Engineering Ethics: To what extent it is being practiced in Malaysia despite it is part of

Engineering Curriculum.

M.R.Tamjis, Vinodh. A, FKE, UTEM.

ABSTRACT
This paper presents a study on engineering ethics and to find out to what extent the ethics
is being practiced in Malaysia despite it is part of Engineering Curriculum. The study
shows that the ethics in various cases under study had been infringed due to many factors
such as obedience to authority, narrow vision, acceptance of small theft and
environmental influence. The control system and the practice of ethical climate are
supposed to curb these unethical practices. Inevitably, these immoral and unethical
practices in engineering sectors can erode the public confidence in the engineering
society. Besides, ethics is the code that shape ones lifestyles which in turn influence
perceptions and ways of forming judgments. An ethically acceptable judgment is both
legally and morally acceptable to the larger community. Those who possess high moral
and ethical values are assumed to be more perceptive of ethical problems. Thus, they
will be more likely to form ethical judgments. Engineers should practice engineering
ethics in Malaysia, especially it is part of Engineering Curriculum to hold paramount the
safety, health and welfare of the public.
1.0 INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

1.1 Ethics and Engineering Ethics

Ethics is the study of the characteristics of morals. Ethics also deals with the moral
choices that are made by each person in his or her relationship with other person. As
engineers, we are concerned with ethics because these definitions apply to all of the
choices an individual makes in life. Engineering ethics is the rules and standards
governing the conduct of engineers in their role as professionals. Engineering ethics
encompasses the more general definition of ethics, but applies it more specifically to
situations involving engineers in their professional lives. Thus engineering ethics is body
of philosophy indicating the ways that engineers should conduct themselves in their
professional capacity.

1.2 Society and Organization

A. Board of Engineering Malaysia, BEM

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, 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 (REA 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.

Through its mechanism of control, BEM has taken upon itself to reclassify the
engineering works, streamline the Scale of Fees and amend the Engineers Act to reflect
the pragmatic needs of the engineers and engineering industry. For example, the latest
amendments of The Registration of Engineers Act 1967 was made on 1st April 2007 to
meet the challenges of globalization and companion trade liberalisation. The objectives
among others are:

1. To enforce the implementation of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

2. To add more functions and advise the Government & Public.
3. To strengthen the penalty in the REA 1967.
4. To strengthen the suspension period.
5. Introduction of new Part that deals with the establishment, powers & conduct of
proceedings of a Disciplinary Committee.
6. Action on submitting engineer related to CCC or others.

B. The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM)

The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) was established in 1959 and its primary
function is to promote and advance the science and profession of engineering in any or
all of its disciplines and to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas related to
engineering.
 2.0 DATA

2.1 Ethical issues in Malaysia

a. MRR2 flyover cracks

The enquiry commission states that design anchoring were responsible for cracks .

b. Bukit Antarabangsa landslide

The minister said that local professional engineers are a reason for the landslides. While
developers deny there is mistake from them.

3.0 ANALYSIS
From these two cases we know that the engineering ethics in the curriculum had not been
not fully practised by engineers. The code of ethics which was released by BEM and
other engineering society were not adequately followed by the engineers. For instance
the MRR2 flyover which cost 238.8million was not fully supervised by the engineers.
The engineers denied cracks were due to design flaw. This one case clearly showed that
engineers failed to follow the code of ethics which is crucial for a professional shall at
all times hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public.

The second case, the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa shows that the engineering ethics
practice was not placed in an objective and truthful manner (codes of practice).
4.0 DISCUSSION
The study shows that the ethics had not been satisfactorily adhered in cases under study
in Malaysia due to many factors:

1. Obedience to authority

Obedience to authority is ingrained in our culture and workplace. When someone in a

position of authority asks an employee to do something unethical or illegal, they can find
it difficult to say no. It's easier to justify bad behavior, and when people see themselves
as an instrument of another's wishes, they feel less responsible.

2. Narrow vision
Setting and achieving goals is important, but single-minded focus on them can blind
people to ethical concerns. When Enron offered large bonuses to employees for bringing
in sales, they became so focused on that goal that they forgot to make sure they were
profitable or moral. We all knew how that ended.

3. Acceptance of small theft

There are dozens of small temptations in any workplace. Stationary, sugar packets, and
toilet paper frequently go home with employees. Those small thefts are ignored. So are
slightly larger ones, like over-claiming expenses or accepting unauthorized business
gifts. It doesn't take long for people to begin pushing those limits.

4. Environmental influence
Employees reflect their environment. If corruption, major or minor, is a part of their
workplace, they become blind to its occurrence and its possible costs. A study
incorporating participants from a variety of countries found that the less transparent and
more corrupt the participant's country of origin, the more willing they were to accept or
give bribes
The control system and the practice of ethical climate are supposed to curb these unethical
practices. Inevitably, these immoral and unethical practices in engineering sectors can
erode the public confidence in the engineering society. In order to minimize the practice of
unethical issues particularly in engineering sector, there is greater demand on tighter
control system such as better monitoring system, stricter accounting and auditing rules for
financial decision, heavier penalties for people caught in such wrongdoing, and so on.

5.0 CONCLUSION
Normally, ethics is the code of moral principles and values that govern the behavior and
beliefs of individuals with respect to what is ethically right or wrong. These values and
principles shape ones lifestyles which in turn influence perceptions and ways of forming
judgments. An ethically acceptable judgment is both legally and morally acceptable to the
larger community. Those who possess high moral and ethical values are assumed to be more
perceptive of ethical problems. Thus, they will be more likely qualified to form ethical
judgments. Engineers should practice engineering ethics in Malaysia as it is part of
Engineering Curriculum to hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public.
Study cases reveal evidence that engineering ethics are not adequately followed in many
cases of engineering incidents.

6.0 REFERENCES
[1] Engineering Ethics Charles B. Fleddermann. International Edition.Universitiy of
New Mexico. Pearson, 4th edition.

[2] General Ethical Foundation." Online. Accessed 01 May

2015. http://stedwards.edu/urswery/norm.htm

[3] Ethical Principles." Online. Accessed 01 May 2015

. http://peds.ufl.edu/ethics_course/Ethics,%20Ethical%20Principles.htm
[4] Baase, S. (1997) A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal and Ethical Issues in Computing,
Prentice Hall.
[5] Berleur, J. and Bruunstein, K. (Eds.) (1996) Ethics of Computing: Codes, Spaces
for Discussion and Law, Chapman & Hall: London.