LETTERS: On Dec 25 last year, the Public Service Department (JPA) announced cuts in the Critical Service Incentive Payment (BIPK), a special allowance intended to attract and retain skilled workers in professions deemed vital to the country’s development.
The government listed 33 professions, including medical officers and pharmacists, architects, engineers and assistant engineers, legal officers, agricultural and marine engineers, and medical researchers as eligible for the allowance.
The reason behind the abolishment is because it no longer meets the criteria for granting the allowance.
The policy review has sparked widespread backlash, including criticism from the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) that said the allowance cut could drive talent out of the public sector.
MMA has launched an online petition demanding the reinstatement of the RM750 critical allowance for new healthcare professionals.
Subsequently, the BIPK allowance cut that affected the engineers and assistant engineers has been reinstated by the government.
The Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) has issued a press statement stating that it is a regulatory body established under the Registration of Engineers Act (REA) 1967 and does not participate in any debate or forum involving salary structures or schemes of service between engineers and their employers.
BEM’s primary role is to protect the public in regard to health and safety by ensuring that only those who are competent and registered with the board are allowed to provide professional engineering services.
Based on the Critical Occupations List (COL) 2018/19 report by TalentCorp Malaysia and Institute of Labour Market Information and Analysis under the Human Resources Ministry, engineering related occupations are listed in 14 of the 59 COL that are listed as skilled, sought after and strategic across 18 sectors in Malaysia.
These 14 engineering-related COL includes construction manager, industrial and production engineer, civil engineer, mechanical engineer, chemical engineer, mining engineer, engineering professional, electrical engineer, electronic engineers and other engineering occupations based on the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations (MASCO) Code.
A minimum of bachelor’s degree is required for almost all vacancies listed by the respondent in the Call for Evidence Survey.
Input from consultation with Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) has validated this occupation as common in the construction industry with technical competencies such as Project Planner and BIM Modeller.
Other engineering occupancy in the COL 2018/2019 report has shown similar source of evidence from Top-Down Indicators, Bottom Up Survey, Consultation and Talent/Skills study.
So the question remains — Are engineers a critical occupation that deserve to be recognised and remunerated with Critical Service Incentive Payment?
Engineers are professionals with a degree qualification recognised by the Washington Accord for Engineers and are regulated and registered by the BEM.
The engineer to population ratio for developed nations is 1:100.
For Malaysia, with a population of 32 million, the number of engineers should be 300,000.
As of February this year, BEM’s registered Graduate Engineers and Professional Engineers stand at 137,073.
In the era of globalisation, if we do not recognise and retain our engineers and professional talents for the growth and development of our country with the right remuneration and incentives, other countries will recognise and reward them.
WONG CHEE FUI
Fellow, The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times