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In efforts to improve Malaysia’s ranking in the ‘Dealing with Construction Permits in Malaysia’ criteria in the Doing Business Reports published by World Bank, the Prime Minister has approved 22 initiatives submitted by PEMANDU’s Property Development Lab that are aimed to further trim approval time frames.
The 22 initiatives are expected to reduce the approval time frame from 392 days (without OSC) or 67 days (with OSC) to 47 days. The actual mechanisms for these initiatives are still under final deliberations and will be released gradually.
22 Initiatives
1. Streamlining Approval Process
Description of Initiative
To simplify the process to obtain development approval by minimising documentation for submission, restructuring of procedures and reducing timeline for each activity related to the process.
Details
- The process of getting approvals requires many stages and levels of authorities, and also involves various Acts, rules and regulations. Due to these factors, the decision-making process becomes lengthy and is further compounded by bureaucracy.
- Overlapping processes still occur as in the issuance of Permit to Build whereby the PBT’s Building Department has to re-certify building plans which have already been certified by PSPs.
- These issues can be resolved by streamlining the approval process across all levels, which entails:
- reducing documentation for submission;
- restructuring of procedures; and
- reducing timeline for each process-related activity.
- By taking these measures, the approval process time can be significantly reduced.
Description of Initiative
To leverage on the OSC Online service as the main gateway to other agencies’ Management and Monitoring Information System (MMIS), it will also act as an integrated development network as well as the main reference point for all parties involved in property development.
Details
- The existing OSC Online is designed on a client-server basis whereby data from the OSC server is transmitted to the workstation of technical agencies’ officers. As the data cannot be integrated into the agencies’ with MMIS, processing of application is still done manually and information is transmitted back to the OSC Secretariat as electronic comments.
- At the OSC Secretariat, extensive man-hours are spent conducting meetings with various agencies which involve logistical arrangements that can sometimes lead to poor attendance during OSC meetings.
- In addition, OSC Online only monitors the planning stage of a development. There is no monitoring of submission by utility agencies after the applicant receives his/her Permit to Build, and PSP/SP have to submit their supply application or detailed planned submissions individually to the respective technical agencies.
- To address the abovementioned issues, the lab proposes:
- to promote and expand the use of OSC Online system/tools for development proposal approval processes by PBTs;
- to incorporate teleconferencing in meetings;
- that a complete supply application/detailed plan submission for utilities be made through OSC concurrently with submission for Permit to Build;
- to integrate OSC Online with various utility agencies, and prepare for further integration with fully operational e-applications of government agencies i.e. e-sadiron, e-tanah, e-connection supply (electricity); and
- to Integrate individual GIS of relevant agencies to a master GIS database in OSC Online;
Description of Initiative
To encourage pre-consultation practice of PSPs with PBTs and Technical Agencies on requirements set out in the relevant guidelines, before a development submission is made.
Details
- Due to incomplete and non-compliant submissions made by PSP/SP, there is a high frequency of resubmissions and appeal cases which slows down the process of obtaining approvals.
- Prolonged elapsed time due to late resubmission of Detailed Plans.
- Pre-consultation will be introduced at planning and detailed plan stage before submission of documentation to OSC or relevant technical department. Pre-consultation days will be scheduled by respective agencies.
- Time frame for pre-consultation process will be not more than 24 working days, depending on the complexity of projects.
- All submissions will be formally recorded and replied within specified time frame.
- These measures will help expedite processing time and streamline approval procedures as submission documentation will be in compliance with technical requirements, thus reducing resubmission frequency and approvals will be obtained faster.
4. Manuals, Checklists and Guidelines
Description of Initiative
To introduce a comprehensive and standardised manual of checklists, procedures and guidelines on property development that will eliminate confusion for investors and stakeholders.
Details
- Property development in Malaysia is still very much influenced by the 3-tier administration system of the Federal, State and Local Governments, therefore the existing development guidelines are not standardised. This becomes a source of confusion which causes inconveniences to both foreign and domestic potential investors who are keen on developing property in the country.
- This initiative aims to resolve the above issue by establishing a standard manual in every PBT that will provide details of procedures, processes and guidelines that are in line with the local plan, urban design, density control and landscape spaces. The manual will also include checklists, directories and links to all local utility companies and technical agencies. It will be accessible to the general public in hardcopy format, as well as through the websites of Federal agencies (MyGov Portal, OSC online or MHLG official website) or PBT.
- Existing manuals, checklist and guidelines will also be reviewed and amended by Technical Agencies.
5. Delegation of Power under Section 13
Description of Initiative
To expedite and shorten approval processes and time taken for land development (Sections 124A and 204D), and consent to transfer [Section 214(2)(b)], National Land Code 1965 (NLC), through the delegation of power from the State Authority to Director of Land and Mines (PTG) or Land Administrator (PTD) in accordance to Section 13 NLC.
Details
- At present, the time taken for land approval application under Sections 124A and 204D NLC is 217 days (with 992 days elapsed time, inclusive of appeal for premium payment which stands at 730 days).
- There is no uniformity of work processes among the states for land approval application under Sections 124A and 204D NLC.
- These issues can be addressed by Section 13, NLC by delegating power of the State Authority to State Director of Land and Mines or Land Administrators. Sections of the NLC covered by the delegation of power are as follows:
1.Section 124A – Conversion and simultaneous sub-division and Section 204D – Surrender and Re-Alienation to State Director of Land and Mines
2.Section 124A – Conversion and simultaneous sub-division and Section 204D – Surrender and Re-Alienation to Land Administrator
3.Section 214(2)(b) – Consent to Transfer and Charge (Bumi to Bumi, Non-Bumi to Non-Bumi)
- To expedite land development approval to 13 days (subject to gazetted local plan), a vehicle in the form of a special unit is to be established.
6. Expediting Gazettement of Local Plans
Description of Initiative
To expedite gazettement of local plans for the benefit of planning approval applications, whereby public objection and hearing procedures shall be eliminated.
Details
- Currently, only 29 local plans (35%) have been gazetted for the whole of Peninsular Malaysia. 54 more local plans covering the remaining PBT areas are at various stages of preparation.
- Without local plans, PBTs must conduct for every development application, the procedure of objection and hearing with neighbouring landowners. This process will take at least 35 days or even longer depending on the objections received and the number of hearing sessions to be held, thus dragging approval processing time.
- Local plans prepared by PBTs will only come into effect after they have been gazetted i.e. they have secured approval from the State Planning Committee (SPC) and acquired assent from the state authority.
- Therefore, it is essential that these local plans be immediately gazetted according to the progress and completion of the local plans. Those which have already undergone public participation should be gazetted by end of 2010, with the rest to follow suit.
- Form and contents of local plans need to be improved to a comprehensive development guide document. Manual for preparation of more comprehensive and effective local plans to also be produced.
- Older local plans to be reviewed and updated to meet the current development climate.
- All technical agencies are required to prepare individual master plans to be incorporated in the new and revised local plans.
7. Exemption from Planning Approval (ExPA)
Description of Initiative
To introduce exemption of planning approval for individual developments that conform to an approved layout and stated guideline, in order to expedite the approval time in processing applications for developments such as landed residential units, industrial and utility buildings.
Details
- Current procedures for Planning Approval apply to all types of development regardless of size and complexity, and become tedious for both PSPs and PBTs when processing approvals for simple structures and dwellings.
- Therefore, it is proposed that straightforward developments be exempted from planning approval as detailed planning standards and guidelines for issuance of permit to construct will be made available at layout approval stage to ensure compliance.
- Developments under ExPA do not require any further approval and can commence construction after receiving Permit to Build.
8. Development Proposal Report
Description of Initiative
To enhance existing development proposal reports (LCP) to a comprehensive document for planning consideration and analysis by PBT, District Land Offices and Technical Agencies.
Details
- LCP is prepared by PSP according to Section 21A (1) (a)–(g), Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172), regardless of the type and complexity of the development. This has resulted in unnecessary information being provided even for small scale development.
- The existing LCP is customised for planning approval requirements. There is also no certification by PSP on conformity to Local Plan.
- Therefore, it is recommended that LCP be made more comprehensive by:
- including matters required by other processing agencies, for example the District Land Office and Technical Agencies;
- certification by PSP on conformity to Local Plan. Should the proposed development deviate from the Local Plan, LCP will include justification for deviation.
9. Land Acquisition for Public Usage
Description of Initiative
To set up a special fund for the purpose of land acquisition towards the preservation of the environment and open spaces, and the reservation of land for utilities, which will facilitate the implementation of local plans in an effective and timely manner.
Details
- The rapid growth of cities and population density has made the land use planning process ever more complex. Because of the intensity of certain types of development, it is now necessary for PBT to examine issues relating to location, size and pattern of land utilisation at the earliest stages through the use of local plans.
- However, one of the main obstacles faced in the implementation and enforcement of local plans by PBT in Malaysia, particularly Kuala Lumpur is inadequate funds and financial capabilities to acquire land for public usage e.g. open spaces, recreational areas and utility reserves.
- In prime areas of Klang Valley, land value is astronomical and most are privately-owned. Revenue collected by PBT from taxes and issuance of permits are insufficient for land acquisition processes such as compensation, legal fees and documentation.
- This initiative proposes that a special fund be set up for the purpose of land acquisition for public usage, to be managed by a central agency and funded by contributions from the Federal, State and Local Government.
10. Building Plan Approval Elimination
Description of Initiative
To remove Building Plan Approval and its related procedures from the approval process, in order to reduce processing period and potential elapsed time (To be read with Initiative 11 Self-Certification of Building Plans by PSP).
Details
- Currently, the compliance-checking of building plans towards Building Plan Approval is done by both the PSPs and the Building Department of PBT, which is a duplication of work. Due to this, PBT resources and manpower are not fully optimised.
- PSP and the PBT staff have different interpretations of the UBBL thus creating confusion and delays in processing.
- Building Plan Approval requires endorsement from various PBT departments. Bureaucracy affects decision-making processes and unnecessary elapsed time occurs.
- By removing Building Plan Approval from the approval process, the abovementioned issues are eliminated.
- A Permit to Build (PB) will be issued for all approved developments for monitoring, record-keeping and legal recourse purposes.
Description of Initiative
To allow PSP to retain responsibility and accountability on their projects through initiating self-certification procedures that are compliant with existing laws and local statutes/guidelines (To be read with Initiative 10 Building Plan Approval Elimination).
Details
- PSP under this initiative denotes Registered Architects and Engineers under Section 2, Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133).
- In accordance with relevant professional Acts and Uniform Building By-Laws 1984 as well as local statutes, under Building Plan Approval, PSP are required to produce and self-check building plans for submission. However the compliance-checking process is also carried out by PBTs’ Building Department, and hence duplication of work occurs wasting time and resources.
- Following the success of self-certification by PSPs in issuance of Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) and BOMBA approval, this initiative will further expand the roles of PSP in Building Plan submission.
Description of Initiative
To redeploy existing manpower in the Building Department of PBTs (previously designated for Building Plan Approval) for better building control and enforcement of construction activities.
Details
- Currently, most of the manpower in the Building Department of a PBT are concentrated on the checking of plans as a check-and-balance measure in the issuance of Building Plan Approval.
- However, in some cases, conditions set out in Planning Permission require that building plans that have already been approved be amended by PSP, thus restarting the cycle of checking and approval of building plans.
- As such, the Building Department is unable to perform other important duties prescribed under Act 171 and Act 133 such as site inspections and monitoring and enforcement for compliance of UBBL, illegal structures and dilapidated building. On average, site inspections for construction projects by Building Department officers can only be done once, and with the introduction of Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC), site inspections will only be carried out once a project has been completed.
13. Common Utility Trench/Service Protocol
Description of Initiative
To introduce common trenches or service protocols for utility lines (electricity, telecommunications, water, gas, sewerage) that will reduce the number of maintenance manholes and occurrence of one-time relocations, excavations and repairs.
Details
- Presently, disorganised excavations and repair works to roads and pavements are carried out by various technical agencies and utility companies. Major maintenance manholes are inconveniently positioned on metalled roads which are a hindrance to both workers and road users. Insufficient space for utilities is also an issue.
- Therefore, a dedicated service reserve/ service protocol should be identified at planning stage for new and major townships, and subsequently implemented to ensure that future maintenance or capacity expansion can be carried out without road excavation.
14. Establishment of a Facility Licensee
Description of Initiative
To establish a FL to own, construct, refurbish, improve/upgrade sewerage systems which comprises a sewage treatment plant and sewer reticulation, which will shorten related approval processes.
Details
- Under the Water Services Industry Act 655, Section 35, Act 2006, a provision for FL’s role has already been made. However, it is yet to be appointed by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology & Water (KeTTHA). In the absence of the FL, the following issues have arisen:
- developers are required to build sewerage systems for their individual developments;
- poor construction quality and selection of non-energy-efficient equipment by developers;
- proliferation of small capacity plants (5395 nos.) and septic tanks nationwide;
- continuous increase of sewerage systems affecting the overall performance of operators; and
- on-availability of funds to improve inefficient plants.
- Currently, only 1.42% of the total sewage plants (5395 nos.) taken over by the operators are centralised plants which cater for large population areas.
- The Lab proposes that KeTTHA appoints a FL to build centralised sewerage systems nationwide and rationalise existing systems inclusive of septic tanks and primitive systems.
- SCC contribution to be made mandatory for all developments in lieu of not constructing sewerage systems.
15. Standard Drawings for Model STP
Description of Initiative
To establish standard drawings for model Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) as part of the application submission documents, predetermined and pre-approved by IWK and SPAN to ensure compliance to technical requirements and uniformity of submitted design documentation.
Details
At present, STP built are not always uniform, causing the following issues:
- high maintenance cost due to selection of inefficient equipment;
- discomfort to public (noise, odour & visual impact);
- non-compliance to regulatory requirements that sometimes lead to accidents or death due to lack of sound engineering practices; and
- Difficulty in maintaining and operating systems due to variation in STP design process, structure, materials and equipment.
These issues can be remedied by implementing standard drawings that can be utilised by developers to promote uniformity, quality and ease of operability of STP.
Description of Initiative
To provide a reliable mapping system that enables faster plan approval and identification of safe routes for communities during flood evacuation.
Details
- Rapid and uncontrolled urbanisation in river catchment areas caused by a concentration of people, business activities and property development often lead to life and property damages in the event of unexpected flooding.
- This initiative introduces non-structural measures of flood management in the form of Flood Hazard Maps (FHM) which are detailed mapping of flood-prone areas that are to be regulated and enforced in affected developments at planning stage. FHM implementation in PBTs will help planners, property developers and technical agencies plan sustainable development areas free from the danger and effects of flooding. FHM shall also assist developers to propose platform levels during planning permission stage and help SPs design appropriate systems to ease the danger of flooding.
17. Standard of Procedure after Defects Liability Period
Description of Initiative
To provide a SOP for transferring responsibility and ownership of public infrastructure to PBTs or technical agencies.
Details
- Presently there is no set timeline for the handing over of public infrastructure to the government. Due to this prolonged period, there is an increased number of complaints over the poor condition of built infrastructure.
- To address this matter, a SOP is to be introduced that takes effect after the Defects Liability Period. This involves the transferring of power and ownership of newly constructed infrastructure from developers to PBTs or Technical Agencies. In doing so:
- all infrastructure will be constructed in accordance with the specifications and standards set by the PBTs and Technical Agencies;
- a standard timeline and practice will be defined for the handover process; and
- public complaints on maintenance after CCC will be reduced.
Overall, elapsed time during handing over process will be greatly reduced.
Description of Initiative
To establish a special fund or grant under the Federal Government for the purpose of maintenance of infrastructure for the duration of its lifespan.
Details
- Unlike road networks that are covered by the Road Maintenance Grant (MARRIS), completed drainage infrastructure that is handed over to respective Government Agencies prior to CCC often suffers from inadequate regular maintenance works thus causing flash floods and raising public outcry.
- To ensure that these maintenance works can be carried out, this initiative recommends:
- Introduction of a national stormwater database which stores information on existing stormwater infrastructure at community scale.
- Appointment of NRE as the coordinator and secretariat of budgeting, disbursement and record-keeping at national level.
- Establishment of a Stormwater Infrastructure Maintenance Fund or grant by MOF to distribute funds to NRE.
- Implementation by JAS and PBTs.
- Infrastructure that is handed over to the Government will be owned and maintained throughout its entire lifespan by respective Government Agencies, thus ensuring regular maintenance and peace-of-mind for the public.
19. Upgrading IT Infrastructure
Description of Initiative
To upgrade the IT infrastructure and system required for the implementation of OSC Online. The upgrade will provide real-time application status monitoring, teleconferencing and communication between departments and agencies.
Details
104 PBT (in Peninsular Malaysia & Labuan) are required to communicate with 12-18 technical agencies to obtain comments before any decision can be made on a development proposal. The OSC Online presently functions as a web-based dedicated portal and is not integrated with other relevant agencies’ databases or MMIS. To successfully implement and leverage on OSC Online’s capabilities:
- PBTs and technical agencies need to be equipped with compatible IT infrastructure to ensure smooth integration of OSC Online with other electronic applications. The knowledge and skills of the end-users of these systems should also be raised.
- Based on the mandatory and optional requirements, it is mandatory for PBTs to set up server infrastructure and equip PCs with teleconferencing facilities and internet access. For technical agencies, it is mandatory to equip workstations with teleconferencing facilities and internet access, with the option of adding hardware such as servers for data storage and back-up, plotters and printers.
- As leveraging of OSC Online may require information sharing and access to agency databases, all agencies may need to invest in data security systems such as firewalls and establish access protocols.
Description of Initiative
To standardise and integrate existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into a single data repository by utilising web-based applications.
Details
- GIS enables technical agencies and PBTs to gather detailed technical information such as maps of road and drainage networks, terrain data, etc. for fast decision-making. However, each agency/department has a stand-alone GIS running on its own platform, customised to individual needs. As each GIS is not on a shared network, fast and efficient information retrieval between agencies/departments does not take place.
- GIS is also not extensively used as a tool in the development approval processes, thus not capitalising on its enhanced capabilities.
- This initiative seeks to upgrade the individual GIS platforms to a shared GIS application (OSC Spatial) to enable integration of information between agencies and help decision and policy makers to address problems and issues on the ground more accurately. For better planning and control over development areas, decision or policy makers will have direct access to GIS information available in each agency/department.
21. Enhancing Employee Competency
Description of Initiative
To enhance the competency of employees of all agencies involved with property development approval by providing the right training and exposure so that duties are carried out in a fast, efficient and transparent manner.
Details
Presently, there is a shortage of competent staff at all levels within agencies of property development processes starting from plan application stage up to CCC. Formal educational system does not equip staff with the necessary skills and competency which can only be achieved through job experience.
To enhance the competency of the employees, all agencies involved with property development will undergo intensive training focusing on:
- Land laws and procedures
- Planning manuals, guidelines and legislation
- OSC guidelines
- Building manuals and guidelines
- Engineering design manuals
22. Public Awareness Programmes
Description of Initiative
To promote and raise public awareness on the new streamlined approval process and major initiatives through campaigns involving seminars, media and roadshows.
Details
In order to ensure the critical success of the new initiatives for property development approval process, awareness and understanding among ministries, professionals, industry players and the general public are necessary and should be implemented through the various channels such as:
- Government websites and newsletters.
- Mass media (television, radio).
- Printed media (brochures, leaflets).
- Outreach programmes (seminars, roadshows).
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