Director's Message

Associate Professor Dr. Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk

The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) aims to promote research and publication in policy matters through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established in 1974, CenPRIS serves as a resource centre for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. As Malaysia’s oldest research centre, CPR has contributed immensely to the nation-building project through various action-oriented research. CPR, for example, had provided policy inputs to the Malaysian government on a number of important policy issues ranging from poverty alleviation to ethnic relations.

Over more than forty years of serving as Malaysia’s premier research institution, CPR has incorporated an international dimension in its research agenda so as to cater to the ever increasing interconnected world. CPR therefore welcomes and encourages collaboration on regional as well as international policy issues. The movement of peoples and capital in a globalized world has and will define international relations in the 21^st century, and CPR intends to embark on this journey as an important player. Forming linkages with other institutions in the Asia Pacific region is the first step in this direction.

Public policy both at domestic and international level requires sound and critical scrutiny from stakeholders, and as a research centre, CPR will continue to build its capacity to be in the fore front of this dynamic process.

CPR is Malaysia oldest policy research centre, serving as the focus of the University's efforts in consultancy services, research and graduate supervision related to public policy and international studies. It was established in 2007 from the amalgamation of two existing research centres: the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), which was established in 1974, and the Centre for International Studies (CIS), which was established in 2004. With the amalgamation, in the context of globalization and Malaysia being a highly open economy, the public policy aspect will also now have an international dimension to it. With the amalgamation, nation building, which is the niche area of the Centre, will have both domestic and international perspectives.

The Centre's graduate studies programme prepares candidates for scholarly and leadership roles in government, universities, research organisations, and other settings where knowledge and research skills in public policy and international studies are needed. The programme is committed to accomplishing this mission by creating an intellectually vibrant atmosphere for scholarship involving an active faculty from a broad spectrum of academic disciplines and extensive interaction with government agencies and community groups. CPR welcomes graduate students to pursue Masters and Ph. D. study programmes by research in the focus areas.