Malaysian contractors opinions_towards_i copy

ii
Proceedings of the International Conference in the Built Environment
in the 21st
Century (ICiBE 2006)
13-15 JUNE 2006
Editors:
Professor Dr. Johan Victor Torrance, Dr. Hamimah Adnan and Dr. Roshana Takim
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor
Published by:
ISBN:
©2006
Cover Design:

iii
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Patron
Yg.Bhg. Dato Seri Professor Dr Ibrahim
Abu Shah
Advisor
Associate Professor Dr Mohamed
Yusoff bin Abbas
Conference Chairman
Dr Hamimah Adnan
Conference Secretary
Dr Roshana Takim
Treasurer
Ani Saifuza Abdul Shukor
Publicity, Promotion and
Advertisement
Hamidon Abdullah
Mohd Nasrudin bin Ayub
Logistic, Transportation and Dinner
Nasyairi Mohd Nasir
Ellemy Iskandar Khalid
Dr. Ar. Mariam Jamaludin
Mohamad Sufian Hasim
Mazlan Abu Bakar
Technical Committee- Seminar &
Colloquium
Dr Hamimah Adnan
Hajah Faridah Ismail
Hafiszah Ismail
Certificate & Momentos
Hamidon Abdullah
Hafiszah Ismail
Ellemy Iskandar Khalid
Conference Materials
Prof. Dr Johan Victor Torrance Abdullah
Dr Hamimah Adnan
Dr Roshana Takim
Associate Prof. Dr. Abdul Hadi Nawawi
Dr Mohd Nidzam Rahmat
Che Bon Ahmad
Ezlina Mohd Ahnuar
Hajah Azlina Omar
Siti Zawiyah Idris
Protocol and Opening Ceremony
Abu Hassan Wahab
Dr Noriah Othman
Associate Professor Zaiton Yaacob
Norbaya Ab. Rahim
Conference Secretariat
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Hadi Nawawi
Ezlina Mohd. Ahnuar
Dr Mohd Nidzam Rahmat
Norbaya Abdul Rahim
Associate Professor Zaiton Yaacob
Ani Saifuza Abdul Shukor
Y.M Raja Norashikin Raja Othman
Hafiszah Ismail
Mohd Zamreen Mohd Amin
Hajah Azlina Omar
Siti Zawiyah Idris

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INTERNATIONAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE FOR ICiBE 2006
Professor Dean Kashiwagi, Arizona State University, USA
Professor Martin Betts, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Professor Deo Prasad, The University of New South Wales, Australia
Assoc. Professor Dr. Peter J. Edwards, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
(RMIT), Australia
Professor Dr. Derek Walker, RMIT, Australia
Professor Dr. Charles Egbu, Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), United Kingdom
Professor Dr. Akintola Akintoye, GCU, UK
Professor Dr. James Sommerville, GCU, UK
Dr. Esra Kurul, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Professor Dr. Alan Griffith, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Professor Roy Morledge, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Dr. David Greenwood, University of Northumbria, Newcastle-upon Tyne, UK
Dr. Francis Edum-Fotwe, Loughborough University, UK
Professor Dr. Heng Li, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cheung Sai-Onn, City University of Hong Kong
Professor Dr. George Ofori, National University, Singapore
Professor Dr. Stephen Ogunlana, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani, Thailand
Professor Dr. Irtishad Ahmad, Florida International University, Miami, USA
Professor Dr. Francisco Loforte Ribeiro, Departmento de engenharia Civil
Arquitectura, Lisbon, Portugal
Professor Dr. Arq. Silviade Schiller, Faculty of Architecture, Design & Urbanism,
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

v
LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE FOR ICiBE 2006
Professor Dr. Khairuddin Abdul Rashid, International Islamic University (UIA), Kuala
Lumpur Malaysia
Professor Dr. Hamzah Abd. Rahman, University Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur
Professor Dr. Johan Victor Torrance, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam,
Selangor
Professor Bill Hamilton, UiTM Shah Alam
Professor Dr. Zainal Mat Saat, UiTM Shah Alam
Professor Dr. Mohammad Awang, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Hadi Nawawi, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Faridah Yusuf, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dasimah Omar, UiTM Shah Alam
Dr. Mohamad Nidzam Rahmat, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Mohd Naim Wan Mohd, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Zainab Mohammad, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jamalunlaili Abdullah, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ismail Rahmat, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Halmi Kamaruddin, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Kamariah Kamsah, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Ezanee Hashim, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Salleh Wan Ibrahim, UiTM Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mizan Hitam, UiTM Melaka, Melaka
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Rashid bin Abdul Aziz, University Sains Malaysia (USM),
Penang
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rodzyah Hj. Mohd. Yunus, UiTM, Shah Alam
Assoc. Prof. Wan Ahmad Halawah Wan Hariri, UiTM, Shah Alam

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FOREWORD BY ICIBE 2006 CONFERENCE ADVISOR
Assalamualaikum and Warahmatulahi Wabarakatuh,
First and foremost, I wish to welcome all of you to the International Conference
in the Built Environment (ICiBE) 2006 and “Selamat Datang” everyone. I am
greatly honored and glad that the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying
(FAPS), UiTM is organizing this conference. Faculty of Architecture, Planning
and Surveying wishes to thank the university and supporting bodies for their trust,
confidence and continuing support towards us.
This conference with the theme “Bringing Industry and Academia Together for
the Built Environment in the 21st
Century” is an important opportunity of bringing
together so many experts from around the world. Not only, does it interact with
the many facets of this faculty but it comes at a time when the modernising of the
Malaysian construction industry is under close scrutiny. This is contained in the
10 year Master Plan produced by the Construction Industry Development Board
Malaysia (CIDB). Furthermore, the enforcement of the built environment and
related infrastructure is underlined in the policies contained in the recently
published 9th
Malaysian Plan. With this as a backdraft to your deliberation, I am
certain that your contributions of knowledge and debate in the conference will be
extremely valuable.
Lastly, I would like to thank all the committee members for their hard work and
excellent job in ensuring the success of this conference.
Thank you
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR MOHAMED YUSOFF BIN ABBAS
Dean, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying (FAPS)
Universiti Teknologi MARA

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FOREWORD BY ICIBE2006 CONFERENCE CHAIRMAN
Assalamualaikum
Welcome
Selamat Datang
It is with great pleasure that I welcome all distinguished guests, keynote speakers, and
delegates to The International Conference in the Built Environment in the 21st
Century
(ICiBE 2006) at The Rennaisance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. To the
foreign delegates, WELCOME TO MALAYSIA! The ICiBE 2006 provides a forum for
interaction and exchange of ideas on the most appropriate ways of building bridges
across universities, research institutions, government and industry.
I would like to express my appreciation to all the presenters for their cooperation and
patience in providing the papers on schedule for the production of the proceedings on a
compact disc. Apart from the Malaysian speakers, delegates have come from all around
the globe as far as The United States of America, Netherland, France, India, Nigeria,
United Kingdom, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Dahran and Dubai.
The conference represents the outcome of a lot of work by many people over the last one
year. I would like to extend my personal thanks to the Organising Committee for the
commitment and sustained enthusiasm for the planning tasks. Each one of them has
worked extremely hard in making the Conference a success. I would also like to express
my thanks, particularly to Associate Professor Dr Mohamed Yusof bin Abbas (Dean,
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying) for the suggestions and continous
support for the conference. To all my colleagues at the Faculty of Architecture, Planning
and Surveying, you have proven that ‘TEAMWORK is the fuel that allows common
people to produce uncommon results”
Conferences are not just about papers and vigorous discussion, but are importantly, for
networking and renewing friendships. I trust that all attendees enjoy a good mix of
intellectual and social activities in the 2 ½ day conference and that the experience will
motivate you to return to Malaysia again in the future.
Thank you.
DR. HAMIMAH ADNAN
Chairman
Organising Committee (ICiBE 2006)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME 1
KEYNOTE SPEECH
1 PRIVATE FINANCE INITIATIVE – A FRIEND OR FOE 3
2 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION, ARCHITECTURE AND
ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
15
3 THE PLANNING OF PUTRAJAYA: CREATING THE ESSENCE OF CITIES 31
4 THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION RESEARCH/ GRADUATE EDUCATION 39
5 BILLS OF QUANTITIES – A TIME FOR CHANGE? 49
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
1 NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGERS EDUCATIONAL LEVEL
AND NEED IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
59
2 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OF OIL AND GAS CONTRACTORS IN
MALAYSIA
71
3 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF BUILT
ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONS – A UK PERSPECTIVE
85
4 CONQUERING THE CONSTRUCTION BATTLE: OVERCOMING THE PROBLEMS
ON LARGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY
97
5 THE IMPACT OF CONTRACTORS’ PREQUALIFICATION ON CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT DELIVERY IN NIGERIA
111
6 THE ‘A’ TEAM ENVIRONMENT 121
7 PARTICIPATION DETERRENTS IN CO-CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES OF
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT STUDENTS AT A
MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY
133
8 ANALYSIS OF EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS MEASURES OF
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT SUCCESS IN MALAYSIA
147
9 EMPOWERMENT OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TEAM
IN SINGAPORE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
161
10 COLLABORATIVE WORKING VIA INNOVATIVE PAYMENT SYSTEMS 181

ix
11 KNOWLEDGE MAPPING IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: AN
EXPLORATORY STUDY
181
12 THE POTENTIAL OF APPLYING PASSIVE PROCUREMENT AS ONE OF THE
MEANS OF ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
195
13 MINIMIZING SPECIFICATIONS BY PERFORMANCE BASED SELECTION OF
SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS (SYSTEM DESIGN AND BUILD)
205
14 IMPERATIVES OF CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE TRAINING: IMPROVING THE
PROVISIONS WITH TRAINING BEST PRACTICE
217
15 HOW READY ARE WE FOR E-TENDERING?
A MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY IN THE PREPARATION FOR IMPLEMENTING OF
E-TENDERING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
227
16 TOWARDS REDEFINING PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM SYSTEMS:
A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPT
237
17 CLIENT PROJECT/CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT: THE COUNTERINTUITIVE
APPROACH
247
18 TEACHING ETHICS TO CONSTRUCTION DEGREE STUDENTS 259
19 SERVICES PROVIDED BY PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT IN
MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
267
20 THE IMPACT OF CLIENT AND MANUFACTURERS’ ROLE AND INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONSHIPS ON CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION.
277
21 MALAYSIAN CONTRACTORS’ OPINIONS TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL
MARKET EXPANSION
287
22 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DURATION AND COST OF MALAYSIAN
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
299
23 SELECTION AND EVALUATION CRITERIA UNDER DECISION MAKING
ANALYSIS OF CO-FINANCED PROJECTS
311
PROCUREMENT, VALUE, FACILITIES AND RISK
MANAGEMENT
24 VALUE OR COST: TOWARDS A PROFICIENT CONTRACTOR ELECTION
PROCESS FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES –
NIGERIA A CASE STUDY
329
25 THE IMPACT OF SEQUENTIAL THINKING IN THE RISK MANAGEMENT
PROCESS
341
26 CHALLENGES IN INTEGRATING SUSTAINABLE ISSUES INTO VALUE
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
353

x
27 DETERMINING THE ROLE OF INNOVATION MANAGEMENT IN FACILITIES
MANAGEMEN
361
28 THE OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK FOR SAFETY CULTURE OF
THE MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION ORGANISATION
373
29 ADAPTATION STRATEGIES OF CONTRACTING FIRMS:
AN ANALYSIS BY FIRM SIZE
387
30 COMPARISONS OF EVALUATION TECHNIQUES IN VALUE ENGINEERING 395
31 DEVELOPING STRATEGIC SYSTEM PLANNING FRAMEWORK FOR
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT (SSPFFM) IN THE HEALTH SECTOR
405
32 POTENTIAL BEST VALUE CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA 421
33 EFFICIENT RISK ALLOCATION IN PROJECT FINANCE: ANALYSIS OF
LITERATURE REVIEW
431
STRATEGIC ISSUES IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
34 INVESTIGATING ON THE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 441
35 LABELLING CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES AS DOMESTIC, INTERNATIONAL,
MULTINATIONAL, GLOBAL CORPORATIONS: HOW FEASIBLE IS IT?
451
36 FUTURE RESEARCH MODEL OF THE NEW UNIVERSITY 463
LAW AND CONTRACTS
37 THE RELEVANCE OF LIQUIDATED DAMAGES CLAUSE IN CONSTRUCTION
CONTRACTS
475
38 ABANDONED HOUSING PROJECTS IN MALAYSIA: ITS LEGAL CAUSES AND
LEGAL SUGGESTIONS
487
39 THE IMPACT OF EDUCATION OF CONSTRUCTION CLIENTS 513

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VOLUME 2
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY AND QUALITY
MANAGEMENT
40 IMPROVING SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING 525
41 SELECTION PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICE
PROVIDER
539
42 A SYSTEM VIEW OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF
CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
551
43 ANALYSING THE INFLUENCE OF NED FACTORS ON CONTRACTORS’
PERFORMANCE
565
44 APPLYING HERITAGE TOURISM MODEL TO CITY OF TAIPING, MALAYSIA:
LESSONS FOR THE CITIZENS AND STAKEHOLDERS
579
45 AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH FOR EXPLOITING CONSTRUCTION HEALTH
AND SAFETY INFORMATION: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
589
46 TOWARDS A CULTURE OF QUALITY IN THE NIGERIAN BUILT
ENVIRONMENT: A CHALLENGE TO COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS
601
47 CONSTRUCTION SAFETY BENCHMARKING 611
48 ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC HEARING AS PARTICIPATION
TOOL FOR EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
623
49 REDUCED INFORMATION FLOW MAXIMIZES CONSTRUCTION
PERFORMANCE
643
50 DEVELOPING CONSTRUCTION NETWORK-BASED
EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
653
51 ISSUES OF SUB-CONTRACTING IN THE SINGAPORE CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY
663
INTEGRATION OF DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURAL
ISSUES
52 INFLUENCE OF SHADING SLAT’S FRONT & REAR EXTENSION ON THE WIND
FLOW
675
53 MANAGING THE COMPLEXITY OF COLLABORATIVE DESIGN CONCEPTION
IN ARCHITECTURE
685

xii
54 INTEGRATION OF OLD AND NEW SUSTAINABILITY IDEAS INTO
ARCHITECTURE
697
55 INTEGRATIVE MECHANISMS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS OF REFURBISHMENT
PROJECTS
699
56 URBAN RENEWAL OF AN HISTORIC CITY CORE: CASE-STUDY OF AN
HISTORIC INDIAN CITY
709
57 AN APPROACH FOR INTEGRATING UNCERTAINTIES IN THE ASSESSMENT OF
GREEN BUILDINGS
715
58 EMERGING COMPLEXITIES AND THE NEW ARCHITECTURE 727
59 DEVELOPMENT OF TOP-LIT ATRIUM DESIGN IN KUALA LUMPUR WITH
RESPECT TO DAYLIGHTING AND THERMAL COMFORT
739
60 STRAIN MEASUREMENTS AROUND WINDOW OPENING IN MASONRY
PANELS UNDER COMPRESSION
751
61 EVALUATING THE SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY OF CLASSROOMS WITH
DIFFERENT REVERBERATION TIME AND BACKGROUND LEVELS
763
62 A STUDY ON THE LIMITING DEPTH OF DAYLIGHT AND PERMANENT
SUPPLEMENTARY AR TIFICIAL LIGHTING IN HEIGH-RISE OFFICE OF KUALA
LUMPUR
773
63 BARRIER FREE ARCHITECTURE FROM ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE AND
ARCHITECTURE FOR ALL
787
64 VALUABLE RESOURCES OF MALAYSIAN HOUSING DEVELOPERS: CROSS-
EXAMINATION USING FIRM-RELATED AND MARKET-RELATED
CHARACTERISTICS
799
65 DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE, SHIFT IN HOUSING DEMAND & FUTURE OF HONG
KONG’S PUBLIC HOUSING: A LCA APPROACH TO EVALUATE BETWEEN
REFURBISHMENT AND COMPREHENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT
809
LAND SURVEYING AND GEOMATICS
66 USING SATELLITE DERIVED AEROSOL OPTICAL THICKNESS IN MAPPING OF
AIR POLLUTION DISPERSION FOR URBAN AREAS
821
67 HYPER SPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING 833
68 ACADEMIC FISHERMAN COLLABORATIVE IN THE FISHING GROUND
FORECAST SYSTEM
843
69 TOWARD A CENTRALISED SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE FOR KARIAH
ADMINISTRATIVE
853

xiii
70 POTENTIAL OF PULSE LASER TOTAL STATION FOR STRUCTURE
MEASUREMENT
857
71 GREENING CITY LIKE YOURS 867
BUILT-ENVIRONMENT
72 A SYSTEM VIEW OF THE LABOUR PROFILE STRUCTURE OF THE
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: NIGERIA, A
CASE STUDY
881
73 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF PRECAST HOLLOW CORE SLABS IN MULTI-
STOREY BUILDINGS
893
74 LAND USE CONFLICTS IN JELUTONG AREA OF GEORGETOWN, MALAYSIA:
ISSUES FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
905
75 AIR POLLUTION IN AN ENCLOSED VEHICULAR PARKING: A CASE STUDY 915
76 FROM ASHES TO RICHES SOIL STABILIZATION UTILISING WASTEPAPER
SLUDGE ASH
925
77 MANGROVE AND TSUNAMI: BETWEEN MYTH AND REALITY 935
78 SUSTAINABILTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA: SELF HELP
TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC HOUSING OPTION
943
79 THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF SUSTAINABLE
CONSTRUCTION - THE UK EXPERIENCE
953
80 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
PROGRAMME IN THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN PREPARATION PROCESS (CASE
STUDIES OF SABAK BERNAM DISTRICT LOCAL PLAN AND KUALA LUMPUR
STRUCTURE PLAN)
963
81 RISK MANAGEMENT IN INDONESIA’S BOT PROJECT 973
82 CLEAN CONSTRUCTION BY USING LEAN PRODUCTION SYSTEM 985
83 A STUDY OF SERVICE QUALITY IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OF PURPOSE
BUILT OFFICE BUILDINGS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
995
84 LOGICAL AND PHYSICAL DESIGN OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WEB-BASED
GIS PROPERTY MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM (WGPMIS)
1011

1
KEYNOTE SPEECH
THE PRIVATE FINANCE INITIATIVE – A FRIEND OR FOE 3
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION, ARCHITECTURE AND
ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
15
THE PLANNING OF PUTRAJAYA: CREATING THE ESSENCE OF CITIES 31
THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION RESEARCH/ GRADUATE
EDUCATION
39
BILLS OF QUANTITIES – A TIME FOR CHANGE? 49

3
THE PRIVATE FINANCE INITIATIVE – FRIEND OR FOE
Professor Cliff Hardcastle
Glasgow Caledonian University
G4 0 BA
Abstract: The procurement of public facilities and services under arrangements involving
partnerships between the public and private sectors is claimed to provide a wide variety of
benefits to the public sector and to the private sector participants. In the project development
process, the parties have to engage in decision-making based on suitable evaluation criteria.
At the early stage of preparing a business case, perceptions of the positive and negative
factors surrounding PPP/PFI procurement influence decisions. It is perceived that PPP/PFI
project procurement is most attractive in terms of positive factors relating to better project
technology and economy, greater public benefit, public sector avoidance of regulatory and
financial constraints, and public sector saving in transaction costs. Negative factors, relating
to the inexperience of the participants, the over-commercialisation of projects, and high
participation cost and time, make PPP/PFI procurement less attractive.
Keywords: Procurement systems; PPP; PFI; project management.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the UK, public/private partnerships (PPP), in the guise of the Private Finance Initiative
(PFI), have become an integral part of national government policy in the delivery of
public facilities and services (HM Treasury, 2000). Despite the increasing use of PFI and
other PPP schemes in the UK, there are still aspects of PPP/PFI which are not clear to all
of the participants leading to the potential for lack of clarity in decision making. The
Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) collected “evidence calling for Public Private
Partnerships” across the UK in 2000 (IPPR, 2000a). The aim of the IPPR survey was to
produce a set of authoritative guidelines which would inform the use of such partnership
arrangements in future public policy. A similar understanding is required for PPP/PFI
construction projects.
Public and private sector responses to PPP/PFI have been mixed. Some participants
actively welcome the policy (Allen, 1999; Middleton, 2000). Other reactions have been
largely negative (Owen and Merna, 1997). Complimentary reviews about PPP/PFI note
the benefits it brings in terms of its effect on economic development strategy. It is argued
that PPP/PFI procurement allows government and the private sector to learn from each
other and create synergistic effects for both parties. It is even claimed that PPP/PFIs will
become a cornerstone of the UK Labour Government’s modernisation programme,
through the delivery of better quality public services, by bringing in new investment and

4
improved management; and will provide a major boost to the construction industry (HM
Treasury, 2000).
Critics, on the other hand, suggest that PPP/PFI/PFI is a controversial and problematic
approach to capital development in the public sector (Ruane, 2000). In the UK, the trade
unions, especially UNISON, have been trenchant critics of PPP/PFI and call for re-
nationalisation, particularly for UK rail transport systems.
These contrasting perceptions of the attractiveness of PPP/PFI as friend or foe (as a
means of delivering public facilities and services) complicate the task of decision-makers
involved in preparing the business case for a PPP/PFI project. They can also influence
policy development for public sector project procurement generally. While some aspects
of PPP/PFI projects will clearly make them more attractive to one stakeholder than to
another (or indeed to one region or another), it is important to explore the concept of
attractiveness at greater depth. This is done by first expounding the factors which may
positively and negatively influence the attractiveness of PPP/PFI projects and then
identifying an agenda for further research into these issues. The PFI research team at
Glasgow Caledonian University have spent many years researching the subject of
PPP/PFI and with the growth in these types of projects it is becoming increasingly clear
that there is a need for much more empirical research than has historically been the case.
Such research will allow greater confidence in decisions concerning the appropriateness
of the use of the PPP/PFI approach to procurement to specific circumstances.
2. PPP/PFI AS FRIEND
The transfer of risk is a primary objective in PPP/PFI project procurement. The public
sector partner seeks to divest itself of the risks associated with the delivery and operation
of desired public facilities and services. Many of these risks relate to the time, cost and
quality objectives of projects. Will the project be completed on time? Will it be
completed according to budget? Will it be fit for its intended purpose? While risk transfer
may be an obvious positive feature of PPP/PFI for the public sector, it is less clear how
private sector parties might also share this view. However, under current guidelines in the
UK, the public client provides explicit information about risk allocation to confirmed
private sector bidders during the contract procurement process for a project (NAO, 1999;
NHS, 1999). Since this must yield greater clarity about project risk, it is likely that the
private sector would agree that risk transfer is also a positive factor in its participation in
PPP/PFI. The fact that risk and reward go hand in hand also suggests that private sector
participants may be enthusiastic about securing opportunities to profit from the risk
transfer that occurs, providing the view is taken that the risk can be managed.

5
Traditional public provision sector responsibility for the delivery of public facilities and
services inevitably carries with it the view that not only must government in its various
forms deliver these but they should do so through the ‘illusory’ bottomless public purse.
Regardless of unforeseen increases in the capital costs of projects, or higher than
expected ongoing service delivery and maintenance costs, it is expected that money will
be available to resolve matters. PPP/PFI attempts to correct this image, since it seeks to
subject capital expenditure decisions to the ruthless scrutiny of private sector commercial
practice. Furthermore, the public sector partner is able to cap its final service costs at pre-
determined levels through the concessional agreement made with its private sector
counterpart (Tiong and Anderson 2003).
In addition to gaining the capacity to cap final service costs, the public sector in PPP/PFI
should be able to substantially reduce administration costs, since it will no longer have
day to day responsibility for service delivery. Instead, the public client takes on a less
intensive role of monitoring the performance of the private concessionaire and receiving
periodic reports (Bennett 1998).
PPP/PFI reduces the amount of public money tied up in capital investment since it
relieves government of a substantial proportion of public debt. It also slows unsustainable
growth in the acquisition and maintenance of public assets that would otherwise occur at
the expense of compromising the delivery of essential services (Jones et al 1996).
Private sector involvement in public service provision means that the private investment
tackles the problem of bottlenecks in infrastructure demand and supply. Even in some
wealthy European Union countries, for the purpose of ensuring that the general
government deficit is not more than 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and gross
public sector debt not more than 60% of GDP, governments are forced to consider other
sources of investment. The public liabilities involved in PFI projects do not appear as
public sector borrowing in annual financial reporting, in the sense that the loans are taken
out by private sector companies. By contrast, when public sector bodies borrow for
investment purposes, the full value of the capital raised counts towards the public sector
borrowing and other measures of government deficit. The “off balance sheet” accounting
possibilities offered by PPP/PFI are therefore attractive to financial administrators in the
public sector. The exemption of PFI transactions from the public sector borrowing
requirements isolates such schemes from centrally controlled budgetary allocations and
the usual cash limits that accompany public sector expenditure (Akintoye et al., 2001b).
PPP/PFI procurement is seen as attractive to public and private sector participants
because it forces a project to service any financial debt from the revenue streams derived
from the project itself. There is normally no recourse to public funding, nor can the debt
be secured by the underlying asset value since for most projects ownership reverts to the
public client after a pre-determined period. The revenue streams may comprise fees paid
directly to the concessionaire by users (e.g. toll road fees), or fees paid by government on
behalf of all potential users (e.g. fees per hospital patient serviced, or per school pupil

6
accommodated). This non-recourse or limited recourse public funding is an important
ingredient of PPP/PFI procurement (Carrick 2000; Akintoye et al 2001b). It is thought
that, since PPP/PFI approaches encourage private sector commercial efficiency to replace
public sector bureaucratic inefficiency, it is reasonable to expect that total project cost
can be reduced. (Hambros 1999).
An attractive feature of PPP/PFI procurement method is that it offers both the public
client and the private contractor more freedom to select innovative methods in the
provision of assets and services. This should lead to time saving by accelerating project
development and by avoiding delays in project delivery (Downer and Porter, 1992; Hall,
1998; Utt, 1999). By taking over the responsibility for design, construction, operation
and maintenance, private contractors have to consider design suitability and convenience
for future construction and operation practice, by placing emphasis on improving the
buildability and maintainability of projects (Hambros, 1999). With PPP/PFI
procurement, the project scope is capable of expansion to reflect a broader context. This
might permit the development of an integrated solution, such as binding several small
projects formerly dealt with under different departments (for example: a school, library,
and recreation centre) into a single project, thus achieving economies of scale (Utt, 1999;
NS, 2000).
PPP/PFI is seen as attractive in terms of the potential benefits it may bring to local
economic development in the region(s) where the facility is built or the services are
delivered. It is further claimed that local employment opportunities are enhanced, not
only for the direct construction and operational activities associated with the project, but
also for ancillary services and businesses established by entrepreneurs eager to exploit the
opportunities created by its location NAO 2001).
Internationally, and particularly in developing countries, PPP/PFI is seen as attractive in
terms of its capacity to achieve the transfer of technological knowledge to local
enterprises. Project procurement is arranged so that private sector partners with the
desired technological expertise from more developed nations are enticed into joint
venture type agreements with local companies (Nielsen, 1997; Trim, 2001).
3. PPP/PFI AS FOE
A lack of PPP/PFI experience and appropriate skills exists not only in the public sector
but also in the private sector. Public project developments under the concept of PPP/PFI
remain relatively new, especially in core public services areas such as schools and
hospitals. The concept of PPP is comparatively less well understood in countries with a
strong public welfare policy; and even more so in terms of operational service delivery.
Regulatory policy in this area may be very strict concerning public finance and
expenditure. In such countries, governments have less experience in alternative ways to

7
finance their projects. The lack of understanding and the need for better training by
public officials involved in PPP/PFI projects is a major issue identified by Morledge and
Owen (1998). The private sector also lacks appropriate skills in PPP/PFI projects
(Ezulike et al., 1997). Financing, operating, maintaining and investing in a long-term
asset are not familiar activities to construction contractors. For example, a short while
after the facility opened, the concessionnaire for a toll road project in Australia
experienced a breach of security in its electronic tolling system for the credit card account
details of several thousand customers. The ensuing publicity reflected adversely on the
competence of the concessionaire and its state government partner in the BOOT project.
Indeed, the consequence of the failure of what is almost always a high profile project in a
single jurisdiction can affect its ability to attract investors for many years.
In the toll road project example noted above, the concession deed allows the private
operator to increase tolls every six months by an amount based upon a capped limit to the
prevailing inflation rate. This substantially protects the operator’s real income, and
further protection (by way of minimising any fall-off in traffic volumes for the toll road)
was entrenched in the deed by removing clear-way restrictions on local roads in the
vicinity. The removal of clearway restrictions on local roads increased the amount of
parking on them, consequently slowing traffic and thus discouraging ‘rat-run’ behaviour
by motorists trying to find alternative routes to the toll-way. Additionally, adjoining local
authorities were barred (by the state) from undertaking road improvements that could
directly impact adversely on the toll road traffic volumes. Effectively, therefore, the
revenue streams of the private concessionaire have been protected at the cost of greater
traffic inefficiencies in adjoining areas. In this situation, the ‘user pays’ principle has
been partly subverted by a ‘non-user also pays’ effect, although neighbouring localities
have anecdotally reported lower overall traffic volumes on local roads. Under a
traditional wholly public sector procurement approach, the project would probably have
been undertaken on a toll-free basis with a combination of federal and state funding, and
public borrowing, with loan repayments made from general tax revenues. Even if tolls
had been imposed in a public scheme, it is doubtful that they would have been allowed to
escalate every six months. Effectively, therefore, the PPP arrangement in this case has
resulted in higher direct charges to the users. However, this is clearly not a simple
conclusion to be drawn in every instance.
At the present time there is no standard contract in the UK for PPP/PFI projects.
Procurement relies on HM Treasury’s Project Review Group criteria or National Audit
Office best practice guidance (NAO, 1999), which require a great deal of work for an
individual project operation. Most PPP/PFI projects cover not only the design and
construction of the project, but also operation and concessionary ownership over a long-
term period. The complexity of project requirements results in high participation costs to
interested private sector parties. Birnie (1999) discovered that the cost of tendering for
PFI projects in the UK is considerably higher than for other procurement systems.
Furthermore, there is no apparent reduction in participation costs for a commensurate
increase in the scale of the works. Other costs associated with PPP/PFI bids include the
cost of assembling and setting up a consortium, and the cost of investing equity in the

8
corresponding business entity that is created (Ezulike et al., 1997). Under current UK
government guidelines, it is considered that the cost of developing a PPP/PFI project can
be higher than that of an equivalent publicly funded approach (Saunders, 1998).
This situation can be exacerbated where there is a perception that the contractual
framework in any particular country is insufficiently robust to provide security to
potential foreign investors. At a time when numerous countries may be seeking to
procure facilities and services through the PPP/PFI approach this contractual framework
risk factor will place certain countries at a disadvantage when seeking the economic
efficiencies claimed for this procurement approach as the private sector expects returns
related to country risk.
The above factors themselves give rise to others that negatively affect the attractiveness
of PPP/PFI projects. Lack of critical experience, coupled with high participation costs,
mean that participation to date in such schemes has been restricted to relatively few
private sector partners. Grimsey and Graham (1997) have noted problems with
complexity and affordability. It is likely that too many scheme proposals are chasing too
few private players (PRSU, 2000). The nature of PPP/PFI, with its emphasis on complex,
large scale long term projects and substantial elements of risk transfer, means that a
mature and sufficient private sector market has not yet been established, at least in the
UK. Despite the capacity to form project consortia, there are comparatively few private
sector organisations, with sufficient confidence in their own ability to make them
successful, capable of taking on such projects. In turn, this restricted participation has
resulted in fewer schemes reaching the contract stage (PSRU 2000).
As yet there is little reliable evidence that a situation of over-reliance on the private
sector is beginning to occur in the provision of public facilities and services. However,
there must be a chance that the private sector partner in a project will fail, leaving the
public client to pick up the pieces and maintain essential service delivery. In 2003, an
international transport conglomerate, a concessionaire for privatised delivery of public
rail services in Victoria, Australia, walked away from its obligations overnight, leaving
the state government to resume the public responsibility that, through privatisation
policies, it had managed to divest itself from some 6 years previously. Despite substantial
experience with PPP, it took over a year for the government to form a new partnership
with another private sector company which was already operating another section of the
same rail system.
A PPP/PFI project is normally proposed in order to achieve several objectives. In the UK,
the government uses the PFI and other types of PPP to complement additional public
sector investment and to ensure that genuine economic benefits are shared between the
public and private sectors. It is possible for conflicting objectives to arise and cause
confusion in terms of their assessment criteria for both private contractor and public
participants. Many advisors (specialists, lawyers, and financiers) are involved in the

9
evaluation of PPP/PFI projects. The evaluation criteria are often very diverse. Any
confusion will affect the ability of all the parties to operate efficiently.
Although the contrary was suggested earlier as a positive factor, it has been argued that
some PPP/PFI projects have had a higher project cost than comparable projects delivered
under traditional procurement. The cost of a PFI/PPP/PFI project itself is claimed to be
generally higher than the comparable public sector facility provision through traditional
procurement (Ezulike et al., 1997; Birnie, 1999). High project cost might have been
caused by the private sector adding a larger profit margin to cover unfamiliar risks, and
such premiums may subside as experience is gained. PSPRU (2000) claims that PFI costs
more than conventional procurement, since the private sector could not borrow capital to
finance projects as cheaply as the public sector, which suggests that private finance
organisations have taken a more pessimistic risk view. PSPRU (2000) also notes that
escalating costs are common in PFI schemes, due to open-ended contracts. For example,
the first large-scale hospital contract in Norfolk is said to be worth £193 million,
compared to £90 million at its start-up time.
Some PPP/PFI projects are the subject of lengthy political debate before they go to
tender, causing further delay in their execution. The London Underground PPP/PFI
project, where conflict arose between the London Lord Mayor and the central
government, is an example (IJ, 2001a). UK Members of Parliament joined forces to
demand that the National Audit Office took a fresh look at the PPP/PFI arrangement
before contracts with private companies were signed. The Liberal Democrat party urged
the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee to order an NAO investigation. The NAO
was mandated to decide whether PPP/PFI meets the key value-for-money criteria over
other means of funding, such as the public bonds scheme favoured by London Lord
Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and Bob Kiley (IJ, 2001b). Political debate may also extend
beyond the project tender. In New South Wales, Australia, planning and decision-making
for a motorway project dragged on for nearly one and a half decades. When construction
on the PPP project finally commenced, the state government was forced to deal with the
environmental concerns of community groups that were being led and co-ordinated by a
group whose advocacy for public transport alternatives continued to show up in anti-
motorway messages and lobbies. Community relations cannot be ignored and failure to
recognise this can lead to significant difficulties both for the project delivery and its long
term future.
PPP/PFI imposes a new and more complex procurement process on the public sector. It is
part tendering and part contract negotiation among public bodies, private sector consortia
and their advisers. Ezulike et al. (1997) found that there is an extensive amount of time
used in contract transactions such as bidding for PPP/PFI projects, coupled with much
negotiation time between the public sector client, its project advisers, and the private
sector consortia and their advisors, over the terms and conditions of the contract.

10
Critics of PPP/PFI believe that it reduces project accountability (IJ, 2001b; Pollock and
Vicker, 2001). In contrast with the transparent accountability of virtually all public sector
projects procured under traditional procurement arrangements in westernised
democracies, information disclosure and reporting requirements for many PPP/PFI
projects must at best be regarded as patchy. As part of the contract agreements, a great
deal of information is treated as “commercial-in-confidence”. Not only does this remove
it from public scrutiny, it also protects it from the exercise of disclosure powers under
freedom of information legislation. Although the public and private partners in some
projects proclaim their “openness” with extensive web-publication of information, in
reality this more often than not comprises truncated extracts of documents, with much of
the sensitive detail excised. Project accountability under traditional forms of public sector
procurement is usually a straightforward application of public audit procedures carried
out under administrative terms of reference that have been established through
democratic processes of legislation. It is possible for PPP/PFI procurement to avoid such
procedures. Performance reporting for most PPP/PFI projects is limited to what has been
agreed beforehand between the parties. If reporting on particular matters (e.g. evolving
environmental issues, or emerging trends in use patterns) is not required by the contract,
it is difficult, if not impossible, for the public sector partner to subsequently demand such
information. In traditional public procurement no such difficulty arises.
Another contradiction with a positive factor proposed earlier is that PPP/PFI may result
in fewer employment opportunities in the local area (PSRU, 2000). The shift in
responsibility for provision and delivery of public facilities and services, from the public
sector to the private sector, does not automatically mean that all public sector staff
previously employed dealing with them will then take up opportunities to continue their
work with the new private sector partners. Economics does not work this way in practice.
Any shrinkage in the size of public bureaucracies is unlikely to be matched by parallel
growth in private sector employment opportunities. The former will occur far too slowly,
while the latter will be subject to the cost saving, efficiency and productivity expectations
of the private sector.
Furthermore, in the delivery of projects it has been found that this does not necessarily
result in the use of local contractors where the skill base and experience may not be
available. Alongside this the knowledge transfer associated with joint ventures does not
always occur leaving little skills development with the local partner. Alongside this
concept many contractors and in particular local contractors believe that there are real
barriers to entry into this market. Similarly, in the manner in which skills may be
imported to deliver the PPP/PFI and then removed, there is the contentious issue of
migration of profits out of the country within which the project resides. The positive and
negative features that are perceived to influence the attractiveness of PPP/PFI in the
delivery of public facilities and services are summarised in Table 1 (Bing et al 2005). In
the study by Bing et al (2005) it was also reported that the four most important positive
attractiveness factor groupings are associated with better project technology and
economy, greater benefit to the public, public sector avoidance of regulatory and
financial constraints, and public saving in transaction costs. The three most important

11
negative factor groupings are related to the inexperience of the public and private sectors,
the over-commercialisation of projects, and high participation cost and time for
participants.
These factor groupings, representing the positive and negative characteristics exhibited in
PPP/PFI procurement, should be considered by public sector clients, and by potential
private sector business case developers, in the process of selecting PPP/PFI options for
construction projects
Table 1: Positive and negative factors about PPP/PFI procurement.
Factor
Positive
Transfers risk to the private partner.
Caps the final service costs.
Reduces public sector administration costs.
Reduces public money tied up in capital investment.
Solves the problem of public sector budget restraint (Akintoye et al., 2001b).
Non-recourse or limited recourse public funding.
Reduces the total project cost.
Improves build ability.
Accelerates project development.
Saves time in delivering the project.
Improves maintainability.
Benefits local economic development (HM Treasury, 2000).
Transfers technology to local enterprises.
Facilitates creative and innovative approaches (Birnie, 1999; NS, 2000).
Enhances government integrated solution capacity (Sohail, 2000).
Negative
Few schemes reach the contract stage.
Threatened by lack of experience and appropriate skills (Morledge and Owen, 1998; Ezulike et al.,
1997).
Leads to higher direct charges to users.
Imposes excessive restriction on participation.
High participation costs are incurred (Ezulike et al., 1997; Saunders, 1998; Birnie, 1999).
High risk relying on private sector.
Confusion can arise over government objectives and evaluation criteria.
May lead to high project costs (Ezulike et al., 1997; Birnie, 1999; PSPRU, 2000).
Lengthy delays caused by political debate (IJ, 2001a; 2001b).
Much management time is spent in contract transaction (Ezulike et al., 1997).
Lengthy delays can arise in negotiation.
Reduces project accountability.
Offers fewer employment opportunities.
4. CONCLUSIONS
There remains considerable debate about the advantages and disadvantages of a PPP/PFI
approach to the procurement of public assets and services. None the less there remains

12
every likelihood that the significant drivers which are transfer of risk and the removal of
the capital expenditure from the public purse and its replacement with an approach which
sees returns to the private sector for the provision of a service over time will result in
continued growth in this type of procurement. In the light of this it is imperative to not
only seek out improvements to the process but also to understand in more detail how the
benefits can be weighed against the costs. The growth in PPP/PFI projects in
construction related field is such that an opportunity now exists for such research to be
founded on the basis of completed and live projects with a view to moving away from
studies based upon public and private sector perceptions to studies which seek to
determine whether those perceptions are reflected in reality.
The research opportunities here are great and the returns to society from such research are
potentially greater, for it may be that when this research programme begins to bear fruit
we will find that PPP/PFIs are not the panacea for public projects they are often claimed
to be. Indeed there is every likelihood that what will emerge is that it is only in particular
circumstances and particular situations that the PPP/PFI approach is desirable. It is for
the research community to attempt to determine what the elements of these circumstances
and situations are.
5. REFERENCES
Akintoye, A., Beck, M., Hardcastle, C., Chinyio, E. and Asenova, D. (2001a). Framework for Risk
Assessment and Management of Private Finance Initiative Projects. http://www.fst.gcal.ac.uk/bne.
Access in Oct 2002.
Akintoye, A., Beck, M., Hardcastle, C., Chinyio, E. and Asenova, D. (2001b). The Financial Structure of
Private Finance Initiative Projects. Proceedings: 17th
ARCOM Annual Conference. Salford. Vol.1.
pp.361-369.
Allen, J. (1999) Securing the Future for Bovis. Construction Management. Vol.5, No.4, pp.22-25.
Bennett, E. (1998), “Public-private cooperation in the delivery of urban infrastructure services (water and
waste)”, PPUE Background Paper, UNDP/Yale Collaborative Programme, available at;
www.undp.org/ppue/
Bing, L., Akintoye, A., Edwards, P.J., Hardcastle, C., (2005) Perceptions of Positive and Negative Factors
Influencing the Attractiveness of PPP/PFI Procurement for Construction Projects in the UK:
Findings from a Questionnaire Survey. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management.
Vol.12, No.2, pp. 125-148.
Birnie, J. (1999). Private Finance Initiative (PFI) – UK Construction Industry Response, Journal of
Construction Procurement, Vol.5, No.1, pp.5-14.
Carrick, M. (2000), Commercial Debt Raising for PFI Projects, Ernst & Young UK, Corporate Finance,
London, available at: www.budget.news.co.uk/Template1.nsf/Homepages(accessed June).
Downer, J.W. and Porter, J. (1992), “Tate’s Cairn Tunnel, Hong Kong: South East Asia’s Longest Road
Tunnel”, Proceedings: 16th
Australian Road Research Board Conference, Part 7 , Perth, pp. 153-
165.
Ezulike, E. I., Perry, J. G. and Hawwash, K. (1997). The Barriers to Entry into the PFI Market.
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. Vol.4, No.3, pp. 179-193.
Grimsey, D. and Graham, R. (1997). PFI in NHS. Engineering, Construction and Architectural
Management. Vol.4, No.3, pp.215-231.
Hall J. (1998), “Private opportunity, public benefit?”, Fiscal Studies, Vol. 19 No.2, pp.121-40.

13
HM, Treasury (2000). Public Private Partnerships – The Government’s Approach. The Stationery Office,
London. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/docs/2000/ppp.html.
IJ. (2001a a
. Infrastructure Journal, May 4, 2001. http://www.infrastructurejournal.com.
IJ. (2001b). Infrastructure Journal, October 18, 2001. http://www.infrastructurejournal.com.
IPPR (2000a). Summary of responses to call for evidence - Consultation on Public Private Partnerships.
http://www.ippr.org.uk. Access in Dec 2000.
Jones, I, Zamani, H. and Reehal, R (1996), Financing Models for New Transport Infrastructure, OPEC,
Luxembourg.
Middleton, N. (2000). Public Private Partnerships – A Natural Successor to Privatisations?
http://www.pwcglobal.com/uk/eng/about/svcs/pfp/ppp.html. Access in Oct 2000.
Morledge, R. and Owen, K. (1998). Critical Success Factors in PFI Projects. In Proceeding of 14th
ARCOM
Annual Conference, University of Reading. Pp.565-574.
NAO (1999). Examining the Value for Money of Deals under the Private Finance Initiative. National Audit
Office, London.
National Audit Office (2001), The Re-negotiation of the PFI-Type Deal for the Royal Armouries Museum
in Leeds, National Audit Office, London
NHS, (1999). Public Private Partnerships in National Health Service: The Private Financial Service: Good
Practice. The Stationery Office, London.
Nielsen, K.R. (1997), “Trends and evolving risks in design-build BOT and BOOT projects”, The
International Construction Law Review, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp.188-97.
NS, (2000). Review of Public Private Partnership Processes. http://www,gov.ns.ca/finance/index.htm.
Access in Aug 2001.
Owen, G. and Merna, A. (1997). The Private Finance Initiative. Engineering, Construction and
Architectural Management. Vol.4, No.3, pp.163-177.
Pollock, A. and Vickers, N. (2001). Private Pie in the Sky. Public Finance.
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance. Access in Dec 2001.
PSPRU (2000). Private Finance Initiative: Dangers Realities Alternatives. UNISON, London.
Ruane, S. (2000). Acquiescence and opposition: the private finance initiative in the National Health
Service. Policy & Politics. Vol.28, No.3, pp.411-424.
Saunders, A. (1998). Aspects of Funding for BOO Projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural
Management. Vol.5, No.1, pp.22-30.
Tiong,R, and Anderson, J.A. (2003), “Public-private partnership risk assessment and management process:
the Asian dimension”, in Akintoye, A., Beck, M. and Hardcastle, C (Eds), Public Private
Partnerships: Managing Risk and Opportunities, Blackwell, Oxford, pp 225-43.
Trim, P.R.J. (2001). Public-Private Partnerships and the Defence Industry. European Business Review.
Vol.13, No.4, pp.227-233.
Utt, R.D. (1999), How Public-Private partnerships Can Facilitate Public School Construction, available at
www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/bg1257.htm (accessed August 2000).

15
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION,
ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN
A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
Professor Dr. Mohamad Tajuddin Haji Mohamad Rasdi
Center for the Study of Built Environment in the Malay World, KALAM
Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of this paper is to present some thoughts on rethinking the ideas of
education and managing the knowledge of architecture and its building heritage. The
issue which I wish to raise is that in a democratic country there is a different way that we
must perceive the management of these three items. At this point in time education of
architecture is simply interpreted within a trade school mindset whilst the academics are
still trapped within a ‘practice’ mindset on the one hand and a civil servant mindset on
the other. In this paper I will outline how much of these efforts have to change in order to
meet the challenges of the future in Malaysia.
The last few years culminating in the year 2003 can be said to be a ‘keramat’ or ‘sacred’
period where political awakening among the middle class Malaysians marked an
unprecedented increase in the country’s young history. The call for a greater civil society
or ‘masyarakat madani’ over that of ‘directed democracy’ can be heard clearly.
Democracy and civil consciousness simply means that the society is self aware and is
able to react critically to challenges now and in the future. In a feudal society, it is a top-
down affair and the masses hardly have any opinion or say in matters determining their
lives. But in a democracy it is suppose to be a bottom-up affair with the idea that
knowledge be made available to the masses and not just to the few administrative elite
because it is the majority of people who would have a say in decision making process.
2.1 EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
The first act of knowledge management is to overhaul our educational curriculum
towards a more human and humane oriented strategies that would benefit the greater
masses. I have chosen to write about the thoughts of Frank Lloyd Wright on education
from a speech which he had given in 1957. Although he had never graduated from any

16
university Wright had received seven Honorary Doctorates and one Honorary Masters
throughout his illustrious career as an architect, a writer, a critic of art and society. His
greatest dream was to see the idea of Democracy permeating the very life of the
American continent and to thus be a part of creating an architectural environment steeped
with the notions of human freedom and organic oneness to Nature
2.1.1 The Development of the Idea of the Profession Called ‘Architect’
The Werkbund and the Art and Craft movement produced two different ideas of what the
architect’s responsibilities were. The Werkbund saw the architects role as the craftsmen
with high technology with art being the aesthetic ingredient. The Bauhaus eventually
became the technocratic evolution of the Werkbund graduates and they began the heroic
period of designing for the new political power which was the Workers. The idea of
‘building for the masses’ and large generous gestures of housing schemes came into play.
The architect saw its communist role of building technocrats looking after the health and
spirit of the huge masses. On the other hand, the Art and Craft rebelled against the idea
of industrialization and all its overly capitalistic intentions and also the standardized
philosophy of communist mass housing. It was more than just an artistic revolt but a
serious political one. The movers such as John Ruskin and William Morris saw that their
role was to bring about a real sense of human dignity to the idea of living architecture
that entails an organic response to settlement and the building craft. They saw their roles
as nation builders in a society that allows for individual variations of freedom of life. The
ultimate evolution of this idea came with the thoughts of Frank Lloyd Wright fashioned
much from those of Louis Sullivan. From the poetic visions of society, Wright
formulated the idea of the architect to be a democratic individual ready to design for the
different needs of individuals and societies alike.
Thus, this idea of the architect, in a democratic society, gave room for the development of
such approaches in contemporary architects like the work of Charles Moore and Ralph
Ernskine. The idea of community participation in a design process seems to me the
ultimate form of the ‘democratic architect’. In a democratic society, the architect must
have greater understanding of the people’s needs and aspirations and thus calls more for a
human based curriculum rather than a technological based of one. It was this human
based ideaology that Wright expounded in his speech in 1957.
2.1.2 The Present Problem in Architecture Education
There are two major problems facing architecture education in this country. The first is
the problem related to the issue of a ‘trade school’ mentality. The other problem of
education is the issue of mass conditioning as opposed to enlightenment.

17
The main underlying problem with the development of architectural education in this
country is that the powers-that-be could not shake off their trade school mentality in the
curriculum. Three decades down the road to the present time, one can discern clearly that
this ‘trainer mentality’ among so called ‘academics’ in universities teaching architecture
is still prevalent among the more senior staff. I would like to hypothesise that Malaysia’s
situation was not unique in this regard as Wright had observed in his cutting criticism of
American universities in the following excerpt of his speech:
“Now what does ‘university’ mean? Our state university is chiefly a trade school.
You go down there for some specialized training. You are there just in line to
learn to make a living. You don’t go to the university to learn about the verities of
nature, the truths of the ‘universal’ for which ‘university’ is the name. True
education is a matter of ‘seeing in’ , not merely ‘seeing at’. (Wright, 1957:269)
Wright believed that students ought to be taught how to ‘see in’ not merely to ‘see at’.
This implies an idea of independent thinking and creative summation of the issues at
hand rather than the simplistic notion of ‘problem solving’. Although I do not believe in
the ‘finished product’ approach to architecture education, I will agree with the fact that
the curriculum can be split into the diploma or certificate holder who would be trained as
any ‘skilled worker’ would whilst the degree and post graduate courses should be tuned
into those that produce students with ‘more questions’ in their minds than simplistic
ready made answers. At the risk of being ridiculed by many, I maintain that it is only the
thinking student , the one who is self aware, that can form questions. The ability to
formulate questions usually lead to a critical formulation of a problem in which, once
achieved, can find the solution half solved within the clearly defined problem itself.
The other problem of education per se concerns the problem of ‘conditioning’ and not
enlightenment as Wright succinctly points out in the following statement:
“What is education without enlightenment? It’s a mere conditioning. And what is
mere conditioning but maintaining mass ignorance, the poisonous and poisoning
end of what we call ‘civilization’. There is nothing more dreadful, more
dangerous, nothing to be more feared in this world, than plain or fancy ignorance.
We can see this today in the drift toward conformity. We can see it in the
education of modern mass-society. You can blame education for much of this
because education has not seen what we have needed as a free people. It has not
provided enlightenment. It has provided conditioning instead.” (Wright,
1957:269)
This statement is true not only for architectural education in this country but to all levels
of education right down to the elementary school. Conditioning in education especially at
the university level is the surest formula to destroy any civilization. It would ensure the
production of mindless individuals going about activities as they are told. The human
spirit has been created with a natural ‘rebellious’ attitude for inherent in this aspect is the
key to a progressive civilization. How many times have we read about such and such a

18
persons idea contradict the ‘norm’ of society. These strange ideas have come from those
whom finally history calls prophets, philosophers, leaders and thinkers who leave an
indelible mark upon the pages of man’s history. A feudalistic political mind usually does
not have the best intentions to those who are ruled since the ability to continue the
political dominance for personal gratification is the actual reason for being. On the
campus, a slightly different phenomena exists other than the usual conditioning as a tool
of political dominance. I speak of ‘progressive’ Vice Chancellors or Deans who wish to
look good with students scoring a high grade point average. This is done by requiring
‘notes’ to be given to students so as the students can ‘score’ a high mark. Gone are the
days of students actually having to sieve through information or find any themselves for
that matter. The act of deciding which information is better and how to make sense of the
information for one’s own understanding is of paramount importance to a society that
need to chart its own destiny in this world and not be subjugated under any political or
economic control. We must strive to create students who a ‘rule makers’ and not just
‘rule followers’
2.2.3 Formulating New Objectives in the Architectural Curriculum: Philosophy
and a Perspective of Values
There are two fundamental things missing in our tertiary education and that of
professional instruction. The profession of architecture is supposed to provide human
beings with a physical built environment that would suit not only the idea of individual
needs but also that of community considerations. It is a terribly difficult task indeed when
we neglect to teach these students what being a human being entails, other than breathing
and going to the bathroom. In his statement Wright alluded to the idea of having a
philosophy as a foundation on any decision making process to determine the kind of
architecture that should be produced:
“To enlighten the young education must at least teach philosophy. Without a true
philosophy there is no understanding of anything. Without you own philosophic
resolution and analysis of pretended knowledge, as applied to life, what and
where are you? Philosophy is the only realm wherein you can find understanding.
Religion and the arts are all part of philosophy. There has never been a creative
artist or poet, for instance, who wasn’t deeply religious…My work is great in so
far as its philosophy is sound, and if my philosophy is unsound my work will not
endure. The fact that it has endured, and now has a chance to continue beyond any
lifetime, is simply due to the fact that the philosophy behind it all was a sound one. If
that philosophy didn’t inspire my work, it wouldn’t exist very long.” (Wright, 1957:271)
Philosophy is considered by some to be a dirty word in the sense that it is a thing much
talked about but have little use anywhere. It’s the old you-can- talk but-cannot-do attitude
among practitioners and teachers of architecture. Without such an awareness of the

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individual self and the collective one how can a student of architecture decide which kind
of building type and in what manner are the space distribution and not to mention the idea
of language expression in the design proposal? We assume that the students come in with
a set philosophy of life drummed in by society, the political leadership and what tradition
has to offer, but we fail to recognize that such traditional upbringing no longer exist. The
old village cultural and socio-physical environment that was the bastion of cultural and
value transfer no longer exist in a unified and clear manner. We have students from a
pluralistic context of culture that hinges only on the perception of sense and what tickles
its fancies only. There is no big agenda for students in the realm of nation building,
religious strife or family commitment anymore but comic book fantasies as the
underlying software that these students grow up with. Thus, the first hurdle of
architectural education is simply this: the rediscovery of being human.
To be human, means to have values of right and wrong. The sense of right and wrong is
not a prescriptive process but a creative journey of discovering what the meaning of
existence is all about. Wright had alluded to this in his statement about the necessity of
searching for Truth and the idea of spirituality:
“The real body of our universe is spiritualities – the real body of the real life we
live. From the waist up we’re spiritual at least. Our true humanity begins from the
belt up , doesn’t it? Therein comes the difference between the animal and the
man. Man is chiefly animal until he makes something of himself in the life of the
Spirit so that he becomes spiritually inspired – spiritually aware. Until then he is
not creative. He can’t be. But education doesn’t better him in that connection. It
confuses him, tends to make him more of a thing than he really is, keeps him on
the level of a thing instead of permitting him to become more of a divinity. What
makes a man a divinity rather than a mere thing? Not only his intelligence , but
his apprehension of what we call truth, and passion in his soul to serve it. That
passion is what the universities should cultivate- culture of that sort instead of
education. Isn’t that it?” (Wright, 1957:271)
I have always remarked that students lack the drive to read simply because they do not
have any direction in life. With Wright, it was the discovery of democracy as the new
modern religion of Christianity. With me it was the understanding of many religions and
the rediscovery of Islam as a way of life. It is incredulous to find that after five years of
architectural education, the student finally wakes up in the sixth year and, apart from
completing the final project-thesis, he or she has to discover within a semester, the
meaning of life for him or her. It is only then the question of the community self begins
to dawn as so many questions. By the time the students graduated, he or she was just
formulating a few threads of in the meanings to life.

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2.1.4 The Curriculum Approach: The study of Nature and the Unity of Disciplines
The present emphasis on skill training even to the graduate level must be reexamined in
the light of understanding ourselves as a spiritual as well as a biological entity. When all
of our human values are lost, what else is there but to simply design a biological zoo?
Our values define our culture which in turn determines our behavioral patterns which
then translates into patterns and meanings of built form. The curriculum should answer
this question of the values of humanity in the context of nature since both comes as pairs
and one cannot live without the other.
In his approach to education Wright had outlined the importance of studying Nature in
order to be able to ‘see in’ and not merely to ‘see at’:
“Now when popular education uses the word nature, it means just the out-of-
doors; it may mean the elements; it may mean animal life; it means pretty much
from the waist down; whereas nature with a capital ‘N’ – I am talking about the
inner meaning of the word Nature.;. Nature is all the body of god we’re ever
going to see. It is practically the body of God for all of us. By studying that
Nature we learn who we are, what we are and how we are to be.” (Wright,
1957:269)
As early as the late 19th
century, when Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier were dazzled by
what humanity can achieve from industrialization and scientific technology, Wright was
one of the few Art and Craft diehards who joined the bandwagon of so called romantics
with William Morris, John Ruskin, Louis Sullivan and Walt Whitman to call for living
with nature and not about overpowering nature to mans unending needs. The romantics
understood the age old religions that placed nature as a sacred entity to be respected and
even ‘worshipped’. The reverence to nature is not irrational since it holds not only the
path to man’s spiritual well being but also to his biological existence. Where one part of
architecture in the Bauhaus sought to dominate it, the other in the art and Craft sought to
understand and co-exist with it. Such terms as ‘sustainability’ was unheard of in those
time but that particular term is now a buzz word in architecture. We speak now of
economic sustainability, ecological sustainability and even of social sustainability. If we
were to turn the pages of history, we would find these ‘sustainable’ concepts being
discussed widely in the late nineteenth century as a totality of experience in life and the
built environment. Thus, the idea of ‘Nature Worship’ should be a core element in our
curriculum objective. If our students graduates with a sense of respect for the frailty of
the Nature-Human Life web then and only then our future is assured as more than a mere
biological existence.
Wright had even suggested a modus operandi to carry forward his thesis on education as
he remarkably forces the issue of art, religion and science;

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“If our education-called conservative- is ever going to do anything for us it has to
provide enlightenment by means of art, religion and science. But until art, religion
and science stop disregarding each other, until they realize their interest is one
and the source of their inspiration is one, and realize that they can’t live apart, that
union will not be possible. We teachers must teach men to seek enlightenment by
means of the poetic principles of art, religion and science. We must manifest these
to them as spiritual guideposts as true measures of understanding.” (Wright,
1957:269)
Those scholars who are researching about the idea of Islamic Architecture or the
islamization of academic and professional disciplines should take note that this is exactly
what they should be looking for. Let us understand fully the real message that Wright had
expounded. Firstly, Religion is the bastion of man’s idea of values and therefore cultural
pattern. Science is but a tool to be used to answer this need. Art, is that sense of unity of
technology (which is science) and purpose (which is Religion) that ultimately produces a
workable and meaningful environment. That is the unity of approach. Anything else is
inadequate or just plain wrong.
2.1.5 Implications on Pedagogy and Curriculum Design
In the studio design exercise, I believe we must use the anthropological method of ‘site
analysis’. In the usual design scenario, the few weeks of site analysis is what I term as the
‘hit and run’ method or the old ‘ I came, I saw and then I start to design’ approach. In the
present pluralistic society and global connectivity, I feel that students should spend time
being in the communities which they are designing for. It is disheartening for me to tell
the graduating thesis student that he has to spend two weeks on a farm if he is thinking of
designing a modern one or that a student who was doing something about women care
center having to work part time there in order to get the feel of the situation. It seems that
in the lower years, we are too busy chasing the completion of the designed objects that
we actually fail in designing competently.
We must identify such communities that we deem still possess the age old tradition of
what a community entails. The community should have some characteristics of a sense of
belonging and of many common activities. This is hard enough to find in the modern
housing estate. However, if we look hard enough, we may find villages such as where the
kampung people resides that can be used as the classroom for our students. Students must
spend at least a forthnight to a month at these kampungs in an ‘anak angkat’ or foster
children program. We, at UTM has such experiences in the Mesured Drawing programs
where there was a ceremony to assign students to families. It was wonderful to note that
some Chinese students still visit their ‘foster Malay parents’ until this day when they
have married and are with children. Perhaps the students can be made to do some sort of

22
wakaf construction or the repairs of Surau and even the documentation of the daily
patterns and activities of the kampung people.
Next comes the horror of any architecture student…reading. Somehow the students have
the impression that design is simply flipping through the fancy architecture magazines or
web sites in order to get the most unique and interesting one. The cult of novelty usually
hit the student very early in the training. This is a disaster in turn of inculcating the
eternal creed of design. There is no other powerful tool that I know of that can teach
humans better than reading. It is not at all surprising to find that a student, until the fifth
year, had never read a whole book about architecture history or theory. They would only
discover books to be read only during the Topical Study or the Design-Thesis studio. At
this stage, the game is already lost. Thoughts and philosophies must be given a
germinating period and that is about a year or two. When I read the book Master
Builders, A Testament and Kindergarten Chats in my third year, I had only resorted to
them at the end of my fifth year. Now, 20 years later, I am formulating new theories of
architecture based partly on those readings of the past two decades. Such is the time lag
in understanding the thoughts of others recorded via writing.
The other thing that I feel a student should be introduced to is what I term the ‘Crusader
Mentality’. It saddens me greatly to find that the visionary aspects of architecture has
degraded into nothing more than a production artist. It is within the nature of the art of
design to argue and advocate design ideas in an aggressive manner since architects are
the only creature imbued with the power to see all things of society (past, present and
future), technology (past, present and future) and environment (past, present and future).
Architecture is the most humanistic of the arts and the sciences. For this reason, students
should be given encouragement to form societies and clubs and to fight for a cause. They
may perhaps join non governmental organizations and pursue some social issues to
fruition. It is sad that a student once remarked to me that although they wished to join the
social activities of the campus, ‘there is too much work’ seems to be the excuse of the
day. The curriculum designers must study this phenomena and find out whether it is true.
If it is so then there must be serious reduction in workload in order to allow such social
and even political activities to be taken up by students. It is funny to think that
architecture being the most public of professions find the students, architects and
lecturers being the least involved people in the public!!
3.1 MANAGING ARCHITECTURE KNOWLEDGE
We seem to be doing well in many aspects of architecture with respect to basic functions
and technology in the form of buildings to house many purposes of the city and
recreation. The most outstanding pieces of architecture are the resorts and rest areas
within the perspective of leisure architecture. However, I feel there is still much that we

23
can improve upon in aspects of community architecture, housing and of course the
perennial question of a ‘Malaysian Architecture’.
3.1.1 Issues in Design
Let us take the simple problem of privacy violations in our housing estates. When we
place the multi-cultural races in a single housing estate in order to forge some sense of
unity or muhibbah we have ignored the political and architectural implications of Malays,
Chinese and Indians living in a community. A Chinese may burn his joss sticks in an act
of prayer and the smoke would get into the Malay neighbour’s house. What have we done
architecturally to reduce this privacy violation which is sowing hatred between races?
Another case in point is how I ask my Fourth Year students to research on Modern Malay
rituals in the terrace houses and they reported that they could not find any writing on the
subject. When I ask my Chinese students about certain aspect of Malay culture related to
housing, the response was a blank stare. The same thing happened when I ask some
Malay students about a particular Indian or Chinese rituals related to modern houses.
How can we build a nation without each race understanding one another’s culture? How
are architects to design if raw data on cultural response to architectural spaces are
virtually non-existent? I have drawn many interests from different race groups when we
exhibit our measured drawing works on traditional architecture. I enjoy telling the
Malays how many of the houses, mosques and palaces were built by Chinese craftsmen. I
noted how some Chinese are completely embarrassed at their total ignorance of certain
carvings on a door panel or a temple’s roof ridge.
3.1.2 The Three Tasks of Knowledge Management
I think the country is heading in a wrong direction in relation to building a knowledge
culture. We seem to be dumping much money in research as oppose to very little money
in publishing books. We seem to think that we Malaysians are smarter than other
civilizations in the sense that we want a short cut version to nurturing a civilization. We
buy lots and lots of computers in schools but the libraries are empty of good exciting
books to read. We seem to think we can skip the reading-writing culture that great
civilizations have gone through and jump straight on to the internet and mp3. We seem to
think that we can learn to cycle without falling down and learn to swim without getting a
mouthful of water. In order to be a real civilized nation it is not to the tallest buildings or
to the largest flag that we have to be proud of and look upon but we must seriously
engage ourselves in three important activities of Knowledge Documentation, Knowledge
Dissemination and Knowledge Transfer to the masses.
3.1.2 Knowledge Documentation
The first role of the academic, after a state of understanding has been achieved, is to
preserve the existing knowledge around him or her. This knowledge exists in the raw in
the form of written information, practices, attitudes, visual materials, measurements,

24
physical objects and thoughts. This information must be gathered and categorized
systematically in a manner that it can easily be understood. It is only upon the foundation
of this descriptive work that the passing on and the generation of new knowledge can
occur. In Malaysia, we are badly in need of such studies. We have built thousands of
buildings and yet there exists little work in understanding how well these buildings have
performed or served whether from the behavioral, constructional, economic and even
aesthetic perspective. It is sad to find that although there have been many case studies
done on buildings in the course of completing the final degree project and the topical
study but very few have access to this information simply because this works are lying
dormant in the university archives. It must be the task of lecturers to organize a system of
editing and preparing them for publication so that the information will be readily
available to those who need them.
Generating new knowledge and expanding its boundary are actually not as difficult as
one would imagine particularly if one has understood and compiled a significant amount
of information on a particular subject. We may be awed by the new forms of modern
architecture but it’s principles have been around for half a century before the glass
skyscrapers of Mies van der Rohe was even conceived. The Organic Theory of Wright
owed much to the thoughts of poets and architectural critics such as Walt Whitman and
John Ruskin. In its simplest form, new knowledge can be a fresh perspective of existing
compilation of information. Something new in the serious world of academia can even be
a reclassification of existing information. New ways of categorizing, measuring and
testing procedures, philosophies and technology are also considered as significant
contribution. Using an existing framework or model to look at out history, behavior and
cultures constitute important development in society’s quest for utopia. Although other
people can also generate new knowledge, it falls upon the shoulders of the academician
to personally generate it, be a catalyst for its generation or organize its happening.
3.1.3 Disseminating Knowledge
The role of disseminating knowledge is as essential to an academic as breathing is to life.
Ceasing to breathe terminates life and ceasing to disseminate knowledge guarantees the
shortness of its life span. It is only through knowledge dissemination that the body of
knowledge can be available for all who need it. It is only through dissemination of
knowledge that it gets built up after being used, tested, commented, innovated and
sometimes even rejected. A School of Architecture can spend 50 years teaching subjects
and studios and still be where it once was, back to square one, if there is no
documentation of the experience and subject matter taught throughout those years..
Until we may be able to communicate through such means as telepathy, words and
writings are all the academician has to ensure that the experience of a generation
persevere through time. It is, therefore, most unfortunate and sad to find that many
lecturers belittle writing. In my 12 years at UTM I can safely say that writing is not a
priority when it comes to the definition of a ‘job well done’. It is one thing to discover
that Professors and Associate Professors in architecture produce very little writing and

25
documentation of their experience, it is another to discover that many consider it a trivial
affair. It should have been the task of academicians to ensure the continuity and
development of knowledge.
3.1.3 Knowledge Transfer
Knowledge transfer simply means the events, thoughts and ideas of far off lands and of
different times of history must be translated and transferred into the mother tongue of a
nation. In this manner, the experiences of others now and hen can be shared collectively
and we can build on old ideas and avoid the ones that are unsound.
A case in point as regards the issue of knowledge transfer is that of Islamic architecture.
Islamic Architecture and Malay Architecture have one thing in common. They have had a
long development period but their growth were stunted because of colonialization and
internal social decadence. Both cultures were on the wane when European Enlightenment
came into being. When industrialization and religious reform came to Europe, the
traditional architectural practice and philosophies were shaken by the early modernists
which questioned the role of ornaments, the search for an optimum form for the new
building materials, the strong socialist morals of an architecture of equality and the
question of mass production. The traditional architectural vocabularies were reexamined
in the light of the social, economic and intellectual forces. These questioning of the
traditional philosophies of revivalism and eclecticism in the light of new found
technology and moral values had not developed fully in Malaysian Architecture and
Islamic Architecture. When independence came to Malaysia and most Islamic countries,
modernist philosophies were imported indiscriminately. The chance for questioning
traditional architectural aesthetics and approaches could not happen for two important
reasons; firstly, because of lack of documentary works and analysis of traditional
architecture and secondly, no serious attempts were made by local architects and
academicians to understand the roots of the modernist philosophy which has much
potential for cultural assimilation. Before any attempts were made concerning these two
important researches, Post-Modernism arrived and opened the doors to 'any architecture
that does not look like the modernist block'. In non-Western countries the modernist
philosophies were hanged before any trial was performed.
I believe that is why the search for an Islamic Architecture and a Malaysian Architecture
have resulted in many awkward design solutions bordering on eclecticism, revivalism and
loose adaptation of the traditional heritage. There is therefore a serious gap in the
development sequence of Islamic Architecture and Malay Architecture from the past to
the present. I believe that there are many good philosophies that came out of the early
period of modernism inherent in the discussion on structural rationalism, relationship
between form and function, the role of ornament, the 'spirit of the times', the Art and
Craft Concerns and Wright's Organic Architecture. There is a lot of moral questions
raised and also that of examining Nature's Wealth of forms and aesthetic. The secular and
pluralistic nature of mid 20th century Westerners found difficulty in accepting the moral

26
and 'religious' overtones of these philosophies. We, the Easterners who still hold to a
theo-centric idea of life can benefit from some of these theories.
There are three areas of work necessary in filling the gap in the intellectual discourse of
architectural theory in the Malaysian context. The first is a crucial need in documenting
the modern works of architecture in order to identify serious attempts at creating an
appropriate architecture for Malaysia. Secondly, there is an important need to explain the
selected theories of modernism such as those mentioned above to the local students,
architects, potential clients and policy makers. Finally, there is the important work of
integrating the knowledge of traditional architecture with the proper modernist
philosophies.
4.1 MASTERMINDING THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN
MALAYSIA
The basic question someone who is in charge of preserving the architectural heritage of
Malaysia would simply ask is ‘which one to preserve?’. In a nutshell, the question simply
implies that whatever we see in front of us day in and day out, is actually our heritage.
From the monumental statements of Putrajaya to the DBKL Petaling Flats, architecture
refuses to lie and stands out amidst the babble of praises and excuses. This essay sets out
to send the message that such a question can only be fathomed and answered with the
proper documentation of the architectural heritage.
4.1.1 The Heritage Dilemma
As man cannot live a full life without his own sense of ‘the past’ in order to derive his
rituals, thoughts and values and thus, so does a nation fail to prosper in the fullest sense
of the term without her history. As intelligent citizens of a nation, we need to understand
our past in order to do three things, to emulate it, to adapt it or to discard it. Which ever is
the task, you cannot not know your history. Too many heritage management have based
their identification criteria or framework on sentiment brought about by hasty decisions.
The first case is the Parliament Building of Malaysia. My first visit to this important
heritage of Malaysia’s First Democracy was about two months ago during a research trip
to find out about this particular building. As I was trained in the Modernist ethos and
being a student of architectural history, I could appreciate the echoes of socialism and
non-feudalistic statements as seen in the exterior composition of the building. The
pristine white and gray language speaks of the days of a hundred year old revolution
against the over ornamentalised aristocratic architecture of the Ecole de Beaux arts. The
political struggle of the Western world against the chains of feudalism over two centuries
ago can be felt strongly in this monument to democracy in Malaysia. But travesty awaits
as I step into the building. The Parliament was being renovated. And what do I find?

27
Post-modern monumentalism! Fat classical pillars, ornate mouldings adorn the simple
walls and ceilings of the parliament building. To me it was like Malaysia was reverting to
the pre-colonial days of feudalism! As with the cemetery in Taiping, there was no
research concerning the forces which shaped this modern heritage.
The second case concerns the JKR quarter housing. Recently, in the course of doing
research on the Colonial-Malay hybrid quarter houses of Taiping, I met up with some of
my former students who are now JKR architects. One of them proudly showed a medium
rise apartment which he designed for the new line of government quarters. I noticed that
the design is the typical cluster type with a central stair core and masonry in-fill walls
over reinforced concrete frame. I showed him the Colonial-Malay Hybrid quarter housing
which I was researching and also some pictures of the JKR Police Barrack in Taiping
where I used to live. I explained how the lessons of the past concerning timber louvered
panels being used in both types of schemes which made good ventilation sense rather
than his full masonry walls and non-louvered windows. The JKR Police Barrack had two
other advantages in that every unit has a storage room on the ground floor to keep
bicycles and other things. I told him that his quarter housing would be filled with bicycles
on the stair landings. Furthermore, the design of the long corridor of the JKR Police
Barrack speaks of a serambi idea in which children can play safely under the theme of
‘defensible space’. His quarter housing contains only a stair landing and the door to door
face off would create havoc when families quarrel. When asked about why he failed to
learn from the past, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said that ‘reinventing the
wheel’ is how JKR does its work because there is no study and proper documentation
done on the modern heritage of this country. Simply put, progress means that anything
new must necessarily be good.
4.1.2 The Traditional Heritage
The documentation of the traditional architectural heritage can be said to be well
established. What is needed is financial sponsorship. The Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
started the subject of Measured Drawing in the early seventies modeled at first from the
simplistic surveys and sketches of the English tradition. It then slowly developed into a
full fledge investigation of the history and a complete drawing of the building in a
manner that reconstruction is a possibility. The Institut Teknologi MARA followed suit
and later on the Universiti Sains Malaysia. The latest addition of institution is Universiti
Malaya and Lim Kok Wing Institute of Creative Technology. KALAM or Pusat Kajian
Alam Bina Dunia Melayu which stands for Center for the Study of Built Environment in
the Malay World came into being in 1996 to spearhead development in the
documentation and the dissemination of South East Asian architectural heritage in this
region.

28
To date there is an approximate total of over 700 buildings measured and documented in
all the institutions. Most of these activities, to date do not have any funding except a
meager amount provided by the institution, small tokens of research grants and even
lecturer’s pockets. KALAM is lucky to have evolved a center and struggle to make ends
meet by selling some of the work and undertaking research contract. I have seen the
documented drawings strewn across a lecturer’s room because the institution does not
recognize this intellectual heritage of the nation. In USM my colleague sponsors his
student himself because of his commitment to the study of traditional and colonial
architecture. It is high time the works of all these institutions be recognized as an
important endeavor that documents the scientific, artistic and cultural heritage of the
nation which is contained in the buildings of the past. The time is nigh that the National
Museum under the Ministry of Arts and Heritage coordinate this important work and help
to finance the research. The financing can come either in the form of government grants
or the ministry can be the coordinating body that pools corporate sponsorship for the
research and publication of this historical documentation.
4.1.3 The Modern Architectural Heritage
Unlike the traditional and colonial architectural heritage which is getting more popular
everyday, the modern heritage is shunned because of its bland and ‘uninteresting’ or
undecorated forms. In a pragmatic and sense oriented culture with visual electronic
effects bombarding us every minute, it is hard to dwell on the issue of ‘intellectual’
beauty or the idea of ‘architectural honesty’. The effort of documenting the modern
heritage is almost nil in the present time in Malaysia. What this effort needs is not money
but a revamp of attitude. The burning question of the day is what is so important about
the modern heritage of architecture? In a nut shell, I would say that the modern
architectural heritage is important on the discourse of National Identity and an
environmentally sensitive architecture.
With respect to the idea of national identity in architecture, such effort is of prime
importance in creating a harmonious society. Despite what has been written about how
the modern architectural revolution in the West later became the ‘International Style’, the
fathers of modernism questioned soundly the validity of aping historical and foreign
precedence in architecture. I refer to this discourses on redefining architecture in the late
19th
century as a ‘clash of values in architecture’. The moralistic values of Christianity
and socialism clashed against the values of scientific technology, economy and art.
Architecture then was a product of philosophical discourses and moralistic values.
After three decades of these discourses, the aping of forms and mediocrity of intelligence
took the easy way out of copying rather than critical adoption or rethinking of ideas. In
the sixties, when the first generation of Malaysian architects came back from overseas to
practice and replace the expatriate architects, there was a call for a national identity in

29
architecture by the leaders. The period that gave birth to buildings like the Parliament
House, the National Mosque, the Negeri Sembilan Sate Mosque, were the product of a
rich experimentation which saw the clash of modernistic and Malaysian values against
that of the climate, economy and available technology. These experimentations of
architectural forms, material assemblage and expressions were the puritanistic versions of
architecture that was not hindered much by political authoritarianism. It reflected an
identity that did not play on obvious and single ethnic reference but used new motifs and
response to the climate within the understood technology. Thus the Parliament building
became the Malaysian symbol of a progressive culture that respected the values of all
ethnicity by its refusal to let one ethnic architectural element dominate all others. The
National Mosque reflected the idea of Islam in Malaysia not subjugated by any inferiority
complex notion of middle-eastern grandeur. The asymmetrical massing, single minaret
and generous serambi or verandah remarks of the image of Islam as a religion abhorring
waste and a way of life which speaks a humble and non imperialistic language to the
users. The JKR Police Barrack which was probably designed in the late sixties was the
superb culmination of energy passive design and cultural understanding of the modern
Malaysian community. Much of these important contributions is already lost amidst the
grandiose statements of Turkish and Iranian Mosques alongside imperial architectural
statements and low ceiling full masonry terrace houses and apartment building made
convenient for the air-conditioned dealer.
5.0 CONCLUSION
Democracy is not just a system of organization but it is also an attitude of governance. A
country like Malaysia may have inherited the system but its attitude is still in the process
of maturing. Education has achieved the goals of producing workers but now it is
important for us to produce entrepreneurs and nation builders. A drastic change in
attitude of education, its intentions, curriculum and pedagogy is needed to spiral
ourselves into a true sense of civilization and not a false sense of ‘development’.
Education does not consists of university and college students alone but it includes the
‘rakyat’ also. Knowledge is the staple food of education and its production and
management are two crucial items in this concoction of civilizing process. The process of
documentation, dissemination and transfer of knowledge must be seriously attempted if
we are to see a prosperous and peaceful nation. The traditional and modern architectural
heritage are the building blocks of architectural knowledge in this country and its is
through this foundation that education can grow in a constructive manner.
6.0 REFERENCES
Wright, F.L. (1957) Truth Against The World, a compilation of speeches by Mr. Wright, New York: A
Wiley-interscience Publication
Sullivan, L.H. (1918) Kindergarten Chats, a compilation of Mr. Sullivan’s writings, New york: the Eakin
Press

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Jencks, Charles, (1977) The Language of Post-Modern Architecture, New york: Rizoli International
Publication Inc.
Curtis, William J. R. (1983) Modern Architecture since 1900, Oxford: Phaidon Press Limited
Mohamad Tajuddin, Malaysian Architecture: Crisis Within, Utusan Publications, 2005
Mohamad Tajuddin, Identiti Senibina Malaysia: Kritikan Pendekatan, Penerbnit UTM, 2002
Mohamad Tajuddin, Housing Crisis in Malaysia, KALAM Books, 2003
Mohamad Tajuddin, The Mosque as a Community Development Center, Penerbit UTM 1999
Mohamad Tajuddin, Sejarah, Teori dan Kritikan Senibina, KALAM Books, 2003

31
THE PLANNING OF PUTRAJAYA:
CREATING THE ESSENCE OF CITIES
Dato’ Jebasingam Issace John
Director, City Planning Department
Perbadanan Putrajaya
1. INTRODUCTION
The creation of a new Federal Government Administrative Centre at Putrajaya marks a
new chapter in the development history of modern Malaysia. The development of this
new administrative centre was prompted by the need to balance and disperse
development to areas outside of Klang Valley. It is a decision motivated by the
government’s desire to improve the urban environment and quality of life, and to ease the
pressure on the infrastructure in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley in general.
In city planning terms, it provides a golden opportunity and a challenge to embark on
something new and innovative representing Malaysian values and culture. Putrajaya the
new Federal Government Administrative Centre, is to be equipped with the latest
facilities and technologies for improved effectiveness and productivity, as well as,
amenities that shall contribute to quality living and working environment. But the
challenge also lies in fostering the spirit, sense of purpose and identity for the new city.
This short paper provides an insight to some of the basic principles and concepts behind
the endeavor towards realizing this planning vision.
2. PLANNING BACKGROUND
2.1 Background to The Planning Process
On 2nd June 1993 the Federal Government decided on an area in Perang Besar, Sepang,
Selangor Darul Ehsan to be the site for the new Federal Government Administrative
Centre. Thereafter, the planning process for Putrajaya went into full swing with the
setting up of Putrajaya Development Committee and the Putrajaya Development Unit
within the Prime Minister’s Department.
In 1994, five alternative concept schemes by local consultants and a group of government
agencies led by the Federal Department of Town and Country Planning and the Public
Works Department were presented to the Cabinet. Of the five schemes, the Government
selected the “Garden City” concept as the guiding theme for the new city. A master plan
was subsequently developed based on this theme. The Putrajaya Master Plan was given

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