10.6.5 : University diversity officer
Department of Registrar
The Registrar’s Office (Jabatan Pendaftar) at UTM functions as the dedicated University Diversity Officer (or equivalent body), as it is formally tasked by the administration with implementing and advising on human resource management, staff welfare, and institutional compliance, which are the core functions necessary to enforce diversity, equity, inclusion, and human rights policies on campus.
The Registrar’s Office oversees several key divisions that directly manage the campus environment and personnel:
- Human Resources Division (Bahagian Sumber Manusia): This division handles Service & Remuneration and Appointments & Promotions. As UTM’s policies mandate anti-discrimination in salary, recruitment, and promotion (as per the Policy on Equality in Service), this division is the operational body responsible for implementing equitable practices and ensuring policy compliance across the entire staff lifecycle.
- Organization Management Division (Bahagian Pengurusan Organisasi): This section includes the Medical Facilities & Staff Welfare Section (Seksyen Kemudahan Perubatan & Kebajikan Staf). By focusing on staff welfare and medical needs, this division directly implements policies that support staff diversity, particularly those with disabilities or specific health needs.
- Academic Management Division (Bahagian Pengurusan Akademik): This division manages all academic policies, including those related to student admissions, which UTM's Diversity and Inclusive Policy mandates must be non-discriminatory and based on meritocracy.
In effect, the Registrar’s Office, through its centralized control of HR, welfare, and academic governance, acts as the governing body's operational arm to enforce and implement all official university policies pertaining to diversity, equity, inclusion, and human rights on a daily basis.
Source :
Department of Registrar
UTM meets the requirement for a dedicated Diversity and Equality Officer/Committee through the formal designation of the Registrar’s Office (Jabatan Pendaftar) and the overarching University Management Committee (Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Universiti) to advise on and implement its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
Institutional Governance and Implementation
The institutional commitment is formalized by the University Management Committee, which officially approved the Policy on Diversity and Inclusion (2019) (Polisi Diversiti dan Inklusif Universiti Teknologi Malaysia). This top-level endorsement ensures that DEI principles are a mandate across all university operations.
The Registrar’s Office then acts as the primary executive and operational office responsible for translating this policy into action, functioning as the de facto Diversity and Equality Office. This is evident because the Registrar is the officer who formally issues and disseminates the policy to the entire university community, giving the office direct responsibility for its implementation.
Key functions of the Registrar’s Office that fulfil the diversity officer role include:
- Policy Implementation: The Registrar's Human Resources Division is mandated to ensure "equal opportunities" (peluang yang sama rata) in both employment and education. This includes continuously reviewing practices in recruitment, promotion, and performance management to actively "avoid discrimination and bias" (mengelakkan diskriminasi dan bias).
- Advice and Compliance: The office advises the administration on all matters related to staff welfare, compliance, and governance, ensuring that the explicit prohibitions against discrimination, bullying, harassment, and violence (diskriminasi, buli, gangguan dan keganasan) are upheld across the entire campus.
- Broad Scope: The policy itself explicitly covers all members of the University community, including students, staff, stakeholders, and all individuals participating in University activities, thereby giving the Registrar's Office oversight of human rights and equitable treatment for everyone interacting with the institution.
By embedding the responsibility for promoting and enforcing DEI policy within a senior administrative office that controls HR, governance, and academic management, UTM ensures that the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are systematically integrated and managed at an institutional level.
Source :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XYUy7-pd-s2a1x0VXlMDXeUfBF0JysMk/view?usp=drive_link
