AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF TPO (ACT 172) AMONG CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS AND LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITY PERSONNEL IN KLANG VALLEY

Abstract

The need to care for trees, especially in urban areas, has become increasingly important for countries like Malaysia which are developing rapidly. Recognising the fact that construction activities could put trees at risks of death and damage, the Malaysian government introduced Tree Preservation Order (Act 172) in 1996. However, there were cases occurred afterwards whereby matured trees had been cut down for development without consent of the local authorities. This situation has raised many questions about the effectiveness of the TPO (Act 172) implementation, including on how far the TPO (Act 172) has been publicised and understood by those related to the construction industry, a pre-requisite for successful legislative implementation. This study assesses the current awareness and knowledge of the TPO (Act 172) among 60 professionals in the construction industry (PCI) and 47 personnel in local authorities (PLA) within Klang Valley through a questionnaire survey. The results show that the awareness level of TPO (Act 172) among PLA respondents was higher than that of PCI. While most of the PLA got acquainted with the TPO (Act 172) through their organisations, most of the PCI learned it from friends and social medias. It is recommended that the government should be more active in publicising the TPO (Act 172) such as through mass media and awareness campaigns.