PENANG, 27 October 2015 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) had forged a smart partnership with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to provide cooperation and support in implementing the Malaysian Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP), as affirmed in the CITP Pledge-signing Ceremony, together with the industry leaders at the Sime Darby Convention Centre recently.

The Vice-Chancellor of USM, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman informed that USM and CIDB has agreed to stamp a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Sustainable Infrastructure.

“The School of Civil Engineering USM together with the School of Housing, Building and Planning (HBP), River Engineering and Urban Drainage Research Centre (REDAC) and Graduate School of Business (GSB) were the initial and main contributors towards this effort,” he added.

Omar also welcomed further involvement from all quarters within the university as USM is capable of contributing more effectively towards achieving a bigger impact in matters such as the one seen here.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof stated that, the performance and image of the construction industry would surely be improved if the parties involved would enhance their roles and offer better services.

“Improvements in image and achievement in the construction industry could surely be done if there is commitment from every individual in relation to their roles and duties,” he commented at the ceremony.

Added Fadillah further, the government too is aiming for standards of excellence in the construction industry to be achieved not only in the local scene but also at the international level, with the availability of a workforce of more than 68,000 registered contractors, more than 1.2 million registered construction workers, thousands of engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, developers, and producers of building materials.

As stated by the Dean of the School of Civil Engineering USM, Professor Dr. Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah, CITP is an effort by CIDB to ensure that the construction industry in Malaysia would be given a boost to be more competitive, having the highest quality and eco-friendly.

“It would be able to support the efforts of the country to be more competitive in the future, as CITP is targeting four objectives through four fundamentals, namely an increase in professionalism, quality and safety, sustainable and environment-friendly, increased in productivity and competitiveness at the international level,” he said.

The ceremony was held to celebrate all the partners of CIDB, those whom had reached an agreement to work with CIDB in various activities to achieve the objectives of CITP and among the 24 partners of CIDB, three of them comprised of public universities namely USM, UKM and UPM.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah