Ingenieur Vol.70 Apr-June 2017 ingenieur Apr-June 2017-FA | Page 68

INGENIEUR Registration statistics as  at   31.3.2017   Registered  Person   PE  with  Prac.  Cert.   10,435 Professional  Engineer   7,235 35 Accredited  Checkers  (S)  -­‐  21   Accredited  Checkers  (G)  -­‐  14   Graduate  Engineer   97,702 255 Engineering  Consultancy  Prac;ces   1972 Graduate  Engineer   Foreigner   Engineering  Technologist   1019 Inspector  of  Works   1,445 329 Body  Corporate   Partnership   1,553 Sole  Proprietorship   58 Mul;  Disciplinary   BEM Registration Statistics as at March 31, 2017 3   to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Engineering Teams continue to play a key role in providing the necessary talents to fill in all the digital eco-system necessary to move the nation towards the digital economy era. Not surprisingly, engineers continue to be in great demand till this day. There are now over 115,000 qualified registered engineers in the country, many of whom have graduated from local institutions of higher learning. To date, there are 16 public universities and 30 private universities offering engineering education at professional levels. There is also a large number of private colleges offering engineering twinning programmes between local and foreign universities. Prior to 1972, engineers could only practice engineering as ‘authorised persons’ under the Architects Ordinance (1952), which restricted qualified engineers to the submission of reinforced concrete plans for buildings up to two storeys high and floor area not exceeding 3,000 square feet. The Architects Ordinance was obviously unsuitable to the advent of high rise buildings. As a result, the Institution of Engineers Malaysia formed a Committee in 1959 to work on the Engineers Bill to be tabled in Parliament through the Ministry 6 66 VOL 2017 VOL 70 55 APRIL-JUNE JUNE 2013 of Works, which was in charge of the Architects Ordinance. After numerous meetings between engineers, architects and surveyors, it was finally agreed that three similar but separate Bills be prepared – one for each profession – and tabled in Parliament. The Bills were passed in August 1967. For engineers, it was the Registration of Engineers Act (REA), implemented five years later in 1972. Since then there were a few more amendments to the Act with the latest amendment in 2015. In the 2015 amendment, the registration of engineering professionals was extended to include the Engineering Team. Other than previous categories of Graduate Engineers and Professional Engineers, new categories of Professional Engineers with Practicing Certificate, Engineering Technologists and Inspector of Works have been included. The main function of BEM is now to keep and maintain the Register which contains the following: Names, addresses and other particulars of: i. Part A – Professional Engineers ii. Part B – Graduate Engineers iii. Part D – Engineering Consultancy Practices iv. Part E – Accredited Checkers