PTD Assessment Centre (PAC)

Assalamualaikum dan selamat sejahtera pada semua. Saya rasa sudah tentu ramai antara kita yang telah menyemak jadual PAC masing-masing. Saya juga yakin pada masa ini bermulalah proses pencarian maklumat tentang Pac ini. Apa yang menjadi kemushkilan saya adalah PAC kali ini adalah dalam bentuk ujian dan bukanlah kursus 3 hari yang dilaksanakan sebelum ini. Tetapi saya amat berharap agar coretan Saudara Nazif ini akan dapat membantu kita dalam membentuk personaliti sebagai seorang PTD yang unggul sebelum kita melangkah kaki ke proses pemilihan ini. Selamat membaca dan jangan lupa melayari web Saudara Nazif untuk informasi selanjutnya.

Last Friday I went to Kluang for a PTD assessment course for three days. And it was great! I love it though I had a big problem during my last day at the centre but I’m not going to write about that. I’m going to write about the activities that I’ve done while being a PAC participant.

The assessment session were divided into 7 activities spanning across three days. All these activities were done in groups which have random member selection for each activity. Each group have 10 members mostly depending on the activities and during that time, there will be professional evaluators to evaluate the participants’ performance.

However, these activities that I’m about to tell you are based on my experience only. Future PAC session may be different than my session but at least some of you future PAC participants will get some ideas of what’s going on.

1st Activity

Meeting Simulation, each members were given a character card and a problem or description regarding the character. I got the Inspector General of Police of Cakerawala card and my problem is, “There’s a group of suspicious foreign worker from the Trisakti country”. Then we were given a situation that goes something like this, Cakerawala’s naval ship attacked by Trisakti’s ship and it is up to us to decide whether to declare war or find another way to solve the problem.

When the meeting commence, each member should talk about their problems. Me, for example, explained to other ministers that there’s a group of suspicious foreign workers and they might be spies from Trisakti and that’s why they knew our naval ship position. I also explained that our country might have been breached from the inside.

When all members have presented their problems or opinions, a decision must be made. As for my group, we decided that diplomacy is the best way to end the crisis. And before making that decision, a short presentation about why we chose diplomacy were presented to the evaluators a.k.a PTDs.

2nd Activity

Consisting of problem-solving games. Each group plays 4 games and try to solve each of them. Each game has a 30 minutes duration. Game example: Make 10 lines using 9 dishes and each line must contain 3 dishes only. Impossible? Yeah but it can be done. The main purpose of these games is to test your teamwork and leadership skills.

3rd Activity

The 3rd activity is Public Speaking or Pengucapan Umum. Speech done in Bahasa Malaysia. 5 minutes speech for each participants. Here are some of the titles that I managed to get from my friends:

* Langkah-langkah Pengguna Dalam Mengawal Harga Barangan
* Langkah-langkah Mengurankan Keselamatan Jalanraya
* Memupuk Minat Membaca Di Kalangan Rakyat Malaysia
* Pengaruh ICT Dalam Membentuk Minda Remaja
* Hubungan Malaysia Dengan Negara-negara Jiran
* Cara-cara Memperbaiki Sistem Pengangkutan Awam
* Kenaikan harga Minyak & Sumber Alternatif
* Program Angkasawan Negara: Pemacu Industri Aeroangkasa

I got the last title. And damn it was hard to find the materials.

4th Activity

It’s a fitness test!! A 2.4km run!! There were 4 categories of finishers.

* 0-10 minutes
* 11-14 minutes
* 15-18 minutes
* 19-22 minutes
* 22++ minutes

I’m not so sure about the last two categories though. I think they evaluate participants base on that categories. I am the third category. Sigh.

5th Activity

It’s a free flow discussion where group members sits in circle and discuss a topic for two hours. One hour using ONLY English language and then Bahasa Malaysia for another hour. My group’s topic was, Fast Food Culture in Malaysia. The key here, in my opinion, is to voice out your opinions. Give great points and support other group members. Out of the 7 activities, I like this the most because I can talk freely, like talking with friends.

6th Activity

Public Speaking. Same as 3rd activity with an element of surprise. Participants were given a general topic. When it’s my turn to do the speech, I will have to draw a piece of paper from inside an envelope. That piece of paper is the subtopic and I was given 5 minutes to prepare. I got Environment for the general topic and Haze in Malaysia for the subtopic. Below are some of the titles that were presented by my group members:

* Management - Time Management, Knowledge Worker, Excellent Organizational Culture
* Community - Sports Nurturing in Schools, Welfare of Disable People in Malaysia
* Social Issues - Gambling Addictions, Poverty in Malaysia, Gangsterism in School
* Environment - Nuclear Threats, Toxic Waste, Haze in Malaysia
* Value - Unity, Creativity in Work, Teamwork
* Tourism - Malaysia’s Tourism Promotions, Homestay Projects, Beautiful Beaches in Malaysia
* Economy - Potential Products of Malaysia

These titles were during my PAC session and may vary during other sessions. So don’t just stick with these.

7th Activity

Parliament Debate. Group were divided into two. Supporters and oppositions. Each member were then chose which parliament he/she wants to represent. I chose Rembau and in the supporters side. The title was “Kesihatan Rakyat Malaysia Semakin Meningkat” and we were given 15 minutes to pool our points. Then each member will present their points for at most 2 minutes. After all members done, the 2nd session commence and this is where things get real hot. Shouting and table pounding FTW!

And that was the last activity. To those who will present at the next PAC session especially the 1st-timer, I wish you all the best!! ;D

Update: I passed!! Now waiting for the interview session some time in January. Wish me luck!
Update: To those who passed the PAC, read my Tips Lulus Temuduga PTD entry!

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