Studies, Business and Economics, Biotechnology, Engineering and Build Environment, Information and Communication Technology, Life and Physical Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Media and Journalism, Education and General Studies, Agriculture and Food Science.
It also engages in the provision and conduct of research, consultation, management and leadership training and other related educational services at its campuses in Bandar Sungai Long and Kampar.
For more information, go to www.utar.edu.my or call 05-468 8888 (Kampar Campus), 03-9086 0288 (Sungai Long Campus).