Local authorities will stop issuing CFs, says Samy Vellu

The Star 7/7/2006 By A. Letchumanan

KUALA LUMPUR: The architect or engineer of a project will soon issue the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC), which will ensure a hassle-free procedure to obtain approval for occupants to move into their homes or buildings.

Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the Government had agreed to the proposal to take away this responsibility from the local authorities, which usually takes months to issue the certificate.

He said it would take effect after amendments to several relevant acts were passed by Parliament and gazetted by the end of the year.

“The amendments, which are in the final stages of preparation by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, will empower the architects and engineers to issue CCCs to replace the Certificates of Fitness (CFs) which are currently issued by local authorities.

“The amendments are expected to be tabled in Parliament in September. Once they are approved and sent to the Senate for endorsement, the Housing and Local Government Minister will decide when to implement the CCC requirement,” he told reporters after opening the PAM 2006 convention, Dex06 and Architex06 exhibition at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday.

Samy Vellu said his ministry, the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) and Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) had held several meetings with the Housing and Local Government Ministry officials as well as the AG’s chambers to formulate the amendments.

“Currently, the local councils impose a lot of conditions before issuing CFs, so much so that an architect who submits a plan may have to run to 14 agencies to get clearance,” he said.

Samy Vellu, who is a trained architect, said that during his practising days in the early 1970s, he only submitted a final CF form to the local authorities that would do the rest of the work.

“Two or three weeks later, a building surveyor would visit the completed building where the architect would be present and if there was anything not in accordance with the plan, he would ask the architect to submit another plan and at the same time issue a temporary CF for the building,” he said.

He said there were one or two issues which had not been resolved yet and they included the indemnification clause for the architects and engineers in the event of a major problem which was not of their doing.

“We have to protect their interests. We also have to discuss the fee structure for the architects. We have increased the burden for them and we have to ensure that they are properly paid,” he said.

PAM president Dr Tan Loke Mun said the architect or the engineer who submitted the plan would be allowed to issue the certificate two weeks after submitting it to the local authorities.