What's the deal with PTD these days? I got the SMS cinta panggil to do online exam next week and will definitely be taking it, but not sure if I pass, whether it's worth it to give up my current job.

Some background: Took the exam 2 years ago, passed, but couldn't make it to the next round coz I was pregnant. I really wanted it to be honest, my career was pretty unstable since I came back from 10+ years overseas and I've craved that sweet sweet embrace of a 9-5 gomen job. After struggling for 2-3 years I FINALLy got a stable job with a reputable MNC that I intend to stay with for as long as I can.

So why bother with PTD? I was a JPA scholar and I'm fully aware I owe JPA and the country. But I'm pretty happy where I am, and I think I can really go far in this current company. I've heard of scholars getting released from JPA so I'd love to hear it if that's your experience.

I know what you mean. This was exactly my sentiment 10 years ago. I was here for a year, and only got panggilan to do the exam after I already got an offer to do my phd. Now while I mostly agree with you I want to ask you to at least consider it and keep an open mind. My friends who became PTD in 2009, are now high up in various sectors, in various fields, and none of them are confined to gomen work. They kept their integrity and high spirit and most have come out pretty well. Not everyone in gomen is as bad as you think While it may not be related to your course, give it a try anyway because you might find that you'll enjoy it or that you're good at it. Plus the job market is not great, and a PTD job is actually a good deal all things considered.

pm me if you wanna talk more.

yes. UKJK on 7th.

yeah, different dates and different venues. you'll get any date between 7th to 10th at one of the locations you stated as your pusat ujian in SPA. there's also several locations within one pusat ujian (e.g within putrajaya there's at least 4 locations). i got lucky that mine is on sunday, no need to get cuti.

regarding the essay part, if you pass the UKJK the next round is PAC (not sure what it stands for) which is essentially public speaking and essays in both BM and english. they use a scoring system so if you fail one part just need to make it up in others. don't worry lah. 5 years is not that long.

good luck!

No way other than signing up on SPA8i and make sure you choose PTD as one of the choices. Keep your contact info up to date, check your emails, and follow their official facebook page. If they decide to go for another round of recruitment, they'll 1) announce on Facebook, 2) send you an SMS, and 3) send you an email with all the login details.

There's a few places where you can get previous questions and discuss with candidates. There's usually even ex candidates & current PTDs who stay on and help out. Search for facebook groups, there are a few. Some of these do help out but you have to pay for their e-book. Up to you, but free info is there if you spend a bit of time searching. For me the most useful was the Telegram group, there was 11k members by the time I left. Scroll up, I think the link was posted on this thread some time ago.

SPA will not be able to (or won't) tell you if and when there is another recruitment cycle, so I hope you have other means of income in the meantime. If you don't care what job, as long as it's the government, do also check out SPA postings on their Facebook page as they post all government job vacancies there. Pekerja Sambilan Harian jobs should be easy to get, and it's a good way to get a foot in the door because they like to just absorb you afterwards.

it's great that you want to join the government - and do note that not everyone is inefficient and not all of the work is a slog. It takes time to change and it starts with an open mind.

Good luck!

This is what I found on the SPA website: Berdasarkan peraturan sekarang, Kementerian/Jabatan dan Pentadbiran Negeri akan melaporkan kekosongan jawatan kepada Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam Malaysia untuk membuat pengisian.
So yes it seems that SPA does the recruitment process, but the advertising channels could be done by both SPA and the state.