Graduate Architect | Designer
Architecture and Morality
Lack of Architect in Malaysia
The title Ar. carries a huge responsibility as a professional architect. In Malaysia, there is a shortage of professional architects due to the low passing rate by Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM) each year. Malaysia probably is the most difficult country in the world to pass a professional exam for the architects with only less than 20% passing candidates annually. Which makes our architects very rare breed? To become a professional architect, one must undergo part 3 examination regulated by LAM, where they need to practice architecture for a minimum of 2 years and compile a portfolio of their work and fulfill all the project requirements set by LAM. The current ratio of an architect to the population in Malaysia is 1:17,257. To be a developed nation, we need a ratio of an architect to the population to be about 1:4000 to 1:8000.
One of the reasons why the number of architects in Malaysia is extremely low because LAM wants to protect public interests and only those who are really qualified with a high level of qualification, competency, integrity, knowledge, and intelligence can get registered to practice as architects are at stake when things go wrong. LAM is equally dismayed by the poor passing rate as it is a sad reflection on the state of the industry. There is no quota system nor are the expectations are unreasonable since the passing mark is set at 50%. Part 3 exam required architects to master the theoretical part of practice in order to ensure high professional ethics are upheld. Architects should be able to provide a strategy on how to plan an efficient development limited space of a city. Architects need to be smart and innovative not only in their design but in providing solutions to create sustainable smart cities. Too often, graduate architects are employed to work exclusively on specific tasks with little exposure or experience on the other aspects of professional training, resulting in a failure to acquire the set of skills necessary to cut it as a professional architect.
LAM’s part 3 exam is the most appropriate form of assessment to gauge the readiness of a candidate for professional practice under the Act. The exam papers are set at the level of knowledge based on a professional practice that one would expect of a candidate with 2 years of experience in an architect’s office. The majority of the candidates generally required more time to acquire the necessary skills and experience because of insufficient exposure or lack of guidance while at work. LAM is entrusted with the task of regulating the profession by ensuring that only qualified candidates to be registered under the Act meet the required standards in terms of knowledge, understanding the legislative, technical and ethical aspects of the profession and also to ensure that these standards are met by architects. The fact that there are few building failures where architects have involved points to the efficacy of this regulatory function.
On the other hand, the number of architects in Malaysia is the lowest amongst 4 Commonwealth nations with ratio 1 to 16,650 compared to the United Kingdom at 1 to 1,860, Hong Kong at 1 to 3,230, Australia at 1 to 2,330, and New Zealand at 1 to 2,490. Malaysia is the most difficult country in the world to pass the part 3 professional exam, it is an exceedingly high standard. These countries using a very similar system of education and government that is based on the English constitutional system. The professional architect’s group is said to be an established elite group and intentionally made difficult by LAM for new candidates to join. Over the years, have blamed it on the candidates’ poor knowledge of their contracts and the quality of their practical experience as if saying the practices that the candidates went through over the years to involved on projects in Malaysia are not good enough to get the crucial experiences in design, contract management, statutory procedures, tender exercises, and construction supervision. To efficiently serve the nation in Malaysia, the number of architects needs to be increased at the same level as an architect to population ration of the United Kingdom at 1:1,860. Currently, most of the buildings are designed and supervised by non-registered architects.
Even if Malaysia achieved the numbers, they are still not enough as 1 architect will be serving 4 projects at one time and exposing them to mistakes due to lack of focus. Some of the UK’s top architectural firms hire hundreds of registered architects for a job the size of a university campus to get a quality job done well. Here in Malaysia, the norm would be that the job can be given to a one-man office with a single registered practitioner assisted by 2 to 3 of Part 2 graduated and 4 to 5 draftspersons. The 10 to 20 percent of passing rate is too low, illogical, ridiculous, and unfair to the part 3 candidates. There are many candidates who have failed five, six times who have been in a state of discouragement over the years, they just do not know what else to do to get past the Part 3 hurdle. Malaysia is facing a higher risk of building collapse because we do not have enough architects to supervise building construction, the supervision is carried out by those who have only limited liability. They said quality above quantity but quantity is important too, are we saying the numbers of architects in the UK is lack of quality?
In conclusion, Malaysia is a developing country, we need professionals to help build the nation but in Malaysia, it is more difficult to be an architect than to be a doctor. LAM needs a major review of its examination system so that we do not unfairly penalize candidates and Malaysia’s ambition to be a fully developed nation. LAM is very much aware of the need to increase the number of professional architects, they welcome suggestions from the candidates and architects as to how they can raise the numbers while maintaining the necessary standards of competence to safeguard the public interest.
Reference
https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2010/11/25/sore-lack-of-architects
https://www.thesundaily.my/archive/1158364-ERARCH270463
https://www.theborneopost.com/2015/03/28/lack-of-architects-a-concern-for-malaysia/
https://www.edgeprop.my/content/why-malaysian-architecture-doesnt-have-suffer-gucci-syndrome
http://amioz.blogspot.com/2010/03/architects-developing-malaysia.html