Wednesday, April 17, 2013

PTD Exam 2013

Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PTD), or Administrative and Diplomatic Officer has always been my dream job, ever since I was still studying in school. Although at that time, I was still unaware of the scope of work of a PTD. It was my dad who introduced me the job. He had introduced me various occupations throughout my upbringing. And it evolved periodically as I got older. Starting from a doctor, to architect and PTD. 

My dream is to see the world from various perspectives as much as I can. By this, I want to travel abroad. That is why my dad keep motivating me to try up PTD. He is the backbone to what life choices I make today. 

That one week, everyone was talking about the PTD exam being around the corner. Everyone's been posting on Facebook, Twitter and other social medias saying that they were going to sit for PTD exam that coming Saturday. So I checked my e-mail. Nothing. No e-mail indicating any form of invitation to sit for PTD exam. Checked the SPA website. Nothing. I was devastated. But I pulled myself up, saying if God didn't want something to happen, then it won't. I've always believed in that saying. And I was fine.When I got home, I didn't have the guts to tell my parents. They found out anyway. Sigh~

If God wants something to happen, then it will. That morning, I checked my e-mail:


Alhamdulillah. I've no other word to say. I printed out the e-mail and produced it to my parents that night. They were happy. My dad especially helped me in preparing all the necessary knowledge for me to prepare in order to sit for the exam. He printed out documents on facts of Malaysia in terms of geography, politics and social issues for me to read and study. I too did the same. I also read blogs from experienced PTD exam candidates to seek for advise. By this, I will be prepared to sit for the exam. I hate surprises ya know? Especially those bad ones. That Friday night, I've been stuffing my head with roles of organizations i.e. MITI, FAMA, FELDA, FELCRA, MIDF, WHO, OIC, DEB...blablabla. I've no idea what'll come out in the exam, so it's better to be safe. I didn't really dig in what the organizations were. Enough skimming and knowing its objective of existence. That's safe enough.

The next day, I finally received an official letter. Enthusiastic level: Increase.

That Saturday morning, my dad drove me to SMK Agama Kuala Lumpur in Kepong, despite us getting lost for half an hour looking for the school. But I arrived on time. Even had a few minutes to discuss with my dad on current issues. Verrry academic.

The school


SECTION A: General Knowledge
Objective paper. On the whole, it was moderate. I cannot say it was easy, cuz it might sound like I'm a genius. LOL. Which I'm not. Sigh. And I cannot really say it was hard, cuz I didn't feel it that way. Naturally, I have weakness on certain topics. I tend to confuse on the roles of a Dewan Rakyat, Dewan Negara and Parlimen. Specifically. I know on basic what their roles are, but when the question is twisted, my brain too get twisted. Ya see, when your knowledge is at basic, it's hard for you to actually address the right answer to the right question. So to overcome the problem, roll the dice! Heh heh.
This part does not only question on local issues, there were global issues too. Like: Which Europe country was the first to go bankrupt.....EU... (can't remember the full question). But this, I'm confident that the answer is Greece. Greece is one the poorest country in Europe. And: Which country was the last to join ASEAN? I'm quite confident it was Timor Leste. But after discussing with my friend, I suddenly had doubts. I mean Timor Leste is the youngest country in the world, but does it make it the last country to join ASEAN too?  I'm so Google-ing this. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the other questions asked. Mind you, 50 questions to answer in 45 minutes? I didn't even have time to recheck my answers! What more to memorize the questions to share it here. 

SECTION B: Problem-Solving
Objective paper. Now this is a fun paper. Haven't been doing Maths for a long time now. Most of the questions were on percentage, mode, median and mean, multipliers, algebra, and problem-solving situations e.g A is taller than C. D is taller than B and A. Who is the tallest in sequence? I thought geometry was gonna come out. I've been memorizing its formula the night before. But it was a relieve, cuz I didn't revise the topic much.

SECTION C: Malay Essay
Essay paper. There were three choices of essay questions to choose from.
  1. Gagasan 1Malaysia
  2. How social media affect peoples' life today
  3. How older generation contribute to younger generations' life
Number 1 is too factual. I wouldn't want to write on something I have less knowledge on. Number 3 was OK, but I was thinking, if I had a lot of knowledge on what older generations 'actually' did in history to elaborate, it would be better. But I didn't. So it's safer to choose something I'm most closest to: social media, question number 2. Oh oh oh.. Hear this! Hear this! One sentence I'm so shocked I actually wrote: ...merindukan ibu nun jauh di kampung halaman... (Oiii...apa skema sangat ni????). Okay, here's the cue to laugh out loud! I cannot erase the sentence! I can't even think of another sentence to replace it! Gahhh..I'm sure the person marking my paper will laugh his/her head off.

SECTION D: English Essay
Essay paper. The three choices of essay topics were:
  1. Job satisfaction
  2. University as a ground for employment..Elaborate
  3. Do you believe in generation gap? Explain.
I of course, chose question number 1!!!! (what's with the multiple exclamation marks you ask?). I've been exposed to that topic for the past consecutive years. I've been attached to Job Satisfaction topics every semester! Thats, why I'm smiling all ears. But..but..but... How can I be certain that what I wrote will win the heart of the invigilator? Tawakal~

I managed to chat with a few people during break. Surprisingly, one woman aged 27 has no idea why she's even there for the exam. What more to make preparation by studying. And she doesn't even know what a PTD really is. When I asked why she came for the exam, and why she applied the job in the first place, she answered, "I just want to work with the government". And I was like goshh... when you wanna apply for a job, go study! (Well, I didn't verbally say that to her lah). Instead, I shared my knowledge by explaining what a PTD is. At least it would help me remind myself too.
Another lady happens to answer 2 questions in the BM essay paper. And I was like, where did she managed to get such convenient time to write 2 essays in one hour? She said, "One essay per page". Still, the instruction was: Answer one question only.
Another lady also answered 2 questions in the BM essay paper. Only her problem, she combined two questions into one essay.

Oh dear, should I feel sorry for them or should I get angry for missing out such important details? But then again, everyone make mistakes. Maybe they're just nervous. I mean, I myself may have made a mistake in the exam. Who knows? God knows. The person who marks my paper will know. *cross fingers*

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P/S: In relation to the last country to join ASEAN I mentioned above, I Google-ed. The answer is... *drum roll*.... Cambodia! A member since April 30, 1999. Timor Leste is not officially an ASEAN member yet, although they have already submitted their request to join ASEAN in 2011.

Okay, I can bang my head on the wall now. *sobs*

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