KUALA LUMPUR: Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof is confident that the quality and integrity of the construction industry will be further enhanced when the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) (Amendment) Act 2011 is implemented.
Quality was a key pillar in the construction industry which was among the major contributors to the national economy and was expected to maintain a double-digit growth this year and in 2015, after RM124 billion worth of projects last year, he said in a statement yesterday.
The amended Act, passed in Parliament on July 12, 2012 and gazetted on Sept 15 the same year, is commonly referred to as Act 520 Amendments in the industry.
“Act 520 Amendments will further enhance the accountability, integrity and professionalism of the construction industry in Malaysia, thus raising the quality of construction work as a whole,” said Fadillah when officiating at the ‘Construction Quality Empowerment Seminar’ organised by the CIDB recently.
The seminar was aimed at explaining the new provisions of the amended Act to prepare contractors and industry players for its implementaton.
It was the sixth and final session for the year following similar seminars that were held in Penang, Terengganu, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak.
Among the changes highlighted was the higher penalty imposed on contractors who failed to register with the CIDB that was raised to a maximum RM100,000 from the existing RM50,000.
The move was not to punish contractors but to ensure only registered contractors who met the legal requirements have a share of the economic pie in the industry, he said.
On the amendment that contractors shall remain responsible for building safety even after a project was completed and handed over to its owner, Fadillah said it was devised to protect the public
interest.
Another provision requiring all construction supervisors and skilled workers to be accredited by CIDB with green cards is to ensure only legal workers are employed and given 24-hour takaful insurance coverage.
“Regarding the provision on the quality of building materials to be used, Act 520 Amendments give CIDB the mandate to enforce the quality of building materials as outlined in the Fourth Schedule to the Act that includes ceramic products, sanitary ware, cement, aluminium, fibre cement flatsheet not containing asbestos, heat insulating materials and float glass,” he said. — Bernama