1.

) The state government of Perak has recently announced the building of a suspension
bridge between Pulau Pangkor and Peninsular Malaysia. The construction cost of the
bridge is estimated at RM100 million and this 4-lane bridge will take approximately 3
years to complete. This infrastructure project is expected to encounter many
technical challenges and require the involvement of various parties, particularly
engineers of different disciplines and expertise. Predict engineering-related ethical
issues that may possibly occur during the construction of the suspension bridge.
Discuss on the root causes of each ethical issue you have identified. Finally, propose
the efforts that can be duly taken by a professional engineer to prevent the ethical
issues you have mentioned. (20)

2a) Define and describe the key process flow and actions in place for an agreement to
be converted into contract especially in terms of its scope of legality, competency and
consequences of breaching. Explain and illustrate the legal terms “Assent” and
“Acquiescence” in a common legal contract. (10)

Every promise and every set of promises, forming the consideration for each other, is an agreement. If
the promises which form the consideration or part of the consideration for each other are called
reciprocal promises. If an agreement not enforceable by law is said to be void. If an agreement
enforceable by law is a contract. After that, an agreement which is enforceable by law at the option of
one or more of the parties thereto, but not at the option of the other or others, is a voidable contract. A
contract which ceases to be enforceable by law becomes void when it ceases to be enforceable.

All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to
contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly
declared to be void. Nothing herein contained shall affect any law by which any contract is
required to be made in writing or in the presence of witnesses, or any law relating to the
registration of documents.
The person that are legally competent to form a contract are those who has attained the
specific age range, and is of sound mind, and is not disqualified from entering into a contract
When the consequences of breach of contract, the party who suffers by the breach is entitled to
receive, from the party who has broken the contract, compensation for any loss or damage caused to
him thereby, which naturally arose in the usual course of things from the breach, or which the parties
knew, when they made the contract, to be likely to result from the breach of it. Such compensation is
not to be given for any remote and indirect loss or damage sustained by reason of the breach.
Assent: An intentional approval of known facts that are offered by another for acceptance; agreement;
consent.
In law, acquiescence occurs when a person knowingly stands by without raising any
objection to the infringement of his or her rights, while someone else unknowingly and
without malice aforethought acts in a manner inconsistent with their rights. As a result of
acquiescence, the person whose rights are infringed may lose the ability to make a legal
claim against the infringer, or may be unable to obtain an injunction against continued
infringement. The doctrine infers a form of "permission" that results from silence or
passiveness over an extended period of time.

3) Engineers worldwide hold to the strong belief that man's enjoyment and continued
existence on this planet will depend on the care and protection he provides to the
environment. Therefore, they adhere to certain principles when they embark on any
professional activity. Discuss these principles.
According to the NSPE Code of Ethics, engineers are encouraged to adhere to the principles
of sustainable development in order to protect the environment for future generations
One of the sustainability principles that engineers should adhere to includes contribution to
build a sustainable society present and future. Engineers need to maintain the integrity of the
environment and sustain the quality of life of all human beings. Not only ensuring that a
product has minimal environmental impact during its use, but also that it can be
manufactured and disposed of without harming the natural world. Engineer has the duty of
maximizing the value of their works or actions to create a sustainable society present and
future. The engineer should recognise that though their activity may be local and immediate,
the potential impacts of their work may be global and long-lasting. They also need to have an
understanding of other relevant social and cultural structures outside their own normal
community of practice. Understand the important potential role for engineers in the
sustainable development of communities
 Recognise the impacts of an engineering project on communities, global or local, and
consider the views of the community

 Understand the important potential role for engineers

Engineers will help to maintain the integrity of the environment and ensure that our
quality of life can be sustained. engineers have a responsibility to ensure that their
work is conducted in the most environmentally safe manner possible. Not only
ensuring that a product has minimal environmental impact during its use, but also
that it can be manufactured and disposed of without harming the natural world.

Another sustainability principle is that the engineer should apply professional and responsible
judgement and take a leadership role. Engineering is a profession with a strong ethical
dimension, with engineers having an important role in providing solutions for issues such as
poverty, under-development and environmental degradation. In making a sound judgement,
the professional engineer should:

 Look at the broad picture

 Ensure that their knowledge about sustainable development is up-to-date

 Be prepared to influence the decision-maker for a project

 Identify all the issues and options to the decision-maker for a project so that decisions
are soundly based

 Identify options that take account of global, economic, social and environmental
outcomes

 Ensure that solutions and options are offered that will contribute to sustainability

 Be aware that there are inherently conflicting and un-measurable aspects of

sustainability

The next sustainability principle is to do more than just comply with legislation and codes
In seeking sustainable solutions, complying with current legislation, codes and environmental protection
regulations may not be sufficient and engineers should:

 Strive to go beyond the minimum wherever possible, anticipating future legislation which may be
stronger

 By their example, help others improve their performance

 Drive future legislation

 Alert the relevant authorities if there are deficiencies in legislation and if sustainable solutions and
outcomes could be endangered by regulatory change

 Use their technical expertise to influence the development of new legislation and codes

The other sustainability principle is to use resources efficiently and effectively

Engineers have a stewardship role with respect to planetary resources, and a responsibility to society to create
more useful products and services with the lowest possible consumption of raw materials, water and energy. This
requires them to:

 Understand that there are environmental limits and finite resources

 Reduce resource demand by using less in the first place

  Reduce waste production by being efficient with resources that are used

 Use systems and products that reduce embedded carbon, energy and water use, waste and pollution

 Adopt full life cycle assessment as normal practice, including in the supply chain

 Adopt strategies for re-use, recycling, decommissioning and disposal of components and materials

 Minimise any adverse impacts on sustainability at the design stage

 Work to repair any damage

Make sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable natural sources

Besides, seek multiple views to solve sustainability challenges also is the sustainability
principle that the engineers need to follow. The increasing complexity of sustainability challenges
means that engineers working alone cannot solve all the challenges that we face. It is important for engineers to
be inclusive and:

 Engage with stakeholders, listening and recognising the value of the perspectives of others, including
non-specialists

 Avoid working in isolation, involving other professionals at all stages of a project

 Utilise cross-disciplinary knowledge and diverse skills

 Promote the important leadership role of the engineer in finding solutions to sustainability challenges for
the benefit of society

 Seek a balanced approach

For example like environment restoration, promptly and responsibly correct

conditions we have caused that endangers environments and restore back the
environment where it has been damaged.

The last sustainability principle is to manage risk to minimise adverse impact to people or the
environment
Engineers are routinely involved in planning and managing projects, where they should:

 Harness their skills to minimise damage to people or the environment from engineering processes and
products

 Undertake a comprehensive risk assessment before a project begins

 Ensure that the risk assessment includes the potential environmental, economic and social impacts,
beyond the lifetime of the engineering project or product

 Recognise the potential long-term aspect of risk

  Give sustainability the benefit of any doubt, adopting a precautionary approach where scientific
knowledge is not conclusive

 Instigate monitoring systems so that any environmental and social impacts of engineering projects are
identified at an early stage

5a)
i. Moral is the person’s own beliefs, principles or habits towards the rightness and
wrongness. For instance, the person may behave or conduct something that he thinks
it is morally right but it is actually illegal. Besides, morals are commonly based on the
subjective preference to depict whether the issue is right or wrong. For example, Ali
may feel that one issue or behaviour is right but Rachel may feel that it is wrong and
there is no correct answer.

ii. Ethics is the study of morality or moral obligations and rules within a particular time
and place that come from the cultural values, professional values, social norms, and
accepted standards of behavior. Ethics provide the guideline to help someone to
follow and understand whether his certain kind of conduct or action is good or bad,
responsible or irresponsible. Ethics also depict the universal fairness based on specific
situation.

iii. One of the professional characters refers to someone that have formal education
background and possess a college or university degree. Besides, the person also needs
to equip himself with special knowledge and intellectual skills. The person must also
have community sanction, accreditation or licensing to prove that he or she are
capable and competent to work as his profession. The person must also have
professional authority, judgement and peer review.

B.) A client plan to renovate and upgrade his supermarket due to its poor conditions and
congestion. He decided to hire Ir. Ahmad to furnish complete engineering services for the
project. Due to the potentially dangerous nature of implementing the design during the
construction phase, Ir. Ahmad recommends to the client that a full time, on site Resident
Engineer (RE) to be hired for the project. After reviewing the completed project plans and
costs the client indicates to Ir. Ahmad that the project would be too costly if an RE were
hired. If Ir. Ahmad proceeds with his work on the project without hiring an RE, from the
ethical point of view discuss Ir. Ahmad’s action.

ANS:
Ir Ahmad had made a professional judgment based on his own engineering expertise that a
full time, on site Resident Engineer (RE) should be hired for the project because of the
potentially dangerous nature of implementing the design during the construction phase.

According to the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers, engineers have to hold paramount the
safety, health, and welfare of the public. It also has mentioned that under circumstances
where the safety, health, property or welfare of the public are endangered, they shall notify
their employer or client and such other authority as may be appropriate.

Based on the question above, we can clearly know that Ir Ahmad has notified his client about
his concerns and recommend him to hire RE.

However, the client persists on not hiring RE because of the expenses. If Ir. Ahmad proceeds
with his work on the project without hiring a RE, it is unethical for him to do so.

It is not an issue that can be compromised. This is because without the full-time supervision
of the RE, the work being executed might fail to reach the standards required and eventually
put the safety of the construction workers and the future users at risk

Besides, if Ir Ahmad agrees to proceed without any Resident Engineer, then this action will
harm not only himself but also his client.

If Ir Ahmad wants to continue with the project without hiring an RE, then he should himself
be capable enough to take up the role of Resident Engineer and the role of design engineer.

Since the priority of an engineer is to protect the public safety, he has to be determined in
convincing the importance of hiring a RE to his client or he has to terminate the contract
between himself and the client to ensure he has fulfilled the ethical requirements as a
professional engineer.

To sum up, it is unethical for Ir Ahmad to proceed with the project when he already know
that his client did not take his recommendations to hire a RE.