Seremban: Engineers and architects cannot use the title "Ir" or "Ar" alongside their names if they are not registered with their respective professional bodies.They are also not allowed to use the abbreviation "P.Eng" (Professional Engineer) or "P.Arch" (Professional Architect) if they are not members of the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) or the Board of Architects Malaysia (BAM).
Similarly, quantity surveyors are also barred from using "Sr" before their names if they are not registered with the Board of Quantity Surveyors (BQS) and the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM).
They are also prohibited from using titles such as "Building Economist", "Building Cost Consultant" or its equivalent to qualify themselves as a registered quantity surveyor.
Works director-general Datuk Ir Adanan Mohamed Hussain reminded such professionals – both in the private and public sectors – to strictly adhere to this requirement if they wished to be employed in the construction industry.
"They must register if they wish to use the titles and to be employed as a professional in the construction industry.
"Failure to do so is an offence under the relevant laws," he said.
When contacted, BAM executive secretary Nishar Khan Ismail Khan said that as of November, 2,031 graduate architects and 1,901 professional architects were registered with the body.
"All graduates in this profession must be registered with BAM, have practical experience for two years and then pass their professional exam in order to be entitled to become an architect and set up their professional practice," she said, adding that professional architects needed to renew their licences annually.
A BEM official said that up till last year, 11,401 professional engineers and 86,174 graduate engineers had registered with the body.
Checks on the BQS website showed that it had 1,099 professional quantity surveyors and 1,775 graduate QS registered with the body.
RISM president Datuk Sr K. Sri Kandan said an estimated 800 students graduated as quantity surveyors annually from local and foreign institutions.
"Every year, less than half the number of graduates apply to join RISM as members," he said, adding that they too had to renew their membership annually.
