KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

28/09/2026

El Nino and Its Potential Effects on Malaysia

El Nino when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean become warmer than usual. This change affects winds and rainfall patterns across many regions, including Southeast Asia.

In Malaysia, a strong El Elnino can increase the risk of hot and dry conditions. Its effects may be felt in water supply, agriculture, health, outdoor work, and the risk of fires and haze.

However, conditions vary by location and season. An El Nino forecast does not mean that rain will stop throughout the country.

There is no need to panic. El Nino is a reason to stay informed and prepare sensibly, not to assume that every part of Malaysia will face the same conditions.

For organisations, this is a good time to review preparedness:

a) Are water use and reserves being monitored?
b) Do outdoor workers have sufficient drinking water, shade and rest breaks?
c) Are fire prevention measures and business continuity plans adequate if water supplies are disrupted or hot conditions persist?
d) In construction, concrete work, site schedules and worker safety may need additional attention as temperatures rise. Risk assessments should reflect actual site conditions, rather than rely solely on general forecasts.

Weather and climate forecasts indicate what is more likely to happen, they do not predict conditions with certainty at every location. Follow METMalaysia’s updates and adjust your actions to local risks.

Climate awareness becomes more valuable when we turn the information we receive into practical preparation before conditions become difficult.

27/09/2026

I’m glad to see more people embracing AI in different ways. At the same time, I’m concerned about the growing number of AI-generated short videos showing violence and fight scenes. Young viewers may imitate what they see, including using violence against others.

When I was younger, we had similar concerns about the influence of kung fu films and stories of mystical silat powers. Some people were drawn to the idea of a quick way to become powerful or defend themselves, without understanding the discipline and responsibility involved. AI gives creators new possibilities, but we should think carefully about the behaviour our content might encourage

27/09/2026

WALL FORMWORK PRESSURE DURING FAST POUR

SCENARIO : A contractor planned to cast a 3.0 m-high concrete wall in one lift. During prepour inspection, the engineer discovered the formwork supplier’s lateral-pressure limit was 50 kPa. The pour plan set no maximum rise rate, and the crew intended to use a highly workable mix. The pour was held.

ROOT CAUSE: Formwork design assumptions had not been matched to the mix and placing sequence. Drawing approval was treated as approval for any pour rate.

SCREENING (CALCULATION): Let's assume fresh concrete behaves as a fluid with unit weight 24 kN/m³, base pressure is p = γh = 24 × 3.0 = 72 kPa. Against 50 kPa, the indicative excess is 22 kPa, or 44%. This is a conservative screen, not a prediction of peak pressure - stiffness gain, mix, temperature, vibration and rise rate need a designer’s review.

REFERENCE : BS 5975-1:2024 covers temporary works controls; BS 5975-2:2024 covers falsework and associated formwork design. ACI PRC-347-14(21) guides concrete formwork pressure. Apply the project’s adopted standards.

RISK: Formwork failure or uncontrolled concrete release :

(L) 3 × (S) 5 = 15/25 (high).

Following design review and site controls, target residual risk = 1 × 5 = 5/25.

Severity remains 5 because a formwork collapse could still cause serious injury.

CA: Suspend the pour : obtain a written pressure check and revised ties/bracing or a justified controlled rise rate. Brief the crew, mark maximum levels and hold points, monitor deflection and leakage, and stop if limits are exceeded. Record an independent inspection and permit to pour.

PREVENTION : specify mix, temperature, vibration and pour rate in every formwork design brief.

(Diagram shows the 72 kPa screening pressure, its 22 kPa (44%) excess over the assumed 50 kPa limit, and the initial and target residual risk scores. The calculation is illustrative, the temporary works designer must check the actual pour conditions before use)

25/09/2026

If sharing knowledge feels pointless unless it brings you attention or money, it may be time to reflect on why you share it. There is nothing wrong with earning from your expertise, but genuine knowledge transfer also means recognising what others can gain from it.

What you teach today may help someone solve a problem, develop a skill, or pass that knowledge to the next generation. You may never see the full impact, but that does not make it any less valuable.

19/09/2026

The recent announcement granting a conditional pardon and house arrest arrangement to former PM has once again thrust the intricacies of national institutional processes into the spotlight.

Concurrently, ongoing legal developments also remind us that key figures like Jho Low and former SRC CEO Nik Faisal remain international fugitives. It truly makes one wonder why they remain so difficult to locate.

For industry practitioners and compliance professionals, these high-profile case studies serve as a real-time reminder: the integrity of an ecosystem cannot rely on individuals alone, it must be anchored by a bulletproof institutional structure.

When a network of entities is compromised by actors exploiting internal gaps for personal enrichment, implementing a robust Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption (ABAC) framework and standards like ISO 37001 (Anti-Bribery Management Systems) becomes absolutely critical.

These frameworks are not merely legal shields under Section 17A of the MACC Act, they also act as an organization's primary line of defense to:

Eliminate Discretionary Blind Spots: Ensuring every strategic decision goes through a transparent, fully audited multi-tiered approval process, leaving no room for unmonitored conflicts of interest or proxy management.

Uphold Stringent Boardroom Governance: Mitigating risks where corporate structures can be circumvented or manipulated by external masterminds or compromised executives.

Foster a True Speak-Up Culture: Providing secure, reliable whistleblowing channels so that internal or external misconduct can be flagged and mitigated early, before systemic erosion occurs.

The ultimate challenge in implementing ABAC and ISO 37001 lies not in the initial documentation, but in the absolute consistency of its enforcement both at the operational level and from leadership (Tone from the Top).

We need to ensure our organizations emphasize checks and balances within compliance systems to remain dynamic and resilient against complex fraud risks.

17/09/2026

ALERT: FAKE INVOICES, RECEIPTS & TAX SCAMS

Recently, our company email has received several suspicious messages involving supposed invoices, payment receipts and tax-related notifications.

One claimed that an invoice was due for payment. Another went further:

“Your payment has been received successfully.”

The problem? We never made or authorised such a payment.

A payment requires initiation and separate authorisation. Therefore, a message claiming “payment received successfully” immediately raises a red flag when no such transaction was authorised.

Similar tactics are also used in tax scams. Messages may impersonate tax authorities or claim there are outstanding taxes, penalties, refunds, e-Invoice issues or urgent actions required. The objective is often the same: create urgency so that the recipient clicks a link, opens an attachment, provides credentials or makes a payment.

A professional-looking email containing your company name, invoice number, amount, tax reference or payment date does not automatically make it genuine. Some of this information may be obtained from websites, social media or other public sources.

For businesses, basic controls remain important: verify the sender independently, examine the actual email domain, match invoices against POs/contracts/supporting documents, and confirm that the goods or services were actually ordered or received.

For tax matters, verify directly through the relevant official government portal or authority, rather than using links or contact details contained in an unsolicited email.

Cybersecurity isn't only about firewalls and antivirus. Internal controls, segregation of duties, staff awareness and human verification remain important lines of defence.

Don't click first and investigate later. VERIFY FIRST.

17/09/2026

AUDITING BEYOND THE CHECKLIST

One lesson I have learned from years of auditing and assessment is that not every weakness automatically becomes a Nonconformity.

Auditors need to distinguish between a failure to fulfil a requirement and an opportunity to strengthen an existing system.

Risk assessment is a good example. Having a risk register is only part of the story. I often find it useful to look at how risk management interacts with Internal Audit, Root Cause Analysis, corrective action and continual improvement.

Similarly, organisational resources should not be assessed simply by counting people. The more important question is whether responsibilities, competence, information and controls remain effective when circumstances change.

This is why I believe good auditing requires more than checking documents against clauses. We need to follow the process, examine objective evidence, understand the interfaces between departments and determine whether the management system actually works as intended.

An auditor should identify the gap not prescribe how management must run the organisation.

Sometimes the most valuable audit question is simply:

“Can you show me that this control is working effectively?”

16/09/2026

https://youtu.be/nXpkYqIQjBI?si=4SbN04IP5Dwb1-Y1

This video is AI-generated in commemoration of Malaysia Day 2025 wi...

11/09/2026

DOCUMENT CONTROL - IT'S MORE THAN FILING

When I was with Balfour Beatty, one of my responsibilities was document and drawing control far more than simply filing documents.

The system covered correspondence, meeting minutes, controlled forms, RFIs, ISO-based procedures, method statements and engineering drawings, including design, construction and shop drawings with documents often requiring controlled submission, distribution and coordination across multiple departments and parties, including the contractor, client, engineers, consultants and relevant authorities. Each had to be properly identified, referenced, issued, reviewed, controlled and traceable to the source within minutes. The principle was simple: the right drawing, at the right revision, to the right person, for the right purpose.

At that time, we were still working with the BS 5750:1987 quality management framework, which preceded the later ISO 9000 series. Documents and drawings followed a structured single-source, subject-numbering and filing system. Even requisitions were referenced to the appropriate source and subject number, creating traceability from the original requirement through procurement and subsequent action.

I was also responsible for safeguarding the Engineering Archive, preserving the technical history of drawings, revisions, correspondence, CIRIA reports, past projects, standards/codes of practice.

This experience allowed me to recognise the logic and weaknesses of different filing and information-control systems. For a period, I also held an MIS-related and communication positions in 1993, which further broadened my understanding of information management. I later applied the same principles beyond construction - helping improve the filing system of a legal firm, a division of the armed forces, banks and assisting an asset management company with storage, logistics, identification and barcoding systems.

And this was well before today’s sophisticated DMS. We were working with early 90s tools such as IBM DisplayWrite and Lotus 1-2-3, while still having to ensure that every document number, drawing reference and revision was accurately maintained and consistent with the corresponding hard-copy records. My passion for IT helped me a lot even being noted in my testimonials. The technology was basic by today's standards, but the discipline of information control had to be just as rigorous.

While working with the main contractor for KLCC Construction, I was subsequently invited by IEM to lecture on document control. The session generated substantial follow-up interest, with numerous engineers contacting me to request copies of the lecture notes.

To me, document control is not clerical work. It is part of engineering governance. Today we have CDEs, BIM, digital twins and AI, but the fundamental principle remains:

One source of truth. The right information. The right revision. The right person. At the right time.

09/09/2026

HARD TALK : HAZE: NOT JUST ABOUT SMOKE - SCIENCE, SOURCES, LAW, ESG AND RESPONSIBILITY

Haze is back!!

But perhaps the bigger problem is that every time haze appears, the public discussion quickly becomes emotional: “It's Indonesia”, “It's Malaysia”, “It's open burning,” “It's factories”, “It's smokers”, “It's barbecues”, “It's volcanoes”, or simply “Just do cloud seeding.”

Then social media takes over. But haze is not a social-media argument.

It is an atmospheric, environmental, public-health, legal, governance and increasingly climate-risk issue.

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