If you examine the annual Auditor General’s reports, it is
apparent that the government department lacks technical expertise in drafting requirements
specifications, tender specifications, planning, coordination, design, tender
evaluation, project implementation, supervision, quality control, testing, and
so on. This resulted in projects that
are not useful, designs that are not practical, poor quality and workmanship, structural
failures, wrong material used, late or non-deliveries, abandoned projects, and
many other defects. This list goes on
and on and at great cost to the government and inconvenience and loss of
opportunity to the citizens who were the intended beneficiaries of these
projects. Somehow somewhere along the line since the formation of Malaysia, the
development of our engineering expertise was derailed. This happened both in
the public and private sectors.
Engineering is both an art and a science. We can learn science in universities,
but art requires practical experience.
Unlike other professions, engineering projects and product cycles can take a long
time, usually in years and multiples thereof. A
good engineer would, therefore, take many years of intense training through the
numerous engineering processes. In
addition to this, an engineering manager would also need training in management
science and practices.
