Omar played major roles in the establishment phase of the university and in the founding of several faculties and academic programmes.
In 1984 he was appointed Science Adviser in the Prime Minister's Department, the first person to hold the position.
He also served as a member of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development, the Executive Committee for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference's Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation and of the UNESCO’s International Scientific Council for Science and Technology Policy Development.
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.