Engineers play an integral role in the development of the nation as the outputs produced by them interest the members of society at large. These products are apparently not limited to building and physical infrastructure like bridges, highways and airports, but also other engineering-related products in the areas of automotive, oil and gas, etc. Therefore, an engineer, as a professional, has a responsibility to their client or employer, to their profession, and to the general public, to perform their duties in as conscientious a manner as possible in sustaining the society as well as the environment. Obtaining flying colours engineering degree is meaningless without upholding the practices of ethics and morale in the profession as an engineer as professional ethics is one of the most important concerns in today’s world. An engineer must entail far more than just acting within the bounds of law. An ethical engineer is one who avoids conflicts of interest, does not attempt to misrepresent their knowledge so as to accept jobs outside their area of expertise, acts in the best interests of society and the environment, fulfills the terms of their contracts or agreements in a thorough and professional manner, and promotes the education of young engineers within their field. Nevertheless, handsome amount of money incurred while dealing with the procurement of engineering –related products which exposes the engineers with the possibility of bribery and unethical practices. Failures in engineering ethics lead to many legal consequences despite the failure in the engineering products alone. In Malaysia, there are various cases related to the unethical engineering practices for example the collapse of Highland Towers in 1993, MRR2 flyover cracks in 2002, fungi hit Sultan Ismail Specialist Hospital in 2004 and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium roof collapse in 2009. These failures lead to bad perceptions by the members of the public that the engineers are less honest, less trustworthy, and more materialistic thus become prone to bribery. Therefore, it is important for an engineer to halt this impression from persisting by undertaking the following action: a) adhere to the current rules and orders It is an expectation by the profession that every engineer should comprehend the currently available rules and order related to their engineering professional for instance the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Act 138). Section 15 of this act specifies that if an engineer offers or accepts any commission while carrying out his/her responsibility as an engineer, he/she will be issued with a written warning or reprimand, fined not exceeding RM50,000, suspended from the registration of a Professional Engineer for a period not exceeding 2 years or cancelled from being registered as a Professional Engineer. Therefore, it is crucial for an engineer to avoid any unethical conduct and uphold the integrity of the profession. On the other hand, there are other acts related to the code of conducts of an engineer which include the Occupational Safety and Health Act, as well as Factories and Machinery Act 1967 (Act 139) which can be used as the pillars in ensuring that the engineers perform their work ethically by adhering the current laws and orders. b) Performing responsibilities and accountability based on procedures
An engineer should perform their works based on a correct set of work procedures for examples as outlined in the Standing Order Procedure (SOP) or Work Flow Chart that can be used as the guidance in performing works. These practices encourage the engineer to perform their work ethically without involving themselves in the practice of bribery. c) Transparent and fair evaluation Transparency is important in an engineer profession. An engineer who involves in the procurement of a product as a technical expert should precisely understand the tender document and its specification needed throughout the procurement process. In addition, fair evaluation should be done on every tendered product and if any he should propose the most suitable product that benefits the end-user the most as an engineer is capable of making and acting on an informed decision in situations that the general public cannot, because they have not received the relevant training like an engineer has. On the other hand, the client or the end-user places trust in the professional of engineer that the product or service provided will be of benefit to them thus it is unfair to them if the engineer uses his authority and power to exploit them. Thus it is important for an engineer to maintain the public’s or client’s trust in the profession when they will continue to seek for an engineer’s service. Through these transparency and fair evaluation, the engineer can prevent the activity of gifts, hospitality, bribes or inducement which goes against the professional code of ethics in approving a tender. d) Avoid conflict of interest An engineer should avoid the conflict of interest such as favoritism based on personal biases as well as influencing others decision that will yield personal gain. For instance, as a head of a technical group, an engineer should not mislead or using his power as the head in influencing other members in selecting a particular product for his personal gain except approved by the BEM or the client. e) Carry out spot check An engineer can carry out a spot check at premises where a project is operated to know the exact condition and progress of the project. Spot check can be done on the materials used, work procedures and tools available and used in the project in ensuring the quality of the end-product which is within the expectation of the client or end-user. f) Check and balance An engineer should allow his works being audited by a third party who is also and engineer who has the same expertise as the assessee. Any comment received from the assessor should be accepted in an open heart by the engineer in improving his profession development. g) Decision made on engineering problems via expert committee
An engineer, if possible, should make a decision on a project via an appointed expert committee so that the decision made is not influenced by favoritism and personal biases due to conflict of interest. h) Ensure that sub-standard materials are not used In ensuring the authenticity of materials used in a project, an engineer should keep a sample of material from the supplier for testing in avoiding sub-standard material. i) Practise “Zero Tolerance” principles against bribery An engineer should report unethical practices of accepting gifts, hospitality, bribes or inducement to the appropriate funding or regulatory bodies for instance Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (SPRM) or to the public if any sign of unethical practice is found in the project or the engineering process. j) Be more competent An engineer can improve their competency by actively participating in engineeringrelated organization like Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) and involving the activities conducted like seminar, visit/trip, discussion, dialogue and meeting. By engaging themselves in these activities, an engineer is exposed to information, knowledge, experience and idea sharing which make an engineer more competent in avoiding the unethical practices. k) Reinforce a company share value By creating a ownership sentiment via a company share value, an engineer will perceive that this company value is established to only trying to solve the current ethical value that occurred within the company/organization but also trying to outline a clear guideline on how they should do and response when such matters happened like solving the problem from the root and not from the surface only. On the other hand, an engineer feels that they are not being forced by the code to act as described by the code yet has more freedom and flexibility in practicing the professionalism. Otherwise, as the engineer feels that he is always being monitored and forced to follow the rules, he will not volunteer to do so and consequently has not initiative in preventing the unethical practices within the company. An engineer plays an important role in improving the socio-economy of a nation. Therefore, an engineer should possess a highly ethical behaviour so that unethical practice of accepting gifts, hospitality, bribes or inducement can be tackled in improving the professionalism as an engineer and ultimately developing the nation towards the Vision 2020.
