1

2

3

4

5

Ir. Robert Ang Huck KoonBachelor of EngineeringHead of Structural Engineering Division

Ir. Bobby Soon Bachelor of Civil Engineering Head of Infrastructural Engineering

Division

Ir. Low Wuu ShinBachelor of Engineering Head of Geotechnical Engineering

Division

6

7

"Safety always comes first"

Why did you choose to become a civil engineer?I did not make the decision myself, since I was a UTM graduate. The courses were selected by the University based on the field I selected and from the available options.

What gave you motivation to continue taking this path?10 years ago, it was difficult to find women working in this field so it feels like I’m taking a step into something different and being able to turn drawn plans into reality feels surreal.

Do I need any special preparations if I aspire to become a civil engineer?

All you need is a degree in civil engineering, obviously that will not get you as far as masters or a bachelor degree. Also, Proficiency in math and science are not absolutely necessary as all you need is a great load of common sense.

What kind of person makes a good civil engineer?A rational and responsible one. Making decisions are very important; safety is the first thing that comes in mind when creating something.

What are your responsibilities as a civil engineer?I work in a consultancy firm so my main tasks are design and calculation. We study architect’s

8

drawings and plan out supporting features of the building to fulfil physical requirements. Other than that, we will submit applications for the development order, infrastructural entities such as roadwork, drainage and utilities. For example, we need to provide water usage information to determine the water supply needed. Next, the building plan will be submitted by the architect. The building plan shows how the building will look like and other information ranging from rainwater drainage to fire escapes and lightning protection. Post approval, we will schedule site visits for quality assurance and make sure everything is going according to plan

and up to specifications. When construction comes close to completion, we will await authorities’ ratings for the certificate of building fitness.

What is the job market potential?Based on the current state of the economy, it should not be hard to get a job. Fresh graduates can get beginning salaries as high as RM2700-3000. After 5-10 years, 5 figures are no doubt achievable.

Do you have free time?Free time is ultimately based on how you manage time. I work from 9am to 6pm and occasionally have to work overtime but sleepless nights are a rare occurrence.

9

This is an on-going project; it is called the South Ville City. This is a township project, it spans over 500 acres of land. It comprises of commercial and residential areas. We have to lay out the water supply plans, sewage treatment, and electricity substations. We begin with the master plans which are infrastructure plans and road plans.

There is also an interchange leading into the town with a toll plaza, so we have to work with the highway company which is

Plus Malaysia Berhad to get their approval and figure out the land we need to surrender to them. In this area there is a landed development run by our company called Avens Residence.

This project will take 10-15 years to complete depending on the developer and marketing strategy. Just the infrastructure planning will take 2 years to complete.

Blasting was needed because the area was hilly and vehicles could not climb steep slopes.

10

One of our finished projects was a semi-d project at Taman Bukit Serdang which was completed in the year. The project started with the purchase of two pieces of land about 15 acres by the developer.

In this 15 acres of land there were 47 units of high end semi-ds, 15 units of town houses, a clubhouse and a guardhouse. The architects were responsible to design the road plans to fulfil the requirements of the authorities, units of houses that can fit into the area, plans for the electrical

substation. Once the plans are firm they will be sent to the engineers.

This area is actually located in a valley so the freeway is above the land, engineers are required to do earthwork and sewage to prevent flooding.

One of the problems we had faced was the lack of water supply nearby; SYABAS requested that we create an IWSS (Integrated Water Supply System) to join with a nearby development area.

11

12