Question 5

Section 398A and subsection two of section 424 of the NLC 1965 are introduced to deal with licensed
land surveyor who failed to complete title survey within stipulated time. Explain the procedure that
can be adopted by the Director of Survey in order to enforce these provisions.
1. Notice using Form 29D
Require the Licensed land surveyor that not completed the survey to procedure any document
relating to the survey which is in his possession
2. The cost to completed the survey responsible to surveyor
Where any licensed land surveyor fails to complete any survey without any reasonable cause,
the Director of Survey and Mapping shall complete or cause to be completed the survey and
recover all the cost of completion from the surveyor
3. Fine to surveyor
Any person (surveyor) who, without reasonable excuse, fail to produce any document (land title)
under subsection (2) of section 398A shall be guilty of an offence, and liable on conviction to
fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or imprisonment for term not exceeding six months or
to both
Discuss how Director of Survey can prosecute licensed land surveyor who failed to complete title
survey within the stipulated time
Director of Survey can prosecute by two laws regarding the conduct of title survey by a licensed land
surveyor. One The Licensed Land Surveyor Regulation 1957 which states that the title survey is to be
completed within six (6) months or any extended period as the Board may have allowed, and two under
section 398A of the National Land Code, 1965 which provides the time period for a licensed land
surveyor to complete which is to be in accordance with the period specified by the Director of Survey
and if the licensed land surveyor does not complete within time, the Director of Survey can take over
the job or take another licensed land surveyor to take over this job and the costs of the survey is to be
borne by the land surveyor. It would appear that there is a conflict on the duties of a surveyor in respect
of land matters by virtue of the above. The Licensed Land Surveyors Regulations 1959 would appear
only to govern the conduct of the surveyor whereas the National Land Code is supreme in so far as land
matters are concerned. If the provisions of the Surveyors Regulations were to be respected by the
National Land Code reference would have been made to it. In the result, the Survey Board has no
jurisdiction yet to hear this matter because the Director of Survey has not exhausted all the local
remedies as provided under Section 398A of the National Land Code ie, before the Board can consider
the conduct of the licensed land surveyor having transgressed the professional standard under the
Surveyors Ordinance for which the Board draws its power and therefore this action by the Board was
premature. Section 398A state that the time frame for licensed surveyor to complete the surveyor's job
shall be in accordance with the time frame laid down by the Director of Survey. Action on the surveyor
on the survey job and completion can only be done if there is a breach of the time frame specified. As
the Director of Survey has not specified any time frame how could transgression occur. If at all, there is
any transgression this should be handled first locally i.e. at the Director of Survey's level and not straight
away by the Survey Board.