INGENIEUR
INTERVIEW WITH BEM PRESIDENT
Tenure with Many ‘Firsts’
It has been a productive two-year
tenure for BEM President Dato’ Sri
Ir. Roslan bin Md Taha. He is very
happy that he experienced many
‘firsts’ in terms of major events and
significant developments for the
engineering fraternity.
BEM President Dato’ Sri Ir. Roslan bin Md Taha will
end his tenure upon his retirement as Director-
General (DG) of JKR. The Ingenieur Editorial
Committee comprising Dato’ Ir. Fong Tian Yong
and Prof. Ir. Dr K S Kannan, managed to catch up
with him to review developments and events.
Dato’ Sri Ir. Roslan bin Taha commented that
he was very happy with developments during this
two-year tenure (from January 1, 2017) as DG of
JKR and BEM President. He experienced many
‘firsts’, including the first visit by the Minister of
Works, YB Tuan Baru Bian to the BEM office on
October 10, 2018. Another first was the BEM Open
Day on December 4-5, 2018. He emphasised
that this event was significant as it was held in
conjunction with the first “Hari Profesion Teknikal
Negara” (The first Saturday in December is chosen
for this special day).
Also within his tenure, Dato’ Sri Roslan
was pleased that the engineering fraternity
achieved significant milestones with the first
ever registration of Engineering Technologist and
Inspector of Works by BEM and the admission
of BEM as full signatory of Sydney Accord and
Dublin Accord in June 2018 at the International
Engineering Alliance Meeting 2018 (IEAM2018),
London, UK. In relation to this, BEM is well
recognised in Asia and countries such as India,
Pakistan, Indonesia and Myanmar are requesting
for assistance to become signatories. “Some
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of our renowned Board Members have been
appointed as assessors,” he pointed out.
The BEM President was proud that the
Government has given recognition to JKR and
the engineering profession. “This should never
be put aside,” he emphasised. He is glad that
Professional Engineers with Practising Certificate
(PEPC) will be given added responsibilities, notably
in the issue of Planning Permission for certain
categories of development. “It is an honour given
to PEPC. In the long run, this can speed up the
country’s development and our economy can
benefit,” he remarked.
Looking ahead, he said he has a few
aspirations. One is to see more engineers
registered as ASEAN Chartered Professional
Engineer (ACPE) so that they can extend their work
in this region. He noted that there are currently
638 ACPE (Malaysia), and this places Malaysia
second among its ASEAN neighbours.
On reflection, Dato’ Sri Ir. Roslan said he is
retiring with good memories. “I leave with an open
heart, open mind and full of satisfaction,” he said.
He believed that he has set a momentum for
active development in JKR and BEM, and hopes
that his successor can continue and bring it up to
the next level.