Discrepancies between national and state building by-laws in Malaysia: a review

Abstract

Purpose Malaysia’s building regulation is mainly based on the Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL) 1984 which provides guidelines on the procedures for building plans approval and other means of development control. However, the application of these by-laws varies between local authorities, as they are gazetted by different state governments. The formulation of UBBL 1984 which was originally formulated to address the need for a standardized set of building regulations for the country is now perceived as inconsistent and complex. Therefore, this research attempts to examine the discrepancies between state by-laws, particularly Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and national UBBL 1984. Design/methodology/approach Critical review of the content of the UBBL (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) 1985 and national UBBL 1984 was carried out to pinpoint discrepancies between the two by-laws. Findings Differences between national UBBL and Kuala Lumpur By-laws fall into four main categories particularly terminology, prescriptive requirements, presence of terms and by-laws. Three editorial spelling and typing errors were also found in the national UBBL 1984. It is argued that the errors and differences lead to confusion and pose unnecessary regulatory burden to the construction industry which ultimately discourage people to disobey the rules. The identified discrepancies between these by-laws showed an urgent need to review the current building by-laws considering today’s technologies, norms and citizen needs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of many fruitful contributions that examine discrepancies between by-laws that govern building control matters in Malaysia. Although centred on legislation in Malaysia, the findings are relevant for governments around the world working towards improving public service delivery.

A Road Map for Intervention Research to Enhance Rainwater Harvesting By-Laws Adherence in Malaysia: A Short Communication

“…Their uncertainty hampered the councils' support for raising awareness among developers and the public about the design and potential benefits of rainwater harvesting. The above findings reflect those of Kamarulzaman et al (2022) who stated that local councils apply and interpret the by-law differently due to varied administrative procedures, resulting in inconsistencies in its implementation. As Kloss (2008) highlighted, the absence of consistent national regulations has resulted in disparities in requirements among state and local councils, providing a barrier to rainwater usage.…”

“…The by-laws, however, suffer from yet to specify the necessary design specifications and installation criteria for rainwater harvesting systems. This deficiency enables the local councils to apply and interpret the by-law differently due to the different administrative procedures (Kamarulzaman et al, 2022), which lead to inconsistency of its implementation and jeopardising fidelity. This practice is in opposite to countries such as Australia and the United Stated which legislation system on rainwater harvesting is based on building codes or ordinances -developed in accordance with established scientific and engineering principles, as well as the experience of leading technical experts, construction professionals and enforcement employees (Vaughan et al, 2013).…”