Balai Ikhtisas Malaysia

A feather to Balai Ikhtisas Malaysia's cap is its magazine "Ikhtisas - The Professionals". A glossy magazine of high standard, it carries a variety of interest not only to professionals but to the public as well.

The quarterly magazine which started in 1983 was a channel of communication between the professions,between professionals and the public. The editorial contents included articles on national development,economy, science and technology, business and management, culture, conservation, consumerism and leisure, and interviews with leading personalities.

Unfortunately the last issue was in 1992 and it has since been discontinued as it was economically not
viable. But BIM hopes to republish the magazine when the economy improves.

In addition, BIM has its own newsletter. It was at one time called Berita BIM but now the name has been changed to "Berita Professional - BIM". Apart from informing the members about the goings-on of the centre, each issue highlights a profession.

One of the more significant achievements of BIM was in 1995 when it published a Directory of Professionals which served to document the strength of the professional community and to create and identity for the ever-widening community of professionals. BIM was propelled into producing the directory although some of the professional institutions has been in existence for many years, some even before Malaysia's independence, there was no compilation of the country's experience. Malaysia has been recognized as an Asian country to be reckoned with and BIM felt the directory would serve as a vehicle for promoting understanding, cooperation and better networking among not only professionals and the general public in Malaysia but also in ASEAN and the Pacific Rim Region.

The Centre has also been involved in fund-raising projects for charitable organisations. It once collected RM30,000 for the Malaysian Association for the Blind. RM50,000 for the Selangor and Federal Territory Spastic Association, RM25,000 for the Selangor and Federal Territory Society for Mentally Retarded Children, and over RM20,000 for the Society for the Deaf in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. In 1985 the Centre organised a charity performance in which it raised about RM29.000 for its own Education Fund.

As part of its activities, the Centre offers its expertise in developing career guidance programmes. It organise
seminars, forums and features on various subjects, sometimes as Centre-inspired projects, and at other
times when such assistance is required by the Ministry of Education, State Education Departments or
individual schools.

The Centre has published a 202-page Career Guidance Handbook and 1,500 copies of this handbook were donated and distributed to secondary schools libraries in the country.