Post on 28-Apr-2019
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
THE REQUIREMENT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE OFFICER CORPS OF THE
MALAYSIAN ARMY
BIBI ZARJAAN AKHBAR KHAN
FPP 1998 3
THE REQUIREMENT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
FOR THE OFFICER CORPS OF THE
MALAYSIAN ARMY
By
BIBI ZARJAAN AKHBAR KHAN
Project Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science
(Human Resources Development) in the Faculty of Education Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
DECEMBER 1998
Project Puper entitlcd "TilE REQUIREMENT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
FOR THE OFFICER CORPS OF THE MALAYSIAN ARMY" prepurcd hy Bibi Zarjaan Akhhar Khan has partially fu lfilled thc requircments for the degree of Master of Science (H uman ResoUl"Cc Development) Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Approved by:
ya Dr Azahari Is mail Direct Department of Extension Education Faculty of Educational Studies Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang Selangor D arul Ehsan (Project Supervisor)
Maimunah Ismail, Ph.D Associate Professor Department of Extension Education Faculty of Educational Studies Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang Selangor Darul Ehsan (Examiner)
Do(e � /1 ').. (cig----f-/ --+{ --
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the name of Al lah. the most Beneficent. the most M erciful. Peace and Blessing
be upon His Messenger, Mohammad .Praise be to Allah who has bestowed upon me the
strength and patience to be steadfast in my continuing pursuit knowledge.
F irst and foremost. I wish to express my appreciation to my supervisor, Professor
Dr Mohd Azahari bin I smail . University Putra Malaysia. who has all is his ways and
continuousl: guided and encouraged me in \\l" iting this thesis.
Associate Professor Dr Abu Daud S ilong. the Director of Institute of Distance
Education and Learning and his dedicated staffs for making thi s Master programme
possible, despite the trial and tribulations .
I am deeply indebted to my beloved mother Hajjah Robaiyah and chil dren
Norshazreen, Norshahril Hizam and Nor Ariff. a big thank you for your love.
understanding, patience and tolerance. throughout the duration of my studies.
Special recognition and thank go to the individuals who participated in the study.
Their generous input has provided great i mpact and meaning to this study.
Special gratitude and appreciation are dedicated to Al latif. Azlina, Shamsudin and
Sabri for their support. time and effort. have made it possible for me to complete my post
graduate studies.
Lastly I would l ike to express my most grateful thanks to all those who gave their
time in any way. directly and indi rectly in the course of my study.
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II
TABLE OF CONTENTS III
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IV
LIST OF TABLES VI
LIST OF FIGURE S VlI
LIST OF APPENDICES VllJ
ABSTRACT 1"-
ABSTRAK Xli
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Statement of the Problem 4
Objectives 8
Significance of the Study 9
II LITERA TURE REVIEW
Introduction 1 0
Trends in the Malaysian Societ: 1 1
Attitudes of the Malaysian Soci et) 1 8
Trends in the Armed Forces 20
Tertiary Education of Armies in AS EAN 27
Impl ications of the Need 1'01"1 ertiar) Education 29
Competition for Cand idate� 30
Relat ions w i t h PSD O nicer� 31
I mage and S tatll� or the Onieer C orr� J2
III
III
IV
Personal I)c\ elopment
Recruiting and Retention
Tert i a!") Lducat ion Programmes
Summary
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Initial Insights into Tertiary Education Policy
Prel iminary Interviews with Deputy Chief of
Arm) and the Directors oh arious corp:,
Reviev. of Literature
Determination of Participants
Data Gathering
In-depth Interview
Data Presentation and Analysis
RESUL TS AND DISCUSSION
]4
]5
36
38
38
39
40
41
42
45
46
47
Introduction 47
The Need For Tertia!) Qualifications 48
The Importance of Tertiary Education 51
The Requirement for Tertiary Education 55
Opinions of AFSC Foreign Students 63
The Impact of Tertiary Education on Mil i tary 66
Officers
Opinions of Publ ic Sen'ice Oflicers on M i l itary 68
Officers with Tert i ary Qual ificat ions
Target 30 percent year 2000 70
1\
v CONCLlISION AND RLCOMf\lLNDATIONS
Conclusion
Recommendations for Po l i cy Makers
Recommendations for Future Research
B I BILIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES
- Appendix A
- Appendi:-; B
- Appendix C
- Appendix 0
- Appendix E
- Appendix F
- Appendix G
- Appendix H
- Appendix I
- Appendix J
- Appendix K
B IOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
7()
76
79
82
83
86
87
90
92
94
96
99
101
102
104
1 06
108
112
AFC AFCI AFDC AFSC AFTES ASEAN ASOMS CEC FPDA GCE HSC HQ IFOR ITM MAF MAFA MCE MINDEF M P NATO N U M NRS P ETRONAS PSD PSO RMAF RMC RMN UM UTM
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Armed Forces Council Armed Forces Council Instruction Armed Forces Defence College Armed Forces Staff College Armed Forces Tertiary Education Scheme Association of South East Asian Nations Army Senior Officers Management School Core Education Curriculum Five Power Defence Arrangement General Certificate of Education Higher School Certificate Headquarters Implementation Force Institute of Technology MARA Malaysian Armed Forces Malaysian Armed Forces Academy Malaysian Certificate of Education M inistry of Defence Malaysia Plan North Atlantic Treaty Organisation National University Malaysia New Remuneration System Petrol Nasional (National Petrol) Public Service Department Public Service Officer Royal Malaysian Air Force Royal Military College Royal Malaysian Navy U niversity of Malaya University of Technology Malaysia
\')
TABLE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 0
LIST OF TABLES
B reakdown of Officers with Tertiary Qualifications in the Army
Budget Allocations for Education for 5th and 6th Malaysia P lans
Student Enrollment for Tertiary Education in 5th and 6th Malaysia Plans
Pay Scales for Newly Commissioned G raduate and Non G raduate Officers
MAF Officers under Tertial1 Education Scheme P eriod 1 980 - 1 995
Respondents
Responses on the Requirement for Tertial1' Education for The Officer Corps of the Arm)' (Overall)
Responses on the Requirement for Tertiary Education for the Officer Corps Of the Malaysian Army from AFSC Foreign Students.
Responses on The Impact of Tertiary E ducation on M ilitary Officers
Opinions of Public Service Officers on M ilitary Officers With and Without Tertial1' Education Working in MINDEF
\ II
PAGE
8
1 2
1 4
1 9
25
44
63
66
69
71
FIGllRE
1
2
3
4
5
L IST OF FIGliRES
llpward Trend I n Tertiary Education Output From Local llniversities Period Covering From ",th to 6th Malaysia Plans
Sponsors For Tertiary Education Students For 1995
MAF Sponsored Students At Local Universities Period 1 980 -1995
MAF Sponsored Students At Foreign llniversities Period 1980 - 1995
'AFTES' Application Trend By Serving Officers Period 1 990 - 1 995
\' III
PAG E
16
17
22
22
27
LI ST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A Questionnaires on "Requirement for Tertiary
Qualifications for the Officer Corps of the Army '
B Responses from AFDC Lecturers
C Responses from AFDC Students
o Responses from AFSC Lecturers
E Responses Form AFSC Students
F Questionnaires on "The I mpact of Tertiary Education on Mi litar) Officers'
G Questionnaires on "The Opinions of Public Service Officers on Military Officers With and Without Tertiary Qualifications Working In MINDEF'
H Course Contents for Armed Forces Defence College
I Course Contents for Masters in Strategic and Security Studies at the National University of Malaysia
J Course Contents for Army Senior Officers Management School
K Course Contents for MBA at Institute Of Technology MARA
IX
PAGE 88
91
93
95
97
100
102
103
105
107
109
Ahstract of research project suhmitted to thc Dcpartlllcllt or 1·::-..tcnsiol1 hlucatiol1, Facult) or Educational Studies. t1ni\l:rsity Putra �\'1alaysia in partial rullilment or the requ irement ror thl:
degree () r Master 0 I' Scicncc (I I Lll1lan Resources Department)
THE REQUIREMENT FOR HIBHER EDliCATION FOR THE OFFICER CORPS
Supervisor
Faculty
OF MALAYSIAN ARMY
By
Bibi Zarjan Akhbar Khan
February 1998 Associate Professor Dr Azahari I smail
Department of Extension Education, Faculty of Educational Studies
This paper is a study to determine v;hether there is a requirement for tertiary
education for the officer corps of the Malaysian Ar:my. The first objective is to examine the
trends and attitudes of the Malaysian society towards higher education and their implications
for the M alaysian Armed. The second objective is to look at the transformation of the
Malaysian Armed F orces and the implication of the shift from counter-insurgency warfare to
conventional warfare on the human resource development. F inal ly . the paper analyses the
various opinions on elic ited three major points central to the study. the 'need to possess
tertiary education' by the officer corps of the Army: secondary, the 'importance of tertiary
education qual i fication' to the officer corps: and thirdly. the . requirement for tertiary
education' for the officer corps in the Arm) .
The respondents of this study WlTC 2() 7 military ofiiccrs including foreign mi litary
officers. and Public Service Officcrs \\olling 111 M i nistr) or Defence . I n generaL the
mcthodology Il lcl ude,> 5 phd'>l'> 11dl1ll.I'v 111ltl<11 111'>I�ht l11tO the AIlll) '> I dUCdtI011 POltllC'>,
determinatIon of paJ tlllP.lllh '>lll \ c; IIH.lcpth 1I1tCI \ le\\ '> <ll1d fi n,lIl; dat.l .llldlYSI '>
The results of the study .;;hov. that there IS thu,> a need for the Army to look at other
additional measures that could assist It 111 aChle\ mg It.;; set target by year 2000 Expandmg
the e>-"Istmg terms of the \ anous memoranda of understandmg between the Mmlstry of
Defence and the relevant UnIv ersl tle.;; could be one fea�lble approach that should be looked
1I1tO This approach m\ 01\ es the complete I e\ lev. of the ';;v l l abl of the cour.;;es at the Armed
Forces Defence Col lege, the Armed Forces Staff (ol lege and the Arm) SenIor Officers
':;chool of M anagement 111 Ime \\ 11h Ul1l\ el S11) reqUlrements It al so 1I1vohes the
establIshment of a core educatIOn cUITlculum, v. hlch protect the profeSSIOnal reqUlrement of
the Army The courses at these mstltutIOns \\111 be 101l1tl) conducted by the mIlItary and the
appropnate Ul1lVersltles The courses are degree le\ el courses and degrees wIl l be conferred
to successful student by the Ul1l\ ersItles The Arm) has to relentless pursued thiS reqUlrement
WIth the Ul1lVersltles concerned If It v. I shes to realIse Its target b) y ear 2000
The study recommends that there I" a requirement fOI hIgher educatIOn quahficatIOn
for the Army' s officer corps Thus, the Arm\ Human Resources planners as wel l as pol ICies
maker.;; must Implement correl1I\ e mea.;;ure,> ';;0 d� to realt�e the needs of the modern Army
dnd av. areness on the dey elopment for the officel corp'> of the Army
\,1
I\I1 .... tl <lk pi olck pCI1) CII(.iI k.\Il \ dl1g d 1I\.l'IllULlk.1I1 h'Pddd Idbd tdl1 PCIHJ Id I LII1 Pl'l1gcmb.lIlg..ll1.
I dkultl 1\�l1gd"dn Pl'mlitlIkdl1. lll1l\CI .... 1t1 PUtld 1\ ttl .1\ .... 1.1 . .... L·hdg.1I mCIl1CI1Uhl .... Ch<lhdgldl1 ddllPdd,l kCPCllu..l11 untuk Il1Cl1ddPdtj...lIl Iid/dh \dlldl1d \,"11.... (Pcmh,lI1gun<l1l �Ul1lbCI
M,lI1U .... ld)
Peny eha
Fakultl
KEPERLUAN PENG i\.IIAN TINGG I BAG I PEGA WAI-PEGA WAf TENTERA DARAT, i\TM
Oleh
B lbl ZarJaan Akhhar Khan
Dlsember 1 998
Profesor Mad) a DJ Azahan bm I smaJl
Jabatan Pendldlkan Pengembangan Fakultl Pengapan Pendldlkan
Kertas kerja 1m adalah kaJlan untuk mengenalpastl sejauh mana keperluan pengaJIan
tmggl kepada pegawal-pega'WaJ Angkatan Tentera Mala) sla (A TM) ObJektlf pertama adalah
memlal arah ahran dan pandangan umum masyarakat MalaYSIa terhadap pengaJlan t Inggl dan
ImphkasIny a kepada Angkatan Tentera Mala) SIa Ob]ektlf ) ang kedua pula pada amn) a
untuk mehhat perkembangan sumber manUSIa ) ang dlhadapl oleh Angkatan Tentera dan
ImphklasIn) a dalam menghadapl anlakan konsep peperangann) a dan peperangan dl hutan
belantara ke peperangan terbuka t\khlr sekah kaJlan Juga menganahsa pelbagaJ pendapat
berkenaan tlga perkara utama ) ang dJUtarakan dal am pen) ehdlkan In! Pertama, "keperluan
memperolehl kelul usan pengaJldn tmggl oleb pegav,al-pega'Wal tentera '". kedua.
"kepentmgan mempuny aI kellllll':.dl1 pcngdJlan tmggl oleh pegav,al -pegawaJ tentera" dan
ydng ketlga "kehendak pengaJlan t1l1gg1 olch pCgdV, dl-pegd\vdl tentera dame
\11
Sl:ramai 2()7 orang pl:g�l\\ai tl:ntl:ra tdah ll'rlibat schagai rcspomkn dalam kaj ian ll'sis
in i termasuk pcgawai -pl:gawa i tcntna dari luar ncgara dan pl:gawai-pl:gawai A wam kcraj aan
yang bekerja di Kl:mentcrian Pcrtahanan. Sl:cara amnya. mctodologi kaj ian tl:rbahagi kepada
5 fasa, antaranya menyelami kcdudukan po l isi pelaj aran di dalam tcntera. pemi l ihan
responden, hasil kaj ian, temuduga terperinci dan akhir sekali kaj ian data.
Keputusan kaj ian menunj ukkan Angkatan Tentera memerlukan langkah-Iangkah
tambahan untuk mencapai sasarannya tahun 2000. Perkembangan meluaskan memorandum
persefahaman (MOLT) yang sedia ada di antara Kementerian Pertahanan dan universiti
universiti tempatan adalah antara pendekatan yang sihat dan seharusnya diambi l perhatian.
Pendekatan ini merangkumi kaj ian semula mata pelajaran kursus-kursus d i Maktab Turus
Angkatan Tentera. Maktab Pertahanan Angkatan Tentera dan Sekolah Pengurusan Pegawai
Kanan Tentera Darat supaya seali ran dengan keperluan dari universiti-universiti . I anya j uga
melibatkan perubahan kurikulum teras pelaj aran yang mana melindungi keperluan
profesional ATM. Kursus-kursus di i nstitusi-institusi tentera akan dilaksanakan bersama di
antara tentera dan universiti yang terlibat. Kursus-kursus in i bertaraf ijazah dan ij azah akan
dianugerahkan kepada penuntut yang berjaya oleh universiti . Angkatan Tentera seharusnya
menunjukkan kesungguhannya memenuhi keperluan universiti bagi memenuhi sasaran yang
telah ditetapkan bagi tahun 2000.
Kaj i an in i j uga mencadangkan bahmva pengaJlan bertahap yang lebih tinggi amat
dipcrlukan dalam Angkatan Tentera . Dengan ini adalah menjadi tanggungjawab staf
pl:rancangan sumber manusia. Tentera Darat dan pihak yang mcnggubal polisi melaksanakan
pl:rubahan yang mcmbina supaya mcrcal i sasikan J1cmodenan tcntera dan kescdaran tcntang
kl:pl:ntingan pl:ngajian ti nggi untllk pcmhangllnan intclcktllal pcgawai-pcgawai ATM.
'..I II
CHAPTER 1
INTRODllCTION
Background of the Study
The requirement for tertiary le\ el education for officers in the Malaysian
Armed Forces (MAF) has long been recognised. In the 1 960s there was some form of
tertiary education programme for selected officer cadets as wel l as young officers in
the Engineer Corps and Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Corps of the Malaysian
Army and corresponding branches in the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the
Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Hov,.ever. due to the absence of c lear policy
guidance and directives from the Armed Forces Counci l (AFC), which is the highest
governing body of the MAF. the programme unfortunately was haphazardly
administered and experienced many problems. This led to the introduction of the
Armed F orces Tertiary Education Scheme (AFTE S ) in 1 980 with the fol lowing
obj ectives: first, to meet the MAF requirement for qualified officers in the
professional. managerial and technical fields: and second. to raise the general level of
academic education of mil itar� officers so that the qual ity of mi litary professionalism
can be improved.
In the 19XOs, thL: nL:cd ror thL: orticL:r corp� to purSlIL: tntiar) L:dllcation wa�
felt more than e\'t�r. The end or the comIllun ist insurgcnC) in Malaysia in 1990 Sa\\
the MAF undertaking a paradigm shin in its strategic outlook. The MAF started to
embark on an ambitious moderni sation programme with a view to transforming its
capabil ities from that of counter- insurgency to that of conventional warfare to meet
the chal lenges of the 2 1 st century . This modern isation programme not only involves
the introduction of high-technology \\'eapon systems but also sophisticated
information. communication. intelligence and survei l l ance systems which requires
offi cers with appropriate academic qualifications and the training to manage them.
The Malaysian Army recognises that the complexities of modern warfare wil l require
officers not only to possess the knowledge and skills of the art of war and the
' management of violence' ( Hunt ington. 1 957) but also in-depth analytical capabi lities
to face the command challenges of the 2 pt century. The Malaysian Army's
leadership is of the opinion that officers with tertiary education qual ifications will be
able to meet these requirements. This l ed the Chief of the Malaysian Army to set a
target whereby 30 percent of the officer corps should possess tertiary education
qual ifications by year 2000 and all officers b) year 2020 .
Education has always been featured prominently in Malaysia's five-year
development plans. It is expected that it \\i l l cont inue to be so as to enable Malaysia
to become a 'clever - country' in order to real i se the goals of 'Vision 2020', which is
M alaysia's long-term plan of becoming a ful l ) developed and industria l i sed country .
To strengthen that commitmcnt. thc Mala) sian (ion.'rnmen! introduced thc ncw
Education Act 1 995 with the expectat ion to add morc vigour to the deve lopment o f
education in Malaysia in preparation for the challenges o f the 21 '1 century.
The significance of tertiary education qualifications is also strongly felt by the
Public Service Department (PSD) whose officers virtual ly run the entire government
department in the country. In the Publ ic Service. the level of academic qualifications
detern1ines the rate of pa) . The introduction of the Ne'A Remuneration System (NSR)
in 199 1 (Malaysia. N S R 1 99 1 ) further strengthened thi s requirement. The MAF has
been advised to adopt this system. If this system becomes a reality. it would of
course favour those with tertiary education qualifications .
I n terms of economic development. the 2 1 sl century is expected to witness
economic prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region inc luding Malaysia (Malaysia.
Economic Report 1995). The Malaysian Armed Forces has to prepare itself to be
credible enough to provide the securit) that the environment requires for the country
to pursue its 'Vision 2020' objectives. hence the plan to modernise and transform
itself into a conventional-structured mil i tary force. I n order to face these great
demands. the officers in the MAF must be properl) prepared both mil i tary and
academi cally.
Modern \\arl�lre i:-. not onl:- ahout tlh.' destruction of' the enemy's comhat
power. hut it also encompasses among other 1�lctors socia l and political el ements.
diplomacy, technology. finance. material and human resource management which are
all essential both to win a war and manage the aftermath of the war. This will require
commanders to be physical ly and mentally rohust and also technically competent.
Sim ilar if not more complex wars that involve high technology armaments and
s) stems are expected to be fought in the 2 1 ,{ century . This wi l l have significant
impact of the command and control s) stem;, and of course the officers those manage
and man them.
Taking into consideration al l these elements. this may be j ustification for the
MAF to review the officers corps education and training system to keep abreast \vith
changing times. The education phi losophy seems to be still relevant. I n relation to
the national education philosophy. the MAF education philosophy should be able to
support the overall national effort to real i se the goals of Malaysia's 'Vis ion 2020'.
Statement of the Problem
The ml l1 lmUm academic qual ification requirement for entry into the Royal
Mil i tary Col lege ( RMC) is a Division 3 pass in the Malaysian Certificate of Educati on
(MCE) examination which is equ i va lent to live Ordinary Level passes of the General
Certificate of Education (GCE) examination. The RMC conducts a twO-) car officer
cadet trai ning programme and is a non-degree 'I\\arding institution. The normal entry
qual i fication to pursue a tirst-degree course at most universities in Malaysia is the
Higher School Certificate (HSC). Hov;e\·er. the Uni versity of Technology Malaysia
does take in students with a Division 2 pass in the MCE provided they obtain a
mInImUm of five credits in the required science subjects for the intended course
including mathematics and Malay language. The majority of officer cadets at the
RMC . especial ly those on the Short Service Commission course, possess only a
Division 3 M C E qual ification. \\ hich does not satisfy the enrolment conditions for
any of the universities. The RMC conducts three t) pe of courses namely. the Regular
Commission. the Short Service Commission and the Graduate Commission.
In June 1995. the Malaysian Armed Forces Academy (MAF A) was
estab lished. I t conducts a four-year degree awarding education programme in science
and engineering in co-operation with the University of Technology Malaysia. Its first
i ntake of officer cadets wi l l graduate and be commissioned in June 1999. With
MAF A's estab lishment. RMC wi l l cease to train regular officer cadets. MAF A wil l
now be the only source of regular commissioned officers for the Armed Forces.
MAF A, for the moment. is h oused temporari ly at the RMC complex and is expected
to have its own campus in 1 998. When the ne\\ MAF A campus is completed, the
number of cadets per intake \vi l l increase from J 70 at present to 3 00 . Up to year
1997. the Army's share of the total num ber of officer cadets is only 1 00 annually but
from 1l)l)X ollwards it IS projected that the Army \yill be allocated I XO cadets
annual ly .
At present, the two main sources for the Malaysian Army to obtain graduate
officers are from the Graduate Officers Scheme. which started in 1 991, and the
Armed Forces Tertiary Education Scheme (AFTES). The Graduate Officers Scheme
commissions recently graduated university graduates into the Army as l ieutenants.
The intake is about 40 per year. The AFTES faci l itates sen'ing officers to pursue
tertiary education at both local and foreign universities. The majority of the officers
under the AFTES are maj ors whose academic and military qualifications are
acceptable for entry i nto by the appropriate local and foreign universities. However,
due to the l imited financial a llocation for the AFTES, and the l imited number of
academically quali fied officers. the number of officers who can benefit from it is
rel atively smal l . Under the provisions of the AFTES. only regular commissioned
officers with a minimum of sewn years commissioned service and whose age do not
exceed 40 years are e ligible to appl) for tertiary education (AFC Instruction 7/80) .
The AFTES however. only covers courses leading to a diploma and post-graduate
courses l eading to a master degree or doctorate. It does not provide for courses
l eading to a first degree (AFC Instruction J 173) and neither does it speci fy the
academic discipl ines nor the types of courses that can be appl ied for .
7
With effect from 199�. the Armed l'orces Stall College (AFSC) which
conducts a one-year staff course. includes a " Strateg ic and Defence Studies" module
conducted by the U n iversitv of Malava into its curriculum. Successful course . . .
members are awarded a Diploma in Strategic and Defence Studies by the University
of Malaya. On average. 90 Army majors pass the AFSC course annual ly . As at
January 1 996. 9 1 5 officers or about 15 percent of the officer corps of the Malaysian
Army possess tertiary education qualifications with 9 percent holding diplomas. 5
percent first degrees and one percent post-graduate degrees. However. these figures
include both the General Duty officers such as those in the combat combat support
and services (administration and logistics) support units and Professional Duty
officers such as doctors. engineers and teachers. For General Duty officers. only 75
percent possess diplomas. 1 9 percent first degrees and 6 percent post-graduate
degrees.
Table 1 below gives the breakdown of officers possessing tertiary education
quali fications in the Malaysian Army. This makes the Army the Service with the
lowest number of university qual ified officers in the MAF (RMN 1 9 percent and
RMAF 21 percent) which is st ill far from the desired target. Thus. there is a need for
the Army to take a paradigm shift in the development of its officer corps. This
indicates the necessity for a study on the need of tertiary education for the
advancement of the Anm 's officer career.
Tahle I: Bn.·alido\\ n of Officcn. \\ ith Tl'rtia,') Qualitications in the Arm)
EDUCA TION LEVEL CiLNLRI\I Dl: r't-' -rPROrESSIONAL DUTY
-t-Diploma , 565 -
First Degree I 146 I 152 Post-Graduate Degree �7 I 15 TOTAL I 748 I 167
Source Malay:,mn Armed Forces Headquarters
Objecth e5. of the Study
lOTAL
565 298
- -, J_
915
The objective of this stud) is to dt'tennine the perceptions of respondents on
the necessity of tertiary education for Arm) ·s. Specifically, the objectives of the
study are:
1 . To detennine whether the Anny can achieve its target of 3 0 percent of
the officer corps possessing tertiar) education qualifications by year 2000.
2 . To examine v. hether possession o f a university degree qualifications is
more appropriate for the officers corps of the Arm) .
3 . To detennine whether there is a requirement for the officer corps of
the Anny to ha\ e a core education curriculum in collaboration with
universities.
l)
Si�nificancc of the Study
There is wisdom in the Malaysian Arm) 's aim of having uni versity qual ified
officer corps to lead it through the 21 st century . However. it i s felt that its target of 3 0
percent o f the officer corps possessing tertiary education qual ifications by year 2000
may be overly ambitious. Nevertheless. the aspiration of Army's top management
sho uld be acknowledged as it sets the platform for the development of the officer
corps.
The outcome of thi s study will contribute significantly to the intellectual
development of the Army' s officer corps so as to face the challenges of the 2 1 51
century. The product of this research i s potential ly useful as a bas is for the Army" s
Human Resource Planners. for i ts long-term implementation plan i n achieving the
Army's top management aspiration on the intellectual development of the officer
corps. In addition. the product of this research necessitates the review of the Armed
Forces Tertiary Education Scheme. which was introduced in 1980 as wel l as well as
the need to establ i sh a core education curriculum.
CHAPTER 2
LITERA TlIRE REVI EW
Introduction
This chapter reviews the various l iterature related to study available. The sources
of the l iterature are the F ifth. S ixth and Seventh Malaysia Plans. Education Reports. the
Anned Forces Human Resource Development Reports and the Armed Forces Plan 2000.
Reports of tertiary education of Armies in ASEAN countries are also quoted.
In d iscussing the trends and attitudes of the Malaysian society towards higher
education, the increasing interest of M al aysians toward university education. particularly
for degree course. wil l be highlighted. Stat istics from the F ifth Malaysia Plan (5th MP)
and the Sixth Malaysia. Plan (6th MP) wil l be used to indicate this growing trend. Thi s
wi l l also b e able t o give a general impression as t o the attitudes o f Malaysians towards
the possession of university qualifications. The implications of these trends and attitudes
for the Anned F orces and the Army in particular. wi l l support the needs for its officer
corps to fol low suit and improve its qual ification which requires 'brains but not muscles' .
The chal lenges of the 21 q century and the restructuring of the Malaysia Armed
Forces. particularly the Malaysian Army. wi l l he the major focus in di scussing the
transformation of the Malaysian Armed Forces . The discussion will highlight the modern
10