Initially established as the Text Preparatory Bureau (BIROTEKS) on 10th January 1981, the publication arm began its services very humbly—understaffed and with fewer than 10 publication materials to process, as writing was not Institut Teknologi MARA’s forte at that time.

Over time, the bureau underwent significant changes with the formation of the UiTM Consolidation Strategy, changing its name to the Academic Publication Unit, or as it is fondly remembered and called, UPENA (a Malay acronym for Unit Penerbitan Akademik. Even today, most UiTM staff still call the press by this name!). It remained a unit for less than five months when a former Vice-Chancellor issued a directive for the unit to be upgraded from a unit to a centre. Despite the change, UPENA remained its name.

The objectives were to: encourage the UiTM academic fraternity to write scholarly materials as teaching and learning references at the institution; champion the Malay language as the language of knowledge; stimulate the publication of academic materials such as books, journals, proceedings, monographs, and manuals, particularly those written by the institution’s academics. It was a prerequisite for the university’s academic staff to be considered for promotion, as writing was not a popular practice among them—a method to instil a love for spreading knowledge. Now, it has become a widespread culture across the university’s nationwide campuses.

Following this, the UiTM Executive Committee No. 21/2011 agreed that, effective 15 November 2011, the University Publication Centre would be renamed UiTM Press, publishing the intellectual and creative ideas of Universiti Teknologi MARA’s staff, be they academic or non-academic, to share and disseminate knowledge throughout the university and society at large. UiTM Press is responsible for encouraging and assisting the UiTM community to be active in academic authorship by providing support and consultancy, as well as selling all of its publications through its Editorial, Administrative, and Sales and Marketing Units.

Today, UiTM Press also publishes general books without losing their scholarly elements to cater to a wider readership. This is because the publication arm no longer focuses solely on producing textbooks for UiTM students, but also for students of other institutions of higher learning and for society at large. Other than the UiTM fraternity, the Press also welcomes anyone, from anywhere, to unleash their writing prowess and publish their literary works.

To date, UiTM Press has published over 1,000 titles, with a few having won prestigious local academic publication awards. This is the fruit of labour under the leadership of its charismatic directors, from then to now, as listed below:

List of Directors