The Malaysian Vol.

53
No.1
2018
m2 (x, y) x 3

PP19338/05/2018(034921) eISSN 2232-1292

10 Commercial Tenant’s Office Space Choice for Green

Office Building - A Conceptual Approach
Adibah Arif, Yasmin Mohd Adnan, Zahiriah Yahya

19 Dispute Resolution of Stratified Residential Properties:

Strata Management Tribunal of Malaysia
Hamzah, H. and Abdullah, S.A

39 Memorandum of Understanding between

RISM and Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators
 EDITORIAL
G
reetings everyone! For this issue, we begin with our beloved RISM building wthat has undergone a
major facelift. It has been more than 15 years since the building was last renovated. The QS Division
was asked to take the lead with support of all the other three divisions and branches. The then
QS Division chair was Sr Wan Ainon Zuraiha Wan Abdul Khalid, and she was put in charge of the
works. Therefore, it is only fitting that Sr Wan Ainon shares with us the story behind the project. The
interesting part to learn is the marvellous efforts put by the team in handling 1976-era technology;
to bring it to current times to suit our 56-year history. Beside building works, the renovation involved a submission
procedure with the Petaling Jaya City Council and Fire and Rescue Department. Now we are proudly sitting and
meeting here, after the team has put so much effort to realise dreams into reality.

We also have peer-reviewed articles. The section starts with the rental choice in green-rated office building by the
commercial tenants. The authors from Universiti Malaya proposed a conceptual framework in evaluating the trend,
with locality is still among the central considerations. The neo-classical and behavioural views have been the main
theories behind office location decisions. Tenant demand for green office buildings also provides varied findings.
The size of the firms does form part of the factor as well. All these theories are well blended within the explanation
and at the end, the authors proposed their own theory in exploring tenant office choice.

We also have a residential issue this time. It’s regarding the Strata Management Tribunal (SMT) in Malaysia. Since
high-rise developments are becoming more complex, there is a need for a special tribunal to deal with all the
issues that arise. SMT is promoted to be a quicker, less costly and less adversarial method of resolving disputes as
compared to court action. The top three claims are recovery of charges or contribution to the sinking fund, failure
to perform duty and dispute concerning common property. This article shed some light on SMT to eliminate its
inefficiencies and increase effectiveness.

The Building Surveying practice talks about Maxwell Hill in this issue. The building conservation and historical
perspectives are put into context. In the case of the hill, building is not only the legacy that the British left in this
country, but the unique landscape that formed part of their colony. The author tries to uphold the uniqueness of
Maxwell Hill so it goes parallel with the other famous hill stations in Bukit Bendera, Bukit Fraser and Cameron
Highlands. Systematic literature review using PRISMA has been adopted to identify sources from various journals.
Site observation identified that many of the original bungalows are abandoned and deteriorated over time.

RISM networking continues at both international and local levels. On March 2018, RISM had signed the MoU
with the Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators (MIArb) at Hilton Hotel, Petaling Jaya. The signing ceremony was held
during the National Real Estate Convention (NREC) and attended by QS Division, President of MIArb and President
of RISM. On January 2018, CABE Presidential Visit took place at RISM HQ. The delegation is greeted by Deputy
President of RISM, Vice-President of RISM (BS Division) and the other BS Division members and RISM Secretariat.
There is great interest from both parties to collaborate, especially organising joint CPD talks and our renowned ISC.
We also had a blood donation campaign that involved 91 donors, and the RISM Inter-Firms Bowling Tournament
2018.

Under the Professional Practice section, Prof Sr Dr Ting Kiew Hwa talks about the
direct office investment done by the several Malaysian institutional investors. This
has been practiced since 2010 for investment in overseas property market such as
in the UK and Australia. This is a good and viable alternative investment option to
increase one’s asset portfolio. Last but not least, Book Review section covers the
book titled “Isu-isu Perundangan Berkaitan Kontrak Binaan” written by Sr Amran
Mohd. Majid. This book published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in 2017. It is
definitely a worthwhile read because of its simple language style and provides you
information that you need.

A.I. Che-Ani
Editorial
 CONTENTS
President
YBhg. Dato’ Sr Lau Wai Seang, DSPN, DJN, BCN, FRISM,
Reg. Valuer, Reg. Estate Agent, CIPV

Hon. Secretary General

Sr Lim Choon Yong, MRISM, ICVS, MPEPS
Interview
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor Pg05 The RISM Building Facelift Interview with Sr Wan
Sr Ina Binti Abu Bakar, FRISM, MMSAdj.
Ainon Zuraiha Wan Abdul Khalid
Members
Assoc. Prof. Sr Dr. Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman, FRISM
Assoc. Prof. Sr Dr. Adi Irfan Che Ani, MRISM Peer Review Articles
Pg10 Commercial Tenant’s Office Space Choice for
Assoc. Prof. Sr Dr. Zulkiflee Abd. Latif, FRISM
Sr Dr. Saiful Aman Hj. Sulaiman, MRISM
Sr Dr. Yasmin Mohd Adnan, FRISM, MRICS Green Office Building - A Conceptual Approach
Sr Victor Huang Hua, FRISM, MRICS, MMIEA, MPEPS
Sr Mohamad Shazali Sulaiman, FRISM Pg19 Dispute Resolution of Stratified Residential
Datin Sr Dr. Norsiah Mohamad, MRISM, MRICS
Properties: Strata Management Tribunal of Malaysia

Pg31
Secretary to the Board
Zarinah bt. Danial Maxwell Hill: Exploring from Built Environment
and Historical Perspectives
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
Prof. Chitra Weddikkara
University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka RISM News
Prof. Graeme Newell
University of Western Sydney, Australia
Pg39 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
Sr Noushad Ali Naseem Ameer Ali, PPRISM
RISM and Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators (MIArb)
Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
Professor Michael Riley Pg40 CABE Presidential Visit to RISM
Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Pg41 Blood Donation Campaign 2018

Pg42 RISM Inter-Firms Bowling Tournament
27th National Real Estate Convention

Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia

3rd Floor, Bangunan Juruukur
No. 64-66, Jalan 52/4
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
10
t: +603 7954 8358 (hunting line) / 7956 9728 / 7955 1773
f: +603 7955 0253
e: editor@rism.org.my
w: www.rism.org.my

PUBLISHING CONSULTANT & CREATIVE DESIGN

Paul & Marigold (DeCalais Sdn Bhd)
No. 23A-6 Strata Office, KL Eco City
Lot 215, Pantai Baru, Jalan Bangsar
59200 Kuala Lumpur
T +603 2201 6499
E: arvind@paulandmarigold.com

PRINTER
Fong Wah Trading
No. 17, Jalan Tembaga SD 5/2G
52200 Kuala Lumpur
 19

31 39

Professional Practice 40
Pg43 Direct Office Investment for Institutional
Investors

Book Review
Pg44 Isu-Isu Perundangan Berkaitan Kontrak Binaan
Elemental Cost Analysis
Pg45 Elemental Cost Analysis
Regulars
Pg52 List of New Members
42

‘Sr’ is the abbreviation for surveyors and was first mooted by RISM in 2005 and used
by all RISM members since 2006 as a badge of identity for surveying professionals.

The Malaysian Surveyor is a quarterly publication that covers the development of

the surveying profession, innovations in the surveying technology and surveyors’
contribution towards the property market and building industry.

The Institute as a body does not hold itself responsible for statements made or
opinions expressed in the articles and advertisements printed in this publication, or
for the strict accuracy of references to law cases, which are intended only as a gloss
on authorised reports. Rights of translation and reproduction reserved.
 Vol.53 No.1 2018

The RISM Building Facelift

Interview with
Sr Wan Ainon Zuraiha
Wan Abdul Khalid

Background/History

The construction of Bangunan Juruukur commenced in early 1973 after the then
Petaling Jaya Town Board approved its submission plans in 1972.

The building is located next to the Bangunan Ingenieur owned by Institute of

Engineers Malaysia.

To finance the construction cost of RM566,200, the Institution had mortgaged some
lands to obtain an overdraft from Bank Bumiputra.

On 19 June 1976, the then Minister of Lands and Mines Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Hj Muda
laid the foundation stone of the building that is still visible today. The building was
officially opened by then Senator Rafidah Aziz on 14 October 1977.

Recently the 40-year-old building underwent some renovation works and the
foundation stone had to be relocated to accommodate security, a fire control panel
and a post.

The last renovation was carried out some 15 years ago and it was mainly at Level 3
where the secretariat office is located.

If you had been coming to the RISM building before the renovation, you could
appreciate that it was in need of repairs and upgrades.

The QS Division chair at that time was put in-charge of the project. This interview
was designed to give more in depth knowledge of the whole project and the process
that they had to go through. Who better to tell us all about it but the key person
herself, Sr Wan Ainon Zuraiha Wan Abdul Khalid.

5
INTERVIEW
The Malaysian Surveyor

Q&A
Q. How did you first get involved with the
renovation and upgrading works of the
Bangunan Juruukur Diraja Malaysia
where the RISM headquarters is
housed?
Prior to my involvement, the RISM secretariat called
for Design and Build quotations, mainly for the Board
Room on Level 2. However, the secretariat was faced
with an issue pertaining to the tabling of the quotation
report as all the tenderers had submitted different
designs and quoted for different items, hence it was
not an apple to apple comparison.

Each tenderer had submitted designs based on their

interpretation of what they would like to see done to
the building.

Therefore, as the QS Division Chair at that time, I was

asked to look into the quotations and what could be
done. It was more difficult to adopt designs from the
tender exercise.

Hence, during the subsequent discussion, the

Management Committee decided to appoint a
designer to study the overall requirement of the
building. As my office had an in-house designer, I had
proposed that A + I Design Sdn Bhd undertake the
task. It was agreed by the Management Committee.

The scope of work included preparing tender drawings

and documents, submitting plans to the Petaling Jaya
City Council and the Fire and Rescue Department for
approval, as well as provide site supervision during the
renovation.

I was the internal Project Manager on behalf of RISM

overseeing the upgrades.

Q. What is your/the Council’s vision for

Figure 1: (Left) The lift lobby before the building was
renovated. (Right) A refreshing look after the facelift.
the new building?
The Council led by President Dato Sr K. Sri Kandan had
outlined a few things that must be achieved with the
renovation. RISM with its 56-year history, Royal status
and almost 10,000 members should at least have a
proper board room, meeting rooms with the relevant
facilities, training centre and a decent library. Toilets on
all floors needed to be upgraded.

6
 Vol.53 No.1 2018

There were also safety issues that involved the TNB

room at the Lower Ground Floor. Furthermore, with
the proposal to make Building Cost Information Centre
under the QS Division active again, Level 1 was to be
converted into a proper office to accommodate stored
information and documents, and house full-time staff
members.

The facelift process was divided into three.

Building safety
- Ensure the TNB room is safe. Previously, water was
ponding inside and there was even a dead rat in the
water.
- Remove the stench of rats.
- Ensure any openings at the basement ceiling and

-
walls are closed up to avoid pests finding their way
in.
Stop pigeons from nesting at the building ledges as
they pose a cleanliness and health hazard.
- Build a proper security area.
Building repairs and improvements from wear and
tear
- Upgrade all toilets, including sanitary fittings,
plumbing and sewerage piping. Toilets are added
at Level 1 and 2, from one to two cubicles for each
gender.
- Repair basement ceiling leaks that were coming
from the Ground Floor. The toilet floors were
waterproofed again before being retiled.
- Upgrade Level 1 to tenantable spaces so it can be
rented out.
- Repaint and repair broken doors and windows,
partitions, replace existing vinyl tiles and carpets.
Overall building development, including provision of
new spaces and enhancement of aesthetic values
- Create a board room with a minimum of 25-table
seating capacity. Install projector and screen
display.
- Refurbish the President’s Lounge so it can be used
for activities and to receive guests.
- Display photos of all the RISM Presidents on the
wall. They were previously in safekeeping.
- Increase storage space for secretariat’s office.
- Ensure all outdoor air-con units are neatly arranged.
- Ensure cabling and wiring are arranged properly.
- Upgrade all outdated RISM logos to new ones.
- Upgrade all pantry areas.
- New surau is added at the basement.
Q. What are your strategies and plans to
ensure the vision is achieved?
The RISM President had requested for a proper tender
procedure to be adopted and a Tender Board was
formed to look after the project. Based on the outline
given by the Council, the designer prepared the brief
and translated the requirements into drawings.
Once the brief was completed, the designer presented
the proposal to the Tender Board and Management
Committee to get approval before the preparation of
detail drawings could proceed.
So, with the completed detail drawings and Tender
Documents, comprising Bills of Quantities, the Tender
Board called for tender on the works. The list of
tenderers also included those who had previously
submitted their quotations.
The successful tenderer M/S Fok Lee Sdn Bhd had
provided the lowest quotation of all the tenderers.
Q. What are the main challenges in
completing the renovation works?
Luckily, there was no time constraint for the renovation
work. However, we had a limited budget to meet all the
requirements. After several discussions, the budget
of RM839,000 was approved at the EGM in 2016 as
expenditure above RM50,000 must be greenlit by the
general membership.
New work RM 634,000
Repair work (sinking fund) RM 98,200
Equipment RM 106,800
------------------
Total RM 839,000

7
INTERVIEW
The Malaysian Surveyor
The other challenge was to ensure all the requirements
were met. Some of these requirements were only
mentioned after works had been done as different
Councillors had different ideas. Some of the feedback
that came later could not be implemented in time or
adhered to budget constraints.
Q. How did you overcome these
challenges?
Due to budget constraints, the designer had to prepare
three sets of Tender Drawings and Documents, and
three Tender Reports over the course of eight months
to fit the requirements.
The Tender Board studied the requirements to ensure
that RISM got value for money with this renovation.
The Councillors also agreed that renovation works
needed to be done well and stand up to regular use.
Therefore, we ensured that the tender amount
submitted based on the agreed scope of work could
be well executed.
The funding for the facelift was from three sources.
During the AGM in 2015, members approved the usage
of RM650,000, which covers the cost of new work.
To supplement the fund, RISM had also requested
for members to contribute, similar to what had been
carried out in 2003 for an upgrade exercise.
RISM had collected about RM153,000 to date and that
allowed us to purchase new equipment such as screen
and projectors, air-conditioning units, TV and furniture.
The names of the contributors will be displayed.
For repair works, approximately RM100,000 was used
from the building’s sinking fund.
Q. How has the facelift helped in creating
a more conducive environment for
RISM activities and elevate the
Institution’s corporate image?
We now have a proper board room while the other
meeting rooms are suitable to conduct examinations.
The basement is now conducive for RISM events
as the area is pest-free and the ceiling is no longer
crumbling. We are more than ready to receive Royal
visits should the need arises.
Q. You have chaired the RISM Board of
Building Management since 2016.
How do you intend to maintain the
upgraded premises?
8
The Board of Building Management has always been
under the care of Property Surveyor Division until
recently. So, the approach in maintaining the building
is slightly different now.
Since the facelift is completed, RISM should look
into renting out available spaces to improve the
Institution’s finance. The Board should ensure the
building is fully tenanted and facilities are utilised.
The tenants should be companies or organisations
that are suited to RISM, and professionals to help
bolster our image. Professional organisations will
appreciate the building and help maintain it.
Currently, our first floor houses tenants such as
MIPFM (Malaysian Institute of Property & Facility
Managers) and BCIC (Building Cost Information Centre).
We now need to find tenants for the spaces at the
ground floor to resolve the challenges we had with
food and beverage tenants.
During RISM’s renovation, I noticed that the Institute
of Engineers Malaysia had upgraded their building’s
façade, incorporating new logo wall and fresh paint.
And recently, the hotel building next to RISM had also
adopted our external colour scheme.
Now our row of buildings look fresh and I hope this will
improve our overall branding. To maintain the building,
RISM will need to have a maintenance schedule,
detailing what should be done every one, three and five
years.
Also, it is good that RISM has a sinking fund that can
be used for any required repair works.
The major repairs such as plumbing and sewerage
had been dealt with during the renovation so the Board
now monitors the minor ones like leaks that occur
after a downpour.
However, I believe those in the secretariat should also
provide feedback as they are the building’s regulars
users.
Q.
Your final thoughts?
There are still works that need to be done at the
building. For example, we need more tables and chairs,
and audio-visual equipment for the seminar rooms so
RISM can rent it out to its members.
We are also looking into creating more storage space
and additional CCTV security. The Board of Building
Management is open to suggestions on further
improvements.
 Vol.53 No.1 2018

Contributors For The Renovation Of RISM Building 2016/2017 RM153,302.00

Name of contributors Contributed Name of contributors Contributed

Dato’ Sr Rosli Atan RM15,000.00 Sr Khaidzir Abdul Rasip RM1,000.00

Sr Khoo Sui Lai, Eric
Dato’ Sr K. Sri Kandan RM10,000.00 Sr Kwan Hock Hai
Sr Mohd Rafee Mohamed Dato’ Sr Lau Wai Seang
RISM Sarawak Branch Sr Lee Choon Bin
Sr Ng Say Piyu RM5,000.00 Sr Leong Heng Chee
RISM GLS Division Sr Lim Fang Hu
Sr Lim Meng Heok
Sr Dr. Khoo Boo Khean RM3,000.00 Sr Loh Kam Lak
Sr Teh Leong Meng Sr Loh Soong Chew, John
Sr P Tangga Peragasam RM2,500.00 Sr Mohamed Nordin Hj. Sabran
Sr Mohammad Azmi b. Mohd Zin
Sr S. Gopala Krishnan RM2,000.00 Sr Mohd Zakawan Hamid
Sr Gar Ti Wei Sr Mohd Faiz b. Hamid
Dato’ Sr Hoo Kim See Sr Ngu Liew Ing, Jonathan
PCM Kos Perunding Sdn Bhd Sr Nor Azah bt. Mohd Salleh
Perunding DMA Sdn Bhd Sr Oh Chin Choo
RISM BS Division Sr Ong Aun Kung
RISM QS Division Sr Ong Hock Tek
Sr Dr. Ong See Lian
Jurukur Bahan Antara RM1,500.00
Sr Ooi Hoo Ong, Richard
Sr Lim Choon Yong
Pakatan Ukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Sr Mohd Yunus A. Rahman
Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd
Sr Mohd Amin Mohd Din RM1,001.00 Sr Raja Sundra Lingam @ Sunny Kelvin
Sr Vastha Kumar Tharmalingam RISM East Coast Branch
RISM Johor Branch
Sr Ahmad Suhaimi b. Abdul Majid RM1,000.00
Datuk Sr Sahari b. Hj. Mahadi
Sr Ang Fuey Lin
Sr Tan Ka Leong
Sr Azita bt. Mohamed Tahir
Sr Tan Yew Toong
Datuk Sr Christopher Martin Boyd
Sr Dr. Teng Chee Hua
Sr Chan Jui Hin
Sr Teng Fook Seng
Sr Chin Keh Liang
Sr Teoh Boon Siong
Sr Choy Yue Kwong
Sr Teoh Leong Seng
Sr Chua Kok Peng
Prof. Sr Dr. Ting Kien Hwa
Sr Chua Siow Leng
Sr Toh Keng Loi
Datuk Sr Chua Soon Ping
Sr Ung Chin Teong
CIC-QS Services Sdn Bhd
Sr Wan Ainon Zuraiha bt W A Khalid
Sr Dainna bt Baharuddin
Sr Dr. Wan Maimun bt. Wan Abdullah
Econcos Consultants Sdn Bhd
Sr Wan Nordin b. Wan Salleh
Sr Elvin Fernandez
Sr Yap Tian Sing
Exastrata Solutions Sdn Bhd
Sr Yeo Soon Kee, Danny
Sr Fathilah bt Mustafa
Sr Foo Gee Jen Sr Chiang Team Chai RM500.00 AND BELOW
Dato’ Sr Hasan Jamil Sr Shariza bt Sabri
Sr Hashim Hj. Sibelik Dato’ Sr Chong Pah Aung
Sr Hafsah bt. Ghazali Sr Loo Seh Poh
Sr Huang Hua, Victor Sr Mohd Sabbri b. Md. Yudin
Sr Ishak b. Ismail Sr Ng Weng Yew
Sr Ismail Mat Deris Sr Hairuniza bt. Mahmud
Sr Jailani b. Jasmani Mr Chow Wen Yan, Adam
JQS International Sdn Bhd Sr Ngiam Swee Beng, Jerry

9
PEER
PEER REVIEW
REVIEW
Adibah Arif, Yasmin Mohd Adnan, Zahiriah Yahya

Centre for Sustainable Urban Planning & Real Estate,

Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Commercial Tenant’s
Office Space Choice for
Green Office Building -
A Conceptual Approach
ABSTRACT:

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature that summarises
how the locational dimensions of office buildings and aspects within the sustainable
office features may affect the choice made by tenants in their office building selection
process which will then lead to the development of a conceptual framework for this

10
 Commercial Tenant’s Office Space Choice for Green Office Building - A Conceptual Approach

Vol.53 No.1 2018

study. A review of both traditional location literature and sustainable literature is

made which then form the framework of this study. An observation of the emerging
development of green office buildings findings in Kuala Lumpur has triggered a
research agenda for the exploration of the factors being considered for green office
buildings choice in Kuala Lumpur. It has been suggested that selecting a building that
is perceived to be sustainable by the market may not be the ultimate driving factor
in the office space decision. This study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the
consideration from the tenants’ perspective through a qualitative research approach,
specifically on the factors that are considered by commercial office tenants for green
office buildings occupation. The review of the literature has revealed that there are
varying aspects in relation to the locational decision theory in which the tenants
may occupy green office building. With respect to sustainability, the tenants may be
influenced to occupy green office building so as to satisfy organisational requirements
that include fulfilling the organisation’s corporate social responsibilities (CSR).
Key words: Office choice, office buildings, tenants, sustainability, Kuala Lumpur

K
1.0 Introduction
uala Lumpur has seen
the development of
many office buildings
in recent years. The
current supply of space
from the available
office buildings in Kuala Lumpur
amounts to 8.88 million sq m.
(NAPIC, 2017). Being the commercial
centre of Malaysia, it has most large
corporate head offices. In 2009,
in response to the sustainability
movement, Malaysia has developed
the guidelines towards the
development and rating of green
buildings which is known as Green
Building Index (GBI). This rating
index system is aimed system for
evaluating the environmental design
and performance of Malaysian
buildings based on several criteria,
namely, indoor environmental
quality, sustainable site planning
and management, material and
resources, water efficiency and
innovation. Until 2017, there are
currently 34 official GBI and other
ratings rated commercial purpose
built office buildings (either built
as GBI rated or refurbished)
within Kuala Lumpur. It has been
generally acknowledged that most
of the green rated buildings display
advanced features in terms of the
technology and features that are
designed for sustainability. In the
Kuala Lumpur city centre, there
are also buildings that have been
designed to incorporate several
“sustainable” features that do not
have an official GBI or other green
rating. In this study, a building that
either has GBI rating or is considered
sustainable by the stakeholders
whereby these buildings can take
many different forms (McIntosh &
Roberts, 2012).
Malaysia is one of the countries
that have participated in the United
Nation Environmental Programme
since 2015.The sustainable
goals have been introduced with
guidelines for the implementation
of the sustainable programme
in their countries. Apart from
ensuring efficient use of resources,
particularly energy and water use,
green building also reduce the GHG
emission (ETP, 2015). In Malaysia
there is no such regulation that
provides a regulatory framework
for energy efficiency potential as
practiced in the UK (Chegut et.al.
2012). However, it can be seen
that in the last five years, Kuala
Lumpur commercial property
market has experienced a trend
towards the development of green
office buildings. Eleven certified
commercial purpose built office GBI
rated buildings were completed in
the Kuala Lumpur central business
district (CBD) since 2015. As such,
this study seeks to establish the
factors that affect the building
selection by tenants within the Kuala
Lumpur city centre and the role
of perceived sustainability among
them. However, this paper only
provides an overview of the literature
pertaining to the factors in relation of
office occupation.

11
PEER
PEER REVIEW
REVIEW
The Malaysian Surveyor
2.0 Literature Review
This review will provide a
summarised review of the factors
within the scope of office location
decision literature and how
sustainability provides influence on
office space choice. Generally, past
studies on office location decision
have not focused on the role of
sustainability in their choice. On the
other hand, studies on sustainability
have emphasised the past
experience of tenants in sustainable
buildings. By synthesising these
two aspects, a more comprehensive
overview could be made.
2.1 Locational decision
making
Two different views covering the
neo-classical and behavioural
theories have been the main theories
behind office location decisions.
Profit maximisation has been the
traditional premise on why the firm
chooses a location (Brouweretal,
2004). It is this notion within the neo-
classical economy that the market
comprises rational actors and
operates with perfect information.
It is assumed that the property
can be treated as homogeneous
Organisations
location decision
making could
relate to various
macroeconomic
factors as well as
building quality.
12
and that consumers of space are
also homogeneous (Leishman and
Watkins, 2004).
However, when the behavioural
theory began to develop,
the perspective on the profit
maximisation in neo-classical
theory has been questioned. It
now takes into account of the
complicated needs to be dealt with
in the especially in a real world
environment context (Brouwer et al.,
2004; McCann, 1999). It has been
acknowledged that the neo-classical
economy was the most outstanding
and dominant tradition of economic
thought as cited in Hodgson (1992)
and in Agboola (2015). Neo-classical
decision making is established
as a deductive decision, which
do not comply with individual
perspective and do not focus on
price mechanism (Christofakis,
2014; Greenhalgh, 2008). This also
shows that humans can make a
logical decision and satisfy with their
choice in the market (Agboola, 2015).
However, as cited by Ball et al.,
(1998), profit maximisation has been
criticised because it is impossible
for humans to maximise because
of the uncertainty of information
and process (Greenhalgh, 2008).
The behavioural approaches are
more likely to explain the bounds of
human behaviours which are much
more complex than the traditional
economy theories (Agboola, 2015).
A study by Levy and Peterson (2013)
has revealed that building flexibility,
tenants’ accommodations and other
factors are likely to influence the
preference of tenants. In addition,
the study has also found that the
CBD is a prominent location which
projects the good image of the
company. What is clearly shown
in their study is that staff retention
is one of the important factors as
staff turnover will involve a cost
to the company. Another study in
Greece added onto the literature
in relation to cost whereby the
transport cost was the main factor
for consideration with regards to
location choice (Christofakis, 2014).
Diversified operation could portray
diversified operation in large and
small organisations reflecting the
company structure. Company
structure; whether large or small
organisations could portray various
diversified operations. Organisations
location decision making could relate
to various macroeconomic factors
as well as the building quality. They
may consider building quality as a
crucial attribute that influence the
decision making (Dixon et.al, 2009).
Van de Watering (2011) also agreed
that flexibility and accessibility of
the building are also important
considerations by the occupiers.
However, the location still remains
as an important influence to the
occupiers (Zieba & Belniak, 2013).
Rental cost and flexibility have
also been identified as the factors
that are considered in the tenants
decision making (Greenhalgh, 2008).
Safian et.al. (2011) had also included
flexibility, transportation features,
market condition and the traffic flow
as additional factors of consideration
in the decision making process. The
review within the location theory has
shown that other factors besides
cost and financial tend to influence
the building selection.
2.2 Tenant demand for green
office building
The overview of tenant demand
for green office building has found
varied findings. Rijal et al. (2009)
has observed that all factors are
not equally important in terms of
office occupation. In his study, the
importance of environmental factors
may affect the decision in office
occupation. It is found that when
green building aspects was given
a little attention during the building
selection, this will then lead to the
dissatisfaction compared to the

conventional building (Leaman et al,
2007). Another study has also found
that the demand for green office
tends to be higher and tenants are
willing to pay the rental premium
in order to occupy a green office
building (Zieba & Belniak, 2013).
Organisational preference can be
viewed as the reason that leads
to the satisfaction as expressed
by the senior management or
the responsible specialist of the
organisation. The preference may
affect the performance of the
organisation when it is implemented
(Karhu et.al., 2012). Tenants also
demand the environmentally
efficient buildings in order to reduce
their occupancy costs and also
the environmental footprints. The
environmental impacts depend on
how the building is being operated.
Dixon et al., (2009) has determined
the key drivers for demand in green
office to include the following factors
i.e. organisation profile, demand from
stakeholders, legislation, publicity
and marketing benefit, accreditation
schemes and also green lease.
The organisations’ preference
depends on the senior management
decision to minimise the cost
whilst maximising the advantage of
occupying sustainable buildings.
Many studies have revealed that
companies want to embrace to
be green, but have found it to be
difficult (Andelin et al., 2015). Should
a tenant wants to consider green
building rather than conventional
office space for office occupation,
then the comparison between these
two types of buildings would be
inevitable. Based on the study in
Malaysia by Radi et al., (2015), the
depreciation of green building will
give an impact to the rental and the
market value of the building. Eicholtz
et al., (2010) and Falkenbach et al.,
(2010) emphasised the important of
tenant willingness to pay a premium
on net rent, and it is an economic
benefit which allows an investor to
invest more in green building.
Commercial Tenant’s Office Space Choice for Green Office Building - A Conceptual Approach
Thus being sustainable also
examines the location as an
important factor. Recent studies
on location have shown that the
location relates towards good
access to the public transport. With
less usage of individual transport,
this in turn will simultaneously
reduce the carbon emission (Karhu
et al., 2012a). Karhu et.al. (2012)
also emphasised that the location
is so important in this context from
the perspective of environmental
issues. The change of work practice
will also fully benefit the energy
efficiency of the building (Ellison &
Sayce, 2007; Komolafe et.al. 2016).
Other studies have also revealed
the benefits of having green office
buildings. Eicholtz (2010) has been
focusing on the economic benefits.
Apparently, lower operating cost was
generated in green office buildings
(Pivo & Fisher, 2010). However,
according to other literature, there
are arguments from the expectations
of the operating costs of green
buildings (Zieba & Belniak, 2013). As
cited by Zebra and Belniak (2013),
Barrientos et al., (2007) has proven
that the cost during the design
stage is undervalued and it is even
relatively lower than those compared
to conventional building.
Brown et al., (2010) explained the
connection between green office
building and office design in Canada.
Green buildings, in contrast to their
conventional counterparts, often rely
on natural conditioning to meet the
comfort needs of end-users (Brown
& Cole, 2009). Green office building
improves the occupant’s health and
performance by using a low energy
and consumption of material to
encourage a healthy eco-system
(Jailani et.al, 2015). The green office
buildings not only provide benefits
in terms of economic but in social
aspects as well. As the health
and environmental was taken into
consideration, the goodwill, branding
and CSR also has been reflected in
the study.
Vol.53 No.1 2018
Green office
building improves
the occupant’s
health and
performance by
using a low energy
and consumption
of materials
to encourage
a healthy
eco-system.
The goodwill also exists through
the group of stakeholders whereby
they would be keen to maintain
the key asset of organisations.
Goodwill would also be based on
the performance of a company
to date and the image that the
company created (Zieba & Belniak,
2013). In United Kingdom, there
are certain organisations that will
monitor the environmental, social
and governance (ESG) factors
for the corporate branding of the
organisation (Cajias, et.al. 2014)
The changes of corporate attitudes
and the benefits through the CSR
have been reflected through the
choice of the building (Dixon et al.,
2009). CSR also bears the corporate
decision on the property market
(Eichholtz et.al. 2010). A study has
also found that the investment
company demand green office
building to attract longer term
tenants (Myers et.al. 2007). Sayce et
al. (2009) also discussed how many
companies are occupying green
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building due to their CSR policies.
Tenants in Hong Kong proved that
they are attracted towards the ‘green
minded’ landlord in order to pursue
their CSR policy. These perspectives
have provided the conclusion that
building tenants also consider office
space in order to publicise their
environmentally-friendly vision of
their company (Robinson et.al. 2016)
The CSR has been observed
to be influenced by the type of
organisations. Miller and Buys
(2008) have indicated that
smaller organisations are often
advancing towards sustainability
and demanding buildings that are
designed to reduce greenhouse
gases as well adopting energy
efficiency. Small private companies
tend to focus on sustainability and
it has become their core practice to
align with their corporate interests
(Watering, 2011). A recent study
in Australia has found that the
characteristics of tenants and the
types of organisations whether they
are in public and private sectors
displayed a considerable influence
on sustainability. They found that
tenants from government sectors
chose sustainable buildings for
Small firms tend
to focus at the
locate business
on the fringe of
the city where
they can enjoy
great accessibility
without paying
rental premium.
14
reasons related to social and
environmental. (Myers et al., 2007).
Another study has also revealed
that the CSR awareness among
developers and investors are
prevalent in choosing to operate in
the commercial property market
in Canada (Hebb et.al. 2010).
However, a green certification
is least important among the
attributes (Karhu et al., 2012). The
existences of green certificates
are not so valuable to the tenants
since they would incur costs in
obtaining them as well as the
increment of construction costs.
On the other hand, another study
has identified the potential benefits
which are to be differentiated
between those recognised due to the
implementation of these assessment
tools and those encountered behind
the overall “green revolution” (Poveda
& Young, 2015). Larson (2010) also
emphasised that the tenants need
the certification in order reach the
sustainability goals.
Thus, in the review of the literature
on the experience of tenants in
sustainable building, it is revealed
that there may be other factors that
are being considered other than
green buildings itself. The factors
may include CSR, goodwill and
comfort.
3.0 Sources for
Literature Review
In order to identify the other factors
with regards to office occupation,
an extensive search and critical
review of the literatures which
are related to locational and
sustainability aspects were made.
The literature search and review
covered publications of journal
articles, conference proceedings, and
books. The reviewed publications
were made over 37 journal articles,
four conference proceedings and
two books from 1981 to 2017. Table
1 provides the list of the publication
sources and number of publications
which were reviewed.
After reviewing the available
literature, a synthesis of the areas
covering both aspects of location
and sustainability was made. The
analysis will be presented in the next
section.
Upon identifying the factors that
affects office decision making,
further exploration of the these
factors shall be made through a
qualitative research approach which
aims to explore the factors affecting
tenants to occupy green office
building in Kuala Lumpur. In-depth
interviews shall be conducted with
the tenants the selected locations
through the use of semi-structured
questionnaires. The in-depth
interview will be able to understand
the tenant’s perspective and their
view towards the choice in locating
their business in certain location.
In addition, document reviews of
tenants’ organisation’s will uncover
the background and aim of the
organisation which eventually
uncover the influence the choice to
occupy green office building in Kuala
Lumpur.
4.0 Literature
Synthesis and
Discussion
While many of the sources have
highlighted several factors in
relations to office occupation, the
factors that have been identified
in the various sources of the
literature with respect to the theory
of locational decision making and
sustainability are summarised in
Table 2.
The theory of locational decision
making has highlighted the influence
for tenants in making a choice to
occupy green office building in
certain location. Small firms tend
to focus at the locate business on
 Commercial Tenant’s Office Space Choice for Green Office Building - A Conceptual Approach
Table 1: List of sources for literature review and number of publications considered
Source Title
Journal of Real Estate Economic
Journal of Progress in Human Geography
Journal of The Annals of Regional Science
Building Research and Information
Environment and Planning
Journal European Real Estate Research
Journal Property Research
Property Management
Property Investment and Finance
Journal of Real Estate Research
RICS Research
International Journal of Strategic Property
Management
Bulletin of Geography, Socio-economic series
Smart and Sustainable Built Environment
Research and Policy Direction for Developments
and Finance
International Journal of Sustainable Built
Environment
Journal of Real Estate Research
American Economic Review
Journal Corporate Real Estate
Ecolibrium
Regional Science Association International
Journal Retail, Leisure and Property
Real Estate Finance and Economics
Pacific Rim Real Estate Economics
Total
Vol.53 No.1 2018
the fringe of the city where they can
enjoy great accessibility without
paying rental premium. Larger firms
Number of Publication
believe that the location reflects
the public identity and their identity
1 in the market (Levy and Peterson,
2013). Company structure, which
1
may comprise large or small firms,
1 may be diverse in their operations.
Additionally, the company operations
2 may involve capital that can be an
influence on their location decision
1
by microeconomic factors. There
2 are also other considerations with
regards to the firms’ characteristics.
3 Edwards (1983) identified that
the more authority granted to an
5 individual the more likely they will
be to influence the decision process
6
and Greenhalgh (2008) concluded
1 that people at the heart of decision-
making processes had a large
1 influence on the final choice. The
study also found that in small firms
1 one individual would tend to drive
the decision-making process and
1 the decision was largely influenced
by their personal preference. In
1 larger companies however, the
decision tended to be made by a
1
company board with a team of
people involved in the final decision.
1 The firms’ size, structure, culture
and type do influence the decision
of firms in locating their business. In
1
addition, the firms are locating the
1 business because of the interest of
4
1
1 Larger firms
1 believe that
1 location reflects
4 their public identity
43 and their identity
in the market.
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Figure 1: Tenant’s Green Office Space Choice
Locational Theory
Neo-Classical Behavioural
Exploratory study on tenant’s green office space choice
the company in occupying space
that will benefit them. This decision
is influenced by the profile of the
company. For this research, it would
be useful to uncover the varying view
of tenants at green office buildings
in locating their business in a green
office building. The location of the
business whether in the city centre
or the suburban area are based
on the firm’s choice. This choice is
based on company considerations
in choosing the suitable space for
their business. It has been noted
that both location theories can be
used in this study. For neo-classical
theory, the maximisation of profit
is a nature of the business, but the
weakness of the approach is the
none involvement of human. Thus,
the behaviour locational theory will
complement through the human
satisfactory and human solutions
aspects (Greenhalgh, 2008). Human
perception, assumption and decision
will be part of the decision-making
process of a firm. While deciding, the
drivers that influence the decision of
the firm would include size, nature,
structure and culture which form the
important factors in decision making
(Greenhalgh, 2008). These drivers
will influence the other factors that
are considered while deciding in
locating a business. For example,
corporate social responsibility may
be influenced by the structure of
a company which has their own
policy in running a business. With
the application of both perspectives,
16
Office space choice by tenant at green
office building in Kuala Lumpur
this study portrays the commercial
tenant’s office space choice with
regards to the locational aspects.
The sustainability perspective that
may influence the tenants to occupy
green office building reflect the
organisational and market aspect
such as trying to satisfy the staff,
fulfilling company’s CSR and other
factors related with the demand
of green office market. These
insights summarise the various
factors considered by tenants in
considering green office buildings.
It can be shown that the availability
of green office building will affect
the office building choice since the
unavailability of these buildings
in the market will drive tenants to
choose non-green buildings. With the
presence of green office buildings,
tenants can then more selective
in choosing the office space that
suits them. Additionally, green
office buildings will help to reduce
operating costs due to building
energy efficiency characteristics.
Furthermore, green office buildings
will provide healthy and comfortable
office environment to tenants
which relate to the design that has
been adapted. This in turn tends
to reduce the absenteeism among
workers which is due to medical
associated problems. The effect
will be the reduction of the cost
and financial expenses to be borne
by the organisations in term of
medical needs. It can be observed
Sustainability
Green Office Space
that organisations also have their
goals and mission in ensuring that
office operations portray good
image. CSR is one of the company’s
missions that have been made
by many companies to meet their
organisations’ goals in the long run.
The CSR is closely linked to image
and branding of firms where CSR
implementation will provide good
image to both client and investor. By
occupying a green office building,
they can meet the needs of the
company through the sustainability
agenda as well as meet the
expectations of clients and investors.
The main aim of this paper is not to
make distinct comparisons of that lie
within the two main areas of location
and sustainability, but to identify
the sustainability influence on office
occupation space choice. Through
the identification, the factors shall
be used to provide the framework
in identifying the influence of office
occupation choice for tenants that
are occupying green office buildings
in Kuala Lumpur. This identification
is especially useful so as then for
the need to know the ‘value added’
that assist tenants for their business
perspective. It can be summarised
that there are several studies which
relates to both the office location
and green building literature. The
factors that identified include the
complicated nature of location
decision making, company culture
and structure, building flexibility and

availability, staff preferences and
changing work practices. The green
building literature provides emphasis
to the marketing of an organisation,
staff, CSR policy, the size of the
organization and the tenant-landlord
relationship. A synthesis of the
literature that has examined the
factors within the locational theory
and sustainability perspectives that
has led to the development of a
conceptual framework (as shown in
Figure 1) for the further exploration
of the tenants’ green office space
choice. Further exploration through
a qualitative approach shall be
conducted in the next phase of the
study.
5.Conclusion
This paper provides an overview
of the literature on the decision-
making process in office
occupation, covering the theoretical
perspectives of the neo classical
and behavioural theories within
the locational literature as well as
a review of the past studies that
relate to sustainability factors. The
review of the literatures revealed
that the sustainability is an
important consideration by tenant
organisations for the occupation
of office buildings. However, there
are other studies that do not
concur with that argument and has
indicated that locational factors are
also the important consideration.
This paper attempts to synthesise
the factors from the review of the
literature between these two main
perspectives with respect to the
determination of office occupation
location decision by tenants.
Thus, this paper has examined the
factors within the locational theory
and sustainability perspectives,
summarised the factors and has also
developed a conceptual framework
which would then lead to the further
exploration of the tenants’ green
office space choice at green office
buildings in Kuala Lumpur.
Commercial Tenant’s Office Space Choice for Green Office Building - A Conceptual Approach
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge
the financial support of the
Fundamental Research Grant
Scheme, FP018-2015A, under the
Ministry of Higher Education.
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 PEER REVIEW
Hamzah, H. and Abdullah, S.A

Centre of Sustainable Urban Planning and Real Estate Research,

University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dispute Resolution of Stratified

Residential Properties:
Strata Management
Tribunal of Malaysia
Abstract

Strata properties characterise the real estate development in most major cities due
to the scarcity of urban land, high urban land prices and persistent demand from the
city population. The current Malaysian housing market observes a tendency for local
developers to build more strata residences to fulfil the demand of house buyers in
urban areas. For stratified residential properties, the nature of high-rise living is fertile
ground for inter and intra-group disputes, which can impede on the management
of these properties. As lifestyle variables change alongside broader socio-economic
developments, Malaysian developers offer lifestyle housing that have more design

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elements, building features and lifestyle facilities that may consequently increase
the volume and complexity of strata disputes in the future. In 2013, the Malaysian
government has established the Strata Management Tribunal (SMT) in response to
increased disputes. Among previous efforts in enhancing the management of strata
residence, the SMT is seen as one of the most potent institutional instruments in
resolving disputes outside the formal judiciary system. The SMT is promoted to be
a quicker, less costly and less adversarial method of resolving disputes compared
to court action. Nonetheless, the SMT has not been subject to a close review by
researchers despite the possibility of inherent issues that may affect its effectiveness
in the long run. Focusing on residential strata, this paper reveals the issues that
may impede the SMT and highlight how the SMT operations may be affected.
Whilst the SMT was perceived as a useful and potentially potent dispute resolution
mechanism, its operation may be hindered by the nature of the negotiation process,
lack of manpower and resources, the method of notice service and overlapping legal
framework. The paper ends with some recommendations on how to overcome these
problems.

Keywords: strata law, alternative dispute resolution, strata tribunal, Malaysia

S
1. Introduction
trata properties
characterise the real
estate development
in most major cities
due to the scarcity of
urban land, high urban
land prices and persistent demand
from the city population. Notably,
the high demand for housing
from city dwellers has spurred the
growth of vertical living. This trend
has also permeated the Malaysian
housing market, whereby strata
residence forms nearly 30% of the
total housing stock of 5,398,133
units and almost 50% of incoming
supply of 480,060 units (VPSD,
2017). Strata residence is considered
more affordable compared to landed
properties as prices of terraced,
semi-detached and detached houses
have escalated beyond the reach
of the average Malaysian in city
areas in recent years. In Malaysia,
strata residence range from the
low-end (low-cost flats, flats and
apartments) to high-end (serviced
apartments, condominiums and
luxury apartments). Recently, some
gated communities comprising
townhouses and terraced houses
have been developed under strata
schemes for mid- and high-level
purchasers. Thus, strata residence
in Malaysia accommodates low to
high cost and landed to high-rise
schemes and like in most countries
is seen as a “key response to urban
planning challenges in major cities”
(Leshinsky & Mouat, 2012). This
paper focuses on high-rise strata
residence as this is the dominant
type of strata residence in Malaysia.
As living in strata residence becomes
more common among city folks,
various lifestyle adjustments have to
be made to adapt to vertical living.
Strata residents must deal with more
neighbours (horizontal and vertical
units) compared to landed residents
(horizontal units only) and deal
with high-density neighbourhoods.
Additionally, strata residence gives
rise to the need for a more intense
property management, which is less
conspicuous in landed residence.
Professional property management
and maintenance is necessary
as the scope has now widened to
include not only the individual units
but also common properties shared
among strata owners. Strata living
therefore comprises myriads of
stakeholders namely the developer,
owner, management body, managing
agent, renter and contractors.

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 Dispute Resolution of Stratified Residential Properties: The Strata Management Tribunal of Malaysia
This presents a fertile ground for
inter and intra-group conflicts and
disputes, which can impede on the
management of these properties.
As lifestyle variables change
alongside broader socio-economic
developments, Malaysian developers
offer lifestyle housing that have more
design elements, building features
and lifestyle facilities that may
consequently increase the volume
and complexity of strata disputes in
the future.
The legal framework for strata
residence in Malaysia was
formalised with the Strata Titles
Act 1985. Since then, number of
amendments to the original strata
act and additional statutes has
increased, reflecting the need and
response for greater control and
solution for strata living. In 2013, the
Malaysian government established
the SMT as a mechanism to resolve
the increasing amount of strata
disputes. As an alternative dispute
resolution mechanism, the SMT is
seen to be a quicker, less costly and
less adversarial method of resolving
disputes compared to court action.
As a highly procedural entity, the
operation side of SMT needs to be
seamless to ensure that dispute
cases are fairly heard. Nonetheless,
the recentness of the SMT has
resulted in the lack of research and
critique on the inherent issues that
may affect its effectiveness in the
long run.
Aiming to fill the gap in current
knowledge about SMT’s operations,
this paper reveals the issues that
may impede the SMT and highlight
how these issues may affect SMT
operations. A qualitative approach
has been adopted to achieve the
study aim with grounded theory
being the main research strategy.
This paper adopts the basic
principles of the grounded theory by
Strauss and Glaser (1967), among
others, being grounded by the
phenomenon under investigation
and generating theory from data.
Qualitative data was obtained from
key informant interviews with first-
hand knowledge and experience
with strata management and the
SMT comprising an SMT senior
officer who oversaw hearings,
a senior property manager who
was involved in the drafting of the
Strata Management Act 2013 and
a researcher who had previously
undertaken a study on strata dispute
resolution. Secondary data from
claim files at the SMT was used to
support the argument of this paper.
The paper is divided into four
parts. The first part focuses on the
sociology of disputes, the occurrence
of disputes in strata living and how
they are resolved with focus on
the alternative dispute resolution
(ADR) method. The second part
provides the context of strata living
in Malaysia and the evolution of
the strata regulatory framework
in Malaysia, with emphasis on the
framework of residential strata
dispute resolution. The third part
outlines the problems with the SMT
that may impede its effectiveness in
resolving residential strata disputes.
The last part makes some tentative
recommendations for deliberation
and action for lawmakers and SMT
administrators in improving the SMT
framework.
2. A Primer On
Disputes and Dispute
Resolution
Conflict and Disputes in
Strata Living
In principle, a dispute is a short-
term disagreement that can result
in the disputants reaching some
sort of resolution because issues
under dispute are negotiable but
conflict is long-term with deeply
rooted issues that are seen as
“non-negotiable” (Burton, 1990 as
Vol.53 No.1 2018
The SMT is
promoted to
be a quicker,
less costly and
less adversarial
method of
resolving disputes
compared to court
action.
cited in Keator, 2011). Disputes
emerged from experiences that
transformed into grievances, and
has been described as “social
constructs” (Felstiner et al., 1980-
1981, p. 631) due to the high degree
of perception and interpretation
inside a person’s head. Writing
from the sociology perspective,
Felstiner et al. posits that only until
an unPerceived Injurious Experience
(unPIE) transforms into a Perceived
Injurious Experience (PIE) will
disputes arise and remedial actions
are sought. Later, Burton (1997)
proposed that disputes that are left
to fester will turn into conflict. In a
more modern setting, conflicts and
disputes are seen to arise when
people, organisations, communities
and countries strive to achieve goals
that are incompatible (Moore, 2014).
Moore’s 1996 seminal work “The
Mediation Process” presented five
types of conflicts — data, interest,
structural, value and relationship
— all of which have the potential to
occur in strata living which involves
a more complex social system than
traditional living style.
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Figure 1: Moore’s Sphere of Conflict

Data Conflicts Interest Conflicts

- Lack of information - Perceived or actual
- Misinformation. competitive interests.
- Different views of what - Substantive (content) interests.
is relevant. - Procedural interests.
- Different interpretations - Psychological interests.
of data.
- Different assessment
procedures.
Structural Conflicts
Moore’s
- Destructive patterns of
Relationship Conflicts Sphere of behaviour or interaction.
- Strong emotions.
Conflict - Unequal control, ownership
- Misconceptions or or distribution of resources.
stereotypes. - Unequal power and
- Poor communication authority.
or miscommunication. - Geographic, physical or
- Repetitive negative environmental factors
behaviour. Value Conflicts that hinder cooperation.
- Different criteria for - Time constraints.
evaluating ideas or
behaviour.
- Exclusive intrinsically
valuable goals.
- Different ways of life,
ideology and religion.

Source: Moore (2014)

The fundamental characteristic
of disputes being an outcome of
a process has led traditional legal
researchers to believe that dispute
incidents can be avoided or at least
moderated (Felstiner et al., 1980-
1981). In terms of Felstiner et al.’s
transformation theory, the unPIE
must have been significant enough
to transform into PIE which leads the
injured party to litigate for remedial
actions. Disputes that have been
allowed to escalate and become
unmanageable can inflict damage
on the parties involved (Burton,
1990; Moore, 2014). As argued
by Moore, mediation can assist in
reconciling the individual objectives
with common needs and interests
in a positive way. This entails having
an independent third party to help
disputants to reach agreements.
At its most basic, a building can be
subdivided into lots or parcels that
are individually owned while the
right to use of and responsibility for
common areas such as corridors,
lifts, the roof, swimming pool,
etc. are shared between owners.
Living in a strata scheme entails
having more neighbours due to
the dense population within a
relatively small area and sharing
common areas, both uncommon
in conventional landed dwellings.
Strata living is seen as “communal
living” (Leshinsky & Mouat,
2012), necessitating the owner/
occupant, owners’ corporation1 and
management agent to negotiate
the many dynamics of communal
living. Communal living depends on
good relationship with neighbours
and an effective management team
to ensure a convivial and conducive
living environment (Kamarudin,
2014). Robust governance strategies
are essential in allocating and
managing the “communal space”
(Leshinsky & Mouat, 2012), which
is highly dependent on an effective
management body and good
relationship between and among
different stakeholders.
Human behaviour and various
physical, environmental and
economic factors have the tendency
to interact and result in dissents

1 Also known as bodies corporate and management corporation.

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 Dispute Resolution of Stratified Residential Properties: The Strata Management Tribunal of Malaysia
among strata stakeholders. Living
at such close proximity within a
relatively small, densely populated
area can give rise to dissents,
stresses and nuisance related to
human behaviour. The PhD research
by Kamarudin (2014) summarised
the main causes of dispute in strata
schemes as reported in literature into
six categories; the nature of strata
living, diversity of stakeholders,
restrictive by-laws, insufficient
knowledge in strata living, bad
attitude and behaviour of occupants
and lack of quality leadership
in strata schemes. On the other
hand, Leshinsky and Mouat (2012)
cited five common types of strata
disputes; owners’ dissatisfaction
with managers, arguments with
the manager that may result from
the initial contract entered into
by the developer, incompetent or
recalcitrant members of the owners’
corporation that hindered decision-
making, owners’ corporation taking
action against individual occupiers
for breach of rules and disagreement
over owners’ corporation fee levels.
In the context of Malaysia, the
complaints have been said to mainly
concern the management body2 and
the owners3 (N. A. Mohamad, 2015).
Dispute prevention and containment
measures, community engagement
and public participation may reduce
but not completely eliminate
disputes in strata schemes due
to the shared communal facilities
and spaces (Leshinsky & Mouat,
2012). Thus, strata legislation in
most countries normally has dispute
resolution mechanisms in place as
part of strata management strategy.
Dispute Resolution for Strata
Schemes
The nature of strata living often
produces disputes that oftentimes
2 Common complaints include mismanagement of fund, lack of understanding of the law, cronyism, political inclination.
3 Common complaints are about noisiness, parking, cleanliness, inter-floor leakage, pets and misuse of the common area.
Vol.53 No.1 2018
fail to be resolved internally by the and should be applied as early as
management agent or owner’s possible for any dispute.
corporation that often lack the
necessary skills to mediate disputes The strata legislation of many
(Leshinsky & Mouat, 2012). Legal countries including Malaysia,
disputes can be resolved in court, Indonesia, South Africa and
but this method is time consuming Singapore has been greatly
and cost ineffective. Importantly influenced by the Australian strata
for residential strata disputes, the regulatory regime (Leshinsky
adversarial manner of the court & Mouat, 2012). In the case of
system when deciding disputes is Victoria, Australia, a three-tier
not favourable when the parties have dispute resolution scheme has been
to co-exist again in the same strata implemented since 2007. The first
scheme after the case is eventually stage of the scheme involves an
decided (M. Mohamad et al., 2015). internal mediation at the owners’
The importance of a conciliatory corporation level, the second stage
solution to social and technical
disputes within a residential strata
scheme cannot be understated
to facilitate the process of place-
making and community building The main causes
among the owners.
of dispute in strata
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
uses basic mediation principles schemes are; the
in providing a facilitative and
negotiation-based strata disputes
nature of strata
resolution method (Leshinsky & living, diversity
Mouat, 2012; N. A. Mohamad, 2015).
Compared to court adjudication, of stakeholders,
ADR offers a simpler procedure,
lower costs and faster settlement
restrictive by-
(N. A. Mohamad, 2015). Its non- laws, insufficient
adversarial nature often excludes
lawyers, thus advantageous towards knowledge in
preserving the relationship between
the parties, and where this is not strata living, bad
possible, ending the relationship
fairly. Additionally, the disputants
attitude and
work together to reach a mutually behaviour of
agreeable solution rather than
having the outcome imposed by occupants and
a third party, which can increase
the disputants’ commitment to the
lack of quality
agreed solution (Leshinsky & Mouat, leadership in
2012). At a social level, Leshinsky
and Mouat (2012) submitted that strata schemes.
ADR for strata conflict resolution
is a necessary component for
social learning and urban vitality
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involves mediation by a Consumer
Affairs employee and the third
stage will see the dispute being
determined by the Victorian Civil and
Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). In
the Malaysian context, ADR in strata
disputes has been in place since
1985 but with little success until the
SMT was established in 2013 (N. A.
Mohamad & Sufian, 2015).
3. The Context: Strata
Dispute Resolution in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a federation of 14
states that was formed in 1963. It
is a multicultural country with three
major ethnic groups comprising
Malay, Chinese and Indian. The
diversity in culture can be seen in the
different languages being spoken
and religions being practised by
each ethic group. Geographically,
the country can be divided into West
Malaysia, also known as Peninsular
Malaysia, and East Malaysia. Since
the country’s independence, the
Malaysian government has been
promoting housing policies based
on social engineering to ensure the
three main ethnic groups co-exist
peacefully in urban areas (Agus,
1989; Yahaya, 1989). An example
of such policies is the Bumiputera
(native) housing quota under the
New Economic Policy (NEP) (1970-
1990) that ensured up to 30% are
sold to the Malay and other native
ethnic groups. The government
allows foreigners to purchase
houses, even to the extent of
promoting foreign home ownership
under the Malaysia My Second
Home scheme. At present, foreigners
are allowed to purchase properties
priced at above RM1 million
(approximately USD260,000).
The Department of Survey of
Malaysia estimated that the
population of the country currently
stands at 32.3 million in the fourth
quarter of 2017 (DOSM, 2017). It
was estimated that 76.1% of the
population would currently reside
in urban areas (DOSM, 2010),
mainly due to better employment,
education and social opportunities.
The previous three-year period also
saw some economic growth, with
the GDP growth rate at 5.0 in 2015,
4.2 in 2016 and 5.9 in 2017 (DOSM,
2018). Historically and to this day,
the west coast of the Peninsular
Malaysia has been the centre of
economic development. Natural
population growth, rural-urban
migration and increased household
income are some of the factors that
have spurred the housing market in
the west coast.
The concept of strata residence
was introduced in the mid to late
1970s to accommodate the spike
in housing demand as Malaysia
moved from an agricultural-based
to manufacturing-based economy.
As development land in the city
became more scarce and expensive,
developers began to build upwards.
To cater for different buyer profile, a
range of strata residence has been
provided in terms of price and type.
As shown in Table 1, strata residence
forms almost 30% of the existing
residential stock in Malaysia (VPSD,
2017). Notably, the proportion of
strata residence to landed residence
increases for incoming and planned
supply at approximately 50%
and 42% respectively. This trend
has implications on the property
management and legal framework of
strata schemes.
In Malaysia, a strata property
owner’s legal position is three ways;
firstly, as the individual owner of his
parcel; secondly, as a co-owner of
the common property (including the
land that accommodates the strata
scheme) and thirdly, as a member

In Malaysia, a strata property owner’s of the owners’ corporation known

as Management Corporation (MC)
legal position is three ways; firstly, as the (M. Mohamad et al., 2015). In the
context of strata dispute resolution,
individual owner of his parcel; secondly, the legal framework can be divided
into two periods, Pre-tribunal and
as a co-owner of the common property post-tribunal periods.
(including the land that accommodates Pre-Tribunal Period
the strata scheme) and thirdly, as a (1970s-2015)
Initially, strata management was
member of the owners’ corporation incorporated in the National Land
known as Management Corporation. Code 1965 (Act 56), the country’s
main land statute under ‘subsidiary
titles’ (Shukri & Maidin, 2010). Act
56 specified that all subdivided
buildings should form a MC to
undertake the maintenance and

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 Dispute Resolution of Stratified Residential Properties: The Strata Management Tribunal of Malaysia
Table 1: Summary of supply of residential units by type in Malaysia
Type Strata
No. of units No. of units
Existing stock 1,584,602
Incoming supply 202,608
Planned supply 179,096
Source: VSPD (2017)
management of common properties
(Teo, 2012). However, Act 56 was
proven to be inadequate in the
major areas of strata management
and its lack of recourse for dispute
resolution. In 1985, the Strata Titles
Act 1985 (Act 318) was introduced
to address the problems that Act 56
did not adequately resolve. At first,
strata disputes were referred to the
state land authority but this was
proven ineffective as the state body
only possessed advisory power over
strata disputes. In 2001, Act 318 was
amended to transfer the power to
settle strata disputes to a new body
namely the Strata Title Board (STB)
that was authorised to determine
disputes and provided an alternative
to going to court (M. Mohamad et
al., 2015). Nonetheless, the STB was
never established in any state in
Malaysia despite the provision for its
formation and potential for dispute
resolution (N. A. Mohamad, 2015).
Indeed, strata properties developed
too fast in volume, design and
components which caused Act
318 to be amended five times, with
the most recent amendment in
2013 to address maintenance and
management issues (M. Mohamad
et al., 2015). Act 318 was not
able to tackle maintenance and
management issues that would
lead to disputes between parties.
A problematic area was during the
pre-MC period when maintenance
Landed
% No. of units
29.35 3,813,531
49.65 277,452
41.87 248,596
and management was statutorily
mandated on the developer.
Developers’ incompetence and
indifference had led to problems of
huge outstanding service charges
owed by the purchasers, non-
audited statements of account
and missing documents such as
building plans, certified strata plans,
documents of title of the lot and
insurance certificates. Additionally,
Act 318 failed to keep abreast with
advancement in strata development.
When mixed strata development
became more common in the
2000s, Act 318 did not provide for
the separation of users for common
property, which was important
for a fair determination of service
charges for each type of user. Thus,
the Building and Common Property
(Maintenance and Management)
Act 2007 (Act 663) was introduced
specifically to deal with the
management and maintenance of
strata properties.
It was the intention of lawmakers for
Act 663 to be read together with Act
318 as each act deals with different
subject matters; Act 663 provides for
the management and maintenance
of strata properties whilst Act 318
outlines the title procedures. Act
663 established more new bodies to
strengthen the strata management
framework including the Joint
Management Body (JMB), Joint
Management Committee (JMC),
Vol.53 No.1 2018
Total
% No. of units %
70.65 5,398,133 100
50.35 480,060 100
58.13 427,692 100
house rules, building maintenance
fund and sinking fund, and
managing agents (Buang, 2017).
The Commissioner of Building (COB)
was institutionalised to administer
Act 663. However, Act 663 was
unclear on the COB’s scope of duty
which resulted in overburdening the
COB and omitting to confer COB the
power to resolve disputes that arise
from the operations of Act 318 and
Act 663 (N. A. Mohamad & Sufian,
2015).
Post-Tribunal Period
(2015-to Date)
As a response to the issues that
Act 663 failed to resolve, the Strata
Management Act 2013 (Act 757)
was introduced in 2013 and came
into operation on 1 June 2015.
Upon the enactment of Act 757,
the whole of Act 663 and some
provisions in Act 318 were repealed.
Act 757 brought a long-awaited
body to complement to the strata
management system namely the
SMT that is placed under the purview
of the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing,
Housing and Local Government.
SMT replaced the Strata Board and
is empowered to handle all disputes
pertaining to strata properties. The
current strata dispute resolution
system is depicted in Figure 2,
showing how a dispute may first
be referred to the SMT, which is a
channel that is outside the court
system. The SMT does not preclude
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Figure 2: Strata dispute resolution system in Malaysia
Strata disputes
Strata Management
Tribunal (SMT)
Resolved Unresolved
Source: Author’s own analysis
disputes from being directly heard by
the High Court. As an ADR scheme,
the SMT provides a two-tier dispute
resolution mechanism which was
an improvement from the previous
system.
The SMT was established to
adjudicate disputes in strata
schemes in Peninsular Malaysia
only. The primary function of the
SMT is to provide alternative forums
to resolve disputes on issues of
strata management in an expedient
manner4 and minimal costs (Tan,
2015). The parties entitled to submit
a claim are developer, purchaser,
original proprietor, JMB, MC, Sub-
MC, management agent, any person
with registered interest (Tan, 2015).
Members of the SMT include a
chairman, a deputy chairman and
not less than 20 other members,
all of whom shall be members of
the judicial and legal services of
no less than seven years standing.
However, there is no requirement for
the members to have negotiation
qualification. The SMT hears and
determines any claim not exceeding
RM250,000 allowed under Part 1
of the Fourth Schedule, Act 757
(“Strata Management Act,” 2013).
Fourteen types of claim are allowed
including disputes over non or
under performance of statutory
4 The SMT endeavours to resolve claims within 60 days from the date of hearing.
26
High Court
duty, cost disputes for residential
strata, recovery of debt concerning
charges and sinking fund and related
payable interest, the procedure and
resolution of a general meeting,
insurance related matters, the
supply of information or documents
pertaining to the strata management,
order concerning consent to
alterations to common property or
limited common property and order
concerning COB’s decision (“Strata
Management Act,” 2013).
SMT’s proceeding begins with the
filing of a claim by the injured party
(Figure 3). The respondent has a
choice of either admitting liability,
upon which an order of admittance
will be issued, or not admitting to
the claim, with or without a counter
claim. The claim then proceeds
to be evaluated by the SMT
Secretary if it was appropriate for
negotiation. A claim that is resolved
under negotiation will be issued
with a settlement order, whilst an
unsuccessful negotiation will result
in the claim to go to the hearing. A
notice calling for hearing will precede
the proceeding, where eventually the
award will be made. The gravitas of
the SMT’s decision means that any
contravention to the order may result
in a fine not exceeding RM10,000
or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding two years or both (“Strata
Management Act,” 2013). The finality
of the SMT’s decision also means
that the only appeal to the High
Court is only on a point of law (N. A.
Mohamad, 2015).
We undertook a review of claim
files at the SMT located at the
administrative capital of Putrajaya
to understand more about the types
of claims being heard. Altogether
114 files were reviewed over the
period of eight hours, involving
118 claims. Special permission
was sought and obtained for the
exercise. Frequency analysis of the
claimant, respondent and type of
claim provided a clear picture of the
SMT’s case profile. We found that the
majority of claims were lodged by
management bodies (f=91, 79.8%),
followed by the owner (f=11, 9.6%)
and the developer (f=10, 8.8%).
In comparison, it was discovered
that the majority of claims were
lodged against the owner (f=105,
91.2%), followed by the developer
and management bodies (f=5, 4.4%
respectively). Whilst the majority
of claimants were discovered to
be management bodies and the
majority of respondents were
owners, the main type of claim being
heard was the recovery of charges
or contribution to the sinking fund
(f=96, 81.4%). This result somewhat
concurs with the profile of claimant
and respondent.
Here the nature of disputes in our
sample is worth a discussion.
Clearly, the main disputes taken to
the SMT concern the management
bodies’ attempt at recovering
monies owed to the management
and sinking funds by recalcitrant
owners. Without funding, it is
impossible for the management
bodies to effectively carry out
their functions in ensuring a safe
and well-kept strata scheme. This
affects many aspects of strata living
 Dispute Resolution of Stratified Residential Properties: The Strata Management Tribunal of Malaysia

Vol.53 No.1 2018

Figure 3: SMT’s claim and hearing procedure

Respondent admits to the An order in Form 8 that

claim in Form 2 respondent admits

Claimant
files Form 1 Defence to Counter claim
Counter Claim in Form 2
with SMT in Form 3

SMT Secretary classifies

No Counter Claim in Form 2
for negotiation or hearing

HEARING
SMT WILL
MAKE Not resolved NEGOTIATION
AWARD IN
FORM 11
Resolved (Settlement Order)

Source: Tan (2015)

Table 2: File review at SMT, Putrajaya

Item f %

Frequency of claimants Management bodies (MC, JMB, SMC) 91 79.8

Owner 11 9.6
Developer 10 8.8
Others 2 1.8
Frequency of respondents Owner 104 91.2
Developer 5 4..4
Management bodies (MC, JMB, SMC) 5 4.4
Type of claim Recovery of charges, or contribution to the sinking fund 96 81.4
Failure to perform duty 7 6.0
Dispute concerning the common property 5 4.3

Alterations to the common property 3 2.6

Nullify a resolution passed at a general meeting 2 1.7
Convening a general meeting 2 1.7
Voting rights 1 0.8
Revoking amendment of by laws 1 0.8
Supply of information or documents 1 0.8

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including security, well-being, peace
and neighbourliness. Although the
SMT provides the management
bodies a non-adversarial avenue at
recovering the payment arrears, the
whole strata scheme could suffer
from inadequate maintenance and
management. There is no guarantee
that the non-paying owners will
mend their ways in the future, and
the whole unpleasant cycle could be
triggered again.
4. Issues with the
Strata Management
Tribunal
Weak Negotiation Process
SMT is a dispute resolution
mechanism that assists disputants
in coming to a congruent outcome.
As a facilitative dispute resolution
method, negotiation is an important
element in mediation that should be
present not only at an early stage of
ADR but also during the proceeding.
Disputants should be allowed and
properly aided to negotiate before
the SMT comes to a decision
because perspectives may change
as new facts may come into light
at a later stage of the proceeding.
For opposing parties of the strata
dispute to voluntarily conciliate,
a qualified mediator should be
appointed to conduct the process
of negotiation.
Under the current procedure,
negotiation is only available at the
beginning of the hearing upon the
lodging of the claim. This diverges
from the spirit of mediation in which
negotiation is seen as an integral
component to induce conciliation.
Additionally, the mediation
qualification of the SMT personnel
assisting the pre-proceeding
negotiation is not verified. This opens
up the possibility of the insufficiency
of the mediation process as
negotiation may not be fully available
and promoted to the disputants.
28
The timing of the formal negotiation
process is deemed unsuitable as
the claim has already been lodged
at that point which may lead the
respondent to feel inconvenienced
and defensive. If the negotiation
process is made available internally,
conciliation may be reached before
formal claim is lodged. This may
avoid the unpleasantness of having
to attend and respond at a formal
proceeding. Early conciliation can
also spare the losing party from
any embarrassment and ill-feeling
towards the winning party, who may
well be the next door neighbour to be
tolerated while living at the scheme.
Lack of Manpower and
Resources
Being a multicultural country, an
important criterion of the arbitrator
is the ability to understand the
arguments of both parties. Problem
arises when the arbitrator fail
to conduct the proceeding in
the language understood by the
disputants. Some disputants do not
speak Malay, which is the national
language and the official language of
SMT proceedings, or English, which
is the country’s second language. In
both cases, the SMT must provide
a translator for the proceeding. This
becomes a problem as the SMT
is currently understaffed and lack
qualified arbitrators who are bilingual,
let alone speak a third language.
The number of foreign strata owners
is significant in the country due to
previous campaigns that promote
foreign house buyers to purchase
apartments and condominiums in
Malaysia as their second home. In
recent years, there has been a spate
of property investors from China
who purchased strata residences
in the southern region of Iskandar
Malaysia, an area touted as an
international economic zone. It is
unlikely for the foreign strata owners
to be able to speak Malay, whilst the
SMT lacks bilingual manpower.
The limited manpower and financial
resources also prevented each
state from having a SMT. With only
four SMTs to serve the country,
case backlogs may become more
common in the future as the
number of strata development and
accordingly, disputes, grow in the
future.
Service of Notice
Another issue with the SMT
procedure is the service of notice
calling for the imminent proceeding.
There are three ways how the
proceeding notice is served to the
other party; personally, by registered
post to the last known address and
by attaching it at a prominent part of
the last known address of business,
registered office, parcel or residence.
The SMT endeavours to settle
disputes speedily, which means that
the procedure of the proceeding
runs like clockwork and has to be
inflexible to avoid delays. There is
a provision that allows for award
to be made despite the absence of
any party during the proceeding.
This means that once the notice
is deemed served, the proceeding
will take place regardless of the
respondent’s attendance.
The notice system therefore is
vulnerable to abuse. Firstly, the
claimant may wrongly enter the
respondent’s details in the claim
form, either intentionally or by
accident. Consequently, the notice
will not reach the respondent.
Secondly, in cases involving the MC
as the claimant and an owner as the
respondent, there have been reports
of the notice not being delivered to
the respondent or being missing
after passing the management
office.
Another notice under the SMT is
the default notice, which is served
on a party that disregards the
award by the SMT chairman. Once
the default notice is served, SMT’s
 Dispute Resolution of Stratified Residential Properties: The Strata Management Tribunal of Malaysia
rectification procedure will run within
a given timeline regardless of a new
compliance or any intention from the
SMT to review the award.
Overlapping Legal Framework
The mediation aspect of SMT calls
into question its accordance with
the broader legal framework. In
particular, the Mediation Act 2012
(Act 749) was passed with the main
objective to promote and encourage
mediation as a method of alternative
dispute resolution by providing for
the process of mediation, thereby
facilitating the parties in disputes to
settle disputes in a fair, speedy and
cost-effective manner and to provide
for related matters.
Clearly the objective of Act 749
parallels the rationale for SMT,
except that SMT was established
specifically to resolve strata
disputes. Act 749 clearly sets out
the types of disputes that do not
fall under its scope, and strata
disputes are not contained in the
schedule. This raises the issue of
the compliance of SMT with Act 749
provisions. Among others, Act 749
specifies the qualification required
for a mediator, mediation procedure
and liability of the mediator. It should
be noted that the legal principle
lex specialis derogat legi generali (a
law governing a specific matter
overrides a law concerning general
matters) applies in Malaysia as
indicated in several court cases.
Thus, the specific nature of Act 757
that controls SMT may prevail over
Act 749, which is general in nature.
However, the applicability of lex
specialis in this matter has yet been
tested.
Conclusion and
Recommendations
If left unchecked, conflicts and
disputes can have a devastating
effect on the social relationships
within a residential strata scheme
Vol.53 No.1 2018
that may diminish the quality of
living of the occupants. The above
observations suggest that despite Weaknesses in
its vast improvements in the area
of strata dispute resolution, SMT the negotiation
contains a number of inherent issues
that may impede its full potential.
process, personnel
Weaknesses in the negotiation and resource
process, personnel and resource
constraints, notice procedure constraints,
and overlapping legislation are
areas to be reviewed to eliminate
notice procedure
inefficiencies and increase and overlapping
effectiveness. These technical and
legal issues lie within the authority legislation
of the federal ministry overseeing
SMT who may consider a separate
are areas to
subsidiary legislation that would be reviewed
address the procedural gaps.
to eliminate
One area that may be improved is
the negotiation element of SMT. inefficiencies
An additional layer to the dispute
resolution process can be introduced
and increase
at the internal level before claim is effectiveness.
lodged at the SMT. This additional
layer can be modelled after the
three-tier internal dispute resolution
scheme of Victoria, Australia. An
intervention at an early stage of the
dispute can prevent its escalation skill that can prove invaluable to the
and provide a platform for parties to profession and should be looked
voice out their disagreements. As the into seriously to be at par with our
aggrieved is empowered to narrate Singaporean counterparts.
the perceived injurious experience
and the opposite party is allowed to More resources should be diverted
explain, justify or defend themselves into the SMT to prevent case
in a conciliatory environment, the backlogs. Delays in hearings may
stress and negativity may dissipate result in festering negativity at the
or diminish. A pre-SMT negotiation strata scheme. Eventually, each state
should allow any aggrieved party should establish an SMT to ensure
including the MC to file a complaint disputants’ costs are kept low in
at the MC. Being an internal dispute keeping with the spirit of mediation.
resolution scheme, the MC should
be able to call in an outside mediator From the perspective of the
or train an in-house mediator to preventative principle, conflict
help the parties to conciliate before avoidance may be adopted as a
deciding to take the formal route. primary strategy for architects and
planners. Conflict may be avoided
This would reduce the number
of cases to be heard at SMT and when the subject of dispute is taken
also promote a more amicable out of the equation or when an
unPIE never transforms into PIE. In
resolution among the disputants.
the first instance, there are fewer
For professional property managers,
propensities for conflict where the
dispute resolution is definitely a
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design of the strata residence takes
into consideration management
activities and maintenance costs.
As revealed in the claim file review,
there is a high possibility for
payment defaults by owners which
would have resulted in claims by
management bodies. The root
cause of owners’ non-payment
has to be examined. Oftentimes
owners default on payment not
due to inability to pay but perhaps
due to the opacity in service
charge calculation. A transparent
management that includes owners
in monetary decisions may
avoid conflict. Similarly, a mixed
development that clearly demarcates
each component’s common property
and provides sufficient facilities for
each component can avoid future
disputes between different users. In
the second instance, an unPIE will
not be contentious when features
supporting communication, trust and
relationship building for the future
users are incorporated in the design.
In other words, being mindful of the
social and economic requirements
of the eventual stakeholders in a
strata scheme should be considered
alongside developers’ profit margin
as a way to improve the liveability
within a residential strata scheme.
This paper specifically reviewed
residential strata disputes and did
not cover commercial strata. For
a more comprehensive outlook on
SMT’s operational effectiveness,
future research may look into
commercial strata disputes.
References
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Buang, S. (2017). High expectations
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Burton, J. W. (1990). Conflict:
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N. A. (2015). Strata Management in
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model for pre-action dispute resolution
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Mohamad, N. A., & Sufian, A. (2015).
Legal development on management of
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process: Practical strategies for
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Jossey-Bass.
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Strata Titles law and Procedure. Asia:
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Singapore and Malaysia (Fourth ed.).
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63-69.
 PEER REVIEW
Siti Farrah Zaini1 Zuraini Md Ali2 Brit Anak Kayan3

1,2,3
Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya
Email: 1sfzaini90@gmail.com, 2zuraini_mdali@um.edu.my, 3brit284@um.edu.my

Maxwell Hill:
Exploring from Built
Environment and
Historical Perspectives
Abstract

British colonial remains deserved to be declared as cultural heritage in Malaysia

because they are among the tangible evidence from the past and possess outstanding
architectural value that exists in this country. Interestingly, buildings are not the only
‘footprints’ that the British left in this country, but there are unique places that were used
by colonists when they settled in this country, called as hill stations. The existence of
hill station portrays human intelligence in taking advantage of the natural environment

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to soothe the needs of the British people who had to live in the tropics for prolonged
periods of time. In Malaysia, hill stations were developed starting from Penang Hill
(Bukit Bendera), Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut), Fraser’s Hill (Bukit Fraser) and Cameron
Highlands, which emerged since 1920s. This study explores Maxwell Hill from the
perspectives of its built environment and historical value. This hill station has not been
subjected to many studies, compared to other hill stations. This paper also intends
to ensure Maxwell Hill is not neglected. A holistic qualitative methodology including
in-depth literature reviews and on-site observations of Maxwell Hill was conducted in
2017. Based on this study, it was found that the settlement was related to the British
colonial social culture, but majority of the original bungalows are abandoned and
deteriorated over time.

Keywords: Maxwell’s Hill, Hill Station, British Colonial Heritage,

F
1. Introduction
rom the late 18th century
to 1957, the British
has occupied Malaya
(before we gained
independence) with the
interest of territorial and
power control over this country.
The era of British colonialism in
Malaya was so entrenched that
it gave them opportunities not
only to have influence on power
and administration system, but
also to imprint their culture on our
surroundings such as British colonial
architecture, especially in the
Federated Malay States and Strait
Settlements.
Although Malaysia has gained
independence since 1957, British
colonial architecture in this country
can still be seen on many buildings.
In fact, some of these buildings are
registered as heritage buildings
under National Heritage Act (2005)
that represent parts of Malaysian
cultural heritage (Ahmad, 1993).
Ahmad (1997) has argued that
some of British colonial remains
deserved to be protected as heritage
buildings because they are tangible
evidence from the past, and possess
outstanding architectural values that
exist in this country. Interestingly,
buildings are not the only `footprints’
that the British left behind, but also
unique places they used called hill
stations.
According to records and old books,
there are four British colonial hill
stations in Malaya since the late
18th century (S. Robert Aiken, 1994;
Butcher, 1979; Crossette, 1999; Sim,
1946; Willis, 1936). The existence
of hill stations portrays human
intelligence in taking advantage of
the tropical landscape to soothe the
needs of the British in this country
(S. Robert Aiken, 1994; Crossette,
1999; Kenny, 1997; Spencer &
Thomas, 1948).
Thus, this paper was carried out
to explore one of four hill stations
from the perspective of its built
environment and historical value
in order to understand its concept.
Maxwell Hill, or locally known as
Bukit Larut, located in Taiping,
Perak, is one hill station that is not
rigorously studied compared to
others.
According to research conducted by
Zaini, Ali and Kayan (2017), it was
found that there are limited available
sources on Maxwell Hill’s historical
background and built environment
research. Hence, this study is
intended to be one of the starting
researches that explores Maxwell
Hill as a medium to avoid further
negligence on this unique landscape.
2. British Hill Stations
Hill stations are peculiar landscapes
located on hilltops, which were
created by the European; British
and Dutch, as well as the American
in their colonies, especially in the
Orient. British colonial hill stations
did not only exist in Malaya, but also
in British Raj (India) (Crossette, 1999;
Spencer & Thomas, 1948; Westlake,
1993). Hill stations were created in

32

the first place by the British as a way
to avoid the unpleasant hot weather
and environment as well as from the
reach of mosquitoes.
In addition, these colonists were
far from home. Based on the
government’s leave policy, the
British officers were not allowed to
return to England frequently. It was
documented that many of Europeans
suffered from tropical pressure that
affected their mental health (Butcher,
1979; H.T.Ross, 1937; Kennedy, 1996;
W.T.Wood, 1895).
Many of them retreated to higher
altitude as they found that it is
colder and brought comfort to their
health, while staying out of the reach
of mosquitos (Baker, 2014). A few
historical documents highlighted
hill stations were popular in 19th
century, where the stations bring to
memory the lifestyle they might have
led in their own country (S. Robert
Aiken, 1994; Crossette, 1999; Francis,
2015; Weebers & Idris, 2016).
In Malaysia, hill stations were
developed since the late 18th century
during the British era -- Penang Hill
(Bukit Bendera), Maxwell Hill (Bukit
Larut), Fraser’s Hill (Bukit Fraser)
Table 1: The geographical characteristics according to hill stations in Malaysia (Zaini, Ali & Kayan, 2017)
Maxwell’s
Geographical Penang Hill
Hill
Feature (Principal)
(Principal)
States/ Penang Perak
Territory Island
Summit’s 833 1,250
altitude (m)
Temperature 24.0–25.5 15–25
(°C)
Size (ha) 468 Approx. 690
Maxwell Hill: Exploring from Built Environment and Historical Perspectives
and Cameron Highlands (S. Robert
Aiken, 1987; S. Robert Aiken, 1994;
Crossette, 1999). According to Aiken
(1994), there were more hill stations
designed by British but were unable
to be developed due to specific
circumstances. He has categorised
hill stations in Malaysia into three
categories -- principal, minor and
planned.
Penang Hill, Maxwell Hill, Fraser’s Hill
and Cameron Highlands are principal
hill stations, Gunung Kledang in
Perak, Bukit Kutu in Selangor and
Gunung Angsi in Negeri Sembilan are
the minor hill stations, and Mount
Tahan in Pahang is the planned
(never developed) hill station
(S. Robert Aiken, 1994).
In 2017, an in-depth study hads been
conducted to understand the criteria
of sites selected by the British to be
developed as hill stations as shown
in Table 1. It was found that minor
hill stations were not developed due
to the geographical factor, where
they were not located high enough
to satisfy the needs of British people
(Zaini, Ali, & Kayan, 2017).
Mount Tahan in the other hand is
a planned hill station but did not
Hill stations
Fraser’s Cameron Gunung
Hill Highlands Kledang
(Principal) (Principal) (Minor)
Selangor Pahang Perak
and Pahang
852–1,460 1,070–1,830 808
2–23 17–20 Unknown
Approx. 71,220 Unknown
2,830
Vol.53 No.1 2018
materialise due to political conflicts,
where part of the hill was located
in Kelantan territory, which was not
a Federated Malay States (Butcher,
1979).
It is interesting to find that hill
stations in Malaysia were able to be
developed from a retreat landscape
into a social settlement, despite of its
mountainous characteristics, for the
British families and friends who were
similar in social status to mingle and
socialise, to play sports, hang out in
pubs, etc. These are proved by the
existence of Tudor bungalows, pubs
and hotels, and old sport facilities
such as tennis court, golf course
and lawns (S. Robert Aiken, 1994;
Crossette, 1999; Sim, 1946; Willis,
1936).
In India, the geographical
characteristics of British hill stations
played an important role in social
element of the British people as the
stations on the highest altitude were
for who were of higher social and
official elite, while the others were
socialising at the lower levels of the
hill (Herbert, 2011; Kennedy, 1996).
Although there are no literature
on the matter, the settlement
Bukit Gunung Gunung
Kutu Angsi Tahan
(Minor) (Minor) (Planned)
Selangor Negeri Pahang
Sembilan
923 825 2187
Unknown Unknown Unknown
Unknown Unknown Unknown
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organisation of Malaysian hill
stations could be similar to those in
India. Thus, this study is to explore
the settlement setting of hill station
by looking at Maxwell Hill.
2.1. Maxwell Hill, Taiping
Maxwell Hill is the second hill station
created in Malaya, but the first one
on the mainland, as Penang Hill was
located on an island (S. Robert Aiken,
1994; Crossette, 1999; Weebers
& Idris, 2016). It is located in the
northern state of Malaysia called
Perak and lies in the heritage town
of Taiping. Perfectly located as the
backdrop to Taiping, the Maxwell Hill
summit is at 1,250 metres above sea
level.
As mentioned earlier, there are
limited historical resources
on Maxwell Hill (see Section
3). However, the era of British
intervention in Taiping under
the Pangkor Treaty 1874 that
allowed Taiping to receive British
administration might be the starting
point of Maxwell Hill’s development.
The geographical characteristics
of this hill station provided an
opportunity to the British to overlook
tin mining activities at the lowlands.
Maxwell Hill emerged as hill station,
which not only served the English
officers in Taiping, but also for
the English who came to visit this
country as written in personal
journal by Sim (1946) titled “Malayan
Landscape”.
The most unique element that has
been existed on Maxwell Hill since
the colonialism era is the use of Land
Rovers as the mode of transport
from the lowland to the top. Prior to
that, ponies and sedan chairs were
the only mode of transportation
up the hill (Sim, 1946; Tourism
Malaysia, n.d). Hill stations created
and designated by the British in India
and Malaya were synonymous with
bungalows (Crossette, 1999; Gibby,
34
2017; Kennedy, 1996; Weebers &
Idris, 2016; Westlake, 1993).
Every literature on hill stations stated
English bungalows and gardens
were part of their developments.
There is an archived record in 1947
that highlighted the condition of 10
bungalows and the distance of each
bungalow from the foothills to the
hill top.
The 10 bungalows on Maxwell Hill
are: The Cottage, the first retreat
bungalow erected on the hill in
1884 (German, 1927) is nine miles
from the hill’s foot or 1,376 metres
above sea level, followed by The
Box, Hugh Low’s and Speedy’s
(also known as The Rest House)
bungalows which are eight miles
from the hill’s foot, Treacher’s, The
Hut, Superintendant’s, Watson’s and
Maxwell’s Bungalows were about
seven miles away, and finally two
Tea Gardens Bungalows which are
located at the lowest part of the hill,
about four miles from the hill’s foot
(Perak Secretary, 1947).
3. Methodology
To achieve its objective, this study
was carried out through in-depth
and systematic historical review on
British hill stations and particularly
on Bukit Larut as well as on-site
observation. Despite of conducting
technical approach similar to other
surveying studies, it is crucial for this
study to highlight the contribution of
holistic qualitative methodology to
the field of surveying studies.
3.1 Systematic Literature
Reviews
A systematic literature review was
undertaken to ensure in-depth
understanding on the historical
and built environment of Malaysian
hill stations and Maxwell Hill. The
literature review process was
conducted based on relevant criteria
from the Preferred Reporting Items
for Systematic Reviews and Meta-
Analyses (PRISMA) checklist as this
approach is able to ensure minimal
bias by the researcher in conducting
systematic literature review (Moher
et al., 2009).
3.1.1. Identification
This approach was started with
related articles searches based on
following article databases: Web of
Science and SCOPUS. The search
was conducted using keywords
related to hill stations, hill resort,
Maxwell Hill, Bukit Larut, Larut Hill
and Taiping Hill as shown in Table
2. Careful screening was then
conducted to ensure related articles
on historical and built environment
background on Maxwell Hill were
identified.
3.1.2. Screening
Several acceptation and rejection
criteria were determined. The journal
articles selected must have reviews
on the historical background and
built environment of Maxwell Hill
or Bukit Larut. However, only one
article on Maxwell Hill was found
on Web of Science and SCOPUS
but is not related to research on
built environment and historical
background. There are 66 articles
found in the ScienceDirect database
based on keywords and six articles
are related to hill stations in Malaysia.
All six articles pointed to
characteristics of hill stations but
none are related to Maxwell Hill.
Hence, this study was preceded
with in-depth literature review that
involved 10 old books and four
archival records that had background
literature on Maxwell Hill and British
hill stations in India and Malaysia.
3.2 On-Site Observation
On-site observation was conducted
in February 2017. On-site
 Maxwell Hill: Exploring from Built Environment and Historical Perspectives

Vol.53 No.1 2018

Table 2: Identification process on related literature according to selected databases

Average of
Types of crisis Perceived severity of crisis a

Web of Science TS=((“Maxwell* Hill” AND “Hill Station*” OR “Maxwell* Hill” AND “Hill Resort*” OR “Bukit Larut”
AND “Larut Hill” OR “Taiping Hill”)
SCOPUS 1. TITLE-ABS-KEY (“Maxwell* Hill” AND “Hill Station*” OR “Maxwell* Hill” AND “Hill Resort*” OR
“Bukit Larut” AND “Larut Hill” OR “Taiping Hill”)

2. TITLE-ABS-KEY (“Maxwell* Hill” AND “Hill Station*”)

ScienceDirect “Hill Stations’’ AND Malaysia

observation is a data collection observing and its context (Hussein & at 1,389 metres near Caufield Hill,
technique that is used in this study Daud, 2016). where the road ends there. Based
as it is self-exploratory where the on observations, Maxwell Hill is
observer looks, listens and records 4. Findings and uninhabited. Existing bungalows
the observable phenomena or are used as lodgings for tourists.
behaviour in its natural setting and
Discussion Bungalows and other buildings on
understand them (Golicnik, 2005; Figure 1 shows the topography map the hilltop were observed in their
Gorman & Clayton, 2005; Silverman, of Maxwell Hill. The map portrays current conditions, materials and
2006). the placement of settlement on the locations.
hill is between 900 metres and 1,243
As this research objectively There are 10 bungalows in Maxwell
metres above sea level. According
explores the built environment and Hill (Hasmi, 2017; Taiping Municipal
to Taiping Municipal Council (n.d),
historical perspectives of Bukit Larut Council, n.d). However, only six
The Cottage bungalow is located
according to the hill station concept,
the observation conducted were
looking at original bungalows and
the settlement setting on the hilltop
in term of their current condition,
materials and location. This study
can be considered as a starting
point for further exploration. Thus,
observation technique is considered
suitable method as highlighted by
Golicnik and Thompson (2010),
where observation is a tool towards
gaining deeper knowledge about
the site; and that it can serve as an
orientation and a starting point for
further research (Hussein & Daud,
2016).

It is important to select observation

technique as it has specific ways
in which researcher observes and
records (Simpson & Tuson, 1995).
Figure 1: Topography map that shows summit of Maxwell’s Hill (Not to scale).
This is including through the kind
(Map Courtesy: Department of Surveying and Mapping, 2013)
of occurrence of research will be

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bungalows can be reached by the

Land Rover. It is also unfortunate
that the oldest bungalow, The
Cottage is not accessible by Land
Rover and is a restricted area for the
visitors as it is currently belongs to
Telekom Malaysia.

On observation day, all reachable

bungalows are inaccessible as
one functioning bungalow was
rented by tourists, while the rest
were closed, abandoned and in a
state of deterioration. Based on the
document record, The Cottage was
constructed using granite stones
and portrayed English architectural

Figure 2: The Hut presently known as Cendana.

Figure 3: Federal/Superintendent’s bungalow presently Figure 5: Watson’s bungalow presently known as Beringin.
known as Angkasa.

Figure 4: Unknown bungalow which presently known as

Permai View Bungalow.

Source: Author, 2017

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Vol.53 No.1 2018

value (Taiping Municipal Council,

n.d). However, the observation
conducted found all other reachable
bungalows were constructed from
timber instead of granite stones,
although many of the bungalows
were erected in the same time frame
similar time interval.

Without a clear historical

background, limited granite stones
or labour could be the most logical
reasons on the use of different
materials. Based on-site observation,
it has been found that there is no
specific settlement setting on the
Figure 7: One of he abandoned bungalow and left deteriorate in Maxwell’s Hill. hill as all bungalows and additional
buildings are scattered, except that
most of the bungalows are located
at ridges of the hill.

This is a significant finding as every

location of reachable bungalow
offers majestic views of the
horizon and provides clear views
of Taiping town at the lowland.
English bungalows in hill station
are purposely erected on the ridges
as to reflect the social status of its
occupants (Herbert, 2011; Kennedy,
1996). It is crucial to highlight this, as
it illustrates the key characteristic of
social status on Maxwell Hill, which
similar to the hill stations in India.
Figure 8: This playground was a former site for tennis and lawn sports during
British colonialism era. 5. Conclusion
In conclusion, this study has
explored on the setting of
Maxwell Hill particularly from built
environment perspective based on
in-depth historical literature review
and on-site observation. Although
it was found that Maxwell Hill is
no longer inhabited, and some
bungalows are left abandoned,
the tangible remnants of this hill
station portray a unique and foreign
cultural landscape existed in this
country which illustrate an intelligent
interaction between human and their
environment.

Figure 9: Clear view of town of Taiping from the top of Maxwell’s Hill.

37
PEER
PEER REVIEW
REVIEW
The Malaysian Surveyor
This paper has also presented the
condition, materials and location
of bungalows in Maxwell Hill on
a surface level as well as the
characteristics of the settlement
which aligned with the concept
of British hill stations. Despite
of being overlooked as a unique
cultural landscape, more studies are
expected to be conducted on built
environment of not only Maxwell Hill,
but other hill stations in Malaysia.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge
the financial support of PG111-
2015B, a Postgraduate Research
Grant established at Universiti
Malaya
References
Ahmad, A. G. (1993). Conservation of
British Colonial Buildings Built Between
1800 and 1930 in Malaysia. (Doctor
of Philosophy), University of Sheffield,
University of Sheffield.
Ahmad, A. G. (1997). British Colonial
Architecture in Malaysia 1800-1930.
Kuala Lumpur: Museums Association
of Malaysia.
Aiken, S. R. (1987). Early Penang Hill
Station. Geographical Review, 77(4),
421-438.
Aiken, S. R. (1994). Imperial Belvederes:
The Hill Stations of Malaya. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Baker, J. C. T. (2014). Mobility,
tropicality and landscape: the
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 1881-
1939. Journal of Historical Geograophy,
44, 133-144.
Butcher, J. G. (1979). The British in
Malaya 1880-1941. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
38
Crossette, B. (1999). The Great Hill
Stations of Asia. New York: Basic
Books.
Francis, R. (2015). Penang Hill
Furnicular Railway: Remembering an
Engineering Feat 1923-2010. Penang:
Areca Books.
German, R. L. (1927). Handbook to
British Malaya. London: Malay States
information agency.
Gibby, M. (2017). Penang Hill: A
Journey Through Time. Penang:
Entrepot Publishing Sdn Bhd.
H.T.Ross. (1937, 4th August 1937).
Official Memorandum. [Memorandum
on clerk in the Government Printing
Department of FMS to get a treatment
health in hill station]. Official
Memorandum, (F.S 3166/37). Arkib
Negara Malaysia.
Hasmi. (2017). History of Maxwell’s
Hill. In S. F. Zaini (Ed.).
Herbert, E. W. (2011). Flora’s Empire:
British Gardens in India. London:
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Hussein, H., & Daud, M. N. (2016). An
Observation Method For Qualitative
Data Gathering Qualitative Research
Tools and Techniques. USA: Farwood
Publishing.
Kennedy, D. (1996). The Magic
Moutains (Vol. 1). Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Kenny, J. T. (1997). Claiming the high
ground: theories of imperial authority
and the British hill stations in India.
Political Geography, 16(8), 655-673.
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J.,
Altman, D., & The PRISMA Group.
(2009). Preferred Reporting Items
for Systematic Reviews and Meta-
Analyses: The PRISMA Statement.
PLos Med, 6(7). doi: https://doi.
org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Perak Secretary. (1947). Maxwell’s
Hill, Taiping - Draft Rules Governing
the Occupation of Bungalows.
(1957/0304668). Arkib Negara
Malaysia.
Sim, K. (1946). Malayan Landscape.
London: Micheal Joseph LTD.
Spencer, J. E., & Thomas, W. L. (1948).
The Hill Stations and Summer Resorts
of the Orient. Geographical Review,
38(4), 637-651.
Taiping Municipal Council. (n.d). Bukit
Larut Hill Resort. Taiping: Taiping
Municipal Council.
Tourism Malaysia. (n.d). Cool Highland
Resort. Arkib Negara Malaysia.
W.T.Wood. (1895). Application from
Mr.W.T.Wood, Chief Draftman for
eleven days leave to enable him to
proceed to Penang Hill for the benefits
of his health. (1957/0056605). Arkib
Negara Malaysia.
Weebers, R., & Idris, H. (2016). British
Hill Stations in South Asia and
Mainland South East Asia: British India,
Ceylon, Burma and British Malaya:
A Comparative Study. Journal od
Southeast Asian Studies, 21, 174-189.
Westlake, G. D. (1993). An Introduction
To The Hill Stations Of India India:
Indus.
Willis, A. C. (1936). Willis’s Singapore
guide: with descriptive of interest
to tourists on Malaya. Singapore:
Advertising and Publicity Bureu Ltd.
Zaini, S. F., Ali, Z. M., & Kayan, B. A.
(2017). Site Selection Criteria for British
Colonial Hill Stations in Malaya. Paper
presented at the 2nd International
Symposium of Nusantara Cultural
Heritage, University of Bung Hatta,
Indonesia.
 RISM NEWS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

Memorandum of Delegates from Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators (MIArb)

made a visit to RISM on 11 January 2018 attended by

Understanding
the President and some Council Members.

The purpose of the visit was to discuss issues pertaining

(MoU) between to diversifying membership between both institutions as

well as to promote events to the members.

RISM and MIArb had expressed interest to sign Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with RISM to facilitate the above.

Malaysian
As such, the signing ceremony between RISM and
MIArb had taken place on 8 March 2018 at Hilton Hotel,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Institute of This signing ceremony was held during the National

Arbitrators
Real Estate Convention (NREC) that was at the same
venue. The purpose of signing the Memorandum is to
have common understanding to build a long term co-

(MIArb) operative relationship and collaboration between the two

bodies. The ceremony was attended by the QS Division
Chairman, Sr Ahmad Suhaimi Abdul Majid, President of
MIArb, Sudharsanan Thillainathan and President of RISM
Dato’ Sr Lau Wai Seang and the signing was witnessed
by Verghese Aaron Mathews (Hon. Treasurer of MIArb)
and Sr Lim Choon Yong (Hon. Secretary Gen. of RISM).

39
RISM NEWS
The Malaysian Surveyor
CABE Presidential Visit to RISM
The CABE Delegation comprising the President, David
Taylor and CEO, Dr. John Hooper arrived at the RISM
office with the Chairman of CABE Malaysia Chapter Sr
Isacc Sunder Rajan who is also the Committee member
of the BS Division of RISM at 10am on 18 January 2018.
The CABE delegation was warmly greeted by the Deputy
President of RISM, Sr Mohamad Azmi Mohd Zin, Vice
President of RISM (BS Division) Sr Hj. Mohd Amin, Hon.
Secretary General of RISM Sr Lim Choon Yong, Past
Chairman of CABE Malaysia Chapter, Sr Dr Ahmad
Ramly, BS Committee Member, Sr Mohd Dali Mohd Alias,
Chief Operating Officer, Katherine Thiang and Librarian/
IT Officer, Zarinah Dainal on the second floor
of Bangunan Juruukur, Petaling Jaya.
After the brief introduction and informal breakfast,
RISM called the meeting to order. Both RISM and
CABE had video presentations of their institutions,
40
briefly introduced their historical presence in the UK
and Malaysia. RISM and CABE then discussed future
collaboration between the two bodies in the areas
of training, joint CPD talks and CABE’s interest to
participate in the upcoming International Surveyors
Conference (ISC).
There were also discussions on joint RISM and CABE
training in areas of Building Control, Sustainability, Party
Wall Surveys and BREEAM Building Certification.
The visit ended at about 11.30am on a positive note with
RISM and CABE agreeing in principle to collaborate in
trainings and conference participation.
A group photograph was taken for remembrance and
RISM and CABE agreed to meeting again next year to
keep track on the progress between the Institutions.
 RISM NEWS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

Blood Donation Campaign 2018

JUPEM and RISM’s Sport and
Social Committee in collaboration
with the National Blood Centre had
successfully organised a Blood
Donation Campaign at Dewan
Ukur, JUPEM, Kuala Lumpur on 22
January 2018. The programme was
officiated by Dato’ Sr Mohd Noor
Isa, Director General, Department of
Survey and Mapping Malaysia.

A total of 91 donors comprised

JUPEM staff, RISM members and
ATM officers took part.

41
RISM NEWS
The Malaysian Surveyor

RISM Inter-
Firms Bowling
Tournament 2018
RISM Inter-Firms Bowling Tournament 2018 was held on
20 January 2018 with the participation of 30 firms. The
Champion of this event was UiTM Perlis, Team STORM.

27th National Real Estate Convention

This yearly event was successfully organised by Property
Surveying Division with the theme “Real Estate Trends:
2018 and Beyond” on 8 March 2018 at Hilton Hotel,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The organising committee
managed to invite local and international speakers
and panelists experts of their respective fields. The
event received coverage by a number of a organisation
and from the feedback gathered, the participants
gave positive responses and encouragement towards
continuing this event in the future.

42
 PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Vol.53 No.1 2018

Happiness is not a goal;

it is a by-product.
Eleanor Roosevelt

43
BOOK REVIEW
January – March 2018
Isu-Isu Perundangan
Berkaitan Kontrak Binaan
Author: Amran Mohd Majid
Publisher: Dewan Bahasa Pustaka
ISBN No: 978-983-49-0174-5
Synopsis
The Legal Issues on Building Contract Related
Legislation have been written by Sr Amran Mohd Majid.
There are nine chapters in this 614-page book. This book
was published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in
2017.
Contract management is a work process that begins
from the beginning of the project until the completion
ie the final accounts and final certificate. From that
point on, various issues or issues will arise between
contracting parties ie employers, consultants and
contractors. These issues are sometimes a dispute
between the contracting parties and are likely to be
brought to the legislative stage for a claim of justice after
failure to settle or get a decision from the Superintending
Officer (SO).
Thus, numerous issues may arise during the
implementation of the contract and that can be brought
to legal or litigation levels by the aggrieved party to
demand justice. In order to enhance the understanding
of readers and to guide them in understanding the
issues, the author has drawn them in nine main chapters
namely:
(a) Employers’ Obligation,
(b) Contractor’s Obligation,
(c) Consultant’s Obligation,
(d) Form of Contract,
(e) Estimates,
(f) Final Accounts and Certificate,
44
(g) Variation Orders,
(h) Extension of Time and
(i) Determination.
Each chapter discusses the current issues that often
occur during the project and have been a dispute
between two parties, such as Extension of Time,
Variation Orders, Interim Payments and Determination
of Contract. These issues have been well-crafted by the
author in a simple language and supported by facts,
relevant acts within the construction industry such
as the Contracts Act 1950, the Construction Industry
Adjudication and Payment Act 2012 (CIPAA) and
complemented by examples of court cases decided in
court to enhance understanding of readers.
Before discussing common issues such as Extension
of Time, Variation Orders, Payments and Determination
of Contracts, the author has written on the roles and
responsibilities that the employers, consultants and
contractors need to know from the legal perspective
so that they have the knowledge of the rights and
the obligation to be observed during the duration
of the contract. Failure to understand the roles and
responsibilities will affect the course of the project.
This book is highly recommended for reading and self-
referencing as simple language style is adopted and
assisted by examples of court cases to help readers
understand each issue discussed.
Prepared by,
Norazilan Mazahar
Provisional QS 2013/PVQS04165
 ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS - FORM 1 7- Educational, Cultural and Scientific

Building
A - 2 - 915
Job Title : Bangunan Makmal dan Pejabat Client : Goverment
Location : Tender Date : July 2009
INFORMATION ON TOTAL PROJECT
Project And Contract Information
Project Details And Site Conditions : Contract : PWD 203A Rev. 10/83
Construction and completion of Double Storey Lab and Administrative
Building located at flat area.
Market Conditions : Competitive
Contract Particulars : Cost Fluctuation : Yes / No Competitive Tender List
Type Of Contract: PWD 203A Rev. 10/83 Goverment x Rm Int/Jv/L
Basis Of Tender: Private 1,685,720.60 L
Bills Of Quantities Open/Selected 1,636,570.73 L
x x
Competition Private 1,630,000.00 L
1,622,014.16 L
Bills Of Approx. Quantities Negotiated 1,365,623.20 L
Schedule Of Rates/ Serial 1,334,576.00 L
Spec & Drawings 1,134,161.50 L
Provisional Sum Rm 105,000.00 1,088,071.30 L
Contract Period Stip. By Client : 40 Weeks Prime Cost Sum Rm -
Contract Period Offered By Builders : 40 Weeks Preliminaries Rm 89,800.00
Number Of Tenders Issued : 10 Contingencies Rm -
Number Of Tenders Received : 8 Contract Sum Rm 1,630,000.00
ANALYSIS OF SINGLE BUILDING
Design/Shape Information
Accommodation and Design Features :
Construction and completion of Double Storey Lab and Administrative Building comprising of lab, research area, chemical room, distillation,
instruments, preparation area, wet preparation area, freezer, chiller, grinder, dry store, wet store, bilik sembahyang, toilets, administrative office,
meeting room, utility, resource libarary and lounge, research officer room, research assistant officer area, joint facilities area, pantry,
discussion room and filing room.
Functional Unit : 659 m2 of Useable Area Design/Shape:
Areas : Percentage of Gross Floor Area
Lower Ground Floor - m2
Ground Floor 524 m2 a) Below Ground Floor %
Upper Floor 391 m2 External Wall Area = 893
GROSS FLOOR AREA 915 m2 Gross Floor Area = 915
Usable Area b) Single-storey %
GROSS FLOOR AREA 659 m2 = 0.976
Circulation Area 103 m2 c) 2-Storey 100%
Ancillary Area 118 m2
Internal Division 35 m2 Storey Heights d) 5-Storey %
GROSS FLOOR AREA 915 m2
Av. Below Grd Floor 0.00 m
Floor Space NOT Enclosed : - m2 At Ground Floor 3.60 m
Above Ground Floor 3.15 m
Roof Area : 696 m2
(Metal deck and roofs slab)
Brief Cost Information
Contract Sum RM 1,630,000.00 Functional Unit Cost Tender RM2,374.86/m2 of Useable Area
Provisional Sum RM 105,000.00 - (Excluding external works)
Prime Cost Sum RM -
Preliminaries RM 89,800.00 being 5.83% of remainder
Contingencies RM - being - Contract Sum

Contract Sum
Less Contingencies RM 1,630,000.00

45
ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS
January – March 2018

ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS - FORM 2 7- Educational, Cultural and Scientific

Buildings
A - 2 - 915

SUMMARY OF ELEMENTAL COSTS

‘Gross Floor Area: 915 m2 Tender Date :July 2009
Preliminaries Shown Separately
Element Total Cost Cost per Element Elemental Element Reinforced Reinforcement Formwork
Of Element m2 GFA Unit Unit Rate Ratio Concrete
RM RM Quantity RM per m2 GFA m3 kg m2
1 Substructure
1A Piling 121,260.00 132.52 1728 m2 70.17 1.888 -
1B Work Below Lowest 181,084.60 197.91 523 m2 346.24 0.572 202 35,743 938
Floor Finish
Group Elemental Total 302,344.60 330.43 202 35,743 938
2 Superstructure
2A Frame 114,372.25 125.00 915 m2 125.00 1.000 105 30,400 856
2B Upper Floors 41,486.65 45.34 391 m2 106.10 0.427 33 3,596 292
2C Roof 136,459.00 149.14 696 m2 196.06 0.761 50 5,474 338
2D Stairs 10,603.50 11.59 - - - 7 561 58
2E Externall Walls 36,884.00 40.31 693 m2 53.22 0.757 - - -
2F Windows & External 60,260.00 65.86 200 m2 301.30 0.219 - - -
Doors
2G Internal Walls & 30,459.00 33.29 389m2 78.30 0.425 - - -
Partitions
2H Internal Doors 34,828.00 38.06 122 m2 286.09 0.133 - - -
Group Element Total 465,352.40 508.59 188 39,470 1,486
3 Finishes
3A Internal Wall Finishes 70,026.00 76.53 2,050 m2 34.16 2.240
3B Internal Floor Finishes 75,066.00 82.04 865 m2 86.78 0.945
3C Internal Ceiling Finishes 42,187.00 46.11 1032 m2 44.27 0.945
3D External Finishes 50,371.00 55.05 49 m2 1,027.98 0.054
Group Element Total 237,650.00 259.73
4 Fittings & Furnishings 105,000.00 114.75 -
5 Services P.C.Sums Tendered
Allowed Sum
5A Sanitary Appliances 7,280.00 7.96
5B Plumbing Installation 103,433.00 113.04
5C Refuse Disposal - -
5D Air Conditioning & 85,846.00 93.82
Ventilation System
5E Electrical Installation 151,944.00 166.06
5F Fire Protection 4,885.00 5.34
Installation
5G Lift & Conveyor - -
Installation
5H Communication - -
Installation
5J Special Installation 11,500.00 12.57
5K Builder’s Profit & - -
Attendance on Services
5L Builder’s Work In - -
Connection with Services
Group Element Total 364,888.00 398.79 - -
Sub-total exc. External Works, 1,475,235.00 1,612.29
Preliminaries & Contingencies
6 External Works
6A Site Work 50,715.00 55.43
6B Drainage 12,580.00 13.75
6C External Services 1,670.00 1.83
6D Ancillary Buildings - -
6E Recreational Facilities - - - -
Group Elemental Total 64,965.00 71.01
Preliminaries 89,800.00 98.14
TOTAL (less Contingencies) 1,630,000.00 1,781.42

46
 ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS - FORM 3 7- Educational, Cultural and Scientific

Buildings
A - 2 - 915

BRIEF SPECIFICATION
‘Gross Floor Area: 915 m2 Tender Date :July 2009
Element Specification
1 Substructure
1A Piling 150mm x 150mm precast reinforced concrete Grade 45
1B Work Below Lowest Floor Fnish Reinforced concrete pile caps, column stumps, ground floor beams, ground floor slab,
apron slab, bar reinforcement, formwork, anti-termite soil treatment and 230mm diameter
half round glazed drain
2 Superstructure
2A Frame Reinforced concrete columns, suspended floor beams and roof beams, bar reinforcement,
formwork and 150mm diameter round steel columns
2B Upper Floors Reinforced concrete suspended floor slab, bar reinforcement and formwork
2C Roof 'Reinforced concrete flat roof, bar reinforcement, formwork, waterproofing membrane,
colorbond metal sheet roof covering, aluminium fascia board, UPVCgalvanised iron rainwater
downpipe, UPVC gutter, aluminium flashing, galvanised iron spout pipes and steel roof
trusses system
2D Stairs Reinforced concrete staircase, homogenous tiles to landing slab, tread and skirting and
900mm high painted mild steel railing to staircase
2E External Walls Generally, 300mm, 230mm and 150mm thick brickwall in cement and sand bricks bedded
and jointed in cement mortar (1:3) reinforced with and including Exmet reinforcement at
every fourth course and 1500mm high aluminium louvres
2F Windows & External Doors Aluminium framed fixed glass, casement and top hung windows with 6mm thick clear glass
panel, 'Zincalum' aluminium door frame, timber flush doors, mild steel grille doors, sliding
glass doors and mild steel roller shutter
2G Internal Wall & Partitions Generally, 150mm thick brickwall in cemend and sand bricks bedded and jointed in cement
mortar (1:3) reinforced with and including Exmet reinforcement at every fourth course and
75mm thick gypsum board partition
2H Internal Doors ''Zincalum' aluminium door frame, aluminium framed glass door glazed with 8mm thick clear
glass panel, timber flush doors and one-hour fire rated doors
3 Finishes
3A Internal Wall Finishes Generally, cement and sand (1:6) with plasticiser, emulsion and epoxy paint and approved
ceramic tiles
3B Internal Floor Finishes Generally, cement and sand (1:3) screeding, cementitious waterproofing Sika Top Seal 107,
screeding trowelled hard, epoxy paint and approved homogenous tiles
3C Internal Ceiling Finishes Generally, 4mm thick cement based skim coat plaster system, 3.2mm thick mineral fibre
board ceiling and painting
3D External Finishes Generally, cement and sand (1:6) with plasticiser and painting to walls, screeding trowelled
hard, approved homogenous floor tiles, approved loose granite, 500mm x 500mm concrete
slab, 4mm thick cement based skim coat plaster system, powder coated aluminium strip
boarding and painting

4 Fittings & Furnishings Lab furnitures

47
ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS
January – March 2018

ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS - FORM 3-Cont’d 7- Educational, Cultural and Scientific

Buildings
A - 2 - 915

BRIEF SPECIFICATION
‘Gross Floor Area: 915 m2 Tender Date :July 2009
Element Specification
5 Services
5A Sanitary Appliances ''Johnson Suisse' vitreous china low level washdown water closet, lab sink, pillar tap,
semi-recessed toilet roll holder, semi-recessed vitreous china soap holder, 13mm diameter
stop cock and mirror with plywood backing
5B Plumbing Installation Soil, waste and vent pipes for sanitary plumbing services and cold water services
5C Refuse Disposal NIL
5D Air Conditioning & Ventilation System Direcet Expansion Air Cooled Split Units System including outdoor condensing unit and indoor
direct expansion fan coil units, exhaust fan, refrigerant copper piping, uPVC condensate drain
pipe, cabling and wiring works
5E Electrical Installation Low voltage installation, external and internal telecommunications installation, networking
empty trunking installation and relocation existing services
5F Fire Protection Installation Hose Reel System, Dry Riser System, Fixed CO2 System, Fire Alarm System and Fire
Extinguishers
5G Lift & Conveyor Installation NIL
5H Communication Installation NIL
5J Special Installation Gas piping installation
5K Builder’s Profit & Attendance on Services NIL
5L Builder’s Work In Connection With Services NIL
6 External Works
6A Site Work Site Clearance and Earthworks, Roads and Hardstanding, Turfing Works and Fencing Works
6B Drainage 750mm Diameter precast reinforced concrete pipre culvert (Grade Y), 1050mm x 900mm
brick sump, 225mm Diameter vitrified clay pipes, connection to existing manhole and testing
6C External Services 150mm Diameter approved cast iron double outlet pillar hydrant, duck foot bend, 100mm
diameter sluice valve rated 16 bar (flange end), precast concrete valve indicator posts, mass
concrete thrust block, anchor block, pillar hydrant chamber, sluice valve marker post and
connection to existing pipe
6D Ancillary Buildings NIL
6E Recreational Facilities NIL

48
 ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

CALCULATION OF GROSS FLOOR AREA (GFA)

‘Gross Floor Area: 915 m2
Item Description Lenght Width T/S Area Usable Circulation Ancillary Int. Division
L W LXW m2 m2 m2 m2
1 GROUND FLOOR
(a) Usable
1 Grinding 3.600 3.175 1.00 70.17 11.43 11.43
2 Chiller 3.025 3.000 1.00 9.08 9.08
3 Freezer 3.025 3.000 1.00 9.08 9.08
4 Loading Area 5.000 3.175 1.00 15.88 15.88
Loading Area 5.5500 6.000 1.00 33.30 33.30
5 Omission of Encassed RWDP 0.900 0.650 -1.00 -0.59 -0.59
Omission of Encassed RWDP 0.625 0.650 -1.00 -0.41 -0.41
Omission of Wet Preparation 1.955 0.600 -1.00 -1.17 -1.17
6 Wet Preparation 1.955 6.000 1.00 8.34 8.34
Wet Preparation 6.175 1,350 1.00 32.03 32.03
Wet Preparation 4.625 6.925 1.00 32.03 32.03
Wet Preparation 3.575 4.000 1.00 14.30 14.30
7 Preparation Area 0.750 2.650 1.00 1.99 1.99
Preparation Area 2.600 4.000 1.00 10.40 10.40
8 Instruments Room 4.400 3.800 1.00 16.72 16.72
9 Distillation Room 6.175 2.900 1.00 17.91 17.91
10 Chemical Room 2.400 2.900 1.00 6.96 6.96
11 Bilik Sembahyang Lelaki 3.075 4.125 1.00 12.68 12.68
12 Bilik Sembahyang Perempuan 3.525 4.125 1.00 14.54 14.54
13 Switch Room 2.695 1.400 1.00 3.77 3.77
14 Pentadbiran 4.250 4.125 1.00 17.53 17.53
Pentadbiran 1.450 2.500 1.00 2.36 2.36
15 Bilik Fail 1.450 2.500 1.00 3.63 3.63
16 Lab 1 8.525 8.300 1.00 70.76 70.76
Lab 1 1.975 2.950 2.00 11.65 11.65
17 Wash Area 1.975 2.400 1.00 4.74 4.74
18 Lab 2 11.125 8.300 1.0 92.34 92.34
19 Omission of Encassed RWDP 0.350 0.600 -4.00 -0.84 -0.84
Omission of Encassed RWDP 0.700 0.600 -2.00 -0.84 -0.84
(b) Circulation
1 Staircase 1 2.525 5.400 1.00 13.64 13.64
2 Staircase 2 3.800 1.175 1.00 4.47 4.47
Staircase 2 1.605 1.400 1.00 2.25 2.25
3 Corridor 2.800 1.275 1.00 1.96 1.96
Corridor 1.400 1.400 1.00 1.96 1.96
Corridor 2.000 1.175 1.00 2.35 2.35
(c) Ancillary
1 Encassed RWDP 0.900 0.650 1.00 0.59 0.59
Encassed RWDP 0.625 0.650 1.00 0.41 0.41
2 Wet Store 6.600 2.550 1.00 16.83 16.83
3 Dry Store 6.600 2.500 1.00 16.50 16.50
4 Male Toilet 3.500 1.200 1.00 4.20 4.20
5 Female Toilet 2.900 1.275 1.00 3.70 3.70
Female Toilet 2.300 1.200 1.00 2.76 2.76
6 Encassed RWDP 0.350 0.600 4.00 0.84 0.84
Encassed RWDP 0.700 1.100 2.00 1.54 1.54
(d) Internal Division
1 150mm Thick Brickwall 129.550 0.150 1.00 19.43 19.43
Sub-Total Ground Floor 348.91 75.24 80.71 19.43
Sub-Total Ground Floor - Say; 349.00 75.00 81.00 19.00

49
ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS
January – March 2018

CALCULATION OF GROSS FLOOR AREA (GFA)-Cont’d

‘Gross Floor Area: 915 m2
Item Description Lenght Width T/S Area Usable Circulation Ancillary Int. Division
L W LXW m2 m2 m2 m2
2 FIRST FLOOR
(a) Usable
1 Bilik Mesyuarat 6.525 3.350 1.00 21.86 21.86 11.43
2 Research File 2 2.525 3.500 1.00 8.84 8.84 9.08
3 Research Library & Lounge 2.525 8.025 1.00 20.26 20.26 9.08
4 Research Officer Room 2.400 3.075 5.00 36.90 36.90 15.88
Research Officer Room 2.400 8.075 1.00 36.90 36.90 33.30
5 Research Assistant Officer 3.650 3.075 5.00 56.12 56.12 -0.59
Research Assistant Officer 3.650 3.075 5.00 56.12 56.12 -0.41
6 Joint Facilities Area 4.175 6.075 1.00 18.07 18.07
7 Computer Server 3.525 2.500 1.00 10.44 10.44
Preparation Area 2.600 2.500 1.00 8.81 8.81
8 Research File 1 4.150 8.575 1.00 35.59 35.59
9 Bilik Perbincangan
(b) Circulation
1 Staircase 1 2.525 5.410 1.00 13.66 13.66
2 Staircase 2 5.700 2.500 1.00 14.25 14.25
(c) Ancillary
1 Utility 2.050 3.350 1.00 6.87 6.87
Utility 2.525 1.950 1.00 4.92 4.92
2 Female Toilet 2.525 2.575 1.00 6.50 6.50
3 Male Toilet 2.525 2.500 1.00 6.31 6.31
4 Air-Cond Area 2.525 2.500 1.00 6.31 6.31
5 Pantry 2.400 2.500 1.00 6.00 6.00
(d) Internal Division
1 150mm Thick Brickwall 84.360 0.150 1.00 12.65 12.65
75mm Thick Gypsum Board 49.950 0.075 1.00 3.75 3.75
Partition
Sub-Total First Floor 309.91 27.91 36.92 16.40
Sub-Total First Floor - Say; 310.00 28.00 37.00 16.00
Ground Floor 349.00 75.00 81.00 19.00
First Floor 310.00 28.00 37.00 16.00
Total 659.00 103.00 118.00 35.00
External Wall Area
i External Wall 693.00 1.00 693.00
ii External Doors 49.00 1.00 49.00
iii External Windows 151.00 1.00 151.00
Total 893.00

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 ELEMENTAL COST ANALYSIS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

External Doors
Description No L W Area
RS1 1 3.45 2.40 8.28
RS2 1 1.20 2.40 2.88
D1 4 1.20 2.40 11.52
D2 5 0.90 2.40 10.80
D4 2 0.75 2.40 3.60
D5 1 2.60 2.40 6.24
D12 1 1.20 2.40 2.88
D13 1 1.20 1.50 1.80
D14 1 0.75 1.50 1.13
Total 659.00 49.13
Internal Doors

D1 6 1.20 2.40 17.28

D2 11 0.90 2.40 23.76
D7 6 0.75 2.40 10.80
D8 3 4.65 2.40 33.48
D9 10 0.88 2.40 21.00
D10 1 1.73 2.40 4.14
D11 1 2.00 2.40 4.80
FD1 3 0.90 2.40 6.48
Total 121.74
Windows

W1 1 6.95 3.00 20.85

W2 3 6.40 1.50 28.80
W3 2 1.05 0.70 1.47
W4 3 0.85 2.25 5.74
W5 1 1.20 1.50 1.80
W6 1 4.85 1.50 7.28
W7 1 3.65 1.50 5.48
W8 3 0.60 0.60 1.08
W9 1 5.30 2.25 11.93
W10 3 0.50 3.18 4.76
W11 7 2.85 1.50 29.87
W12 2 2.74 1.50 8.21
W13 1 7.23 2.25 16.26
W14 5 2.40 0.60 7.20
W15 1 1.20 0.60 0.72
Total 151.43

Treated Air Conditioning Coverage (Tm3)

Description Area Height (Tm3)
1 Ground Floor 277.75 3.60 999.90
2 First Floor 274.18 3.15 863.68
3 Total - - 1,863.57

51
LIST OF NEW MEMBERS
January – March 2018

QUANTITY SURVEYING
Fellow
Sr Dr. Norsiah Mohamad
UiTM Shah Alam
Sr Mohammad Fadhil Bin Mohammad
UiTM Shah Alam
Sr Syed Abdul Haris Syed Mustapa
University Teknologi MARA, Perak
Sr Richard Ooi Hoo Ong
Northcroft Lim Perunding Sdn Bhd
Sr Hoo Kim See
IJM Land Management Services
Member
Sr Anisha Shazwani Bt Ahmad Anuar
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
Sr Hafizah Binti Haron
CKUB, JKR
Sr Hasanulfadlie Bin Che Md Ariffin
Design Cost Consultants
Sr Mohd Rizal Bin Salleh
Perunding DMA Sdn Bhd
Sr Nasafian Bin Mohd Shariff
AR Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Sr Nik Noor Diana Bt Mohd Noor
JKR Malaysia
Sr Nor Hasiah Binti Ibrahim
Caw. Kerja Keselamatan JKR
Sr Nor Hasni Binti Muhd Supian
JKR Malaysia
Sr Pham Keeng Chek
PUBM Quanity Surveyors Brunei
Sr Samian Bin Johari
CKUB, JKR
Sr Shakirah Binti Md. Zainuddin
Bhg. Kesihatan CKUB, JKR
Sr Syahir Azfar Bin Mohd Noor
JKR Malaysia
Sr Wong Su Lee
GLM Propercy Services
Sr Zulkipeli Bin Yamat
JKR Malaysia
Sr Mohd Khairul A’mri Bin Mohd Salleh
Irama Duta Sdn Bhd
Sr Sumie Saryanti Binti Abd Suki
Aziz, Azizi & Partners Sdn Bhd
Sr Syuibah Binti Mohamad
Irama Duta Sdn Bhd
Sr Airul Faizal Bin Othman
Caw Kerja Bgn Am, JKR Malaysia
Sr Azizah Binti Md Hussin
Jabatan Perdana Menteri
Sr Che Mohd Abdillah Bin Abdullah
ACQS
Sr Elaine Wong Siew Chyn
Ashghal (Qatar)
Sr Gan Hock Leong
Imperia Institute of Technology
Sr Halimatun Sa’diah Binti Othman
JKR Terengganu
Sr Ooi Poh Siang
AS Gemilang Enteprise Sdn Bhd
Sr Mohd Arif Bin Muda
Perunding Arif QS
Sr Ong Chen Cheak
Perunding AT Sdn Bhd
Sr Ridzuan Bin Mohamed Radzi
Pej. Pembangunan Persekutuan Neg. Perak
Sr Rosiyawati Binti Mostar
JKR Malaysia
Sr Siti Atasah Binti Johari
Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd
Sr Suhairi Bin Ngah
Universiti Malaysia Pahang
Sr Wan Huzaimi Bin Wan Abdullah
Kem. Kesihatan Malaysia
Sr Woo Kah Kheong
DL QS Consult
Sr Zilawati Binti Yaakub
Sime Darby Property Berhad
Associate Member
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed
Kamarudin
University College of Technology Sarawak
Eloisa Jorge Fulla
Vinci Construction Grands Projects
Manibo Danilo Bueno
Vinci Construction Grands Projects
Leo Malicay Moncada
Vinci Construction Grands Projects
Graduate
Abul-Hai Bin Mohd Fadzullah
PI Brilliant Berhad
Afif Bin Shapiai
KAS Juruukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Ahmad Syahmi Bin Ahmad Said
Politeknik Kota Bahru
Ahmad Taha Sabri Bin Mhd Tajuddin
ARH Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Cho Kin Yew
WT Partnership
Goon Carry
GKG Konsultant Kos
Kamaruddin Bin Che Abas
QS Associates
Karmiza Binti Ab Kadir
ARH Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Lee Sui Sheng
JUB Padu
Mohamad Azizi Bin Razali
CIC-QS Services Sdn Bhd
Natalie Wong Yoong Vern
CSL QS Consult
Noorhayati Bt Mohd Noh
ARH Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Nurul Najia Binti Mohd Nasir
ARH Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Pua Zhi Xun
Yong Dan Mohamad Faiz Sdn Bhd
Ross Saliha Safura Binti Hamzah
Politeknik Kota Bahru
Sara Ruhaya Bt Abu Bakar
ARH Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Sharifah Aminah Bt Ayob
ARH Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Siti Nasirah Binti Bahrudin
ARH Jurukur Bahan Sdn Bhd
Tan Choon Wong
SP Setia
Tey Khai Theng
IJM Constrcution Sdn Bhd

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 LIST OF NEW MEMBERS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

Woon Sian Chin Nik Shahirah Binti Nik Hisham Lim Jin Fen
Konsult MQS JUB Central Sdn Bhd Remajaya Sdn Bhd

Abd. Sukor Samba Bin Mohamed Nor’aifa Binti Nazaruddin Mohd Khairul Fitri Bin Othman
ARH Juruukur Bahan Sdn Bhd JUB Central Sdn Bhd Universiti Teknologi MARA (Sarawak)

Aliff Azize Bin Abdul Hadi Nor Azmi Bin Suhardi Natrah Binti Josip
ER Consult JUB Central Sdn Bhd Etika Hijau Sdn Bhd

Angeline A/P Petrus Norfasihah Binti Ibrahim Norhayati Binti Abdul Rahman
ER Consult Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd Tradewinds Facilicities Mgmt Sdn Bhd

Atikah Binti Ramly Nur Asyiqeen Binti Resdi Norizah Binti Ismail
Sri Medan Holding Sdn Bhd CIC-QS Services Sdn Bhd Kinabalu Setia Konsult Sdn Bhd

Chanthira A/P Sarangapany Nur Emajida Binti Alias Randy Belly

Veritas Contracts Sdn Bhd JUB Central Sdn Bhd Kinabalu Setia Konsult Sdn Bhd

Chen Ai Ling Pong Suk Teng Rosli Bin Zainon

Sri Medan Holding Sdn Bhd Sunway Integrated Properties Sdn Bhd CIDB Neg Pulau Pinang

Kamarul Arifin Bin Samion Rose Emilda Binti Roslan Rumilya Binti Shariman
Pesona Metro Sdn Bhd ARH Juruukur Bahan Sdn Bhd CIDB Neg. Pulau Pinang

Keh Siok Lian Siti Arijah Noor Bt Abdul Kader Siau Chiu Ting
ER Consult JUB Central Sdn Bhd Baharuddin Ali & Low Sdn Bhd

Kho Pek See Tan Juei Fung Sim Jin Jie

ER Consult KWK Consult Etika Hijau Sdn Bhd

Khoo Peck Lu Tan Wan Xuan Syamimi Liyana Binti Amat Rais
THS QS Consult Yong Dan Mohamad Faiz Sdn bhd Universiti Teknologi MARA (Sarawak)

Liew Ted Min Wong Chee Khan Terence Chong Yee Vui
QSP Consultants Sdn Bhd TRX City Sdn Bhd Perunding Kos KVC

Lim Siik Fang Carmen Phua Ye Ching Yip Chui Lian

KPK QS (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd Perunding Kos KVC ELP Quantity Surveyors (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd

Loo Jian Tern Dewi Noorain Binti Bolhassan Zurita Binti Abd Said
Q & C Juruukur Perunding Sarawak Energy Berhad Etika Hijau Sdn Bhd

Lu Lian Chiong Esther Tay Sze May Probationaer

Shangri-La Inter. Hotel Mgmt Ltd ELP Quantity Surveyors (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd Firdaus Bin Abd Latib
Supreme Pride Sdn Bhd
Mohd Helmi Bin Md Hashim Haslinda Binti Harun
Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd Kinabalu Setia Konsult Sdn Bhd Ida Zarina Bt Zainon Aznan
Johor Corporation
Mohd Khairul Hakimi Bin Khairul Anoar Hu Ting Yien
JUB Central Sdn Bhd KPK QS (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd Lim Chee Pin
Lendlease Projects (M) Sdn Bhd
Mohd Nasrun Bin Mohd Nasir Jaini Bin Kayapis
JUB Central Sdn Bhd Kinabalu Setia Konsult Sdn Bhd Lim Hai Loon
MMC Gamuda
Muhamad Afifi Bin Mohd Noor Lai Wei Hong
JBB Consultants Sdn Bhd Perunding SL Saladin Bin Kusaidi
Sacofa Sdn Bhd
Muhammad Syazwan Bin Mohd Zahari Lily Suraya Binti Hashim
ARH Juruukur Bahan Sdn Bhd Perunding Kos KVC Tan Shieh Fern
JUB Utara Sdn Bhd
Nadijamuhainie Binti Mahamad Lim Chai Xian
JUB Central Sdn Bhd ELP Quantity Surveyors (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd Wong Wee Hong
Charlton Martin Consutants

53
LIST OF NEW MEMBERS
January – March 2018

Hung Choy Kim Sr Yong Jin Chee Yap Zhi Qian

Palm Spring Development Sdn Bhd CBRE - WTW One Asia Property Consultants Sdn Bhd

Tan Mei Sian Probationer Yee Yen Tang

Unitech QS Consutlancy Sdn Bhd Aw Juey Fang Yeoh Eik Den
Meridin Properties Sdn Bhd Applicants Sdn Bhd
Teng Jiun Wah
Teh Kean Sai Sdn Berhad Beh Chor Yeow Student
IQI Realty Sdn Bhd Chan Yong Keong
Noor Azizi Bin Mohamat Chuang Gaik Kian
Fokus Tejitim Sdn Bhd Chung Ka Seng Mohd Alif Saifullah Bin Mohd Syukur
Titihaya Land Berhad Muhamad Zaimmuzamir Bin Nazri
Student
Choy Keng Fai Chu Wen Ling
Siti Nurezaty Binti Ahmad Crescendas Group Singapore GEOMATIC AND LAND SURVEYING

Member
Goh Ang Keong Sr Ahmad Roslan Bin Mohd Bakri
PROPERTY SURVEYING Repsol Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited Jurukur Setia Sdn Bhd
Member
Goh Qian Yen
Sr Abdullah Bin Shafil Sr Amir Hamzah Bin Othman
Gamuda Engineering Sdn Bhd
JPPH Batu Pahat Geomatika University College

Jeff Chai Ka Seng

Sr Farahiyah Binti Fadzil Sr Chin Swee Ching
School of Government UUM JUPEM, Perak
Jonathan Gurupatham a/l Cristhappa
Asia Pacific Realty
Sr Fauziah Binti Abdul Mutalib Sr Mohamad Fuad Bin Kahar
Majlis Perbandaran Kulim JUPEM, Selangor
Kee Yoke Yew
Fidelity Property Consultant Sdn Bhd
Sr Khairul Nizam Bin Othman Sr Mohd Fakhri Bin Abd. Rahim
UTM Syarikat Ukur Aman
Kwan Yee Wah
Great Casa Realty Sdn Bhd
Sr Mohamad Syakir Bin Daman Huri Sr Nor Illianna Ayuni Binti Shamsudin
Majlis Perbandaran Kulim JUPEM, Perak
Lee Ling Yan
SI Training Management Consultancy
Sr Mohamad Zuki Bin Salleh Sr Sabariah Binti Zahari
IPC Island Property Consultants Sdn Bhd Saujana Ukur
Lee Zhie Yuan
IQI Realty Sdn Bhd
Sr Muhammad Faiz Bin Mohd Damin Sr Syful Ekhzan Bin Jamulidin
Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd JUPEM, Selangor
Liew Siau Juang
Bandar Utama Development Sdn Bhd
Sr Ong May Lee Sr Ahmad Khalil Bin Ruslan
Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd INSTUN
Lim Yee Seng
Lum Cai Ying
Sr Padma Prian @ Padman a/l Maniam Sr Azman Bin Mazlam
Muhamad Afiq Zhafri Bin Samsiran
Dassault Systems Innovation Technology Politeknik Mukah, Sarawak
Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Muthaiya a/l Jayaseelan Sr Hamdan Bin Ab. Aziz
Benz & Carlton Sdn Bhd
Sr Penny Goh Pei Nei JUPEM
Astana Asas (M) Sdn Bhd
Nur Fairuz Binti Fauzi Sr Hazida Binti Hamzah
Tan Cheon Ming
Sr Shalehudin Bin Hashim JUPEM
Gather Properties Sdn Bhd
Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang
Tham Chee Fai Sr Juzaila Binti Abd Satar
Seristana Sdn Bhd
Sr Shamsul Anuar Bin Shamsudin JUPEM
Firdaus Associates
Wong Poh Chen Sr Mohd Latif Bin Zainal
Dynasty Home Realty
Sr Shu Te Ying @ Zhu Ti Ying JUPEM
CBRE - WTW
Wong Seng Fatt Sr Muhamad Zamri Bin Husran
SLP Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Sr Uzaini Bin Abdul Rahim JUPEM
MN Associates (KL) Sdn Bhd
Wong Wee Lee Sr Muhammad Hazwan Bin Mohd Mazlan
Oriental Realty
Sr Wong Mei Ting Jurukur Teras
Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd

54
 LIST OF NEW MEMBERS
Vol.53 No.1 2018

Sr Nasarularifin Bin Kamarudin Nor Amani Fadzilah Binti Mohd Kamil Siti Nur Hasibah Binti Azlani
INSTUN Juruukur Dinar Ideaworks Resources Sdn Bhd

Sr Nik Mohd Fadhil Bin Nik Mohd Kamil Nur Nadiah Binti Abdul Sukor Tahrina Binti Taib
TNB Jurukur Suasa Sepakat DBKL

Sr Nisfariza Binti Mohd Noor Nurul Nadirah Binti Abdul Kadir Muhammad Zakireen Bin Yusof
Sr Nur Hidayu Binti Ishak Kbuilders Training and Consulting
Geomatic University College Student
Alif Izzuddin Bin Anuar Nadzirah Binti Ishak
Sr Shaiffulrizal Bin Zainordin Brenda Anak Antalai NTQT Sdn. Bhd.
Jurukur Nilam Cynthia Anak Sada
Darina Anak Jimbai Nik Azlan bin Nik Aman
Sr Shuib Bin Rambat Effie Defeney Binti Rozaino Heriot-watt University
UTM Farah Ilyana Binti Hairuddin
Intan Noor Aifatika Binti Norfildaos Azlan Bin Abdul Aziz
Sr Tan Tian Chaun Muhammad Faeezwan Bin Omar JKR Perak
Jurukur Khoo Muhammad Na’im Bin Ahmad Lotfi
Muizzuddin Bin Muhammad Mazlina Bt Harun
Sr Taufek Bin Kassim Nor Fatihah Hida Binti Jaharuddin Politeknik Mukah, Sarawak
INSTUN Nor Hanani Binti Sani
Nor Syafiqah Binti Mohamad Mohd Faeez Bin Zainal Ariff
Sr Tsalimy Bin Abdullah Nornadhirah Binti Zulkhafli Advance Construction Holding Bhd
JUPEM Nur Aina Izzati Binti Yacob
Nur Azyyati Husnina Binti Ahmad Muhamad Zaihafiz Bin Zainal Abidin
Sr Zaidatul Akmal Binti Zawani Nur Farhana Athirah Binti Zainudin Ikram Education
Geomatic University College Nur Hidayah Binti Abu Bakar
Nur Nadia Rasiqah Binti Zaini Muhammad Rabbani Bin Mohamed Nordin
Graduate Nur Nadia Syaznee Binti Mohd Zuki Sunway Construction
Azri Bin Mat Saad Nur Najiha Binti Abd Aziz
AZF Ukur Consult Nur Najma Binti Hamsein Nurizyan Syamimi Binti Mohd Asri
Nur Syaidatul Syuhada Binti Ahmad Zuki JKR Kuala Lumpur
Khor Kim Khim Nurshuhada Binti Rosman
PKNS Nurul Farhani Binti Hashim Nurul Haya Binti Ismail
Nurul Hasniati Binti Badrul Hisham Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd
Loke Wai Seang Nurul Intan Syahira Binti Abd Karim
Jurukur Perunding Nurul Najlaa Binti Husin Rizal Bin Shuib
Nurul Najwa Binti Mohtar JKR Perak
Mohd Farouk Bin Rustam Nurulshafatin Binti Mohd Sabree
Gamuda Berhad Perena Anak Chin Siti Rohani Binti Ishak
Putri Alya Binti Mohd Nasir JKR Penang
Muhammad Hazimin Bin Roslan Qistina Binti Abdullah
IGS Consultant Siti Farhana Binti Zamri Suriyati @ Marwati Binti Sulaiman
Siti Nur Nadiah Binti Sh Salleh UiTM Shah Alam
Rosmashaida Binti Mat Lazim Siti Nuratiqah Syahirah Binti Osman
Sarawak Ukur Consult Siti Nurazurin Binti Ngatheman Dr. Zulhabri Bin Ismail
Siti Zulaikha Binti Norizan UiTM Penang
Yong Zen Jiun Wan Nor Atikah Binti Wan Zainal Abidin
Perunding Ukur Tekun Zalila Fahira Binti Zabidin Probationer
Zulfadhli Ezani Bin Meezad Muhamad Yusof Bin Abdullah
Jurukur SII Sdn Bhd Universiti Tenaga Nasional
BUILDING SURVEYING
Firdaus Bin Chek Sulaiman Muhammad Nasrol Bin Jamal
Graduate
Global Detection Solution Sdn Bhd Lim Kok Wing University
Hakimal Khairin Bin Saman
DBKL
Badrul Hisham Bin Rahim Dr. Basharudin Bin Abdul Hadi
Jurukur Sentral UiTM Penang
Ismawijaya Zah Bin Mohamed Jais
DBKL
Hazirah Binti Mohd Wazir
Mohammad Haminuddin Bin Abdul Hadi Mohd Izwan Ismadi Bin Abdul Hadi
Muhamad Khairussani Bin Zainal Abidin DBKL
Teraju Ukur
Nor Azahar Bin Abdul Karim
Muhammad Alif Bin Amran DBKL
Jurukur Amran

55
 Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia,
3rd Floor, Bangunan Juruukur, No. 64 & 66, Jalan 52/4, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603 7955 1773 Fax: +603 7955 0253 Email: editor@rism.org.my
eISSN 2232-1292