The Effectiveness Of Building Plan Approval. Case Study: Subang Jaya Municipal Council, Selangor

The growth of construction activities in Malaysia has given rise to the need for more statutory controls to ensure systematic and orderly development. This process of statutory approval refers to obtaining permissions from the relevant authorities to ensure the development follows the standards laid down in the building regulations and certain stages of the construction are inspected by officers from the local authority. This effort is evidenced by the improvement of mechanism delivery system of building plan process, known as One Stop Centre (OSC). In fact, the building plan and construction permit approval come as the most important stage in development as it will determine the exact date for construction to start. However, relatively little is known about the effectiveness of building plan process in the local authority. Therefore, a study has been carried out to investigate the effectiveness of building plan approval process in Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ). A questionnaires survey has been conducted to forty-seven (47) respondents from the MPSJ’s internal technical departments that involved in the process. The respondents have mostly felt that the ineffectiveness of the building plan approval process was due to the incomplete documents submitted to the OSC, lack of knowledge among the Professional Submitting Person (PSP) and the incapability of staffs in handling development applications. Hence, the findings present a synthesis of results for town planners, architects, developers and government agencies to have a better understanding of how the effective and efficient building plan process can rationalize the success of property development sector. Thus, the knowledge serves as a basis for future strategic planning decisions and guidance in the delivery system in Malaysia