Omar bin Abdul Rahman P.S.M., J.M.N., J.S.M. (born 1932) is a Malaysian academic and corporate figure. He is currently the president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the MUST Ehsan Foundation, a nonprofit

foundation Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

that manages and administers the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST).

Career

Early academic career

Omar graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1958 with a degree in

Veterinary Science Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

and later earned a Ph.D from

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1966. He started his professional career in 1960 in veterinary research, then in 1972 moved on to academic life at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM), now

Universiti Putra Malaysia University of Putra Malaysia ( Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University of ...

where he was the Founding Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences and the first professor appointed by the university. Omar played major roles in the establishment phase of the university and in the founding of several faculties and academic programmes. His last position at UPM was as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Affairs.

Government and corporate career

In 1984 he was appointed Science Adviser in the Prime Minister's Department, the first person to hold the position. As Science Adviser, Tan Sri Omar served on a number of national committees including The National Development Planning Committee, The National Council for Scientific Research and Development, The National Information Technology Council and the National Telecommunication Council. He initiated a number of national programmes for enhancing

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

funding, for commercialization of the results of research and for the overall improvement of the national science and technology management processes. He was the founder chairman of

Technology Park Malaysia Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) is a science park located in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for research and development of knowledge-based industries. Its total land area of , comprises 13 buildings each with specific functions. It is in phase ...

Corporation, the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Composite Technology (Research) Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Malaysian Technology Development Corporation.

Later academic career

Omar is also the founding and current chairman of the London-based Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management Ltd (CPTM), Founding Fellow of the

Islamic World Academy of Sciences The Islamic World Academy of Sciences (IAS) is a non-profit organisation of scientists and technologists that works for the promotion of science and technology in the Islamic world. It was founded in 1986. Foundation The establishment of the ...

, a Fellow of the

Academy of Sciences for The Developing World The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 100 countries. Its principal aim is t ...

), an Honorary Fellow of the

National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences (official name: National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan), (), originally part of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, was established as an independent entity by government decree in December 1993. The aim ...

and the Founding and Immediate Past President of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. He also served as a member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development, the Executive Committee for the

Organisation of the Islamic Conference The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority. The Pew Forum on ...

's Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation and of the

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’s International Scientific Council for Science and Technology Policy Development.

Retirement from government service

He retired as Science Advisor in January 2001 after serving for more than 16 years but remains as Prime Minister's Special Representative to CPTM. Upon retirement in January 2001, he was given the task to establish and manage the Venture Capital for Technology Acquisition fund, a government fund managed by Kumpulan Modal Perdana Sdn. Bhd., of which he was its Executive Chairman from 2001 to April 2007.

Awards and honours

In recognition of his contributions, Omar has received the following:

Honorary doctorates

Australia

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Canada

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Malaysia

National University of Malaysia The National University of Malaysia (, abbreviated as UKM) is a public research university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), ...

Bangi Bangi may refer to: *Bangi (surname), an Indian surname *Bangi District, Bangi, Afghanistan *Bangi, Iran (disambiguation) *Bangi, Nepal *Bangi, Malaysia ** Bangi Komuter station, Malaysia * Bandar Baru Bangi, Malaysia * Bangi (federal constituency), ...

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

, Serdang,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia University of Technology Malaysia (UTM) () is a Malaysian public research-intensive university ranked 188th in the world by QS University rankings. Its medium of instruction is English. Campuses UTM has three campuses – the main campus is in ...

Skudai Skudai (also spelled Sekudai) is a town in Johor, Malaysia. It is about 13 km northwest from Johor Bahru's central business district. Location Skudai is located just outside the northwestern border of Johor Bahru, along national highway 1. The ...

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

United Kingdom

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

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University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

State honours

Malaysian federal awards

* : Companion of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...

(J.S.M.) (1976) * : Companion of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace of God-Defender of the Realm). The o ...

(J.M.N.) (1987) * : Commander of the

(P.S.M.) (1994)

References

Profile from Malaysia University of Science and Technology

Board of Directors, GMO Limited
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omar Abdul Rahman Living people 1932 births Malaysian people of Malay descent Academic staff of the University of Putra Malaysia Malaysian biologists Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Companions of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia