BEM Jun06-Aug06 (Mineral)

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LEMBAGA JURUTERA MALAYSIA
BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA
M A L AY S I A
KDN PP11720/1/2006 ISSN 0128-4347 VOL.30 JUN - AUG 2006 RM10.00
MINERALS
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Volume 30 June - August 2006
M A L AY S I A
contents
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4
President’s Message
Editor’s Note
6
Announcement
Publication Calendar
Event Calendar
7
Cover Feature
Efforts Towards Sustainable Mineral
Development In Malaysia
12 Minerals Security – How Vulnerable Is The
Construction Industry?
18 Minerals: Economic Benefits, Research
Excellence And Sustainable Development
Engineering & Law
24 Amending Standard Forms Of Construction
Contracts – Curing Or Causing Problems?
18
Feature
30 Internationalisation Of Malaysia’s Mineral
Industry Via Effective Occupational Safety
And Health
30
36 National Minerals Policy: Catalyst For
Malaysia’s Economic Development
42 Quarry Blasting And The Neighbour, Fear &
Reality: A Malaysian Perspective
53
46 Legislation For Quarrying And Mining
Environment
50 Coastal Protection Against Wave Energy –
Part 2
56
Engineering Nostalgia
56 The Changing Face Of Kuala Lumpur
Cover picture: Penjom goldmine
Source: www.jmg.gov.my
THE INGENIEUR 2
President’s Message
KDN PP11720/1/2007
ISSN 0128-4347
VOL. 30 JUNE-AUGUST 2006
Members of the Board of Engineers Malaysia
(BEM) 2005/2006
President
YBhg. Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar
Registrar
Ir. Dr. Mohd Johari Md. Arif
Secretary
Ir. Dr. Judin Abdul Karim
Members of BEM
YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Ir. Md Radzi Mansor
YBhg. Datuk Ir. Hj. Keizrul Abdullah
YBhg. Mej. Jen. Dato’ Ir. Ismail Samion
YBhg. Dato’ Ir. Shanthakumar Sivasubramaniam
YBhg. Datu Ir. Hubert Thian Chong Hui
YBhg. Dato’ Ir. Prof. Chuah Hean Teik
Ar. Dr. Amer Hamzah Mohd Yunus
Ir. Henry E Chelvanayagam
Ir. Dr. Shamsuddin Ab Latif
Ir. Prof. Dr. Ruslan Hassan
Ir. Mohd. Rousdin Hassan
Ir. Prof. Dr. Hassan Basri
Tn Hj. Basar bin Juraimi
Ir. Ishak Abdul Rahman
Ir. Anjin Hj. Ajik
Ir. P E Chong
Editorial Board
Advisor
YBhg. Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar
Chairman
YBhg Datuk Ir. Shanthakumar Sivasubramaniam
Editor
Ir. Fong Tian Yong
Members
Ir. Mustaza Salim
Ir. Chan Boon Teik
Ir. Ishak Abdul Rahman
Ir. Prof. Dr. K. S. Kannan
Ir. Prof. Dr. Ruslan Hassan
Ir. Prof. Madya Dr. Eric K H Goh
Ir. Nitchiananthan Balasubramaniam
Ir. Prof. Madya Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor
Ir. Prem Kumar
Executive Director
Ir. Ashari Mohd Yakub
Publication Officer
Pn. Nik Kamaliah Nik Abdul Rahman
The recent Economic Report 2004/2005, presented
during Budget 2005, indicates that economic
remuneration based on contributions of the minerals
industry towards the Gross Domestic Products (GDP)
has gradually increased from RM6.7 billion in 2003 to
RM17.5 billion in 2004; and is expected to further
increase to over RM18.5 billion in the near future. This
encouraging economic outlook is a financial bonus to
the Government and society for further national
development. In this New Economic Era of Globalisation, Malaysia’s minerals
sector needs to upgrade to cutting-edge knowledge by its workforce to stay
competitive in this knowledge-based economy. The industry with the
advantage is one that has the expertise, personnel and knowledge on novel
techniques for further industrial development. The minerals industry has
always been viewed as the fundamental foundation towards the further
enhancement of any nation worldwide striving for further national
development and industrialised national status. Owing to the Malaysian
Government’s rapid industrial development programme, ‘Vision 2020’, the
increase in demand for high-quality minerals for the construction,
manufacturing, agriculture, environmental and petroleum industries has
greatly assisted the rapid growth of Malaysia’s minerals sector. This sector is
vital to the nation’s industrialisation programme since it plays a major role in
sustaining all the major industries towards further industrial development.
A mineral development venture is capital intensive and the end returns
are very slow; normally in the region of 10 years. Acknowledging this economic
scenario worldwide, it is most beneficial to the Government and the nation
to draw up long-term plans with the principal aim of safeguarding the minerals
industry towards sustainable development for effective national and industrial
development. Policies thus need to be enhanced for systematic mineral
development taking into account the importance of the environment, and
occupational safety and health for the well-being of society today and the
continuous economic progress of future generations.
Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar
President
BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA
Assistant Publication Officer
Pn. Che Asiah Mohamad Ali
Design and Production
Inforeach Communications Sdn Bhd
The Ingenieur is published by the Board of
Engineers Malaysia (Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia)
and is distributed free of charge to registered
Professional Engineers.
The statements and opinions expressed in this
publication are those of the writers.
BEM invites all registered engineers to contribute
articles or send their views and comments to the
following address:
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E-mail: bem1@streamyx.com
publication@bem.org.my
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Editor’s Note
The feature articles in this issue on ‘minerals’ focus on
national policies and strategies in the mineral sector. As
highlighted in the Ninth Malaysian Plan, the adoption of
environment-friendly practices will be emphasised through
the adoption of the Minerals Enactment and Quarry Rules
by all States.
The Publication Committee is pleased to acknowledge
an increase in the sale of The Ingenieur, particularly to graduate engineers
and private organisations – thanks to our contributors for their support and
quality articles.
Ir. Fong Tian Yong
Editor
THE INGENIEUR 4
Announcement
Publication Calendar
The following list is the Publication Calendar for the year
2006. While we normally seek contributions from experts
for each special theme, we are also pleased to accept
articles relevant to themes listed.
Please contact the Editor or the Publication
Officer in advance if you would like to
make such contributions or to discuss
details and deadlines.
September 2006: BUILDING
December 2006: ENVIRONMENT
March 2007: AGRICULTURE
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By En. Shahar Effendi bin Abdullah Azizi, Deputy Director (Mines & Quarry Services)
Technical Services Division, Department of Minerals and Geoscience Malaysia
In this paper, the author outlines briefly the efforts taken by Malaysia since the early 19th century,
when tin was first mined, to address environmental problems. He states that although minerals
can be a potential source of wealth in most developing countries, minerals can also be a major
source of degradation to the physical and social environment unless properly managed. As such,
the Malaysian Government through the Mineral Development Policy and Planning (MDPP) Project
in 1991, came up with the formulation of the National Mineral Policy which inter alia, includes
measures to be taken to sustain mineral development in the country. This paper includes a brief
description of the regulatory and institutional framework to achieve those measures which also
address environmental protection, conservation and rehabilitation. Also mentioned in this paper
is the concept of rezoning of ex-mining land towards best use.
M
inerals are non-renewable
resources essential to the
needs
of
national
development and mankind. For most
products, there is no substitute for
minerals. Mineral development projects
are high risk, capital and technology
intensive ventures with long gestation
periods. Minerals can only be developed
after they have been located by
exploration and also after rights to mine
them have been obtained.
Minerals won from the ground
can be a potential source of wealth
in most developing countries and this
is true in the case of Malaysia where
for more than a century , tin was one
of the commodities that constituted
the pillars of the Malaysian economy
until it collapsed in the mid 1980s.
However, in addition to generating
wealth, mining can also be a major
source of degradation to the physical
and social environment unless it is
properly managed.
Today, however, technologies and
management tools are available to
minimise as well as to counter the
TT HH EE II NN GG EE NN II EE UU RR 7
negative impact of mining, and
society expects the mineral resource
industry to apply high standards of
environmental management to all
projects. Minimising the damage
brought upon by mining operations
depends quite a lot on sound
environmental practices in a
framework of balanced mineral and
environmental legislation.
Thus, in the late 1980s when the
Malaysian Government was
embarking on the Mineral
Development Policy and Planning
cover feature
Efforts Towards Sustainable
Mineral Development In Malaysia
cover feature
production of essential mineral
commodities. This worldwide
phenomenon of environmental
degradation was not restricted only
to the mining industry but also
common to other industries as well.
Notwithstanding the above, many
of Malaysia’s large mining companies
such as Malaysia Mining Corporation
(MMC), Mamut Copper Mining Sdn.
Bhd, and Johore Mining and
Stevedoring Sdn. Bhd., have
successfully undertaken activities and
programmes in the protection and
conservation of the environment.
The National Mineral Policy
(MDPP) Project which aims to attract
more investment and to revitalise the
mineral sector, one of the subject
matter included in the package was
the provision of suitable mechanisms
for the adoption of a more
appropriate approach towards
environmental
protection,
conservation and rehabilitation. The
Project was completed in 1991,
culminating in the formulation of the
National Mineral Policy.
Early Initiatives
Environmental awareness related
to mining in Malaysia has been
realized since the 19th century when
the earliest mining legislations were
introduced to the then two tin-rich
states of Perak and Selangor in 1877
and 1891 respectively. In those early
days, the major concern regarding
environmental protection was based
mainly on the conflict that arose
between the interest of mining and
the interest of agriculture and
forestry. The first Mining Enactment
of the Federated Malay State (F.M.S.)
was passed in 1911 and followed by
many amendments were made. All
other State Enactments are said to
be similar with or modelled after the
Mining Enactment Cap. 147.
The earlier State Mineral
Enactments were more concerned
with the control of the discharge of
suspended solids into streams and
watercourses, and the discharge of
chemicals deleterious to animal and
plant life. However, these enactments
do not have any specific sections
dealing with the rehabilitation of
mining land. What was practiced then
in as far as rehabilitation was
concerned was the concept of “filling
and levelling agreement” or
“stablisation agreement” . To some
extent, these measures have not been
successful due to lack of proper
planning and the absence of any policy
making body to decide or plan for the
end use after mining is completed. In
many cases in the past, land that was
worked on was again re-mined so that
any compliance with previous filling
and leveling requirements would be
meaningless. This has led to many
mine holes left unfilled.
As a result of historical and ongoing mining, there has been to some
extent, some environmental
degradation in many areas in Malaysia
especially around the tin-rich areas in
the states of Perak and Selangor. It
cannot be denied that, mining effect
changes in the natural environment to
varying degrees depending on the
location of the mine, the scale of the
mining operation, method of mining
operation and the mineral
characterisation.
Even so, the awareness about
mining and its impact on the
environment has only evolved
considerably over the last few
decades. Until the 1970s, while
mineral deposits were being
developed, environmental issues
were not a major consideration for
either the industry, Government or
community at large. Environment
degradation was accepted as the
price that had to be paid for the
THE INGENIEUR 8
The Malaysian mining industry
is principally guided by the National
Mineral Policy which provides the
foundation to develop an effective,
efficient and competitive minerals
industry in Malaysia, an attractive
investment climate and an
appropriate regulatory environment
for the mineral sector.
The thrust of the Policy is to
expand and diversify the mineral
sector through:●
●
●
Optimum beneficial exploration
and development of mineral
resources;
The maximisation of the use of
research and development (R&D);
and
Shifting the emphasis from mining
of alluvial tin to that of other
minerals
It is noteworthy to mention here
that the Policy places strong emphasis
on the need for the protection of the
environment and support for
sustainable development of mineral
resources.
Essentially, there are eight
regulatory objectives laid down in the
Policy, namely:(i)
To contribute to National and
State development by promoting
diversification and expansion of
the mineral industry;
(ii) To provide an attractive, efficient
and stable mineral sector
regulatory framework;
(iii) To encourage exploration and a
beneficial expansion of the
mineral industry;
Regulatory Framework
Malaysia follows a Federal
system of Government with divided
responsibilities between Federal and
State Governments in accordance
with the Federal Constitution.
With regard to the mineral sector,
the Federal List in the Constitution
states the following Federal areas of
responsibility;
●
●
●
●
development
of
mineral
resources;
mines, mining, minerals and
mineral ores;
purchase, sale, import and export
of minerals and mineral ores; and
regulation of labour and safety in
mines.
Under the Federal Constitution,
land matters are a State
responsibility as stipulated under the
State List through which the States
are vested with the authority to
grant licences for prospecting and
exploration, and mining leases and
certificates
As for matters under jointresponsibility stipulated under the
Concurrent List, these include
matters pertaining to environmental
protection as well as rehabilitation
of mining land.
It is to be noted here that at the
Federal level, environmental control
comes under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Environment as
stipulated in the Environmental
Quality Act, 1974. However, for the
States of Sabah and Sarawak, both
in the island of Borneo, have their
own environmental laws which is the
Conservation of Environment
Enactment 1996 and Natural
Resource and Environment
Ordinance 1958 (Cap 84)
respectively. In the above
environmental laws, mining and
quarrying are listed as prescribed
activities which require them to be
subjected to an EIA (Environmental
Impact Assessment) approval. While
the Environmental Quality Act acts
as the umbrella act related to
environmental matters at the macro
level, the respective mining laws and
their related guidelines are the actual
legal instruments which spell out the
details of the operations that have
to be observed in relation to mining.
At the Federal level, the law
which provides for the inspection
and regulation of the exploration and
mining of minerals and mineral ores,
and for other matters connected
therewith
is
the
Mineral
Development Act 1994. This Act
covers the statutory and legal
requirements that have to be
observed by the mining operators
before, during and after the
commencement of mining operations
in accordance with good and safe
practices as may be prescribed under
the Act and any other written law
relating to environment. Under the
Act, an operational mining scheme
has to be approved before mining
operation can commence and
operation has to be carried out in
accordance with the scheme. The Act
also stipulates that abandoned mines
and waste retention areas shall be
made safe as may be prescribed. The
Act falls under the ambit of the
Department of Minerals and
Geoscience which is the enforcement
agency.
At the State level, the law
pertaining to the issuance of
exploration and prospecting licences
and mining leases is the respective
State Mineral Enactment which has
been harmonised to bring some
semblance of uniformity between all
the States. The Enactment is
enforced by the respective State
Director of Lands and Mines or
Director of Lands and Survey (as in
the case of Sabah and Sarawak).
One of the significant facets of
the Enactment is the rehabilitation
requirement whereby land subjected
to a mineral title shall be
rehabilitated to a state which will
allow future economic use or timely
reversion to a safe and, whenever
realistically and economically
possible, aesthetically natural-like
condition. This mechanism is made
possible through the establishment
of rehabilitation funds for the
purpose of rehabilitation of mining
lands under two catagories
depending on the scale of the mining
operation, namely:(i)
THE INGENIEUR 9
Mine Rehabilitation Fund
In this case, the lessee of the
land which authorises large
scale operation would first
submit a mine rehabilitation
plan which indicates amongst
others, an estimated total cost
of rehabilitation for the
approval by the State Mineral
cover feature
(iv) To provide a stable and
conducive fiscal system;
(v) To accord the mineral industry
a high land use priority in areas
open for exploration;
(vi) To enhance the development of
domestic expertise in mineral
resource development through
research, education and
training activities;
(vii) To provide environmental
protection and management of
social impact; and
(viii) To provide timely and accurate
regulatory, scientific and
technical information.
cover feature
Resources Committee (SMRC).
Once approved a Mine
Rehabilitation Fund would be
established specifically for that
particular mine whereby the
said lessee would then be
required to pay annual
payments to the Fund based on
the estimated total cost of
rehabilitation over a stipulated
period of the lease tenure. This
Fund is administered by the
SMRC.
(ii)
Common Rehabilitation Fund
This Fund is established
collectively for those mines that
falling under the category of
small scale operations whereby
each
respective
lessee
contributes an annual fee at the
rate of 1% of the gross sales
value of all minerals won
during a calendar year from the
mining land that is subject to
the lease, or a prescribed annual
fee, whichever is greater. As in
the Mine Rehabilitation Fund,
this Fund is also administered
by the SMRC.
Another main feature of the State
Mineral Enactment is the zoning of
areas into four main categories,
namely:●
Areas closed for mining
- This category would include
areas gazetted as National Park,
conservation areas and permanent
forest reserves. Also included are
geological heritage sites, examples
of which had been zoned are the
Cambrian Park in Perak, Klang
Gate in Selangor and Hot Springs
in Kelantan.
●
Areas for competitive bid
●
Areas reserved for minerals
- Areas under this category
would include those identified as
having
mineral
deposits
underneath which might have
potential in future. Once reserved
as such, only certain specified
activities are allowed on the land
which would not sterilise the
minerals if it is open up for mining
in future.
●
Areas open up for individual
mining licence.
Institutional Framework
For the successful implementation
of the National Mineral Policy, which
include the co-ordination of policy
decisions and streamlining of
activities, new institutional
framework is also established,
namely:(i)
National Mineral Council
The National Mineral Policy
provides for the setting up of a
National Mineral Council which
is chaired by the Deputy Prime
Minister. The membership of
T H E I N G E N I E U R 10
this august Council is made up
of all the Menteri Besar and
Chief Ministers of the respective
States and some Federal
Ministers from the related
ministries and the Federal
Attorney General. This Council
deliberates on issues affecting
the interest of the Federal and
State Governments in respect of
mutual benefits to be derived
from the development of the
mineral sector. This Council
also periodically reviews the
current Policy so that it is
updated to keep in consonance
with current and new
developments taking place in
the regional and international
scenario. With this periodical
review, the National Mineral
Policy would be in a better
position to cater to the needs
of the Government and
investors.
(ii)
State Mineral Resources
Committee
The State Mineral Enactments
(or Ordinances as the case may
be)
provide
for
the
establishment of a State
Mineral Resources Committee
which is chaired by a Chairman
appointed by the respective
State
Authority.
The
composition of the Committee
varies from State to State but
generally, include the Legal
Advisor, Lands and Mines
Director, State Economic
Planning Unit Director, Forestry
Director and representatives of
the Director-General of
Minerals and Geoscience and
Director-General of the
Department of Environment.
Under the said enactment, this
Committee is given certain
responsibilities which, inter alia,
include
vetting
and
recommending applications for
prospecting
licences,
exploration licences, proprietary
mining licences and mining
leases to the State Authority;
administering the Common
Rehabilitation Fund and Mine
Rehabilitation Fund; and
approving the mine feasibility
study and rehabilitation plan.
ex-mining lands. Some of the
findings include the following:-
In the mid 1980s the world tin
industry collapsed and consequently
many tin mining operators had to
close their operations leaving behind
abandoned mines and disused ponds.
The effects of tin mining include
widespread degradation of the
environment from its legacy of
retention ponds, mine spoils and
sand piles, and created eyesores to
the public. This is inevitable in
Peninsular Malaysia where the
adverse effects of mining tend to be
visible as the main tin mining areas
are located within the vicinity of
urban centers – indeed the cities and
towns were founded on prosperity of
tin mining.
Despite the notion that
rehabilitation of ex-mining land has
several constraints for development,
the potential of this land to be
developed is enormous. Within the
context of sustainable development,
the alternative usage of ex-mining
lands through rehabilitation
exemplifies the benefits of adding
ecological, economic and social
value to the land.
Through the effort and
commitment shown by the States in
their land-use planning, many of the
former ex-mining lands have been
put into proper economic and social
use such as:
●
●
●
●
●
●
Housing and settlement
programmes
Industrial estate development
Agriculture, aquaculture and
animal husbandry
Tourism and recreation
Higher learning institutions
Overall, it is estimated that the
total area of former mining land in
the whole of Malaysia is about
127,550 hectares where around 60%
(84,950 hectares) has been
rehabilitated.
Research has also been carried out
by several Government agencies such
as Malaysian Agricultural Research
and Development Institute (Mardi),
Forest Research Institute of Malaysia
(Frim) and Minerals Research Centre
(of the Department of Minerals and
Geoscience) on the rehabilitation of
●
●
Former mining land may be used
for agricultural purpose whereby
a mixture of palm oil mill extract
and empty fruit branch act as
organic matter on the land
Certain species of forest plants
such as acacia mangium and
acacia auriculiformis can be
grown on former mining lands
Old mining ponds may be used
to grow vegetables fit for human
consumption
or rehabilitation of land disturbed
by mining, as spelt out in the State
Mineral Enactment, will feature
prominently where economic, social
and ecological values can be added
to such areas. BEM
REFERENCES
(1) Shahar Effendi Abdullah Azizi
(1993)
A Review of the Environmental
Recovery of Mining Impacts in
Malaysia – Paper presented
during the International
Symposium on Environmental
Recovery of Mining Impact,
Pocos de Caldas, Minas Gerais,
Brazil, November 1993
(2) Shahar Effendi. A.A. and Chin
L.B, (1985)
Advances in the Quality of the
Malaysian
Environment:
Mining Industry – paper
presented at the Seminar on
Advances in the Quality of the
Malaysian Environment, KL
(1985)
Conclusion
In developing the mineral sector,
the Malaysian Government is
mindful of the need to protect the
environment and to ensure
continuous quality of life for future
generations.
The mineral industry will
continue to become a vital
contributor
to
Malaysia’s
development. With specific
reference to the upstream end of the
industry, optimal management of its
activities can be effected through
the adoption and implementation of
the principles of the National
Mineral Policy in agreement with
the
attendant
regulatory
instruments, namely the Mineral
Development Act 1994 and the
respective State Mineral Enactments
together with other related laws. In
keeping with the principles of
sustainable development, the
requirement for the restoration and/
T H E I N G E N I E U R 11
(3) Shahar Effendi A.A. and Wan
Mazlan W.M (1992)
The
Proposed
Mineral
Investment Condition in
Malaysia – paper presented
during the Expert Group
Meeting on Organization of
Mining Codes and Legislation in
the ESCAP Region, Bangkok ,
March 1992
(4) Chu, L.H. , Mustapha M. L, and
Mohd Zaim A. W (2005)
Rehabilitation of Ex-Mining
Lands: Moving Towards
Sustainability – paper
presented at the International
Conference on Achieving
Innovation and Best Practices
in Urban Management, Ipoh,
March 2005
(5) Chu, L.H.(2005)
Sustainable Development of
Mineral
Resources
–
Relevance to the National
Mineral Policy, 2005
cover feature
Rezoning Of Ex-mining Land
Towards Best Use
cover feature
Minerals Security –
How Vulnerable Is The
Construction Industry?
By Zuhairi Abd Hamid, Executive Director, Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM),
Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB),
Joy Jacqueline Pereira, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI),
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
Suhaili Ismail, Principal Assistant Director for Industrial Relations, Minerals and Geoscience Department of Malaysia
The construction industry plays an important role in helping the Malaysian Government achieve the
status of a developed nation by the year 2020. The industry not only supplies the basic infrastructure
that underpins all economic activity in the country, but also provides shelter for the population that
would make Vision 2020 a reality. With the projected increase in population, the demand for housing
is anticipated to be about 1,790,820 units between 1995 and 2020. This demand is expected to rise
beyond 2020 (Chen 2000).
The construction industry is the main consumer of non-renewable resources such as rock materials,
minerals and metals (collectively termed construction minerals in this paper). Examples of construction
minerals include rock materials (aggregates), sand and cement, which are used to make concrete
structures; clay minerals and various lightweight aggregates that are used with concrete to make
masonry and tile products; and metals such as iron (Fe), aluminium (Al) and copper (Cu) for steel and
brass products as well as for plating purposes.
Given the importance of construction minerals to the development of the country, any shortage in
the supply of such minerals gives rise to serious concerns, not only among industry players but also
the Government sector. Shortages inevitably result in increased costs to the industry, which then
translates to the consumer, the Government who outsource infrastructure projects and house buyers.
It is not surprising that such shortages are viewed as “a crisis”, which require (and rightly so) some form
of Government intervention to immediately alleviate the situation. The construction industry has
experienced such crises in the past. The most recent crisis relates to the shortage of sand in the State
of Selangor (The Star May 23, 2006). Prior to this, in 2004, the crisis constituted nation-wide shortage
of steel, which was estimated to cause the housing industry to a lost of RM 7.4 million a day in liquidated
ascertained damages in the form of compensation for late delivery, had it not been addressed (NST
July 24, 2004).
Why is the construction industry vulnerable to such crises? What is the next crisis to be anticipated?
Can such crisis be anticipated and mitigating measures taken to avert them altogether? In other words,
can we reduce the vulnerability of the industry to such crises? The Construction Industry Development
Board of Malaysia (CIDB) has sought to answer these fundamental questions through an on-going
research project funded by CIDB’s research arm, the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM).
This paper articulates the need to ensure the security of supply of construction minerals in the
context of sustainable development. This entails broadening the traditional definition of minerals
security to encompass not only economic, but also social and environmental considerations. The
national scenario is briefly outlined in terms of three issues, i.e. the current sand supply shortage, the
possible future emergence of rock aggregate supply shortage and the challenges that these pose to
the agenda on Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) spearheaded by CIDB. This is followed by a brief
description of the Minerals Security Initiative, funded by CREAM and coordinated by the Institute for
Environment and Development (LESTARI) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, in conjunction with the
Minerals and Geoscience Department of Malaysia (JMG), which aims to address these issues.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 12
economic security, to take into
account social and environmental
elements that affect security. Thus,
minerals security relates to the supply
of minerals with respect to its
availability and production, which are
influenced by economic, social and
environmental elements as well as
political stability. This is particularly
true with respect to the majority of
construction minerals, which are
intricately associated with economic,
social and environmental elements
throughout their lifecycle, from
extraction, production, and utilisation
to final disposal. For example,
construction aggregate resources may
be sterilised due to urban expansion,
resulting in a shortage of such
materials. This situation could be
further compounded by closure of
quarries in urban areas due to health,
safety
and
environmental
considerations. Similarly, banning of
sand dredging along coastal areas due
to environmental considerations
could threaten the continuous
availability of sand if such areas are
the primary resource for sand. Clearly,
in such situations, trade-offs have to
be made taking into account,
economic, social and environmental
considerations. Therefore, in ensuring
the security of construction minerals,
all these considerations have to be
factored in.
THE NATIONAL SCENARIO
There are many issues that can
emerge as a result of ad hoc policy
making, which is partly due to lack
of long-term planning, gaps in
information and inadequate emphasis
on minerals security. In many cases,
T H E I N G E N I E U R 13
the issues remain unresolved and keep
recurring periodically. Three issues are
highlighted below to illustrate the
need for long-term planning to ensure
minerals security. The first pertains
to the current crisis on sand shortage,
the second regarding an emerging
issue related to rock aggregates and
the third on the long-term
vulnerability of the construction
industry, in particular for
(Industrialsed Building System), due
to lack of security in the supply of
minerals, particularly with respect to
construction minerals of bulk
commodity.
Sand Shortage – A Periodic Crisis
In 2004, it was reported that
problems related to illegal sand
mining were increasingly
common due to shortage of legal
sand sources, resulting in water
pollution and damage to
ecosystem. The State authorities
responded over time with strict
enforcement and issuance of a
single permit for extraction.
Banning of sand dredging along
coastal areas was also reported
to be prevalent (NST Sept 22,
2004; NST Jun 14, 2004; NST
Jun 7, 2004; NST March 3,
2004). Clearly, the continuous
supply of sand and accessibility
to sand resources were already
under threat. However, the issue
seemed to be resolved until recently,
where it loomed to crisis proportions,
when the price of sand escalated to
RM 40 per tonne, from its usual RM15
- RM18 per tonne, putting to risk
implementation of infrastructure
projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan
(The Star May 23, 2006; Leong 2006).
The current crisis is creating a
negative impact on the construction
sector and related manufacturing
companies. Some analysts believe that
the shortage is artificial, as “how could
Kuala Lumpur and Selangor run out
of sand?” The shortage is attributed to
the monopoly of supply and the
increasing cost of transportation due
to the recent diesel hike. Others are of
the opinion that sand is indeed a
depleting resource in Selangor because
of its sterilisation due to the rapid
expansion of built-up areas. The State
has responded by invoking inter-State
cover feature
M
inerals security traditionally
relates to the supply of
minerals with respect to its
availability and production, which are
intricately associated with economic
elements and political stability. Much
work has been done on the security
of mineral supplies covering aspects
such as the development of mineral
security indices, security of access to
markets, analyses of lifetime of
reserves, impacts of strategic stockpile
disposal programmes, and total
material flows, among others (Ray
1984; Anderson 1988; Wilburn and
Goonan 1998; Harker and Lutz 1990;
Calaway and van Rensburg 2002;
Pereira 2000).
During the Cold War, minerals
security was of great concern and
strategic minerals were stockpiled to
mitigate the threat of disruption
to
imported
supplies.
Government intervention in the
minerals sector gradually ceased
with the ending of the Cold War
in the 1990s. The onset of market
globalisation saw countries such
as the United States, United
Kingdom and Japan embarking
on policies to reduce their
stockpiles (Humphreys 1995).
Mineral production is now
considered a private sector
activity and the market largely
dictates matters related to
minerals supply. Thus, the issue
of minerals security is assumed to be
of lesser importance.
However, this assumption has
been questioned by some quarters in
developed countries particularly as
the service sector of post-industrial
economies still require construction
minerals for their infrastructure. This
is especially true for construction
minerals of bulk commodity, where
importing is not an option because
of transport costs (Humphreys, 1995).
Furthermore, the increasing
importance given to sustainable
development in international,
regional and national agendas
requires mineral policies that take into
account social and environmental
elements, in addition to supply and
economic considerations.
In this context, the definition of
minerals security needs to be
broadened from the narrow
perspective of simple supply and
cover feature
sand transfer and encouraging private
landowners to conduct sand mining
on their plots. This is to counter the
lack of State-owned land that could
be used as sand mines. These
measures may serve to address the
current crisis but may prove to be
unsustainable in the long-term as
many questions remain unanswered.
Will potential sand mine operators
be required to practice strict
environmental guidelines and will
they be regulated by either the
Department of Environment or JMG?
What of the cumulative downstream
environmental impact of having
many sand mines on private land in
the state? Who bears the costs – the
mine operators though environmental
management plans or the public when
clean-up is required? What of postclosure rehabilitation? What about
alternative sources of sand? In many
countries, the supply of sand is
derived from both primary sources
and secondary recycled materials. In
Netherlands, sand recycling
commenced in the early 1990s in
response to the growing volume of
waste and scarcity of landfills to
received the waste. A strategic master
plan was developed to initiate a
network for sand recycling and create
new value-added industrial clusters
(Barros et al. 1998).
Such effort requires investment
into research and development (R&D),
to ensure that the recycled product
meets industry specifications. To a
great extent, such R&D activities are
funded by the private sector, given
the fact that the market dictates
mineral security matters. Is the market
in Malaysia mature enough to take
on this responsibility? R&D on
recycled construction material is
already on-going in some local
universities. Perhaps, what is needed
is synergy between regulators of the
construction industry, mineral
research institutions, universities and
the private sector to enhance ongoing research work and create the
appropriate climate for introducing
nation-wide use of substitute
materials for sand, from secondary
recycled sources.
Aggregate Shortage –
An Emerging Issue
The Malay Peninsula is perceived
to be rich in aggregate resources
because of the tracts of granitic rocks
that form the Main Range, the central
backbone of the country (Figure 1).
A great proportion of the Main Range
comprises protected forest reserves,
rendering the resources inaccessible
for exploitation. At the state level,
Selangor is also perceived to be rich
in potential for aggregate resources,
having access to the south western
section of the Main Range (Figure
2). However, the reality is that only
6% of the total land area in the state
has been identified as high potential
areas for aggregate resources (GoS
1999). A large proportion of this
high potential area is already
inaccessible due to development of
built-up areas to support the
increasing population and economic
activities. Such development
activities have also encroached into
existing quarry sites, forcing their
closure.
At the basinal level, a study was
conducted at the Langat Basin, which
is the principle source of aggregates
consumed in the Klang Valley
(Pereira 2004; Pereira and Komoo
2003). The study reveals that that
landuse change in the Langat Basin
has changed dramatically between
1974 and 1998 (Table 1). The most
Figure 2: Distribution of granitic rocks that represent the
southwestern section of the Main Range and quarry
locations in Selangor. Modified after GoS 1999.
Figure 1: Distribution of granitic rocks in Peninsular Malaysia.
Source: Minerals and Geosciences Department of Malaysia.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 14
Landuse
Built-up area
Forest
Water Body
Agriculture-based
TOTAL
1974
3
53
4
40
100
dramatic change has been in the
increase of built-up areas, from 3%
to 15% of the total land area, from
1981 to 1998. Unfortunately, the
expansion of built-up areas has been
focused on the high potential area for
rock aggregates within the Basin.
Only 31% of the high potential area
in the Basin is now available for
future exploration and exploitation.
All the other areas with high potential
are either sterilised or unavailable for
exploration and exploitation. Should
the annual rate of aggregate resource
sterilisation remain at about 10%, as
it was between 1981 and 1998, it is
estimated that total sterilisation of
aggregate resources within the Langat
Basin would occur within the next 15
years, unless mitigating measures are
taken immediately. The increasing
calls for closure of quarries in the
Basin due to health, safety and
environmental considerations is
further compounding the situation on
long-term security for supply of rock
aggregates.
One security issue that relates to
construction minerals in the context
of rock aggregates would relate to the
need to provide infrastructure to
support activity in the Klang Valley
and the Multimedia Supercorridor.
Another issue relates to the goals of
the Selangor State Government to
maintain a squatter free state, which
necessitates affordable housing for its
increasing population. Rock
aggregates are bulk commodities
where transport costs are a major
factor. Generally, transportation of
rock aggregates is considered to be
not economically feasible beyond a
radius of 50 km. It is more practical
in future if IBS components such as
beams, columns and walls are
manufactured near the source and
transported to construction sites as a
1981
3
52
4
41
100
1995
13
50
4
33
100
1998
15
50
4
31
100
finished product ready for assembly.
This will reduce the transportation
costs and double handling of
aggregates i.e. transportation and
batching for construction purposes.
The supply of rock aggregates in
Selangor is under threat because of
land-use practices that makes the
resource unavailable, particularly in
urban areas. Measures should be taken
now to ensure that the construction
industry does not become vulnerable
to supply shortage problems in the
future. This is particularly pertinent
in view of the national agenda on IBS,
which would require careful
rationalisation on the location of
aggregate sources, production plants
and the intended consumers.
One measure would be to identify
and protect areas that serve as
important rock aggregate resources as
mineral landbanks. Mineral
landbanks refers to sites with
substantial reserves of specific
minerals or rock materials that can
be extracted for future use. The
landbanks should be maintained for
mineral development to sustain future
physical development in Selangor. In
addition, buffer zones should also be
identified around existing quarries.
This is to prevent the encroachment
of development that would limit the
expansion of existing quarries.
Quarrying activities in such areas
would
require
stringent
environmental guidelines and control,
as they would be located in sensitive
hilly terrain. The delineation of
mineral landbanks is possible under
the Selangor State Policy on
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
(ESAs) that was officially launched on
June 5, 1999 (GoS 1999, 2003). The
Policy takes into account the
importance of an area from the
perspective of the implementing
T H E I N G E N I E U R 15
Government agencies and the
perspective of its major function in
terms of providing life support
systems, heritage value as well as risk
associated with hazards. The
management of ESAs incorporates the
concept of conservation, optimisation
of resource use and controlled
development. Each agency in the
State is now required to identify ESAs
that are relevant to their sector, which
could then be gazetted or managed
based on the degree of sensitivity. In
the case of construction minerals, the
JMG now needs to identify and
prioritise mineral landbanks to be
recognised by the state as an ESA. A
complete inventory of ESAs at the
local level will be very useful for
making decisions on applications for
land use conversion or applications
for planning permission, which are
submitted routinely to state and local
authorities.
Another measure would be to
introduce alternative sources of
aggregate to substitute natural
sources. This is a common response
to reduce the amount of waste
generated from the construction
industry to improve environmental
management. It also reduces the
total tonnage of construction waste
channelled to landfills as many
landfills are closing due to scarcity
of land, particularly in urban areas.
Recycled construction aggregates are
being widely used for low technology
applications in many countries.
Much research is on-going in
assessing the technical viability of
recycled concrete aggregates (RCA)
obtained from construction and
demolition projects, waste from
natural stone industries (quarries)
and other sources (Poon and Chan
2006; Tam et al. 2005; Almeida et
al. 2005; Coleman et al. 2005;
Nagataki et al. 2004; Topcu and
Guncan 1995). Such work is also
ongoing in many local universities.
Industry wide application of RCA in
Malaysia would require the
involvement all players from
Government, the private sector and
academia to synergise and conduct
complementary work encompassing
R&D for testing technical viability,
assessment of economical feasibility,
and development of appropriate
construction industry standards and
cover feature
Table 1: Landuse percentage of the high potential area for aggregates,
which represents 35% of the Langat Basin, with an area of 2938 km2.
Source: Pereira and Komoo 2003.
cover feature
establishment of an aggregate
network, among others.
Challenges for Industrialised
Building Systems
Industrialised Building Systems
(IBS) has been touted as an efficient
solution to meet this projected demand
for housing. IBS refers to construction
work where structural components are
manufactured in a factory either on or
off-site, to be transported and
assembled into the desired building or
infrastructure with minimal additional
site works. The conventional method
currently employed is labour intensive,
utilises relatively more construction
materials and props, takes a longer time
to complete, and generates more waste.
Notwithstanding this, it is not known
how much waste reduction actually
occurs, and how the waste from current
conventional methods can be reused
and recycled to form a new resource
base for IBS, given a scenario where
transformation to IBS in the country
will take a period of time.
There are many delays associated
with the conventional system. Delays
are one of the most significant sources
of cost overruns. A study of factors
contributing to cost control problems
for IBS conducted in Malaysia revealed
that the highest ranked external factor
that influenced cost related to materials
i.e. its price, availability and supply
(Yoke et al. 2003). Among the primary
factors that contribute to this include
demand and supply imbalance,
shortage of resources and poor waste
management. Materials are also a major
cost element for IBS as it contributes
more than 50% of its overall cost.
Developing countries are more
vulnerable to fluctuations in material
costs because they depend on imported
material manufactured in other
countries (Assaf et al. 1995, Yoke et
al. 2003). Given this scenario, it is
imperative that the availability and
waste generated from materials based
on construction mineral resources be
given adequate emphasis. This is to
ensure that successful transformation
from conventional methods to IBS
actually generates less waste that is
channelled into landfills, whilst
extending the supply chain based on
optimum usage of local construction
mineral resources.
There is considerable need for
improving the material supply
situation; particularly to increase
locally produced IBS, in line with the
Government’s efforts to develop
dynamic industrial clusters (GoM
2001). New value added activities
using local construction minerals as
well as enhancement of competence
in IBS related areas should be
identified by extending the supply
chain in the construction sector. By
strengthening capabilities to utilise
new IBS technology based on locally
available minerals, the construction
sector will be more resilient and less
vulnerable to unexpected fluctuations
in materials costs. Thus, it is important
to develop an inventory of
construction minerals suitable for IBS
and estimate its availability for the
long term, well beyond 2020, to
ensure sustainability of IBS clusters.
In this regard, it is also critical to
identify waste generated by both IBS
and conventional methods, and
conduct assessments on how to
channel the waste from conventional
methods to IBS systems (during the
transition period from conventional
methods to IBS). This is to ensure
more recycling, and reduction of
construction waste being disposed of
in landfills and dumpsites. There is a
great opportunity now to apply the
“design for environment” (DFE)
approach with a view to optimise
mineral consumption and aim for zero
waste in the future. At the moment,
Sweden is considered the best in the
world for IBS (Thanoon et al. 2003).
The DFE approach in Sweden
commenced with clear classification
of all materials, to ensure its correct
usage for construction. As a result
there is practically no waste generated
and the economic efficiency is very
high.
LOOKING AHEAD – AN INITIATIVE
ON MINERALS SECURITY
In January 2006, LESTARI
embarked on the project entitled
“Materials Security and Waste
Management for IBS” funded by
CREAM under the auspices of CIDB.
The Project has three main objectives.
The first is to identify and evaluate
waste stream characteristics of IBS as
compared to conventional methods.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 16
The second objective is to assess the
long-term availability of construction
minerals for IBS and its relationship
to supply and costs i.e. to determine
minerals security for the industry. The
third objective is to develop “design
for environment’ (DFE) approaches in
the construction industry as a tool to
optimise construction mineral
consumption and reduce wastage. The
geographic focus of the project is the
Klang Valley in particular, and
Selangor in general. The principal
partners for the Minerals Security
Initiative of the Project are the JMG
and its state office, JMG Selangor. In
embarking on the Initiative, effort will
be made to collaborate closely with the
State Government of Selangor and all
stakeholders involved in construction
minerals, from its extraction,
production and utilisation to final
disposal.
The Project will support the
Construction Industry Master Plan
(CIDB 2005) that emphasises
integrating the construction industry
and its value chain to enhance
efficiency and improve productivity,
and striving for environment friendly
and sustainable construction processes
and resource management. The focus
will be on capacity building and policy
advocacy through meetings and
dialogues with Government agencies,
at national, state and local levels as
well as all relevant stakeholders. A
one-stop source for information on
construction minerals critical for IBS
will be developed, which can be
regularly updated. Under the
custodianship of CIDB and JMG, this
will support efforts to ensure minerals
security in the construction industry.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Minerals security in its broad
definition
has
not
been
comprehensively studied in the
country. Information of the availability
of minerals is available at the JMG,
which also regulates the extractive
industries in part. The issuance of
permission to extract minerals remains
with the State. However, work is
pending on prioritising construction
mineral resources to meet the demands
of development, and identifying these
as mineral land banks for supporting
development in and around urban
and Pb2+ ions with crushed concrete
fines. Journal of Hazardous Materials.
B121 (2005), 203-213.
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cover feature
areas. A comprehensive master plan
incorporating economic, social and
environmental issues, which takes into
account the needs of the producer (the
extractive industry), consumer
(construction industry and its
customers) and custodian (State
Governments) of construction minerals
is required for long-tem management
of construction minerals. This is
because the issues involved are
complex and multi-dimensional,
requiring
multi-stakeholder
consultation and negotiation. In this
context, the Minerals Security
Initiative seeks to reduce the
vulnerability of the construction
industry with respect to construction
minerals, to ensure that the IBS agenda
in Malaysia is not compromised. BEM
cover feature
Minerals: Economic Benefits, Research
Excellence And Sustainable Development
By Prof. Madya Ir. Dr. Eric Goh, Head-AMQUEST RESEARCH, USM Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Minerals are acknowledged
worldwide as the fundamental
foundation towards the
enhancement of any nation
striving for developed and
industrialised nation status.
Malaysia is fortunate to be
endowed with the existence of
various mineral types in the
country, which can definitely
enrich the national economy
and society. The Malaysian
minerals industry has evolved
from a primarily tin-producing
nation to a diversified minerals
resource industry, which can
be classified broadly into three
sub-sectors namely, the
metallic, the non-metallic and the energy minerals sub-sectors.
The metallic minerals predominant in Malaysia include gold, tin,
bauxite, iron ore and rare earth minerals. The non-metallic
minerals range from abundant resources of limestone, granite,
marble, argillaceous (clay) materials, kaolin, silica sand, barites,
mica to feldspar. The energy minerals comprise primarily of coal.
Minerals are extracted from sites designated as mines or
quarries. Owing to the Malaysian Government’s rapid industrial
development programme, ‘Vision 2020’, the increasing demand
for mineral products has greatly assisted towards the continuous
success of various phases in Malaysia’s industrialisation
programme namely in manufacturing and construction.
Sustainable development in the context of the minerals sector
is the aim to optimise the economic contribution derived from
the industry to the well being of the present generation; whilst
ensuring that the potential benefits of existing mineral reserves
are also made available to future generations to meet their own
needs for further national development. A great economic
benefit thus exists for Malaysia in the sustainable development
of the abundant Malaysian minerals industry towards
continuous and systematic economic and industrial
development of the nation.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 18
L
atest statistics presented during
Budget 2005, from the recent
Economic Report 2004/2005,
indicate that economic remunerations
based on contributions of the minerals
resource industry towards the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) has gradually
increased from RM16.7 billion in
2003 to RM17.5 billion in 2004; and
is expected to increase further to over
RM18.5 billion in the near future. This
positive economic outlook is a
financial bonus to the Government
and society for further national
development. The economic costs for
the manufacturing of high-tech
material, chemical, ceramic and other
industrial products, complemented by
impressive
infrastructure
development achievements, have
been greatly reduced due to the
existence of local mineral deposits.
According to the Department of
Minerals and Geosciences, Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources,
30 types of minerals exist in the
country, which can definitely enrich
cover feature
the economy and society of Malaysia.
Economic analysis of Malaysia’s
overall mineral production figures,
which includes non-metallic, metallic
and energy-based minerals, indicates
an overall increase in production over
the years. It is anticipated that there
will be an enormous increase in the
demand of minerals by the
manufacturing and construction
industries, among others, for the
eventual realisation of Malaysia
towards industrialised nation status.
A well-developed and vibrant
minerals industry would be most
beneficial to society and Malaysia to
attain developed nation status by the
year 2020.
Innovations and Excellence in
Minerals Research
With globalisation and the
implementation of the ASEAN FreeTrade Agreement (AFTA), the
Malaysian minerals sector needs to
surge forward quickly and sharpen its
cutting-edge knowledge to stay
competitive. Owing to the evolving
trend of trade liberalisation, the
urgency for innovative R&D
programmes for the minerals industry
is useful to keep pace with the
challenges
worldwide.
The
importance of a well-structured
research and development (R&D)
programme on minerals development
should continuously be emphasised
for further enhancement of the
industry.
Landmark research
techniques and industrial practices are
thus a necessity in view of the rapidly
changing work environment of the
minerals sector worldwide.
Some of the major documented
innovative minerals R&D concepts
and outcomes towards the
advancement of knowledge in
minerals science and engineering,
complemented by highlights of main
achievements and their implications
to Malaysia for the well being and
enhancement of society, include:
●
Collaborative Minerals
Cluster Research
The establishment of a
Collaborative Minerals Cluster
Research setup is the latest innovation
for successful internationalisation of
Collaborative Minerals Cluster Research Concept
Malaysia’s minerals industry in this
new era of globalisation and increased
competition worldwide: a Malaysia’s
first. Realising these goals require
systematic, efficient and latest stateof-the-art techniques that also
address the needs for implementation
of environment friendly and safe site
practices for efficient mineral
development. This unique scheme of
‘Collaborative Minerals Cluster
Research’ is the key to further
sustainable development of the
minerals sector. This new research
concept, a management landmark
T H E I N G E N I E U R 19
leap for research & development
(R&D) in Malaysia, is very much
different from traditional methods of
carrying out research. The traditional
means of a single expert carrying out
all research projects in the industry
in all fields of specialisations is
considered to be not only impractical
but also disastrous with respect to the
economics in project execution.
Multi-discipline research is a norm
today. Thus a single specialist cannot
handle all the research and problem
solving to cater to all the needs of
the industry. Benefits of cluster
cover feature
research include the importance of
access to the latest in innovation
techniques, knowledge, and knowhow. In this new economic era of
globalisation, the industry with the
edge is one, which looks for new ideas
and talent, cutting-edge technology,
highly skilled labour staff, effective
research and development facilities,
and efficient research leaders able to
champion the needs of the industry.
The aim of cluster research is that it
should be ‘service-centred’ and thus
should cater specifically to the needs
of the industry. The primary benefits
of cluster research to the mineral
industry are:
●
●
●
●
Cost-savings, since cluster
research concept is a ‘One-Stop
Problem Solving Centre’ for the
industry and thus a win-win
situation for all interested parties,
including consultants,
Innovative industrial R&D
techniques since projects are
multi-discipline in nature,
Extensive research results
expected for industry since experts
are from various specialisations;
and
Chance to grow together
nationally and internationally
with further development of this
innovative research cluster for
national development.
Research clusters are a useful way
to link the needs of the Government,
industry, academia and other research
organisations locally and worldwide
via smart partnerships with the
primary aim of further thriving
economic development. The cluster
research approach includes forging
links between different emerging
scientific and engineering disciplines
which will eventually lead to the
development and submission of
multi-disciplinary research proposals
exploring various novel research
themes within the individual research
programme’s lifetime. The Malaysian
mineral industry will be the pioneer
benefactor from this new unique
research and problem-solving
concept. Complementary benefits of
cluster research include the
importance of access to the latest
knowledge in various multi-discipline
technology and practices.
●
Mine Site Rehabilitation
Research
Environmental issues continue to
T H E I N G E N I E U R 20
be an important component of the
international political agenda. World
leaders
acknowledge
that
accountability is necessary for
environmental-friendly industrial
development. With increased public
awareness on the need for
environmental protection, modern
industrial practices must ensure that
higher standards of environmental
assessment and protection are
implemented. Establishing a useful
environmental
management
programme in mine site land
rehabilitation is a significant
contribution to environmental
accountability as Malaysia progresses
towards greater industrialisation.
Efficient engineering design and
systematic economic evaluation of
mine sites for site rehabilitation are
required in maintaining the expected
standards of environmental
compliance. There is thus a need to
increase the base of knowledge for
efficient planning in the systematic
and progressive rehabilitation of
current and future mine sites.
Research studies carried out noted
that some of the success stories of
effective post-rehabilitated mine site
projects in Malaysia include that at
the Mines Wonderland (Selangor), the
sensing and GIS tools in the
monitoring and evaluating of
temporal change and the modelling
of potential sites for the sustainable
development of future land use.
Studies on the integration of remote
sensing and GIS, which can identify
and quantify the land cover classes
in the area under investigation, is a
success since results from cross
validation analyses indicate that the
model developed is consistent and
applicable for future planning and
design of potential ex-mineral
development sites.
levels of safety. The ability to
accurately predict the potential for
erosion will benefit any Government
agency, company and the community
when carrying out new development
projects. The reliability-based
landscape design monographs
developed are useful tools for
management to decide on the most
economic method for an effective and
economic landscape design with
minimum soil erosion at site.
Soil Erosion Reliability-based
Engineering Design
Owing to Malaysia’s rapid
industrial development programme,
Vision 2020, there is continuous
high demand for minerals from
t h e manufacturing, petroleum,
construction, ceramic, glass and
environmental
management
industries.
With escalating
production
costs,
keen
competitiveness of the minerals
industry worldwide complemented by
the necessity for the Malaysian
minerals industry to attain even
higher profits there is thus an urgent
need to seek an efficient and reliable
statistical method for cost
optimisation and reliability
assessment in the economic
evaluation of potential mineral
deposits.
Geostatistics, an efficient
sampling evaluation technique, can
assist to increase the reliability and
optimise the costs for economic
mineral evaluation and thus the
eventual success of any mineral
production project. Improved
confidence levels obtained using
geostatistics assists in decreasing the
design, planning and development of
economic risks of mineral deposit
production. Geostatistics is defined as
the application of the theory of
regionalised variables to the study of
spatial phenomena. The essence of
this theory is the explicit use of the
auto-correlation of the information
from the data collected in the field.
Ordinary statistics are usually
concerned only with the values of the
samples. Geostatistical techniques,
however, take into account both the
values of the samples and the
positions from where the samples
were collected. The geostatistical
●
The applicability of reliabilitybased environmental design in
engineered landscape profile
management for unstable engineered
landscapes is the focus of concern
both by the industry, environmental
legislative agencies and members of
the public. This is due to the need to
increase the reliability of erosion
prediction and in the minimisation of
mitigation and repair costs of
topographic profiles against erosion
failures. Re-engineered landscape
profiles may be stable at the end of
construction, but they can deteriorate
over time.
Engineering design of reshaped
landscapes seeks to reduce the
potential for such erosion damage
through correct selection of an initial
stable landform scheme. The design
of reshaped landscapes must also
conform to the specifications of
evolving legislation so as to ensure
the long-term stability of designed
landscapes or hillside profiles. The
ability to assess the potential for
erosion at a site will assist in the
design of a stable final landscape
profile. Inadequate control of erosion
could result in soil loss at site and
also cause siltation problems beyond
the perimeters of the re-engineered
site. Erosion prediction models,
however, contain uncertainty due to
the variability of the model inputs and
uncertainty in the models themselves.
The main aim of efficient and
economic
reliability-based
environmental design is the
quantification of the performance of
an engineered structure at specific
T H E I N G E N I E U R 21
●
Geostatistical Mineral
Economics Research
cover feature
Sunway Lagoon (Petaling Jaya) and
the 300-hectare 27-hole golf resort
at Clearwater Sanctuary (Perak). In
the past, the land rehabilitation phase
was too often a task considered only
at the end of mineral development
and not during the mine planning and
production phase. Rehabilitation
plans need to be drawn up in the
initial design phases with the
rehabilitation process as an integral
part of any mining project. The
rehabilitation phase could influence
the future development and potential
use of the mineral development site.
The determination of the optimum
design variables for systematic
environment management of mine
sites is essential for efficient mineral
development operations which will
eventually assist in minimising costs
in the long term. The selective
placement of disturbed soils will
significantly reduce the overall costs
in the final phase of the landscape
reshaping process and also improve
the erosion control and water quality
management of the site. This will
assist in improving efficiency through
competent usage of equipment and
reducing earthmoving costs. Evolving
environmental legislation requires an
improvement of existing land
rehabilitation management practices
at mineral sites.
Existing land use is continuously
changing under the influence of
human activities and natural
catastrophes that leave an impact on
the ecosystem of the site. This impact
has the potential to significantly
affect the conservation balance and
sustainability of a safe environment.
It is therefore important to know the
distribution of land cover and its
potential economic use for further
planning and national development.
Recently, remote sensing and
Geographic Information System (GIS)
have become important tools for the
monitoring, evaluating and modelling
of environmental changes. The spatial
data from remote sensing can be
analysed using sophisticated GIS
software systems. These technologies
provide faster and more efficient
acquisition of the spatial information
such as land cover and continuous
changes of land usage. Research for
ex-mine sites incorporates the
integrated application of remote
cover feature
indicate that a reduction in the
number of samples collected during
the exploration/sampling phase, while
still providing an acceptable accuracy
for site analysis of mineral deposits,
would definitely bring tremendous
saving to any mineral industry
worldwide.
Sustainable Development of
Malaysia’s Minerals Industry –
Strategic Directions
Some of the significant strategic
directions proposed for efficient
sustainable development of
Malaysia’s minerals sector are that:
●
●
information analytical techniques are
useful whenever economic grade
evaluation needs to be improved due
to sample values being affected by
their locations and the relationships
of the neighbouring samples. The
objective of economic evaluation of
minerals is to try to obtain estimates
as close as possible to the real/actual
grade of the site and the creation of
models to predict the mineral resource
trends at the area under study.
Geostatistics is based on good
information evaluation techniques
with the aim that the estimates
produced for the economic
assessment of mineral deposits are
unbiased and have a minimum
estimation error. Geostatistics can also
assist in deposit model development
through the verification, analysis of
data collected and grade modelling
in areas where field sampling data
could not be collected. An accurate
map produced from the deposit model
developed for the respective sites
could be used for prediction and
project planning. Cost savings may
be realised because the overall
sampling exercise need not be carried
out again at the adjacent sites.
Optimisation of sampling practices
is one of the prime interests of any
mineral industry worldwide and is a
good example of the practical
application of geostatistics. Sampling
is critical in the determination of the
value of a variable at site.
Optimisation of sampling grids would
be of benefit to any industry involved
in data collection. The results
obtained from sampling would
subsequently affect the design,
planning and outcome of any
proposed mineral development
project. Benefits in the application
of geostatistics for optimisation of
sampling practices include; if the
sampling intervals are:
●
●
Too far apart, serious loss of
accuracy in the evaluation of the
mineral deposits may occur;
Very close, sampling/evaluation
costs will increase substantially
resulting in unnecessary loss in
earnings to the overall mineral
development project.
The
accuracy required for the
information analytical phase
might have been sufficient with
wider-spaced sampling intervals.
The aim in this optimisation
research is to obtain the number of
samples and select the grid pattern
for mineral deposit evaluation
corresponding to an acceptable
confidence limit.
Case studies under this research
were carried out in Indonesia and
Malaysia to test the applicability of
geostatistics for optimising the
sampling pattern. These case studies
T H E I N G E N I E U R 22
●
●
●
The minerals sector should be
designated as a ‘Promoted
Industry’ under the Promotion of
Investments Act to attract more
foreign investments;
Government should offer topdown priority research grants
specifically aimed to strengthen
existing established national
minerals research institutions in
carrying out further innovative
R&D programmes towards
knowledge enhancement and
internationalisation of the
Malaysian minerals industry;
Mineral-based companies should
be given a substantial tax
deduction on eligible expenditure
incurred in R&D activities to
further
strengthen
their
commitment towards reengineering existing minerals
production technology, work and
marketing practices;
For eventual success of Malaysia’s
industrialisation programme, the
needs of the minerals sector should
be pro-actively supported and
given top-priority towards further
progress by Federal and State
Government agencies, corporate
industry leaders and society;
A world-class R&D industryfriendly testing and certification
facilities should be created for the
minerals sector to attract all
investors and experts to set up
base here; with the aim to make
Malaysia the regional hub for
knowledge and minerals expertise
towards successful management of
any
potential
minerals
development project. BEM
engineering & law
Amending Standard Forms Of
Construction Contracts
– Curing Or Causing Problems?*
By Ir. Harbans Singh K.S, B.E (Mech)S’pore, P.E, C.Eng, LLB(Hons)London, CLP, DipICArb
I
n a typical engineering/construction project, once the
contractual arrangement and the contract procurement
method have been settled, the next step entails the
determination of issues pertaining to the terms of is the
preferred legal frame work that is intended to form the
basis of the agreement between the parties. This is usually
achieved through the employment of forms of contract
which may be any of the types listed hereafter; namely
standard forms of contract, modified standard forms of
contract, or ‘ad hoc’ or ‘bespoke’ forms of contract.
Whilst standard forms still form the bulk of all engineering
construction contracts let out, 1 there is a growing
preference by the larger employers especially in the private
sector to utilise ‘modified or ‘ad hoc’ forms. The latter
also seem to prevail in the sub-contracting and material
supply fields, perhaps due to the unavailability of any
standard forms covering these categories of contracts on
the local scene.
of projects. They are preferable to specially drafted
contracts because they are intended to be
comprehensive and avoid most of the pitfalls which
surround relations in the building industry……3
From the above-mentioned definitions, the following
characteristics can be identified vis-à-vis standard forms
of contract:
●
These are in a printed form and published by an
authoritative body of the industry, which body is
recognised by the contracting parties;
●
The forms set out the terms or conditions on which
the contract between the parties are to be carried out;
●
The terms or conditions are deemed to be agreed and
are not subject to further negotiation and/or
amendment; and
●
The terms or conditions are generally suitable for a
wide range of common projects or works.
STANDARD FORMS OF CONTRACT
Definition/Meaning
Types
Two definitions worth considering so as to appreciate the
ambit of this phrase are to the following effect:
The two major kinds of standard forms of contract
employed in the industry were identified as herebelow by
Lord Diplock 4
●
Contracts (1)
which set out terms on which
mercantile transactions of common occurrence are to
be carried out…………
(2)
Type I:
*
Paper presented at the 8th Surveyors’ Congress, 14 June 2006, at
Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur
See Construction Contracts: Towards A New Relationship by
Barbara Colledge at P.232
‘A Dictionary of Law (2nd Edn) by L.B Curzon at P.34
‘An Engineering Contract Dictionary by Vincent Powell-Smith at
P.536
In Schroeder Music Publishing Co. V Macaulay (1974) 1 WLR
1308
which are exemplified by the “ticket
cases” of the nineteenth
century…………………
…… the terms of which were not the subject
of negotiations between the parties to them:
Schroeder Music Publishing Co. v Macaulay
(1974)1WLR1308 …2
●
●
A printed form of contract containing standard
conditions which are applicable (or can be made
applicable by the use of alternatives) to a wide range
1.
2.
3.
4.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 24
Forms where ‘the standard clauses…..have
been settled over the years by negotiation
by representatives of the commercial
interests involved and have been widely
not only legalities but also mundane administrative issues
to ensure that both parties are able to discharge and can
actually discharge their side of the bargain through full
performance.
Forms where ‘the terms … have not been
the subject of negotiation between the
parties to it or approved by any
organization representing the interests of
the weaker party …. To be in a position to
adopt this attitude towards a party desirous
of entering into a contract to obtain goods
or services provides a classic instance of
superior bargaining power.’
●
The forms have been arrived at through a process of
negotiation between the various sectors of the industry
and as a result act as a compromise between the various
powerful interest groups;
●
They have been widely adopted because experience
has shown that they facilitate the conduct of trade 6
and have addressed the common pitfalls and
shortcomings;
In practice Type II forms are encountered mainly in the
public sector e.g. JKR Standard Forms or larger statutory
bodies/employers such as Putrajaya Standard Forms.
However the prevailing practice is to utilise Type I forms
as far as possible, notable examples being the PAM Forms,
CIDB Forms, etc. But it dispels the notion that to be tenable,
standard forms have to be based on prior negotiation and
approval by authorised bodies/organisations.
●
The forms satisfy the equitable principle requiring that
similar projects demand similar contracts 7;
●
The standard forms allocate risks relatively fairly
between the parties. Such equitable apportionment of
risk obviates contractors from adding risk premiums
and allowances and thereby leads to a fairer
commercial transaction between the parties 8;
Purpose
●
Most such forms are time tested and practitioners are
aware of their workability, limitations and drawbacks.
This familiarity leads to administrative and cost
efficiency and minimises possible claims and disputes;
●
Over the years these forms have accumulated a body
of case law and judicial pronouncements as to the
interpretation of the various provisions and stipulations
which leads to certainty in their implementation 9; and
●
Employment of standard forms avoid the necessity of
the parties indulging in a long winded and time wasting
process of negotiating the relevant contents of the legal
and commercial framework which they intend to put
●
Type II:
Before delving into issues such as the advantages,
drawbacks and the varieties of standard forms in
circulation, it is pertinent to look at the very purpose of
using these forms. For the sake of brevity, these can be
limited to the following main categories: 5
●
To provide the basic legal framework evidencing the
legal relationship between the parties i.e. identifying
the rights, obligations and duties, etc;
●
To furnish a mechanism for regulating the conduct of
the commercial relationship between the parties;
●
To put in place the administrative procedures necessary
to effect the legal and commercial relationship between
the parties for achieving the purposes of contract; and
●
To establish the ambit of the powers and duties of the
contract administrators under the contract between the
parties.
Hence, as can be noted from the above summary, the
purposes of the standard forms are multifold governing
Advantages of Standard Forms
Although it is not absolutely convincing to allude to the
plus points of standard forms, it is nevertheless obvious
that there are some apparent positive reasons justifying
the use of such forms in preference to the other varieties.
These can be summed up as herebelow:
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
See also ‘Construction Law in Singapore and Malaysia’ (2nd Edn.)
by Robinson and Lavers at P.22
Per Lord Diplock in Schroeder Music Publishing Co. v Macaulay
(1974) 1 WLR 1308
See ‘Construction Contracts Law and Management’(2nd End.) by
Murdoch & Hughes at P107
Ibid.
See ‘Construction Law in Singapore and Malaysia’(2nd End.) by
Robinson and Lavers at P23
T H E I N G E N I E U R 25
engineering & law
adopted because experience has shown that
they facilitate the conduct of trade.
Contracts of these kinds affect not only the
actual parties to them but also others who
may have a commercial interest in the
transactions to which they relate as buyers
or sellers….. If fairness or reasonableness
were relevant to their enforceability, the
fact that they are widely used by parties
whose bargaining power is fairly matched
would raise a strong presumption that their
terms are fair and reasonable.’
engineering & law
in place. An ‘off the shelf’/’ready made’ formula is
available for the possible adoption by the parties.
●
●
●
Drawbacks of Standard Forms
●
Opponents of standard forms proffer a host of
disadvantages inimical to the adoption of standard forms:
the principal ones of which are appended herebelow:
●
Standard forms contravene the very cornerstone of
the law of contract i.e. the doctrine of freedom to
contract. By imposing standard forms on the parties,
these parties are prevented from freely deciding on
the whatever terms and conditions that they deem fit
to govern their legal and commercial relationship;
●
Owing to the multitude and the varied nature of the
contracts encountered in the engineering/construction
industry it is a fallacy to have a standard form covering
all eventualities. There is no way in which such a
contract is able to cover all the various situations
envisaged in the industry. Moreover, such forms rarely
record the terms of the agreement between the parties
accurately;
●
In situations where such contracts have been used,
these have been more likely due to possible ‘armtwisting’ or ‘economic’ duress rather than consensus
between the parties. This is especially so in times of
economic recession or a slowdown in the industry
where employers usually have the ‘take it or leave it’
attitude;
●
●
The belief that the standard forms fairly apportion risks
between the parties is in reality a myth as the parties
are rarely bargaining at arm’s length. Such forms are
normally drafted by powerful interest groups inherently
biased in their allocation of responsibility; and
Most of the standard forms are drafted in legalese i.e.
complex legal language beyond the comprehension of
the parties and the normal contract administrators and
requiring the input or the services of legal specialists
in interpreting the contracts.
Main Types
10
For a small country, Malaysia boasts quite a number of
standard forms of contract governing the employercontractor as well as the employer-consultant
relationships. This may not auger well for the industry as
a whole since standard forms are being supplemented by
an increasing number of ‘modified’ or ‘bespoke’ forms.
This may also reflect on the extent of fragmentation of
the industry. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the existing
standard forms can be and have been categorised
according to the following classification:
Government/Public Sector Contracts 11;
Private Sector Contracts; and
Contracts of an international nature.
In addition to the above, there are other so called
‘standard’ forms involving particular sectors of the
industry or being published by specific employers such
as Putrajaya Corporation, KLCC, Petronas, Tenaga
Nasional Berhad, Telekom Malaysia Berhad and the
like.
Why The Need To Amend
If the industry accepts standard forms per se as they
are, then the very idea of undertaking any amendments
whatsoever seems irrelevant. But this has not been the
case. Not only individual employers have taken the cue
in amending existing standard forms but so have
institutions, a classic example being PAM which has in
1998 amended the 1969 standard forms but within the
short span of seven years undertaken yet another
overhaul. There must be compelling reasons for the
above as it is obvious that each amendment exercise
can have far reaching consequences on the industry
itself. Other than justifying the said amendments on
the need to address the drawbacks alluded to earlier in
this paper, proponents of the said exercise proffer the
following additional reasons:
●
In view of the Government’s privatisation initiatives,
the bulk of the work and consequently the associated
risks are transferred to private employers who find
the standard forms grossly deficient in the said risk
allocation mechanism. Furthermore by the
amendment process, such employers indirectly
encourage contractors to transfer some of the risk
onto their sub-contractors 12;
●
Most standard forms are outdated, anachronistic and
do not reflect the prevailing state of the industry, a
classic example being the JKR/PWD Forms that were
last amended in 1983 13;
●
Through suitable amendments, the forms of contract
reflect the contemporary legal position governing
the parties’ rights, duties and obligations. In the
process any lacuna is addressed and the courts’
interpretation of the provisions give effect to
suitably;
10. Most of the local “standard forms’ are merely standard forms of
the particular employer or institution only and not truly ‘standard’
industry forms.
11. Including those used by statutory or quasi-statutory bodies
12. Through the use of ‘Contingent Payment’ clauses
13. A similar label is attached to the IEM CE /89 Form which is an
adaptation of the JKR Form 103A
T H E I N G E N I E U R 26
●
Amendments may be necessary to reflect the
particular objectives and political philosophy of a
particular employer 14 or institution at the material
time;
-
-
Standard forms may fall out of tandem with
contemporary practice on the international arena and
may therefore lead to loss of business confidence 15
if retained in the unamended form;
-
●
●
Amendments may be necessitated by the particular
requirements of third parties involved directly or
indirectly in the contract 16 e.g. financiers, insurers,
etc. who through such amendments attempt to protect
their respective positions; and
Main Provisions Generally Amended
Variation Provisions
As variations impact materially on the parties’ cost,
time and quality of work obligations, such provisions
are also prone to routine amendments; the notable
examples entailing the following:
Through suitable amendments, parties are able to best
reflect their true bargain agreed upon, inter se, and
ensure that is capable of being implemented within
the ambit of the contemporary law.
Some might argue that the reasons proffered as above
for justifying the need for amending standard forms of
contract are too general and as such may not be
applicable to many situations encountered in practice.
However, these do reflect the predominant view-point
throughout a good cross-section of the industry itself
and therefore forms an initial starting point for further
discussion. In view of the varied and complexity of the
industry itself and therefore the respective contracts
involved, it suffices to say that there may exist other
compelling reasons not listed above to justify the
necessity, in particular cases, for necessary amendments
to the prevailing standard forms in specific applications.
But the discussion of such contracts is well beyond the
ambit of his paper and should therefore be dealt with at
a separate forum.
-
●
Payment Provisions
Such provisions are likely to be amended to reflect
the commercial agreement between the parties. More
often than not this should mirror the agreement
negotiated and reached between them. However, it
may merely express a regime imposed by one party
17
on the other. The main amendments normally
undertaken may encompass:
The extent of variations permitted in terms of
both scope and value;
The powers of the respective parties vis-à-vis the
ordering of variations;
Procedure of the variation process especially
effects of defaults 20;
Formulae and/or mechanisms for the valuation
of variations;
Payment procedure and obligations e.g. use of
‘back-to-back’ provisions for sub-contractors, etc.
Delay and Extension of Time Provisions.
Another favourite area of contention during the
contract implementation stage, various employers
attempt to circumvent the seemingly ‘inflexible’
standard provisions by amending or revising the same
to cater for:
-
On a general note, any term of a typical standard form
of contract is susceptible to amendments as there is no
legal bar to effecting the same. However, an analysis of
the bulk of the amended standard forms in practice
reveals that such amendments are predominately
confined to the following main provisions:
●
●
The application for payment procedure i.e.
making the contractor’s application as a condition
precedent to any payment certified;
Provisions pertaining to ‘title’ in goods 18;
The right to payment i.e. use of ‘contingent’
payment or ‘back-to-back’ payment formulae;
Remedies for default of payment obligations 19;
Third party inputs i.e. of the certifier, independent
checkers, etc,
Alternative payment mechanism e.g. ‘contra
payment’, ‘barter’, etc.
-
Other options to be exercised by the employer 21
in lieu of mere extension of time e.g. power to
order the contractor to accelerate works, etc.;
Procedural matters e.g. making the contractors’
notification of the delay and application for
extension of time, mandatory, etc.;
14. E.g the Government’s New Economic Policy
15. This may hamper the government’s efforts at attracting more
foreign direct investments
16. This is especially so in privately funded contracts, turnkey contracts,
etc.
17. Usually the dominant one.
18. To circumvent ‘Retention of Title’ or’ Romalpa’ clauses
19. Granting for example, right to interest, suspension of works, etc.
20. Excluding those categorized as ‘Invalid Omissions’.
21. Also includes the Main Contractor in the case of a Sub-Contract.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 27
engineering & law
●
engineering & law
-
-
-
●
The inclusion or exclusion of certain relevant
events as grounds for the application e.g.
omission of some neutral events from the express
provisions, etc;
Limiting the right of the contractor to claim
extended preliminaries and/or direct loss and
expense consequent to delay not attributable to
the contractor;
Circumventing the decision of Selvakumar v
Thiagarajah vis-à-vis the recovery of LAD.
and frequently make the situation worse by producing
conflicting or contradictory clauses.”
A similar sentiment is echoed by Cox & Clamp
following effect:
A troublesome and often a potentially litigious aspect
of contract implementation, this has spawned a series
of illustrious judgments which have been addressed
in some standard forms but not the others. In the
latter case, amendments and/or revisions are normally
undertaken to cover;
-
●
Rights of the parties vis-à-vis suspension of
works;
Procedural conditions precedents pertaining to
suspension and/or determination;
Rights of the parties following the determination
exercise 22;
Rules governing mutual termination of the
contract;
Procedure and rights pertaining to termination/
determination without cause 23.
There is an increasing trend towards non-standard
agreements on commercial or larger contracts. Any
such drafting should be entrusted to a lawyer with
the appropriate specialist knowledge, and he or she
should always be engaged directly by the client.
Architects 26 without legal training and experience in
such matters are strongly advised not to attempt even
seemingly minor changes to standard wording or
drafting of additional clauses which might make
published documents non-standard.”
Miscellaneous Provisions
These encompass mainly provisions encompassing
insurances, bonds, completion of works, defect
rectification, conclusiveness of certificates,
instructions, obligations of the parties under the
contract, status of the retention sum, priority of
documents, claims, dispute resolution, extinguishment
of rights under the common law, etc..
From the above statements and the pronouncements in a
litany of cases that have reached arbitral forums and the
corridors of justice, perhaps it may useful to summarise
the principal drawbacks and the problems that have ensued
for such amendments of standard forms, these being;
●
Such amendments rob the standard form of its principal
characteristic and very selling point and in the process
attract the application of the contra proferantum rule
of interpretation. The end result is that the party
undertaking the amendment loses the benefit of any
doubt;
●
More often than not, if improperly undertaken,
amendments lead to unclarity, uncertainty and
PITFALLS OF THE AMENDMENT PROCESS
Much as amendments of standard forms may be desired,
these have to carried out professionally and by competent
draftspersons, lest they compromise the very purpose of
the said amendments and destroy the substratum of the
agreement between the parties. Murdoch & Hughes in their
authoritative text entitled ‘Construction Contracts Law and
Management’ have this to say on the issue in hand 24.
“The prospect of drafting a contract from first
principles for every project is too daunting to most in
the industry. Many are tempted to undertake their
own revisions and amendments to the standard forms
to the
“Bespoke amendments can easily impair the balance
of the forms and the precise meaning of the contract
conditions could be a matter for endless arguments
between lawyers. There is also a practical point that
if a contractor is asked to tender knowing that it is
proposed to use a special or amended form of contract,
his first action will be to pass it to his legal advisors
for checking. The cost of this will then be reflected in
his tender. It is sound advice to resist alteration and
amendments wherever possible. The Latham Report
recorded that “All parties in the construction process
should be encouraged to use those standard forms
without amendments”………… However, there may be
instances where no standard form of building contract
fits the client’s requirements and a specially drafted
agreement is needed.”
Suspension, Termination/Determination
-
25
22.
23.
24.
25.
Especially pertaining to payment, title in goods, etc.
Also labeled ‘Termination/Determination By Convenience.
(2nd Edn) at P110
See S. Cox & H. Clamp “Which Contract? Choosing The
Appropriate Building Contract” (3rd End) at P12 & 13
26. Also Engineers, Quality Surveyors, etc. as applicable.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 28
●
●
To sum up the discussion, perhaps Cox’s & Clamp’s advice
as contained in the following extract 31 be imbued with
the right spirit:
Contractors 28 faced with such amendments find
difficulty in accommodating them both price and
time wise. A way out of this dilemma is to pad-up
the pricing much to the detriment of the
competitiveness;
Bespoke or ad hoc amendments, if improperly carried
out, blurs the various roles and obligations of the
parties involved. Contract administrators and others
involved in the implementation of the contract itself
have no specific guidance as the precise meaning of
the amended provisions is a matter of mere
speculation and conjecture;
●
One should take heed of Cox’s & Clamp’s timely
reminder in that 29 ‘….. the basic rule is never to
make amendments which might have unintended
effects on other clauses and so upset the balance of
the whole document…..’; and
●
Statistics reveal that the end result of improperly
amended standard forms is a preponderance of
claims and disputes. As each party premises his claim
on his own subjective interpretation of the material
provision, seldom if ever can a middle ground be
found. The ultimate redress for such a impasse is
arbitration or litigation.
It is not correct to say that all bespoke or ad hoc
amendments suffer from the deficiencies as adumbrated
here above. More likely than not are those improperly or
unprofessionally carried out by any lay instead of legally
trained draftspersons. As Murdoch & Hughes say 30:
“…..The drafting of non-standard forms demands
great skill and knowledge. There is extensive
experience of contract drafting generally but little of
it seems to filter through the construction industry.
Indeed, some of the standard forms have prompted
severe judicial criticism: one judge lamenting that
such widely used form shall be so deviously drafted
with what in parts can only be a calculated lack of
forthright clarity, another referring to the farago of
obscurities….”
27. Though through some provisions, employers attempt to pass the
risk of such matter onto the shoulders of the contractor.
28. Includes where relevant sub-contractors, suppliers, etc.
29. See Cox & H. Clamp “Which Contract? Choosing The Appropriate
Building Contract’ (3rd End) at P.50
30. “Construction Contracts: Law & Management” (2nd End) at P.109
31 In “Which Contract? Choosing The Appropriate Building
Contract”(3rd End) at P.50
“The Latham Report recommended that all parties
in the construction process should be encouraged to
use standard forms without amendment. Where there
are exceptional reasons for such amendment, the
architect should make sure that the client is aware
of and accepts the risks. Amendments should be dealt
with by his or her legal advisors. Again, there is the
practical point that ad hoc alterations often lead to
inflated tender figures as the contractor prices the
risks”
Summary
It is obvious that standard forms do not cater for all the
needs and all the players in the construction industry as
the latter are so varied in terms of scope, content and
nature. It is a mere starting point for parties to premise
their respective agreements on. What is obvious is that
there is a necessity to amend such forms to suit particular
needs. But these should be done skillfully by competent
professionals and even then in restrictive situations,
failing which the consequential forms generated by such
a process may indeed give rise to more problems instead
of curing any existing ones. There is a plethora of case
law testifying to the above assertion and it does not
serve the industry to see the results of such amendments
being vented out in arbitral forums and the corridors of
justice. BEM
REFERENCES
●
Cox & Clamp ‘Which Contract? Choosing The
Appropriate Building Contract’ (3 rd Edn) RIBA
Enterprise.
●
Curzon, LB ‘A Dictionary of Law’ (2 nd End) M&E
Professional.
●
Fenn & Gameson ‘Construction Conflict Management
& Resolution’ E & FN Span.
●
Harbans Singh K.S ‘Engineering & Construction
Contract Management: Law & Principles’, Lexis Nexis.
●
Murdoch & Hughes ‘Construction Contract Law &
Management’, (2nd Edn) E & FN Span.
●
Powell-Smith, V ‘An Engineering Contract Dictionary’,
Blackwell.
●
Robinson, Lavers, Tan & Chan ‘Construction Law in
Singapore & Malaysia’ (2nd Edn) Butterworths.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 29
engineering & law
ambiguity 27. This impacts materially on the pricing
and implementation of the ensuing contract;
feature
Internationalisation Of Malaysia’s
Minerals Industry Via Effective
Occupational Safety And Health
By Prof. Madya Ir. Dr. Eric Goh, Head, AMQUEST RESEARCH, USM Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Chen Nyet Lin, Senior Manager, Kuang Rock Products ( IJM) and Hon. Secretary, Institute of Quarrying (Malaysia)
Maimunah Khalid, General Manager, Operations, National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health
The mineral development profession, for quarries and mines, has always been viewed as a
challenging career worldwide due to the nature of the work, the complexity and the risks involved
in getting the job done. Individual Malaysian quarries are generally sized at less than 50 hectares
in area. Accidents associated with the minerals industry normally receive national or even
international media coverage though there may be more accidents or fatalities reported in other
industrial sectors. This prominent industry is acknowledged as having contributed much to the
further enhancement of Malaysia’s national development and economy. The need for a wellstructured efficient occupational safety and health (OSH) programme in the minerals sector
should thus be emphasised towards internationalisation of Malaysia’s minerals industry. The
workforce of the minerals sector should be technically competent and also well conversant in
safety and health skills to deal with the public and its international counterparts to progress in
this knowledge-based (k-) economy era. Efficient occupational safety and health management
practices implemented in Malaysia’s minerals sector have assisted in improving the safety records
due to the actual reduction of accident and injury cases at site. Increased awareness of
management and that of the site personnel towards safety in the industry, via systematic safety
and health awareness courses, would be useful in further reducing the number of accidents in
the minerals industry.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 30
Causes of Accidents
Productivity at a mineral
development site will be affected
should any accident occur. Mineral
development sites should look into
safer occupational safety and health
practices, as another source of
economic savings, since reducing
accidents will increase profits.
Company profits will increase when
there is a decrease in downtime from
hospitalisation, optimisation of
working hours and also a reduction
in compensation costs due to
injuries. Inculcating a safety culture
at a work site will certainly assist in
reducing accidents. A large number
of accidents is preventable if proper
measures are carried out to
disseminate safe working practices
via regular educational programmes
and practical refresher courses for all
levels of management and staff in
the minerals sector.
Statistical trend of industrial
accidents reported in the minerals
sector is only 1% when compared to
the total number of accident cases
reported in the other major industrial
sectors. Thus there has been a
gradual decrease in accidents in the
minerals industry in the past six
years. This indicates that the selfregulatory concept of occupational
safety and health practices by
management in the mineral
T H E I N G E N I E U R 31
development sector has greatly
assisted in decreasing the accident
rate at sites.
Benefits of Systematic OSH
Training
The workforce of the 21st century
needs to be educated and trained on
the safety and health measures
undertaken and the rationale behind
the essential rules for the well being
of each individual staff. The major
benefit of smart partnership in OSH
Training in this specialised field of
Occupational Safety and Health is the
further upgrading of skills to adapt
to the ever-changing technology and
management emphasis in the
minerals industry. The minerals
industry, though a key element in
infrastructure national development,
is a challenging environment to work
in. Extra care thus needs to be
undertaken by management to
implement the appropriate planning,
implement safe practices and ongoing monitoring of the quarry site
to ensure that all quarry personnel
are continuously safe and stay
healthy throughout their working life
in the industry. At times when
management has implemented all
safety measures at sites, accidents still
do happen. Ignorance of the
workforce of safety benefits that have
been implemented needs to be
feature
P
rofessionalism in occupational
safety and health is defined as
the status of competence,
quality of work or level of training
of any individual in the industry with
respect to international safety and
health standards. The minerals sector
has to project an efficient and
effective image locally and globally
to achieve favourable acceptance by
clients and the public in this new
phase of industrialisation. Quality
assurance is the ability of the industry
in carrying out any task safely and
efficiently in a healthy environment
based on its expertise and skills. The
economic payoff is beneficial since
the Malaysian minerals industry can
prepare itself early via systematic
implementation of OSH awareness
and training programmes to meet the
global competition head-on in the
new millennium. Other potential
benefits of globalisation include the
phenomenal growth in the industry
via enhancing the mobility of
investment capital and skilled
workforce and professionals
worldwide. The ready availability of
world class mineral experts and
workforce conversant in occupational
safety and health matters would be a
great advantage to Malaysia in that
the human capital is easily mobilised
overseas. Since the minerals industry
is the backbone of further national
industrial
development,
all
professionals in the minerals industry
should play a critical and pivotal role
in further enhancing the occupational
safety and health k-economy concept.
The concept of professional
development via systematic
continuing education and training
will assist the industry to be better
prepared to meet the challenges of
AFTA and the globalisation scenario
worldwide in the 21st century. Studies
carried out in the industry indicate
that mineral professionals and
personnel need to be not only
technically competent but must also
possess excellent occupational safety
and health skills to effectively deal
with personnel and society to remain
competitive in the new era of
globalisation.
feature
reducing accidents and complaints
which will translate into benefits for
the industry via increased productivity
and economic returns.
Qualities expected for Successful
OSH Site Practices
From personal experiences and
frequent practical visits to the industry,
locally and worldwide, it was observed
that the prime qualities to supplement
sound technical foundation that are
expected of management and frontline operators in the industry include:
Professional competency
Professional competency is the
ability to identify and solve industrial
occupational safety and health
problems based on sound innovative
safe practices, modern engineering
design/tools and hands-on experience.
Continuing professional development,
via education and training, is thus a
necessity
for
enhancing
professionalism in industrial
occupational safety and health
practices at the individual, company
and industrial levels.
●
addressed to overcome any
misunderstanding when certain safety
and health regulations are enforced at
site. What is more significant is that:
‘The workforce should not only
WORK SAFE but more importantly
FEEL SAFE’.
Systematic training for all levels
of the workforce will assist the staff to
fully appreciate the safety measures
being undertaken at site and the
corresponding actions of safe work site
etiquette to minimise any avoidable
accident or safety and health incidents.
The minerals industry should thus be
able to cope with new scenarios that
include increasing awareness
worldwide on the roles and
responsibilities for ensuring that
potential accidents at work sites are
identified, assessed and controlled. The
enhanced skills of the workforce, via
improved safety and health awareness,
will increase productivity, optimise
efficiency, which all adds up to
increased profits combined with a
healthy, confident and appreciative
workforce. Corporate interests in
continuous professional development
(CPD) which aims to further upgrade
personnel education and training in
the implementation of cutting-edge
occupational safety and health
practices are among the greatest
investment the industry can make. If
the minerals industry wish to remain
competitive, the sector has to sincerely
invest in promoting planned
systematic education and training
schemes to further enhance
professional excellence in occupational
safety and health matters, initially
within the Asian region, followed by
the Asia-Pacific countries; and
hopefully assist other world economies
within
the
next
decade.
Implementation of efficient safe
practices would also be a strong public
relations (PR) exercise to show the
world that the Malaysian minerals
industry is a safe and caring industry
looking after the concerns of its
experienced workforce. Systematic
OSH Training will definitely assist in
T H E I N G E N I E U R 32
Effective communication skills
The prime quality expected by the
industry is effective and confident
communication capability in
confidently imparting systematic
industrial occupational safety and
●
health practices. Invaluable
experiences stored in the brain would
not be helpful to the minerals industry
unless management can express his/
her ideas clearly to the workforce at
site. Senior management thus need
to present their ideas clearly so that
practical economic executive
decisions can be made based on sound
OSH principles. The importance of
effective technical communications is
also evident when instructing staff on
safety procedures that could save
lives. Effective communication is a
two-way process; the front-line
operators should also be able to
convey any potential unsafe practices
to management. All proposals should
be looked into in-depth to minimise
or eradicate any probable safety and
health risks before implementation of
any new work schedules.
Practically skilled
Professionals have to be directly
involved with hands-on scenarios for
practical problem solving in the
industry thus providing the opportunity
to interact the existing academic
knowledge with real-life occupational
safety and health situations. Industrial
experience is a necessity for efficient
industrial development of the minerals
industry taking into consideration OSH
factors. Regular OSH training courses
for personnel will assist in further
reinforcing their practical skills and the
confidence of the staff in carrying out
their duties.
●
Ethics
Humanistic skills should provide
the industry with balanced ethical and
moral standards when carrying out
any OSH job so that the outcome is
acceptable to society and can enhance
the Malaysian work image overseas
and to visiting international experts.
Site personnel have to be conscious
of all the respective safety and health
aspects in project planning to
minimise any foreseeable negative
impact on the workforce.
●
T H E I N G E N I E U R 33
OSH Awareness Programmes in the
Minerals Sector
The most critical factor in
improving industrial efficiency is selfregulated quality of industrial safety
and health management. One of the
major means for further enhancement
of occupational safety and health
standards in the minerals industry is
enhanced education and training.
feature
Ability to adapt globally
With globalisation becoming a
reality, the minerals sector workforce
needs further re-education and
training to enable them to adapt to
the borderless world and the rapid
expanding knowledge-based society
of the k-economy. To meet the
challenges of globalisation, industrial
personnel have to adapt to various
safe occupational safety and health
working cultures practised in different
countries worldwide. An experienced
workforce supplemented with
knowledge on good safety and health
practices will be in great demand
when implementing multi-national
projects overseas. Smart partnership
is thus the important key to systematic
OSH training for the Malaysian
minerals industry to be fully prepared
to confidently meet the challenges of
an industrialised nation via Vision
2020 and the potential prospects of
investment projects worldwide.
●
feature
The content of any proposed
OSH training programmes should be
tailored specially to the needs of
the individual personnel taking
into considerations the OSH
responsibilities expected according
to their respective designation.
Some of the proposed topics to be
covered in any planned OSH course
for the minerals sector which needs
to conform to the requirements of
OSHA 1994; and designed specially
for the benefit of the minerals
industry include:
●
●
●
Education is the means to provide
personnel with the knowledge and
skills to handle the unpredictable and
the unknown. Training, moreover,
equips people for problem solving in
a predictable scenario. Training is a
must for all levels of the workforce
in the quarrying industry. However,
the education required for each
category increases as they progress
higher on the management ladder
coupled with added responsibilities.
In order to strive for professional
excellence the industry has to ensure
that all personnel attend the
respective OSH courses tailored to
the needs of the knowledge expected
of the respective personnel. The
industry should give priority to
improving the well being of its
employees in OSH matters
comparable to its attention to
controlling costs and improving
production. Minerals sector staff, of
all positions, should initially receive
sufficient fundamentals of safe
practices expected in the industry as
technical
foundation
upon
appointment to ensure that the
standards of the overall personnel
workforce are maintained. However,
the OSH knowledge expected of each
personnel can be developed
gradually, by learning new skills, to
further assist in undertaking more
demanding OSH roles with greater
management responsibilities.
Management personnel in the
industry must ensure that all
activities carried out daily comply
with best practices and complies with
existing industrial occupational
safety and health requirements of
any nation. For safety standards to
be further improved the mineral
resource industry likewise should be
prepared to allow its employees
access to the best education and
training available to achieve higherquality error-free production
supplemented with high safety
records. A healthy workforce
reduces medical costs, downtime and
greatly improves productivity.
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
T H E I N G E N I E U R 34
Occupational Safety and Health
Legislation,
Occupational Safety and Health
Management,
Site Occupational Safety and
Health Responsibilities,
Occupational Safety and Health
aspects,
Safe Work Procedures (SWP),
Accident
Reporting
and
Investigation Procedures,
Hazard
Identification,
Classification, Reporting and
Control,
Risk Assessment Process,
Effective Safety Promotion (ESP)
Guidelines,
Workplace Audits,
Safe Procedures (during drilling,
blasting, compressed air,
stockpiles),
Safety in usage of power supply,
cable connections and electrical
tools,
Transportation and Conveyor
Safety,
Safe Usage of Machinery
(examples: excavators, lorries,
plant maintenance),
Personal Protective Equipment
(PPEs),
Fire Management & Control,
Accident Investigation and
Reporting,
Statutory Notification to relevant
authorities (DOSH, DOE, Fire
Department),
Emergency Preparedness and
Response Plan, and
First Aid Site Requirements and
Implementation.
The k-economy scenario, which
started in 2001, has resulted in many
long-term ramifications worldwide. In
this new millennium, training and
knowledge is the key to further
industrial development. The world
and Malaysia need more mineral
products to further raise the standards
of the world community. The
remarkable progress in Malaysia
shows that there is an expected
further escalating demand for mineral
products in the near future. With the
extractive industry being a key
foundation of national infrastructure
development, it is therefore
imperative that we appreciate the
importance of professionalism in
occupational safety and health
aspects for further industrial
development. The reputation of the
industry and the value of each mineral
personnel can be upgraded via
mastering the latest occupational
safety and health practices and to
unlock its full potential for projecting
the industry as a safe and caring
industry to society. Client satisfaction,
a major criterion for further growth
in the minerals industry, can be
further enhanced via proven safe
working track records. The overall
benefit to the minerals industry via
effective OSH awareness is improved
efficiency and productivity, better
workplace rapport and higher cost
savings due to the minimisation of
accidents, staff injury, hospitalisation
and downtime. The ability to achieve
‘Vision 2020 Developed Nation
Status’ assisted by a healthy
workforce should be of tremendous
benefit to the minerals industry and
Malaysia in meeting the globalisation
challenge of a safe and healthy work
environment. BEM
lighter moments
Golf &Coffee
When things in your life seem almost too much to
handle when hours in a day are not enough
remember the mayonnaise jar… and the coffee
A professor stood before his Philosophy class and had
some items in front of him
When the class began wordlessly he picked up a very
large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it
with golf balls He then asked the students if the jar
was full
They agreed that it was
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles rolled
and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf
balls He then asked the students again if the jar was
full
They agreed that it was
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured
it into the jar Of course the sand filled up everything
else He asked once more if the jar was full
“Now” said the professor as the laughter subsided “I
want you to recognize that this jar represents your life”
“The golf balls are the important things – your God
family your children your health your friends and
your favourite passions – things that if everything else
was lost and only they remained your life would still be
full”
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your
job your house and your car The sand is everything
else … the small stuff If you put the sand into the jar
first” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or
the golf balls”
“The same goes for life If you spend all your time and
energy on the small stuff you will never have room for
the things that are important to you Pay attention to
the things that are critical to your happiness”
“Play with your children”
“Take time to get medical check,ups”
“Take your partner out to dinner”
“Play another -.”
“There will be always be time to clean the house and fix
the disposal”
“Take care of the golf balls first the things that really
matter”
“Set your priorities”
“The rest is just sand”
They students responded with an unanimous “yes”
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from
under the table and poured the entire contents into the
jar effectively filling the empty space between the
sand
The students laughed
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what
the coffee represented The professor smiled “I’m glad
you asked”
“It just goes to show you that no matter how full your
life may seem there’s always room for a cup of coffee
with a friend”
Author: Unknown
T H E I N G E N I E U R 35
feature
Conclusion
feature
National Minerals Policy:
Catalyst For Malaysia’s
Economic Development
By Dato’ Ir. Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Dahan, Chairman, Osborne & Chappel Sdn Bhd and Immediate Past President,
MCM National Minerals Policy Working Group.
Tuan Haji Muhamad Nor Muhamad, Executive Director, Malaysian Chamber of Mines
Prof. Madya Ir. Dr. Eric Goh, Head - AMQUEST RESEARCH, USM Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia
The National Mineral Policy was drawn-up by the Government to place Malaysia’s mineral industry
on par with that of its neighbouring major mining countries, as well as to respond to development
taking place in the mining and mineral industry in and around the region. The purpose of the
Policy is to enhance Malaysia’s competitive advantage in a globalised market that will benefit the
national economy, to maximise the usage of research and development, and geoscientific
information for the socio-economic improvement of the country whilst considering and keeping
environmental and sustainable development in balance. One of the Policy’s major objectives is to
create a more conducive environment economic climate to attract more local and foreign
investment into the minerals sector for further minerals development.
R
adical changes are taking place
all over the world resulting
from the phenomena of trade
liberalisation and globalisation. The
recent shift of formerly controlled and
planned economies to free market
economies in many mineral rich
countries has resulted in keener
competition for the limited pool of
risk capital available to invest in
minerals exploration, mining and
minerals development. In Asia alone,
China, India, Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia and Mongolia have all
started to open their mineral industry
to overseas investment and
participation. Many countries have
implemented new mining codes to
compete for the limited pool of
mineral investment funds. Hence,
Malaysia alongside its mineral rich
ASEAN neighbours, such as Indonesia
and the Philippines, has introduced
new harmonised mining legislations
to replace outdated laws and
regulations through its new National
Mineral Policy (NMP). The NMP also
contains fiscal and investment
incentives aimed at further attracting
investments, both local and
international, into developing the
country’s mineral resources potential,
especially its hard-rock primary and
industrial minerals deposits, and
minerals-based manufacturing
products.
Objectives and Policies
The NMP aims to provide the
foundation for the development of an
effective, efficient and competitive
regulatory environment and an
attractive investment climate for the
mineral sector. The thrust of the NMP
is to expand and diversify the sector
through optimum exploration, and
utilisation of resources though
modern technology and sustainable
development. The Policy includes
salient features that cover aspects
such as security of tenure, favourable
fiscal regimes, high priority land use
for mining, a uniform and efficient
institutional framework and
T H E I N G E N I E U R 36
i)
To contribute to national and
state development by
promoting diversification
and expansion of the mineral
industry;
ii) To provide an attractive,
efficient and stable mineral
sector regulatory framework;
iii) To encourage exploration and
a beneficial expansion of the
mineral industry;
iv) To p r o v i d e a s t a b l e a n d
conducive fiscal system;
v) To a c c o r d t h e m i n e r a l
industry a high land-use
priority in areas open for
exploration;
vi) To enhance the development
of domestic expertise for
mineral resource development
through research, education
and training activities;
vii) To provide environmental
protection and management
of social impact; and
viii) To p r o v i d e t i m e l y a n d
accurate regulatory, scientific
and technical information
required by the industry,
Federal Government and
State Governments, including
periodic
review
and
publication of the national
policy on the mineral sector.
Two main legal instruments to
help ensure the full and efficient
implementation of the NMP have
been drawn-up. They are:
Mineral Development Act 1994
This is a Federal Act that provides
the framework pertaining to powers
of the Federal Government with
regard to the inspection and
regulation of mineral exploration and
mining operations and other related
issues. The Mineral Development Act
came into force in August 1998. The
Mineral Development Act, 1994 spells
out the do’s and don’ts related to
mining activities. These include
statutory requirements that have to
be observed by the mine operator
before, during and after the
commencement of mining operations,
such as the giving of notice of
intention to carry out exploration
work, submission of appropriate
mining schemes to the relevant
authority for approval before
commencement of operations; notice
of intention to commence mining
operations; and carrying out all
related activities in accordance with
good and safe practices, and such
environmental standards as may be
prescribed under the Federal Act and
any written law relating to
environment. (In this case, the other
written law that is applicable is the
Environmental Quality Act of 1974,
under which mining and quarrying
are listed as prescribed activities that
are subject to Environmental Impact
Assessment.) The implementation of
the Federal Law is carried out by the
Department of Minerals and
Geoscience Malaysia, which is the
implementing department under the
Ministry of Primary Industries.
State Mineral Enactment
This Enactment delineates the
power and rights of State
Governments with regard to the
issuance of mineral tenements, such
as the issuance of prospecting and
exploration licences and mining
leases, which fall under the purview
of the State Governments. The State
Mineral Enactment is currently at
various stages of being adopted by
the respective State Governments.
Presently, Sabah, Selangor, Kelantan,
Pahang and Perlis have adopted this
Enactment. However, only Selangor
and Kelantan have so far
implemented the Enactment. The
State Mineral Regulations, which is
the subset under this Enactment,
spells out the detailed procedures that
have to be followed when carrying
out prospecting, exploration and
mining operations in the States, and
also contains the various forms that
need to be filled for the different
procedures. The formulation of the
new NMP and its attendant laws and
regulations is to place the country’s
mineral resources industry on par
with that of its neighbouring
countries, as well as to respond to the
rapid developments taking place in
and around the region. Overall, the
Policy initiative was undertaken by
T H E I N G E N I E U R 37
the authorities to create a more
conducive environment to attract
investments, both local and foreign,
into the mineral resources industry
and to revitalise and to give it a
much-needed boost.
National Mineral Council
To further help facilitate the
implementation of the NMP, the
National Mineral Council was formed
in 1998 comprising members all the
Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers of
the various states in Malaysia, Federal
Ministers directly or indirectly
involved with the mineral industry
and related Heads of Federal
Government Departments. The
Deputy Prime Minister chairs the
Council, which is to ensure that
sufficient emphasis is given to the
deliberations and decisions taken by
the Council.
The key role of the Council is to
bring about greater coordination and
cooperation in the drawing up and
implementation of policies related to
the development of the mineral sector.
This Council, therefore, provides the
forum for the Federal and State
Governments to have dialogues and
discussions, from time to time, so that
all issues and problems related to
policy and implementation and
development of the mineral sector
could be resolved in a coordinated
manner. At the Council’s last meeting
in late 2001, it agreed in principal to
redefine rock materials in the National
Land Code to minerals under the State
Mineral Enactment. This will
ensure the optimal use of rock
materials, as well as increasing their
productivity and utilisation efficiency.
It will also create better investment
interests in that operating permits or
licences will be issued for a longer
duration with a better security of
tenure.
Regulatory System
The control and authority over
land and land use vest in the hands
of each of the 13 states that comprise
the Malaysian Federation. The
existing mining laws and regulations
tend to differ from one state to
another due to their respective geopolitical needs and circumstances.
feature
transparent
guidelines
and
regulations. The salient features and
objectives of the NMP are:
feature
Most of these laws have in any case
been the legacy of the British colonial
administration before Malaysia
achieved independence in 1957. In
addition, these laws have been
designed for the regulation of mining
of alluvial deposits, which are not
suitable for large-scale exploration
and mining of primary hard-rock
minerals.
The NMP has addressed this
problem through formulating a
comprehensive set of harmonised
model State Mineral Enactment and
Regulations that provide uniformity
and transparency. A primary feature
in the model enactment is the security
of tenure granted to successful
prospectors seeking mining leases,
high priority land use for mining,
uniform and efficient legal framework
and transparent guidelines and
regulations.
Some of the other features in the
new enactment include matters
pertaining to environmental
protection and mine rehabilitation,
sustainable development and
management of social impact, and the
creation of one stop agencies at State
levels to consider all prospecting and
mining applications.
The
environmental and rehabilitation
obligation is a priority objective in
the development, operation and
closure of mines, within the concept
of “designing mines for closure”. It
ensures that there is a balance
between the cost and benefit
associated with the mine’s economic
development and environmental
management in a sustainable and
productive manner.
Equity Policy
As embodied in the NMP, the
Malaysian Government welcomes
foreign investment. Malaysia’s equity
policy in projects involving the
extraction or mining and processing
of minerals is such that majority
foreign equity participation of up to
100% is permitted. In determining
the percentage, three criteria will be
considered, namely the level of
investments, the technology and risk
involved in the projects, the
availability of Malaysian expertise in
the areas of exploration, mining and
processing of the minerals concerned
and the degree of integration and
level of value-added involved in the
projects.
In keeping with the objective of
ensuring increasing Malaysian
participation in mining activities, it
is the policy of the Government to
also encourage mining projects to be
undertaken on a joint-venture basis
between Malaysian and foreign
partners. All such participation is
exclusively on a paid, carried interest
basis or other similar arrangements.
A private investor that has been
approved with a given equity
condition will not be requested to
restructure his equity at any time,
notwithstanding the fact that he may
have undergone an expansion or
diversification, provided that the he
continues to comply with the original
conditions of approval and retains the
original features of the project.
Fiscal System
Malaysia maintains a fiscal
system, which is consistent, fair,
transparent and competitive. Mineral
producers are required to pay an
income or corporate tax based on the
profits of their operations. Malaysia’s
corporate tax today is 28%, one of
the lowest in the region. Export duties
on most minerals have been
abolished. Most raw minerals are
subject to low or zero level import
duty. For those still subject to import
duties, the importer may apply to the
Government for a waiver. Imported
machineries and equipment for use
in mining projects are subject to the
general schedule of import tariffs but
an application can be made on a case-
T H E I N G E N I E U R 38
by-case basis. Value-based royalties
are assessed by some individual states
on some mineral commodities.
Certain area-based land premiums
and rental fees, processing and
application fees for mining lands are
imposed by the states.
Investment Incentives
Companies investing in mining
and mineral exploration per se
currently do not enjoy much frontend investment incentives. However,
those involved in mineral processing
and the manufacturing of mineralbased products do enjoy several
investment incentives and other
facilities.
The principal incentives for such
investments and facilities are
provided for in the Promotion of
Investments Act 1986, the Income Tax
Act 1967, the Custom Act 1967, the
Sales Tax Act 1972 and the Excise Act
1976. These incentives include the
pioneer status, which takes the form
of partial exemption from corporate
tax, and the investment tax
allowance, which provides for an
allowance amounting to 60% of the
qualifying capital expenditure
incurred on the project within five
years from the date of first
incurrence of capital expenditure.
There are also incentives for high
technology industries that provide
full tax exemption of a company’s
statutory income for five years, for
strategic industries where full
corporate tax exemption can be
granted for a period of ten years, and
for R&D activities carried out in the
field of science and technology with
Diversification of Malaysia’s
Minerals Sector
Up to the mid 1980s, the emphasis
of the mineral industry had been on
the development of the tin industry
while there was also mining activities
associated with the production of
copper, gold, iron ore and some other
industrial minerals. However, with
the drastic decline in the prices of tin
in the 1980s, the Government and the
industry were forced to sit up and take
notice of the fact that not only had
the fundamentals of the tin market
changed drastically but also the fact
that with declining production, the tin
mining industry could not be expected
to continue to contribute to national
development as it had done in the past.
Hence, taking this cue, efforts have
been made to diversify away from the
production of tin, and slowly the
emphasis has shifted from the
production of metallic minerals to the
production of industrial minerals.
Currently, the areas targeted for
development are the silica-based
industry, clay based industry, and
limestone and granite for production
of dimension stones. The potential for
the development of the country’s coal
resources are also being looked into.
Under this programme of
diversification, emphasis is also given
to realise the maximum value of a
given mineral and to find the best
alternative use for the material. For
instance, limestone, which is of high
quality, more specifically of marble
quality, is encouraged to be cut into
dimension stones to be used as facing
bricks and decorative wall tiles and in
interior furnishings of hotels and other
buildings. This is in contrast to the
previous practice of blasting the
limestone hills to produce aggregates
for construction and road building.
The same principle is applied to the
development of granite resources. In
T H E I N G E N I E U R 39
the case of silica sand, efforts are being
undertaken to realise the full potential
of the material including production
of crystal glass and even silicone chips.
In this area, foreign technology from
those countries that have advanced
industries is expected to be imported
through the form of joint ventures with
local entrepreneurs. Another area that
is being looked into earnestly is the
development of the ceramic based
industries including the production of
high quality ceramic products and the
future production of composite
materials for the electrical,
automobile and aerospace industries.
It is indeed, the thrust of the National
Mineral Policy objectives that will
carry this diversification programme
through, successful.
Conclusion
Malaysia’s NMP’s should be an
evolving strategy statement that
constantly adapts and changes to
reflect and suit the needs of the
national and global market place.
A well-crafted NMP provides the
necessary confidence and
security assurance required by
investors, whether local or
foreign, to undertake risky
exploration and mining
development ventures in the
country’s mineral resources
potential. From the inherent
features and initiatives of
Malaysia’s National Mineral
Policy, it can be seen that its
primary purpose is to act as a
catalyst in attracting and
enhancing foreign and local
investments into the Malaysian
minerals industry. With a liberal legal,
fiscal and institutional framework in
place, coupled with a fairly rich
endowment of mineral resources and
Malaysia’s positive stand on private
sector participation, the Malaysian
minerals sector thus provides a
conducive
and
competitive
environment and ample investment
opportunities for all. Demand for
minerals will continue to remain at
high
levels
in
Malaysia’s
industrialisation
programme.
Malaysia’s minerals industry is the
new source of economic growth and
wealth for the nation, as envisaged
under the NMP objectives. BEM
feature
the object of using the results of the
R&D for the production and
improvement of materials, devices,
products, produce or processes. For
companies, which do not qualify for
any of the above incentives, they can
apply for the reinvestment allowance.
Export incentives are granted to
companies exporting products in the
form of export credit refinancing
(ECR), double deduction for expenses
for promotion of exports, double
deduction of export credit insurance
premiums and industrial building
allowance for buildings used as
warehouses for storing goods for
exports. There are also incentives
given for manpower training and full
import duty exemption on raw
materials for products that are
exported, and also exemption from
import duty and sales tax on
machinery and equipment used
directly in the production process or
used for environmental control,
recycling, maintenance and quality
control.
To broaden and expand further the
scope of the fiscal incentives and tax
allowances available to investors in the
mineral resources industry, the
Malaysian Chamber of Mines is
actively pursuing discussions with the
Government on modifying various
existing incentives and tax impositions
and adding several new ones to make
the industry more attractive especially
with regards to attracting investment
capital for prospecting for mineral
deposits and the subsequent mine
development and also manufacturing
of minerals based value-added
products. The Chamber aims to have
the industry classified as a promoted
industry to enable it to have access to
all the investment incentives and
facilities accorded under the Promotion
of Investments Act 1986. These
discussions are on-going and are
within the ambit of the NMP’s
objectives to make the Malaysian
mineral
resources
industry
internationally attractive and
competitive.
feature
Quarry Blasting And The Neighbour,
Fear & Reality: A Malaysian Perspective
By Ir. Haji Look Keman bin Sahari, B.Sc (Mining Engineering), M.Sc (Explosives Ordinance Engineering)
T
here are more than 300 quarries of various sizes in
Malaysia today, operating and supplying much
needed materials for the construction industry. The
quarries supply rock aggregates for roads, highways,
flyovers, airport and runways for our world-class airport.
The quarrying industry is a primary industry that
supports the development of all countries and without it
we will not be enjoying the convenience of modern life.
This article is intended to provide an introduction to the
industry that many people despise because of the
perceived environmental problems it causes to them
through blasting work.
Quarrying Materials
In general, the public tends to associate quarrying
with rock aggregates such as limestone, granite and
sandstone aggregates that quarries supply to the
construction industry for the development of townships,
road, highways, airport, flyovers, railway ballast and
other development activities. The public also tends to
associate the industry with “lori hantu” and other lorries
carrying rock aggregates causing havoc to the public
when carrying their products to development sites. But
apart from aggregates, quarries also produces dimension
stones supplying marbles, tiles and sand that we use in
our homes, rip-rap stones for the protection of our beach,
mineral sand for production of glass, basalt fibres for
insulating materials for homes and countless other
products.
The products from the quarrying industry are basically
low cost materials that need to be produced in volume to
make them viable and profitable. The market is normally
located only a few km away from the quarry. It is very
rare to have quarries operating tens of kilometres away
from development areas. The transportation cost generally
determines the viability of the quarry operation. However,
with rapid development of the country, quarries, which
were originally many kilometres away from the market,
are soon surrounded by houses. Many buyers never suspect
that their dream homes are near quarries until they are
given keys to move into their homes. Then their problems
do begin.
Quarry Location
In Kuala Lumpur and its vicinity, there are many
quarries operating in Damansara, Sungai Buloh, Bandar
Manjalara, Cheras, Kajang and Hulu Langat producing
mainly granite aggregates for the maintenance and
development of facilities in Kuala Lumpur and its
surrounding areas. These quarries were originally
operating far away from residential or industrial areas.
However, with the rapid development of the city, they
were soon surrounded by houses and factories, and
many were virtually forced out after relentless
T H E I N G E N I E U R 42
IMPACT OF QUARRY BLASTING OPERATION
The typical complaints received by the authorities on
quarry operations are flyrocks, noise, ground vibrations,
dust and sometimes discharge of dirty (polluted) water
and mud after heavy rain. The media also tends to publicise
claims of cracks in houses that are alleged to be caused
by blasting work at the quarries nearby.
Many complaints are true and actually the result of
quarry operation, but are the complaints justifiable?
Quarry operations particularly blasting work, produce
ground vibration, airblast, noise and also dust and
sometimes flyrocks. This is unavoidable but in many
instances, it could be reduced to a practical and reasonable
level. It cannot, however, be eliminated.
Flyrocks
Flyrocks are most dangerous. There were several
incidents in the past where rock fragments from a quarry
flew over 400 metres, and in one case hit and killed a
lorry driver who was driving through a housing project
area. There were also cases where rock fragments flew
over several hundred metres and hit houses. These are
relatively rare incidents nowadays since the introduction
of the requirement of quarries to hire competent shotfirers
by the authorities. The introduction of new technology
such as the use of shock tubes (NONEL) with the
compulsory training of shotfirers imposed by the
Department of Mineral and Geoscience has helped
minimise such incidents. This does not mean that blasting
Typical blasting at a quarry
engineers are not required. Only the engineers with the
training in geology and explosives engineering will be
able to understand the interaction between the explosives
and rocks. While civil engineers and mining engineers
do learn and have sufficient knowledge in geology, only
those who took mining engineering actually learn
explosive and blasting technology at university level. In
Malaysia today, only students in Mineral Resources
Engineering at USM are required to take this subject at
undergraduate level. Others have to undergo Shot Firing
courses conducted by the local institutions, and the Rock
Blasting courses organised by explosives manufacturers.
However, there are very few trained engineers because
of the reluctance of younger engineers to work in this
field and the misunderstanding or misconception that it
is very dangerous to handle explosives. Fewer still are
the engineers who understand the effect of uses of
explosives on structures and the psychological effect on
humans. Many of these subjects are taught at military
schools and mining schools particularly in the United
States.
Airblast
The most common cause of complaint is actually
airblast. There are two components of airblast, that is,
concussion and noise. Concussion is sound waves with a
frequency of less than 20 Hz while noise is sound waves
with frequency of more than 20 Hz. Until now there is
no record of airblast ever causing damage to any structure
or houses near quarries. There is therefore no record of
successful court cases against any quarry by any claimant
alleging that airblast caused damage to their houses. Why
there are so many complaints then? It could be due to
psychological reasons given the fact that many people
have been killed from the detonation of explosives from
incidents such as car bombs in Iraq and suicide bombing
in Palestine. Many people also fear anything associated
with explosives.
A house hit by flyrock from quarry blasting
T H E I N G E N I E U R 43
feature
campaigns and complaints from the public. A new area,
which was originally slated for the quarry industry at
Bukit Lagong, is now facing the same cycle of problems.
It is interesting to note that quarries have never
approached or never been allowed to operate near existing
residential areas but once a quarry is established, houses
and other interests, which are incompatible with quarrying
operations begin to encroach slowly into what is
considered a buffer zone between quarries and
development.
feature
The limit imposed on explosives by the authorities is
normally about 120 dB(Linear) which may cause glass
windows to rattle but not enough to break it. It will not
cause any physical damage to any structure or building
but can be frightening to those not familiar with explosives.
For example, Siskind and Summers of the US Bureau
of Mines TPS 78 (1974), propose the following;
Linear Peak
dB
Safe
128
Caution 128-136
Limit
136
Recommended
C-Peak or C-Fast
dB
120
120-130
130
Not recommended
A-Peak or A-Fast
dB
95
95-115
115
It is clear that the safe levels are actually far above
the level imposed by the authorities.
Based on research carried out by academicians and
mining and quarry operators, most complainants are
normally people who are new residents who initially had
never expected their new homes to be near quarries. When
they bought their new homes, they were impressed by the
developer’s brochures portraying their new homes near
virgin forest, without mentioning the fact of an operating
quarry.
The limits on explosives imposed by the authorities
are so low that if the quarry operator complies with them
there is no chance of any damage to homes.
Ground Vibration
The other source of potential complaints is ground
vibration from blasting work. When explosives detonate
in a borehole, it produces vibration waves which travels
quite far in all directions depending on the initiation
system used and the design of the blast. The vibration
levels decreases with distance. Ground vibrations have
the potential of causing damage to homes if not properly
controlled.
A lot of studies were carried out by the former United
States Bureau of Mines on the effect of ground vibration
from blasting from mines to homes and various criteria
had been formulated on the levels that can cause damage
to structures. The most common Damage Criteria quoted
by Malaysian environmental and engineering consultants
when forwarding their Environmental Impact Assessment
Report or Method Statement Report for blasting work
near residential areas are those developed by United
States Bureau of Mines (1971)
Damage Criteria
Particle Velocity
< 2.0 in/sec
2.0 – 4.0 in/sec
4.0 – 7.0 in/sec
> 7.0 in/sec
Damage
No damage
Plaster cracking
Minor damage
Major damage to structure
A seismograph (blasting monitoring equipment)
However, the limit imposed by the authorities in many
countries is not actually based on the Damage Criteria
but on the so-called comfort level or more plainly said,
the level that will cause minimal complaints from the
public. It is practically impossible to eliminate complaints
altogether because of the ability of human being to detect
vibrations, as low as 2.0 mm/sec.
The public complains because they fear that their
houses may be damaged or even collapse. Many allege
that quarry operations near their homes have caused
cracks to the doors, ceiling etc. These have never been
proven though much research done by many universities
particularly in US and Britain.
Unfortunately, it is the quarry operators who have to
pay the price of working near residential areas through
no fault of their own by having to design their blasting
work to comply with stricter requirements. The cost of
blasting will go up and ultimately the customers will
have to pay a higher prices for aggregates. These would
not have been the case if the authorities are consistent
in their policy of not allowing quarries to be set up near
residential areas and not allowing residential areas to
be built near quarries.
MALAYSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Based on the requirements of EIA alone, a new quarry
has no chance of being allowed to operate near existing
residential areas with the exception of construction
quarry where a developer is allowed to do blasting work
achieve the development platform. However, the other
way round seems to be permissible, and a recipe for the
trouble.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 44
monitoring and interpretation, and able to use correct
blast monitoring programmes.
It is therefore clear that if blasting practices are to be
improved, engineers must be willing to learn shotfiring
techniques and to supervise blasting work. Those engineers
with the knowledge in explosive engineering, geology,
concrete technology and structures should be able to
design proper blast that will comply with the authorities’
requirements or at least be able to put up a convincing
case against impractical conditions imposed by the
authorities.
Proper recording of all blasting work and endorsement
by professionals are keys to defence against potential
litigation by the “injured party”.
Ability to use equipment such as a seismograph to
measure, record, understand and interpret ground
vibrations and airblasts, is a field within engineering that
is beyond the expertise of shotfirers. If engineers do not
want to do it, who else is there to do it?
Conclusion
What can we the engineers do?
Unfortunately, it is quite common in Malaysia for
quarry operators to put their trust fully to shotfirers. While
competent and experienced shotfirers know how to blast
well, their knowledge of explosives and rocks and their
effects on structure and human beings is very shallow. It
is not, however, their fault because engineers do not seem
to want to work in this field or even supervise blasting
work. Quarry managements do not insist on engineers
handling the blasting work on the pretext of saving cost,
thus discouraging engineers from specialising in this field.
There are also very few engineers well versed in blast
LIGHTER MOMENTS
The Chinese Saying?
Said also don’t listen
Listen also don’t understand
Not understand also don’t ask
Ask also don’t do
Do also do wrong
Wrong also don’t admit
Admit also don’t correct
Correct also not happy
Not happy also don’t say
Blasting is not just a science but also an art that needs
to be learned through continuous professional education
and training. To be a good blaster a person needs to be a
good communicator and also a good public relations
officer. A good engineer with good blasting knowledge is
an asset to the quarrying company especially when the
quarry is near a residential area. With the requirement
that quarries near residential areas must have regular
meetings with residents to discuss complaints, it is
therefore essential that engineers must be well versed with
blasting methodology and able to convince residents that
their practices are safe.
Even though blasting is a nuisance that needs to be
tolerated by those who encroach upon quarry
neighbourhoods, blasting practices that comply with the
authorities’ requirement is actually very safe. The public
should not have any fear at all if the quarries comply
fully with all safety regulations. Advancement in blasting
technology has ensured that blasting can be carried out
safely and efficiently.
Even though Malaysia has not yet adapted any Blasting
Standard, the current operational conditions are very safe
and can only improve further with competent engineers
handling the blasting work. BEM
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Environmental Management - Institute of
Quarrying, UK
Blaster’s Handbook - ISEE 17th Edition (1998)
Blasting Guidance Manual - OSME, US Department
of the Interior (1987)
Blasting Engineer’s Training Manual - Orica
Shotfirer’s Course Note - Institute of Quarrying,
Malaysia
T H E I N G E N I E U R 45
feature
Reports have appeared in local newspapers where
flyrock from blasting work reached houses on the
periphery of quarries. Neighbours complained of their
houses shaking from ground vibrations and airblast from
blasting work at quarries nearby. The quoted examples
are quarries working at Sungai Siput in Perak, Bukit
Lagong in Gombak, Selangor and many other quarries in
Selangor. All these quarries have been operating for many
years. It is a classic case of houses encroaching on the
quarries.
Residential areas and quarrying activities are not a
compatible neighbours. While they need each other, they
really cannot be near to each other. However, through no
fault of their own they have to tolerate each other’s
presence. While the quarry operators need to be more
professional in their quarry operations, the residents need
to understand that by having quarries nearby they have
the products that are needed in a countries development.
Many people also derive their income from quarry
operations.
feature
Legislation For
Quarrying And Mining
By Ir. Dr. Mior Termizi Bin Mohd Yusof, School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Ex-Inspector of Mines
W
hen the British managed to
gain controlled of the
Malay States in the 19th
century, they introduced laws to
control land management and mining
operation in all the States according
to their own agenda as colonial
master. Control of mining operation
and abundant reserves of tin led
Malaya, then Malaysia, to be the
world’s number one producer of tin
until 1985. After that there was a
major decline in the mining industry.
One of the reasons for the decline
of the mineral industry in Malaysia was
the outdated mining legislation. As a
result there were less meaningful
exploration activities in the country.
So the Federal Government
legislated a new mineral legislation
namely the Mineral Development Act
1994 (MDA) and proposed to State
Governments to adopt the
recommended State Mineral
Enactment (SME).
As for quarrying activities, since
the Colonial Government era, the
quarries were operated by the Public
Works Department to supply rock
material for the building of roads and
ballast for railway tracks. As the
Government is not always adept in
business, the quarries were “handed
over” to the private sector. However
many accidents occurred and there
was a need to have some quarrying
laws. This was initially carried out
by the Perak State Government in
1992 through its Perak Quarrying
Rules.
After Independence
After Malaya gained independence
in 1957, the British Colonial Mining
Enactment in each State was still used
Blasted rock at a quarry
with some modifications in line with
the Federal Constitution.
The Land Ordinances were replaced
with the National Land Code (NLC) in
1965. The introduction of NLC was to
have some uniformity for land policy
for the whole Peninsula but authority
over the land is still the State
Government.
The NLC has some provisions with
regard to the disposal of land for mining
purposes. The issue of prospecting and
exploration permits and mining leases
were under the provisions of the Mining
Enactment for each state.
However, the States of Sarawak and
Sabah did not adopt the NLC and still
use their own Land Ordinances even
after they formed part of Malaysia in
1963.
There were no major
amendments to the Mining Ordinance
of Sabah over the last 80 years (Lee,
2000), and the situation in Sarawak is
about the same.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 46
Quarrying Laws
Before 1992, there was no
specific law that controlled
quarrying. So quarrying was solely
under the jurisdiction of the Land
Office or the State Government,
which had limited or no technical
resources to oversee the quarrying
operations. The function of the
Land Office include land
management like the issuing of the
Permit to Remove Rock Material, of
Temporary Occupation Licence
(TOL) of State Lease of quarrying
purpose and collection of royalties
according to the volume or amount
of rock quarried.
The quarries were left to do their
operation according to their own
whim and fancies. In the 1960s the
author used to see quarry workers
dangling on ropes at a granite hill
near Gunung Rapat in Ipoh. This
Dulang washer
Sabah also formulated its quarry
rules. Other States are yet to follow
suit in controlling their quarrying
activities.
General provisions of the
Quarry Rules
For Perak, the Quarrying Rules
were legislated and enforced in 1992.
The Land Administrator is appointed
to look after the quarries.
The Land Administrator for the
purpose of these rules, is the Director
of Mines. This practice continues
even after the merger of Department
of Mines and the Department of
Geological Survey to form the
Department of Mineral and
Geosciences.
The Director has the authority to
appoint a number of Quarry
Inspectors (Rule 22(b)) to exercise
supervision and control of quarries
on his behalf. The Director and the
Quarry Inspectors are mining
engineers.
In the Kelantan Quarry Rules
1997, the officers are known as the
Quarry Inspectors and they have to
be a qualified mining or mineral
resources engineers. The same
applies to Quarrying Consultants. So
the emphasis here is the expertise.
This was the first step to the running
of the quarrying industry by
professionals.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 47
Under the Quarry Rules, the
manager or the owner of the quarry
is given the responsibility to make
rules within his quarry. This is a
way of letting the top management
of the quarry to be more responsible
on the quarrying operations rather
than putting the burden on the
shoulders of the Government or the
enforcement agency.
Every quarry is required to
submit a quarrying scheme every
year to the Land Administrator or
the Quarry Inspector. The proposed
scheme will include a surveyed plan
of the quarry and a write-up for
future quarrying operations. If the
scheme is accepted, a permit to
quarry will be issued. The submitted
plan will act as a record of
operation. The scheme has to be
submitted by a qualified consultant
as defined by the Quarry Rules.
Every quarry is required to
appoint a licensed shotfirer. The
shotfirer is required to pass the
Shotfiring Test with the Department
of Mineral and Geosciences and also
required to pass a test held by the
Police for the purpose of getting the
licence to use explosive under the
Explosives Rules 1923.
Mining Laws
In 1880s the mines in Perak were
looked after by a Warden of Mines
from the Colonial Government. The
Warden of Mines advised the
respective District Officer with
regard to prospecting application
and mining lease application.
The Old Mining Enactments
The old Mining Enactment is the
British Colonial Mining Enactment
that existed in every State. It was
devised to control mining and any
operation related to it. For the
Federated Malay States (Perak,
Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and
Pahang) Mining Enactment Cap 147
was initially legislated in 1929. The
enactment was further extended to
the State of Penang and Malacca.
The Unfederated Malays States have
their own Mining Enactment.
Under the Enactment, “mining”
or “to mine” means to disturb,
remove, cart, carry, wash, sift, smelt,
feature
unsafe practice was still carried out
in some quarries in Malaysia in the
1980s.
A freak accident occurred in
Perak in late 1980s that prompted
the leadership of the Perak State
Government to suggest that some
control of the quarrying operation
was necessary.
At that time (late 1980s) the only
department that had the expertise
and was very close to the State
Government was the Department of
Mines (now the Department of
Mineral and Geosciences) of the
Federal Government. Since the
colonial times, the Department has
been serving the state (as the
Warden of Mines and later as Senior
Inspector of Mines and Inspector of
Mines) to oversee mining operations
and to make sure that mines are
operated safely and according to the
requirements of the mining law.
All Inspector of Mines are
appointed by the state government
under the Mining Enactment and all
are qualified mining engineers. They
have some experience in excavation
and the usage of explosives.
With that the Department of
Mines was given the task by the
Perak State Government to
formulate a rule to control
quarrying operations.
The Quarry Rules were made
under the power given to state
authorities in Section 14 of the NLC.
They were intended to control the
operations in quarries with regards to
safety in the process of extracting
rock materials.
Perak led the way with the
approval of Perak Quarry Rules 1992.
Other states had no such rules at that
time.
The same thing happened in
Kelantan where a quarry had two
accidents in a year resulting in injury
and death of several workers. The
author in charge was the Inspector of
Mines for the state of Kelantan, who
then volunteered to help the Director
of Land and Mines (Pengarah Tanah
dan Galian Kelantan) to solve some
operational problem that existed at
that quarry. He was then given the
task of formulating Quarry Rules
similar to Perak’s. With the assistance
of Kelantan Legal Adviser, Kelantan
adopted the Quarry Rules in 1997.
feature
refine, crush or otherwise deal with
any rock, stone, gravel, clay, sand,
soil or mineral by any mode or
method whatever for the purpose of
obtaining metal or mineral there
from.
Any of the activities above is
considered mining and some form of
prospecting permit or licence or
mining lease is required to perform
any of the above activities.
The above law did not function
well and exploration activity was
viewed negatively. Insufficient
incentives were given to encourage
exploration for minerals.
This was due to the following:
●
●
●
The duration for prospecting and
exploration was limited to one
year. The time given was not
enough for prospecting primary
deposits or for hard rock.
The Prospecting Permit did not
give the holder the right to obtain
a mining lease in respect of any
part of the land covered by the
permit.
The mining lease did not reflect
the actual life of the lease from
the prospecting operation. The
duration of four or five years was
too short.
When the author was the Inspector
of Mines for Kelantan and Sabah, he
had received some enquiries from
international mining companies with
regard to possibilities of mining
investment in Malaysia. But they were
put off upon browsing through our
mining legislations. There was, in
effect, hardly any exploration work
to look for minerals hundreds or even
thousands of metres below ground
(Look Keman, 2006).
With these deficiencies, new
mineral legislation was necessary to
replace the old Mining Enactment for
every State.
New Mineral Legislation
In 1987, the Federal Government
initiated the formulation of a new
Mineral Policy for comprehensive
development of the mineral industry.
This was brought about because of
the decline of alluvial tin mining due
to the low price of tin and depleting
mining grounds. However, geological
Penjom goldmine
T H E I N G E N I E U R 48
studies had indicated some valuable
metallic (other than tin) and nonmetallic minerals with good potential
for development (Balasubramaniam,
2000).
So efforts have to be made to
encourage “capable” individuals or
companies to undertake exploration
and mining activities in unexplored
areas.
To implement the Mineral Policy,
two legal documents had been
developed at the Federal and State
levels. At the Federal level, the law
is the Mineral Development Act 1994
and at the State level, the State
Mineral Enactment was prepared as
a model for adoption by various State
Governments.
The two new mineral legislations
were the result of four years of work
by the committee comprising officials
from the Ministry of Primary
Industries, relevant Federal and State
Departments and professionals from
the mining community. More than
100 professionals and administrators,
including some UN experts on
international mineral laws, were in
one way or another involved in the
preparation of both laws.
●
General Provisions of the MDA
1994
As provided for in the Federal
Constitution, the responsibility of the
Federal Government will be
enhanced in areas, such as, the
development of mineral resources,
mines, mining, minerals and mineral
ores and regulation of labour, safety
in mines and the environment.
The Act spells out the do’s and
don’ts related to mining activities.
These include the statutory or legal
requirements that have to be
observed by the mine operator
before, during and at the
commencement of mining operation.
These involve the giving of notice
of intention to carry out exploration
work, submission of appropriate
mining schemes to the relevant
authority for approval before
commencement of operation, notice
of intention to commence mining
operations and carrying out all
related activities in accordance with
good and safe practices, and such
environmental standards in other
relevant laws.
The implementation of the Act is
vested in by the Department of
Minerals and Geosciences.
●
General Provisions of the SME
The SME is a State law since land
is a State matter. Mineral tenements
are in the form of fossicking licence,
dulang licence, exploration licence
and permit, mining lease and
individual mining licence issued
under the State Mineral Enactment.
The State Director of Land and Mines
or the State Director of Land and
Survey for Sabah and Sarawak are
responsible
for
the
due
administration of the Enactment.
Under the SME, the State has to
form a 10-member State Mineral
Resources Committee to decide upon
the application of mineral tenements.
This Committee is chaired by a
person appointed by the State
Authority, the PTG who shall be the
Secretary, the State Legal Adviser or
his representative, the Director of
State EPU or his representative, the
Director General of Mineral and
Geosciences Department or his
representative, the Director General
of Department of Environment or his
representative, the Director of State
Forestry or his representative and
three other members appointed by the
State Authority. All decisions for any
application will be more transparent
and the decisions made will take into
account the practicality of any would
be mining ventures with respect to
mineability, environment and forest
reserve concerns.
For Kelantan, a prospecting
licence can be issued for a
maximum duration of two years
over an area of not exceeding 400
hectares, whereas an exploration
licence (for hard rock) has a
maximum duration of 10 years over
an area between 400 and 20,000
hectares. The holder of the
prospecting permit or exploration
licence may apply for one or more
mining lease over the area within
his permit or licence. The total
duration of the prospecting licence
and exploration licence including
any renewal will not exceed four
years and 15 years respectively.
These provisions will give ample
time for any exploration activities
especially for hard rock mineral
deposits.
A mining lease may be granted
for the maximum economic life but
not to exceed an initial term of 21
years. It is issued and classified as
small-scale operation or large-scale
operation. The classification is
dependent on the specified
throughput production, the amount
of capital, the amount of
infrastructure investment and the
number of workers.
maintaining a high standard of
living for its people.
We have the potential resources,
so the question is why should we
import raw materials from outside?
Our exploitation of mineral products
is limited mainly because of the
weaknesses of the old mining
legislations. Their provisions were
tantamount to discouraging any
mineral exploitation and were not fit
for an independent nation like
Malaysia.
With the new legislation it is
hoped that large companies and
foreign investors will be attracted to,
and involved in mineral exploration
or mining in Malaysia. BEM
REFERENCES
Balasubramaniam, N. (2000) The
National
Mineral
Policy:
Underpinning the Malaysian
Minerals Industry’s Future.
Proceedings National Seminar on
the Malaysian Minerals Industry
held in Kota Kinabalu in June 2224, 2000. Ministry of Primary
Industries,
Sabah
State
Governments and Malaysian
Chamber of Mines.
Lee, D. (2000) The State Mineral
Enactment 1999: Sabah Perspective.
Proceedings National Seminar on
the Malaysian Minerals Industry
held in Kota Kinabalu in June 2224, 2000. Ministry of Primary
Industries,
Sabah
State
Governments and Malaysian
Chamber of Mines.
Look Keman Sahari (2006). Mining
and Mineral Industry. Editorial of
The Ingenieur, June-August 2006.
Board of Engineers, Malaysia. Kuala
Lumpur.
Abbreviations:
Summary
The main purpose of the mining
and quarrying legislation is not to
curtail operations but to encourage
operators to work for the optimum
benefits with due regard to safety
and environmental concerns. The
nation needs the raw materials for
manufacturing and also for
T H E I N G E N I E U R 49
EPU:
MDA:
NLC:
PTG:
Economic Planning Unit
Mineral Development Act
National Land Code
Pengarah Tanah dan Galian
or the Director of Land and
Mines.
SME: State Mineral Enactment
UN: United Nation
feature
Sabah was the first State that
adopts the recommended State
Mineral Enactment in 1999 followed
by Kelantan in 2001. Other States are
in the process of adopting the State
Mineral Enactments.
environment
Coastal Protection Against
Wave Energy Part 2
By Ir. Tan King Seng, Director, Coastal Engineering Division, DID Malaysia;
Ir. Nor Hisham B. Mohd. Ghazali, Senior Assistant Director III, Coastal Engineering Division, DID Malaysia and
Mr. Ong Hon Lim, Engineer, Coastal Engineering Division, DID Malaysia
Erosion Control Measures
The consequences of coastal erosion can be limited by
controlling erosion of coastal land or by controlling the
use of coastal zone. There are two approaches towards
coastal defence. Hard engineering, which include
revetments and breakwaters are built with quarrystone or
Figure 2: Coastal protection structures
(Source: Coastal Engineering Processes, Theory And Design Practice)
concrete armour units is usually the first protection
technique that comes to mind. However, increased
awareness and concern towards the environment
(especially in the vicinity of these hard protection
structures) and reflective wave problems, sometimes
lead to the development of ‘soft’ engineering measures.
Soft engineering emphasises creating the least
intrusions upon the natural
state of the beach and such
methods may incorporate
biological components such
as plants and grass. Soft
engineering is seen to be in
line with the more holistic
approach to coast and flood
defence.
The principle in coastal
protection is that the energy
in the water waves is either
partially or totally prevented
by the use of man-made
barriers from impacting the
shore. Some wave energy is
reflected as opposed to being
dissipated. Consequently,
multiple reflections and
absence of sufficient energy
dissipation within a coastal
area can result in a build up
of energy which appears as
wave agitation and surging in
the coastal area.
There is a wide range of
coastal works that may be
employed to tackle a
particular situation with each
performing a number of
different functions. They will
also
have
different
engineering lifespans as well
as capital and maintenance
costs. An overview of the
T H E I N G E N I E U R 50
environment
Figure 3: Breakwaters at Sungai Marang rivermouth, Terengganu
Breakwaters
Breakwaters are built to reduce wave action in an area
in the lee of the structure. Wave action is reduced through
a combination of reflection and dissipation of incoming
wave energy. When used for harbours, breakwaters are
constructed to create sufficiently calm waters for safe
mooring and loading operations, handling of ships, and
protection of harbour facilities. Breakwaters are also built
to improve maneuvering conditions at river mouth
entrances and to help regulate sedimentation by directing
currents and by creating areas with different levels of
wave disturbance.
Breakwaters can be classified into two main types:
sloping-front and vertical-front structures. Sloping-front
structures are in most cases rubble-mound structures
armoured with rock or concrete armour units, with or
without wavewall super-structures. Vertical-front
structures are in most cases constructed of either sandfilled
concrete caissons or stacked massive concrete blocks
placed on a rubble stone bedding layer. In deep water,
concrete caissons are often placed on a high mound of
quarry rock for economical reasons.
Figure 4: SAUH Revetment, Selangor
Figure 5: Basalton Revetment, Melaka
Figure 6: Flex-Slab Revetment, Melaka
Figure 7: Rock Revetment, Sarawak
various types of coastal defence and their application
is described below.
HARD ENGINEERING
The most common method in coastal protection is to
construct rock mounds that serve as a physical barrier to
wave energy. Such structures are bulky and depend on their
mass and the interlocking of the armour rocks to dissipate
wave energy. The common types are described below.
●
T H E I N G E N I E U R 51
environment
Revetments
Revetments are onshore structures
with the principal function of
protecting the shoreline from erosion.
Revetment structures are flexible and
typically consist of armour rock or cast
concrete blocks. Revetments rest on the
surface being protected and depend on
it for support. They are relatively light
structures and are well suited to
locations free of heavy wave attack.
Properly designed and constructed
revetments are long life structures and
require little maintenance. Almost all
concrete armour units revetment rely
on their interlocking design for
stability. Voids within the revetment
permit quick drainage over the surface
Figure 8: Terminal groyne at Sg Ranca-ranca, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan
of the slope and hence reduces wave
run-up. However, it has been observed
in recent years by the DID that when revetments are of a single groyne is accretion of beach material on the
built on sandy shorelines, the fronting beach gradually updrift side and erosion on the downdrift side; both effects
reduces in width. Figure 4 to figure 7 illustrate some of extend some distance from the structure. Consequently, a
groyne system (series of groynes) results in a saw-tooththe revetments built by the DID since 1987.
In 1987, the DID produced the simplified armour unit shaped shoreline within the groyne field and a differential
‘H’ or SAUH as an experimental concrete revetment for in beach level on either side of the groynes.
escarpment and bund protection. Light but well
interlocked, the SAUH performed well on the weak soils ● Concrete Blocks
Apart from the SAUH described earlier, the Labuan
of the Selangor coastline. At Sungai Burung, SAUH was
used in combination with mangrove re-planting in what block is another innovative form of coastal protection
was arguably the first attempt at combining a biological structure produced by the DID in recent years. The
component with a structural coastal protection measure. Labuan blocks, coined after their first installation site,
are simple mass concrete blocks designed in-house
based on basic principles of material retention, scarp
● Groynes
Groynes are built to stabilise a stretch of natural or and toe protection. Essentially designed to protect scarps
artificially nourished beach against erosion that is due on the backshore (which occasionally occur after major
primarily to a net longshore loss of beach material. storms), the blocks can be arranged as low retaining
Groynes function only when longshore transport is walls near-vertical walls or in the form of sloping
present. Groynes are narrow structures, usually straight “mattresses”.
Labuan blocks are cast insitu and therefore have a
and perpendicular to the pre-project shoreline. The effect
relatively low capital cost. They are
portable and can be easily transported
to any place, thereby reducing the cost
of coastal erosion control projects.
Additional modifications in the form
of trapezoidal buttones have been
introduced to the original smoothfaced design to reduce run-up.
The main purpose of the Labuan
Blocks is to provide short term (three
to five years) protection to the
backshore area by absorbing wave
energy along the dune face. Their
application is restricted to the upper
part of sandy beaches since they are
not sufficiently durable to withstand
regular direct wave action. Placed on
the upper or backshore, they will tend
to trap wind blown sand and allow the
growth of vegetation under favourable
Figure 9: Labuan Blocks as sloping “mattresses”, Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang conditions.
●
T H E I N G E N I E U R 52
environment
Figure 10: Training walls at Pantai Layang-layangan, Labuan
Training Walls
Training walls are structures built to direct flow. A
typical function of training walls is to improve mooring
conditions in an estuary or to direct littoral drift away
from an area of potential deposition. Damage to tidal
control gate and erosion of beach profile can be stopped
or at least mitigated by the construction of training walls.
●
SOFT ENGINEERING
The term ‘soft’ is loosely used to indicate either a
less reflective protection material or the incorporation
of ecosystem-based techniques in coastal erosion control.
Some examples of these soft engineering methods are
described below.
Beach Nourishment
Beach nourishment is also known as beach
replenishment, beach feeding or beach recharge. Beach
nourishment is a soft structure solution used for prevention
of shoreline erosion. Material of preferably the same or
larger grain size and density as the natural beach material
is artificially placed on the eroded part of the beach to
●
Figure 11: The frames indicate the beach at Teluk Cempedak, Pahang before (top picture, 2003) and after
sand nourishment (bottom picture, 2004)
T H E I N G E N I E U R 53
environment
compensate for the lack of natural supply
of beach material. The beach fill might
protect not only the beach where it is
placed, but also downdrift stretches by
providing an updrift point source of sand.
Wave energy is absorbed by the added
length of beach slope introduced.
Beach nourishment work entails finding
a suitable source of material that is
compatible with, but not necessarily
identical to the material on the beach to be
nourished. This method is often the
preferred means of protecting a sandy
shoreline as it provides the necessary
reservoir of material that allows a beach to
respond to wave action and achieve
equilibrium. The typical interval for
renourishing a beach is about five years.
Figure 12: Mangrove replanting at Sg Chenaam, Pulau Pinang
Mangrove Replanting
Wave energy reaching typically flat mangrovefringed coasts is usually low allowing silt-sized material
to remain at or near the shore. Short fetches and depth
limited wave approach directions of mangrove-fringed
coasts limit wave energy reaching the shore. In Malaysia,
coastal bunds have been built since the 1930s to protect
agriculture land. Mangrove will attenuate and dissipate
wave energy before it reaches the coastal bund and the
agriculture land within. The limit of wave penetration is
dependent on how thick the mangrove belt is. The same
applies to other types of coastal forests.
●
The objective of mangrove replanting is to maintain
or restore the mangrove line and prevent it from retreat.
It will also encourage the mangrove line to advance.
This can be accomplished by forcing a reduction in wave
and current scour in front of the existing mangrove line,
and forcing an increase in the sedimentation rate.
Sand-filled Geotextile Tubes
Geotextile tubes or geo-tubes for short, are large tube
or sausage-shaped (greater than 2.5m in circumference)
geotextiles fabricated from high strength woven
geotextile in lengths greater than 6m. These can be used
●
Figure 13: Geo-tubes at Tanjung Piai, Pontian, Johor.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 54
Wave height, h = 0.8 d , where d is water depth,
Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia for
their support and permission to publish this paper and
photographs. The authors would like to extend thanks
and appreciation to all; direct or indirect contributions
of current engineers and staff of the selected DID offices
in the various coastal districts based on whose
observation and records, the cases cited herein were
documented. Notwithstanding, the contents and opinions
herein are those of the authors and should not under
any circumstances be construed as the official stand of
the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia.
REFERENCE
geo-tubes present a sudden limiting condition that
cause the larger storm waves from breaking and
prevent them from impacting the shoreline. Geo-tubes
have been installed on the threatened shoreline of Tg.
Piai in Johor as the first line of defence against waves.
Geo-tube breakwaters are softer than rock armour
structures and are visually less intrusive to a mangrove
forest environment. In the unlikely event that small
boats run into the geo-tubes, it would be akin to
running aground on a sandbar as opposed to running
into a rock outcrop.
US Army Corps of Engineers, 1984. Shore Protection
Manual Volume I & II
Conclusion
US Army Corps of Engineers, 2002. Coastal
Engineering Manual
Wave energy is the main agent of coastal erosion
on most parts of the Malaysian coast. This energy is
typically strong and concentrated during the monsoon
months and subsequently, the respective coastlines are
most vulnerable during that time. Several types of
structures have been employed to defend against wave
attack and these areas typically designed to reduce,
absorb and dissipate wave energy.
The consequences of coastal erosion can be kept
within acceptable limits if engineering and
management approaches are properly executed.
Erosion can be controlled by structural works or
measures using hard or soft engineering, or by the
preventive approach of limiting and controlling
development activities in coastal areas. The latter
includes zoning, prescribing set backs and relocation.
Modern design practice places much emphasis on
attempting to maintain a healthy beach on the
shoreline as the primary means of protection. A
sufficiently substantial beach can accommodate the
dynamic changes that are the result of differing
climatic conditions. Soft engineering are generally
more environment-friendly than traditional hard
protection works. However, where human life may be
at risk or where infrastructure of high density and
value exist, the use of hard protection is often
unavoidable. BEM
Acknowledgements
The authors are indebted to the Director General
and the Director of the Coastal Engineering Division,
Dominic Reeve, Andrew Chadwick, Christopher
Fleming, 2004, Coastal Engineering, Processes, Theory
and Design Practice
Stanley Consultants, Inc, Moffatt & Nichol,
Engineers, Jurutera Konsultant (S.E.A) Sdn. Bhd,
1985, National Coastal Erosion Study Final Report
Volume I
Infrastructure Development Institute-Japan, 2003,
Guidelines for Coastal Management
The National Committee on Coastal and Ocean
Engineering, 1998, Coastal Engineering Guidelines for
working with the Australian coast in an ecologically
sustainable way
Karsten Mangor, 2001. Shoreline Management
Guidelines
Dover District Council, 2005, Website http://
www.dover.gov.uk/coast/coastal-erosion.asp
Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran Negeri Pahang, 2005,
Inception Report prepared by J.K. Bersatu Sdn Bhd:
Pelan Pengurusan Persisiran Pantai Bersepadu
(Integrated Shoreline Management Plan, ISMP) bagi
Kawasan Pahang Selatan.
Unit Pelaksanaan Projek Persekutuan Kelantan, 2005,
Inception Report prepared by RPM Engineers Sdn
Bhd: Detailed Design of Coastal Protection Works at
Pantai Sabak, Kelantan.
Nor Hisham M Ghazali, Arman Mokhtar, 2003.
Emergency Measures In Coastal Protection Methods
And Performance; paper presented in Technical
Seminar on Shoreline Management at Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah organised by UTM.
T H E I N G E N I E U R 55
environment
in both coastal and river environments and they are
filled hydraulically with slurry of sand and water. An
apron of geotextile wider than the geo-tube base may
be included as part of the design to protect the seaward
edge of the geo-tube from the effects of scouring. Scour
aprons are typically anchored by a small tube at the
water’s edge or by sandbags attached to the apron. On
the open coast, geo-tubes are laid parallel to shore as a
beach or nearshore breakwater with the primary
function of limiting the wave height in its lee.
Considering the general formula for limiting wave
height;
engineering nostalgia
The Changing Face
Of Kuala Lumpur
Photos contributed by Mr. Wong Aik Peoy
As was, 1939 Mountbatten Road
As is, 2006 – Jalan Tun
Note:
Perak
Photos in Engineering Nostalgia which appeared in The Ingenieur (March-May 2006 issue) were
contributed by Mr. Cheo Hong Keyong
T H E I N G E N I E U R 56