Module 2 : Topic 1/4

Legal & Ethics in

Engineering Practice
COEB422 Engineers in Society

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 Course Outcome 4
• Able to interpret legal and ethical, Intellectual Property Rights and common
societal and cultural issues in the professional engineering practice
• Specific outcome for ‘Legal & Ethics in Engineering Practice’:
• Understanding and appreciation of the legal aspects of the laws and regulations.
• Knowing the importance of professional responsibility and accountability of
professional engineers practicing engineering to comply with these laws and regulations
so as to be ethical or meeting with the legal requirements.

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 Content
• Statement of Ethical Principles
• Reinstatement of related Malaysian Acts and Regulations
• Case Study

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Statement of Ethical Principles

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 The four principles set out in the
Statement of Ethical Principles are:
1. Accuracy and rigour
2. Honesty and integrity
3. Respect for life, law and the public good, and
4. Responsible leadership: listening and informing

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 Accuracy and Rigour
• This states that “professional engineers have a duty to ensure that they
acquire and use wisely and faithfully the knowledge that is relevant to the
engineering skills needed in their work in the service of others”.
• Most obvious reason why accuracy and rigour is important to professional
engineers is that accuracy and attention to detail ensures better engineering
solutions, just as inaccuracies and carelessness in engineering can mean
failure of engineering projects, which can in many cases mean financial
failures, accidents, injuries and deaths.
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• Professionalism also involves being honest about level and areas of competence,
and never agreeing to work in areas in which you are not competent or not able to
easily achieve competency
• Engineers also have a specific duty to maintain up to date knowledge in their fields
of expertise because of they have the trust of their clients and the wider public.
• Conflicts of interest can influence the accuracy of an engineer’s opinion. Engineers
should consider whether the opinion they have given is objective, correct to the best
of their (up-to-date) knowledge, and based on the available evidence; or whether
there might there be other considerations influencing their judgment.

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 Honesty and integrity
• This states that “Professional Engineers should adopt the highest standards of
professional conduct, openness, fairness and honesty”.
• Honesty is not simply a matter of not lying:
• an engineer may at times need to disclose information which has not been requested directly,
and which in some cases people may not want to hear.
• In other cases, such as where there is a duty to maintain confidentiality, for example to a
client, it may be unethical to disclose information which would jeopardise that
confidentiality.
• In these cases, failure to disclose would not necessarily be dishonest.

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• Integrity is a more difficult concept to define. It has to do with acting ethically, even
when there is no personal advantage to doing so.
• A person of integrity will resist pressure to compromise their ethical values and
principles, whether that pressure comes from employers, clients, or anywhere else.
• They will take steps to avoid conflicts of interest or, where this is not possible,
declare these conflicts clearly and do their utmost to avoid improper influence.
• People with integrity are consistent and reliable, and their actions match up to their
words.
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 Respect for life, law and public good
• This set of principles is not limited to health and safety, but also covers respect for
the law, respect for (and the protection of ) the natural environment, and the
reputation and dignity of the engineering profession.
• It encompasses all aspects of engineers’ responsibilities for the people affected by
their work and the social and environmental context in which they function.
• This aspect of an engineer’s responsibility is very sensitive to changing social and
political standards and expectations, and the steps engineers are expected to take to
protect others have changed over time, and vary across the world.

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 Responsible leadership: Listening and
informing
• Professional engineers “should aspire to high standards of leadership in the
exploitation and management of technology.
• are expected to demonstrate that they are seeking to serve wider society and
to be sensitive to public concerns.

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Malaysian Acts, Regulations,
Policies, Agencies
Related to Engineering Practice

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 Malaysian Acts & Regulations covered in
previous lectures
• Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (REA) and Regulations on 1990
• Occupational Safety and Health OSHA Act 514, 1994 and Regulations, etc
• Intellectual Property Rights (I.P) related acts
• Sustainability in Engineering: Malaysia National Green Technology Policy,
etc

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 Other related Authorities, Acts & Regulations
• Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) / Lembaga Pembangunan Industri Pembinaan
• Construction Industry Development Board Act 1994 [Act 520]
• The Energy Commission of Malaysia / Suruhanjaya Tenaga
• Energy Commission Act 2001 [Act 610], Energy Commission (Amendment) Act 2010, Electricity Supply Act 1990 [Act 447](Ammendment 2001) , etc
• National Water Services Commission / Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN)
• National Water Services Commission Act 2006 [Act 654], Water Service Industry Act 2006 [Act 655]
• Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) / Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM)
• Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 [Act 694], Anti-Corruption Act 1997 [Act 575], etc
• Department of Environmental (DOE), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
• Environmental Quality Act 1974
• Sustainable Energy Development Authority of Malaysia (SEDA Malaysia)
• Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011 [Act 726], Renewable Energy Act 2011 [Act 725]

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Case Study

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Moral Dilemmas are situations in which two or more moral
obligations or duties come into conflict with one another.
- Engineers often work as part of a design team, making decisions about a product or service that
not only affect others, but also are being affected by the work of others. The majority of
engineers work for a corporation, a consulting firm, governmental agency etc. and will
sometimes be faced with conflicts among loyalty to their employer, to society, to their
conscience, and to their profession.

- For example, consider a situation where you find that a product may violate the law or creates a
safety hazard. When you inform your superior and he/she react positively, then there will be no
dilemma. However if he/she disagrees or the company decides not to change what it is doing,
then a dilemma arise. If you make your complaints known outside the company, there is a high
probability that you will be fired for your trouble which is a great personal sacrifice.

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 References
• Past lecture notes of COEB422 on Engineering Ethics by Assoc Prof Dr Au
Mau Teng.
• Engineering ethics in practice: a guide for engineers, Royal Academy of
Engineering (2011)

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