Administrative and Diplomatic Officer (PTD) | 2018 Intake

Dear self, there's always a rainbow after the rain

Administrative and Diplomatic Officer (PTD) is the most popular post in government sector for bachelor degree holder which you'd be graded M41 once appointed. I've kept this entry for so long and wanted to finish writing my experience attending the stages I got to today since I finally got the result of my PAC assessment.

Before that, here are the stages to be a PTD :

1) Online Exam;

2) Physical Tests;

3) PAC assessment;

4) Interview; and

5) The Cadet (Training)

I'm excited to share my experience, what I've been through and the results of my tests but bear in mind that I'll not specify things such as the topics and exam questions.

Online Exam

I passed the online exam which took place on 3rd November 2017. I didn't expect to pass it as the questions were very hard. The exam divided into two sections, the first section contains general knowledge which I'm not good at and the second section was easy math questions but due to the time limit, I couldn't answer most of the questions.

Tips: Honestly I'm so bad at general knowledge especially I went blank at questions about the rules, functions and structure of the country's organizations. To ensure you're ready for these questions, you just have to read and read and read. Since it's an online exam, you could get all the help you need such as your family and friends to be beside you to help with the questions.

Physical Tests

I went to IKBN Bukit Mertajam, Penang for the physical tests. I've read that usually the physical tests would be held for two days together with PAC Assessment but this year it was held separately. The physical test contains these tests:
1) Measure your BMI
2) Blood pressure and heartbeat reading
3) Hand grip test
4) Beep test
5) Push up
6) Sit and reach test

BMI wasn't important in this physical test but your stamina is. It's because if you could achieve higher points in other tests, especially beep test, it could cover up the lacking points at your BMI. Also, the blood pressure and heartbeat reading were the most important because if you couldn't reach normal reading, you won't be able to take the rest of the tests. So one tip to pass the normal reading is, don't be nervous and make sure to get enough rest for the day. I wasn't confident at all as I'm overweight and my stamina is damn low, I never get to the peak of the mountain I used to hike but I guess luck was again on my side and I passed the physical tests.

PAC Assessment

As I've mentioned in few of my entries before, to speak in front of a crowd is my biggest fear. But it's one of the processes I had to go through to try becoming a PTD officer. PAC Assessment was held at INTURA, Sungai Petani for one whole day. It had stages with these sequences:
1) Essay writing in Bahasa Melayu - 30minutes
2) Essay writing in English - 30 minutes
3) Pengucapan Awam - 5 minutes
4) Public Speaking - 5 minutes
5) Group discussion (Bahasa Melayu) - 1 hour
6) Group discussion (English) - 1 hour
7) Group activity

Honestly, I'm bad at writing the essays. I thought 30 minutes would be more than enough but I was damn wrong. I went blank for the first few minutes and couldn't generate good points to write. Though speaking in front of a crowd is my biggest fear, I think I did good enough during public speaking and group discussion. I didn't stutter that bad as I thought I'd be, thank god. But maybe the same thing happened as I couldn't speak more points to back up my topics so maybe that was the biggest reason I failed PAC assessment.

I was so disappointed as I thought I could pass it so I had a mental breakdown for these few days. But never mind, I'll try it again next year. So I hope my sharing would be a good reference for you guys who plan to apply for PTD. The key is you just have to read and read for the assessments and make sure to keep your body fit for the physical tests. Goodluck!

Till then,
Lya.