History of Establishment

3 September 1920: The Southern Australian Government received a cable from the British Government of the Federated Malay States inviting the Government Town Planner, Charles Reade, to the Malay States to advise on town planning in the FMS. 18 January 1921: The first town planning office opened at the Kuala Lumpur Secretariat building. From 1921 to 1927, Reade was assisted by surveyors and engineers from Survey and Public Works Department Administrative officers from the Land Office, who became Town Planning Administrators for the replanning and distribution of lots. 1923: The first Town Planning Enactment, introduced the General Town Plans, replanning and redistributing lots in Kuala Lumpur and other towns in the FMS. The layout of the first new town was prepared for Kuala Kubu Bharu in 1924 to replace Ampang Pechah, which perennially suffered flooding. The second planning legislation, the Town Planning Enactment (1927) replaced the 1923 Enactment, abolishing the Town Planning Committee, enhancing town-planning services and appointing a Town Planning Superintendent to advise the Sanitary Boards. By late 1929, the Town Planning Department consisted of five qualified town planners from Britain who were stationed in the FMS. After Reade retired in 1929, R.P Davis headed the department. 1933: Town planning services were centred in Kuala Lumpur and planning services were limited to the FMS due to the economic slump.

After the Second World War, the department’s activities were widened to encompass Town Board and Town Council areas in the Malayan Union. The town planner’s position was held by the Malayan Union Town Planning Officer T.H.H. Hancock, succeeded by T.A.L. Concannon. Between the year 1955 and 1956, Concannon established three regional offices in Johor Bahru, Ipoh and Penang. The office in Kuala Lumpur remained the Head Office, as it carried out planning for Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang. FELDA’s housing layout plan as well as the new Petaling Jaya town plan was under Concannon’s supervision until senior engineer Francis McWilliams took over at the end of 1954. (He was later the Mayor of London, from 1992-1993).

Dato’ Prof. Zainuddin Muhammad became Director-General in 1993. Local plans were actively prepared by branch offices to support development plans. The Layout Plan for Putrajaya and Cyberjaya was drawn up in the early 1990s. Amendments were made to the Town and Country Planning Act 172 pertaining to aspects of environmental protection, physical topography, landscape and tree preservation (Act A933). The Town Planners Act (Act 538) was formulated to regulate the professional quality of town planning practitioners. In the 1990s, attention was also given to sustainable development planning through the preparation of a Universal Planning and Development Doctrine, along with various Planning Guidelines for the reference and guidance of Local Authorities. Planning for Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) included the establishment of Environmentally Sensitive Area Guidelines. Selangor took the lead by implementing its “Agenda 21”, Selangor’s Sustainable Development Strategy. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology was applied in the preparation of development plans. Research on town indicators under the Malaysia Urban Indicator Network Programme (MURNInet) began at the end of the 1990s and was expanded in subsequent years. Initiatives to amend the Town and Country Planning Act commenced in the late 1990’s, to balance the power of the federal and state governments in matters pertaining to town and country planning. Other initiatives include the preparation of National Physical Plan and the formation of the National Physical Planning Council (NPPC) whereby it is a requirement to consult and seek the NPPC’s advice regarding: construction of new townships with more than 10,000 inhabitants or more than 100 hectares; construction on hillslopes or by hillsides in environmentally sensitive areas; and, construction of infrastructure or major utilities. In 2001, Dato’ Wan Muhammad Mukhtar Mohd Nor was appointed Director-General to implement the ideas mooted in the late 1990’s and in the year 2000. It was also during this period that decision science such as Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) and GIS techniques were also employed in the design and evaluation of development options.

Charles C. Reade - 1921
R.P. Davies - 1929
T.A.L. Concannon - 1950
Walter Fairbanks - 1960
Frank Watkinson - 1965
Dato’ Rosli b.Buyong - 1969
Chung Weng Foo - 1985
Datuk Dr. Mohamed Ishak b. Hj. Mohd Arif - 1986
Dato’ Prof. Zainuddin b. Muhammad - 1993
Dato’ Wan Muhammad Mukhtar b. Mohd Noor - 2001
Dato’ Hj. Mutalib b. Jelani - 2003
Dato’ Mohd. Fadzil b. Hj. Mohd. Khir - 2004
Dr. Dahlia bt. Rosly - 2014
Dato' TPr Dr. Dolbani bin Mijan - 2016
Dato' TPr Zainuddin bin Ahamad - 2017