Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on the subject matter. Treat this post as a personal opinion of myself with a limited experience and knowledge at the time of posting. If you have any questions, concerns or objections about my point of view, please refer to an actual expert on the subject matter.
What is Engineers?
People often wonder about what engineers do. Some people think that engineers built cars and airplane. Others might think that engineers built dams and bridges. While all of these might be true, there is one thing that often unspoken about engineers. For me, engineers is the people that protect the lives of others.
Why I put it this way? I mean, engineers aren’t doctors? Well, they do not save lives like doctors do. But they did design the cars we drive everyday, the very home we live in, and the electrical appliances we often use. Behind the scene, engineers are working hard to make sure that these things that were build for our comfort is safe and sound. They make sure the brakes, seatbelts and airbags of the cars are functioning properly to avoid a crash that could potentially be fatal. They make sure the load applied to our home ceiling and walls are in check so that it doesn’t crumble upon us while we were asleep. They designed our home electrical circuits in a way that short circuit won’t happen to cause a fire. It is clear that their responsibility is huge, for the wellbeing of others. Yet, what happening in Malaysia is a sad truth for engineers.
Brain Drain and Low Wage
In Malaysia, engineers aren’t appreciated by the industry as they should. Brain drain is widespread, whether they migrated to another industry or another country. One of the contributing factor is the pay grade. Low wages is a nationwide problem, often spoken on social media and news outlet. Citing from Utusan Malaysia on the article Jurutera Miskin (Poor Engineer), 28th October 2021, the average salary of a local engineer was stagnant for the previous 20 years, while the starting salary is ranging from RM1,500 to RM2,000. The problem was even worse when the data from Social Security Organization (SOCSO or PERKESO) showed that 22% of local engineers earned below the National Poverty Line of RM2,208. Even though these articles and data was written and compiled 5 years ago, nothing much has changed and the issue is still relevant until today.
The other key reasons is the lack of industrial opportunity, especially in Research and Development (R&D). Many employers and company were comfortable with “the old ways” and rejected the need of invention and innovation. As a result, the talent and knowledge of a handful of engineers were going to waste. This led to underemployment, when engineering graduates are forced to work below their actual skills and qualifications in other low income sector. Without the necessary demand for engineers, graduates ended up being paid less. This contributed to the slowing down of technological development, which is needed for Malaysia to become a developed country.
To cope with the slow economic demand for engineers, some of them opted to work overseas for better opportunity. Most of their target countries are Singapore, European Union countries and the United Kingdom, United States, China, Korea and Japan. This not only reflected our government failure to accommodate for our local talents, but also implies that the taxpayer money are wasted on education as local university tuition fees are subsidized up to 90% of its original costs, while it takes up to RM1 million to send a student abroad. We cannot blame these graduates as they are struggling to make a living in their home country and choose to contribute to technological advancement overseas instead.
“Fake” Engineers
Not to mention that the job market was flooded with “fraudulent” or “unqualified” engineers. According to Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (REA 1967), the recognized individuals to conduct the work of an engineer legally are (sorted by levels of clearance from lowest to highest):
- Graduate Engineer (GE)
- Professional Engineer (PE)
- Professional Engineer with a Practising Certificate (PEPC)
To become a graduate engineer, one must possess at least a recognized Bachelor Degree in any Engineering Field and registered with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). Failure to do so may result in fine not exceeding RM50,000 or imprisonment up to 3 years or both. For employers which employed these illegal engineers will face a fine not exceeding RM50,000 and if they are BEM-registered engineering consultancy entity, their license can be suspended or revoked.
While the penalty for the crime is considered reasonable, but the enforcement could only be done if a case was reported, as BEM had no jurisdiction to actively search and interrogate any suspect. This loophole caused employees and employers alike to abuse the system, actively ignoring the consequences they might face in the court of law.
This not only damaged the engineers’ job market, but also causes a serious threat to the public safety and engineers’ reputation. When unqualified individuals with no necessary skills are employed as illegal engineers and making important decisions regarding specifications of the engineering design, they poses a risk of miscalculation and design failure. With the lack of accountability, this could results in damaged property or worse, loss of lives.
Case Study – Highland Tower
Take an example of the infamous tragedy, the Collapse of the Highland Tower (11th December 1993) in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor. Block A (Tower Block 1) of the building collapsed due to a major landslide during a heavy rainfall. After investigation, it is known that the main cause of the accident is the failure of the retaining wall, situated behind the block’s car park. The design of the wall was inadequate: the use of substandard materials and improper welding procedures during construction, as well as the failure of the design to incorporate natural factor consideration such as heavy downpour which affects hillside stability.
The developers and professional team were put to blame. The civil engineer who approved the plans overlooked the need of a proper drainage system. The developer did not hire a structural engineer to inspect the condition of the hillside, and denied the construction of a master drainage due to a tight budget. There is no proper inspection for the construction of the retaining wall, and no regular check-ups which led to cracks building up onto the side of the wall unnoticed. This caused the wall to fail with tons of liquid-solid (semi-solid, half liquid and half solid) form of soil and water behind, pushing Tower Block 1 to its collapse. Although this case wasn’t caused by an unregistered engineer, rather an absence of a competent one, it demonstrates the importance of engineers to be equipped with a proper education, integrity and training. Recklessness, corruption and irresponsibility should have no business in engineering. Yet, we entrusted these frauds to make the important decisions, with no regard to the public safety. In case of the Highland Tower, it costs us a total of 48 lives.
Final Remarks
If we keep on ignoring the needs for these engineers, either by downplaying the low wage issue or denying the enforcement of the law to protect the profession, it will only lead to more loss and casualties. Actions need to be taken by the government, engineers and the public to raise awareness and push for public reform. I urged engineers to unionized, voicing for law amendments and a better pay policy. I end my article with a statement, the statement which every responsible engineers once took an oath with in some shape or form, “To protect lives, to do no harm, either to the people or the environment, to uphold the professional etiquette according to the law, for the benefit and the progress of the nation.”
References:
- Adnan, R. M. S. D. a. F. (2021, October 27). Jurutera miskin. Utusan Malaysia. https://www.utusan.com.my/nasional/2021/10/jurutera-miskin-2/
- Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Revised 2015). https://bem.org.my/uploads/Info/REA2015_REG2015(Final).pdf
- HIGHLAND TOWERS REPORT 1999. (n.d.). https://www.hba.org.my/archive/focus/HT/1999.htm