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

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