The Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) is a statutory body constituted under the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 with perpetual succession and a common seal and which may sue and be sued. It was formed in 23rd August 1972.
BEM falls within the ambit of responsibility of the Minister of Works. Vested with wide powers, the Minister may suspend the operation of the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 in any part of Malaysia by notification in the gazette. The appointment of the Board Members and the Registrar is made by the Minister. Last but not least, the Minister has the final say on any appeal from foreign engineers who are not satisfied with the decision of the Board in rejecting their applications for temporary registration or renewal.
In essence, the Board is established for the purpose of regulating the professional conduct and practice of registered engineers in order to safeguard the safety and interest of the public.
In order that BEM can effectively regulate the professional conduct and practice of Professional Engineers, the Board Members appointed are Professional Engineers of high standing and of such experience as in the opinion of the Minister of Works are able to render services and contribute towards that end.
BEM consists of 17 Board Members comprising of:
The Secretary and the Registrar who are Professional Engineers shall be ex-officio members.
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BEM is of the view that it plays a pivotal role in uplifting the image of the engineering profession. In order that it may play its role effectively, BEM is carrying out in earnest its various functions provided for in Section 4 of the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Amendment 2002). The functions are:
a) Maintaining the Register
The Board shall keep and maintain a Register which shall be in five Parts:
Part A - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Professional Engineers;
Part B - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Graduate Engineers;
Part C - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Temporary Engineers;
Part D - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Engineering consultancy practices; and
Part E - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Accredited Checkers.
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b) Processing Applications for Registration
BEM through its Examination and Qualification Committee conducts the Professional Assessment Examination (PAE) to assess the quality of experience gained by the Graduate Engineers and his competency.
Every application for registration, be it as Graduate Engineers, Professional Engineers, Engineering Consultancy Practices or Temporary Engineers by foreign engineers is scrutinized thoroughly by the Application Committee to ensure compliance with the Act and with the policy of BEM.
BEM also applies restrictions on practices of bodies corporate with the aim that engineering consulting services provided by these bodies corporate would be done professionally for the benefit of the client/public. Restrictions also imposed to Temporary Engineers.
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c) Assessment of Academic Qualifications
BEM through its Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC)* assesses and accredits engineering degrees offered by institutions of higher learning. This is done by forming an accreditation team whose members are appointed by EAC. The accreditation team shall consist of at least three members in the same or related discipline of the course to be accredited. At least one of the members should be from an academic institution and one from industry/practice. The accreditation team shall visit the institution to audit the facilities and have dialogue with academic staff and students.
There are two types of accreditation given by BEM: conditional accreditation and full accreditation. The period of full accreditation shall be five years after which it has to be revalidated. Where there are minor shortcomings in meeting the accreditation requirement, the programme may be given conditional accreditation for a period of not more than 2 years during which the faculty must take necessary corrective measures.
BEM use as a guide the list for Professional/Chartered Engineer by the accreditation organisations of the country where the degree is issued.
Prior to conduct new engineering programme institution of higher learning shall obtain approval from the relevant authorities. The authority normally will require supporting document from EAC.
* The Engineering Accreditation Council is the co-ordinating body on accreditation, representing the Board of Engineers Malaysia, the Institution of Engineers Malaysia, Lembaga Akreditasi Negara (LAN) and Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam Malaysia (JPA).
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d) Regulating the Conduct and Ethics of the Engineering Profession
Since its inception in 1972, BEM has been a medium for the engineers to decide on matters relating to their professional conduct or ethics. Any matter concerning the professional conduct of registered engineers will be studied by the Board to determine whether there is a breach of professional ethics or code.
If the need arises, BEM will carry out investigations to establish whether there is a prima facie case against a registered engineer for contravening the Act. The procedures to follow are prescribed in Section 15 of the Act.
If there is a breach of professional ethics or code of conduct on the part of the engineer but such breach is not serious enough to warrant suspension or cancellation of registration, appropriate action, e.g. warning, censure or advice would be taken by BEM as deemed fit. Such measures should be viewed by the engineers at large as a concerned effort on the part of BEM to rid the black sheep of the engineering fraternity.
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In this respect the Scale of Fees Committee of BEM continues to have dialogues sessions with the Federal Treasury on issues involving mode of remuneration, quantum and conditions of payment.
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The Publication Committee of BEM undertakes the task of promoting engineering profession through Buletin Ingenieur and other printed materials.
The Ingenieur (4 issues per year: March, June, Sept and December) is used as a communication tool for BEM to disseminate information on the activities of the Board, regulations, code of ethics, career development, update and guidelines and such other news as decided by the Board.
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g) Promotion of Continued Learning and Education,
BEM has set certain guidelines in connection with the financial assistance provided.
BEM will consider providing financial assistance to seminar or conference which is organised by a non-profit making organisation. The seminar or conference must be technical one that will benefit the registered engineers.
The promotion of continued learning and
education does not stop here. BEM would also consider giving grant to selected
type of study related to engineering or contribute prizes for selected
competition also related to engineering. BEM even goes further by purchasing
engineering reference books which all engineer have access to in the BEM
library.
In order to keep abreast with changing techology, BEM encourages all registered
engineers to continually improve themselves through Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) Programme.
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The Role of BEM in the New Millenium
Through its mechanism of control, e.g. The Engineers Act 1967 (Amendment 2002), BEM has taken upon itself to reclassify the engineering works, streamline the Scale of Fees, amend the Engineers Act to reflect the pragmatic needs of the engineers and engineering industry.
BEM is committed in its role in bringing the engineering profession to greater heights and to project the image of engineers in the right perspective. Strategies have been formulated and links have been initiated with various Government departments for it to continually provide assistance to the Government from municipal level right up to ministerial level.
BEM also endeavours to exert its influence in any high profile committee that would decide on any matter that concerns the practice of Professional Engineers serving in the private and public sectors. Representatives of BEM also sit in various committees, including that of the Board of Architects Malaysia and the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia, thus ensuring that the voice of the engineers is heard, and their recommendations taken into consideration.
Developing links with the professional engineering bodies both locally and internationally is also one of the main strategies of BEM.
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The Board is committed to provide excellent service to the Registered Engineers and related stakeholders and continually improving the standard from time to time.
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Copyright (c) 2001-2007, Board
of Engineers Malaysia, All rights reserved.
17th Floor, JKR Headquarters
Kompleks Kerja Raya Malaysia
Jalan Sultan Salahuddin
50580 Kuala Lumpur