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Engineering Curriculum.
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
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:
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
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.
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.