INGENIEUR
In the context of Malaysia,
we introduced a self-regulatory
system of occupation of newly
constructed buildings in 2007
where in the past the Certificate
of Fitness of Occupation (CFO)
must be obtained from local
authorities before any newly
completed building can be
occupied. This process has
created problems of timeliness
in local authorities processing
develop er s’ ap p lic at ion s ,
hence causing undue stress
and inconveniences to home
owners in occupying their newly
constructed buildings. With the
introduction of a new occupation
permit called the Certificate of
Completion and Compliance
(CCC), the authority can now
issue it by transferring the onus
onto the professional engineers
and architects. It was this
paradigm shift which gave the
industry a sense of assurance
on the accountability, reliability
and integrity of the professional
engineer s and architect s
involved.
The export of services is part
of Malaysia’s Economic Blue
Print as we aim to be a high
income economy by 2020 in our
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aspirations of joining the ranks
of top trading nations to be on
par with the best of the world.
In this regard, I am proud
to inform that Malaysia is the
first ASEAN country to have
its engineering services fully
liberalised. The Registration of
Engineers Act 1967 which was
amended in early 2015 to allow
foreign firms and professional
engineers from the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC)
to have 100% ownership and
directorship of engineering
consultancy firms in Malaysia
has triggered a transformation
in the sector. It is my fervent
hope to see more nations open
their doors by liberalising their
engineering services to allow
for a level playing field and
hence greater mobility and
opportunities for our mutual
benefits.
There are indeed clear
advant age s in p roviding
greater mobility for engineering
p ro fe s sio n al s whi c h are
beneficial to recipient nations in
coping with the delivery of their
economic impetus.
To date, the Board of
Engineers Malaysia (BEM) has
registered 16,103 Professional
Engineers of whom 9,208
are Professional Engineers
with Practising Certificates
while 89,980 are Graduate
Engineers. The BEM has
proactively extended the scope
of registration of engineering
professionals with the registering
of Engineering Technologists
and Inspector of Works so that
the engineering professionals’
ecosystem is properly regulated.
Taking cognisance of the
need for the international
mobility of profes sionals,
Malay sia is continuously
emp ha si sing t he qu ali t y
of education of its tertiary
education institutions. Through
rigorous quality assurance
systems which have been put
in place for more than 20 years,
the education standards of
our engineering courses must
not be compromised. For this,
I am proud to note that the
recent World University Ranking
has ranked nine Malaysian
engineering schools in the top
100 universities in the world,
with two in the top 50.
Malaysia through BEM will
be applying to be a signatory of