The denizens of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) have been urged to inculcate moral values for the sake of the nation’s development and well-being.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani said that every civil servant should adopt moral values such as being trustworthy, impartial, wise, transparent, grateful, accountable and disciplined in their daily work so that these moral values can serve as examples while serving the public.

According to him, in order to create public service that is efficient, creative and innovative, the public service machinery needs to display and practice integrity of the highest level. Hence, the denizens of the University should be mindful of their conduct and also take care of the good name of UUM by practicing and observing every procedure and set rules.

"In the recent New Year message delivered by the Minister of Education, he emphasized the concept of 'school for community, university for society”. We want to restore the authority of the public and higher education through the improvement and emphasis of values as the thrust of education by outlining four directions namely quality, autonomy, collaboration and internationalization.

"I hope we can take heed to the call made by the Government and be prepared to make the necessary changes by adopting noble practices, cheerful emotions, structured planning, becoming proactive and avoiding negative things. By doing so, employees with first-class minds will be produced and ultimately improving the quality of work," he said at the UUM 2019 Monthly Assembly held at the Sports Centre this morning.

The Vice-Chancellor also expressed his hope that all UUM denizens will work with sincere hearts and in good health in order to improve productivity. Hence, for that reason the Institute of Quality Management (IPQ) has been entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring all work processes at the University both academically and administratively.

He said that starting February, he will conduct goodwill visits to the various Centres of Authority (PTJ) and Schools starting from the School of Creative Industry Management and Performing Arts (SCIMPA), the School of Applied Psychology, Social Work and Policy (SAPSP) as well as the Cooperative and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (CEDI).

"In our pursuit of ratings and rankings as well as inculcating moral values, I fervently hope that this year the University will respond to the government's call for prudent spending through the implementation of two things: optimizing spending and using the mind to increase productivity.

At the same event, the Vice-Chancellor launched the Sports Centre Membership Card at a fee of MYR40 per year which enables members to enjoy all the facilities provided at the Sports Centre.