MALAYSIAN

STANDARD

MS 1979:2015

Electrical installations of buildings - Code of

practice
(First revision)

ICS: 29.020; 91.140.50

Descriptors: practices, electrical installations, buildings, residential houses, dwellings

Copyright 2015
DEPARTMENT OF STANDARDS MALAYSIA

DEVELOPMENT OF MALAYSIAN STANDARDS

The Department of Standards Malaysia (STANDARDS MALAYSIA) is the national
standards and accreditation body of Malaysia.
The main function of STANDARDS MALAYSIA is to foster and promote standards,
standardisation and accreditation as a means of advancing the national economy, promoting
industrial efficiency and development, benefiting the health and safety of the public,
protecting the consumers, facilitating domestic and international trade and furthering
international cooperation in relation to standards and standardisation.
Malaysian Standards (MS) are developed through consensus by committees which comprise
balanced representation of producers, users, consumers and others with relevant interests,
as may be appropriate to the subject at hand. To the greatest extent possible, Malaysian
Standards are aligned to or are adoption of international standards. Approval of a standard
as a Malaysian Standard is governed by the Standards of Malaysia Act 1996 [Act 549].
Malaysian Standards are reviewed periodically. The use of Malaysian Standards is voluntary
except in so far as they are made mandatory by regulatory authorities by means of
regulations, local by-laws or any other similar ways.
For the purposes of Malaysian Standards, the following definitions apply:
Revision: A process where existing Malaysian Standard is reviewed and updated which
resulted in the publication of a new edition of the Malaysian Standard.
Confirmed MS: A Malaysian Standard that has been reviewed by the responsible
committee and confirmed that its contents are current.
Amendment: A process where a provision(s) of existing Malaysian Standard is altered. The
changes are indicated in an amendment page which is incorporated into the existing
Malaysian Standard. Amendments can be of technical and/or editorial nature.
Technical corrigendum: A corrected reprint of the current edition which is issued to correct
either a technical error or ambiguity in a Malaysian Standard inadvertently introduced either
in drafting or in printing and which could lead to incorrect or unsafe application of the
publication.
NOTE: Technical corrigenda are not to correct errors which can be assumed to have no consequences in the application
of the MS, for example minor printing errors.

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and sell Malaysian Standards.
For further information on Malaysian Standards, please contact:

Department of Standards Malaysia

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
Level 1 & 2, Block 2300, Century Square
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MALAYSIA
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OR

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MALAYSIA
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E-mail: msonline@sirim.my

MS 1979:2015

Contents
Page

Committee representation .................................................................................................... v

Foreword ............................................................................................................................ vi
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... x
1
2
3
4

Scope ................................................................................................................... 1
Normative references ........................................................................................... 1
Requirements ....................................................................................................... 2
Issues addressed ................................................................................................. 2

4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.2.1
4.1.3
4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.2.4
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.1.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.3.3.1
4.4
4.4.1
4.4.2
4.4.3

General characteristics of low voltage public electricity supply .............................. 2

COP 01, Characteristics of low voltage public electricity supply ............................. 2
COP 02, Suitability for use .................................................................................... 2
COP 02A, Compliance with regulatory requirements and electrical standards ....... 3
COP 03, Application for supply of electricity .......................................................... 3
Protection against electric shock ........................................................................... 3
COP 04, Basic protection (Protection against direct contact) ................................. 4
COP 05, Protective earthing and equipotential bonding of equipment.................... 4
COP 06, Isolation on earth fault ............................................................................ 4
COP 07, Requirement of installation earthing system ............................................ 5
Protection against thermal effects ......................................................................... 5
COP 08, Protection against fire ............................................................................. 5
COP 08A, Protection against burns....................................................................... 6
COP 09, Protection by placing out of reach ........................................................... 6
COP 10, Protection against overheating ............................................................... 6
COP 10A, Requirements of thermal cut-off devices............................................... 6
Overcurrent protection .......................................................................................... 7
COP 11, Overcurrent protection of phase conductors............................................ 7
COP 11A, Overcurrent protection of neutral conductors ........................................ 7
COP 11B, Overcurrent protection of protective earthing and
equipotential bonding conductors.......................................................................... 7
COP 12, Cross section area of neutral conductor .................................................. 7
COP 12A, Neutral conductor reduction at the discretion of
professional design electrical engineer.................................................................. 7
COP 13, Nominal rated current, In of an overload protection device ...................... 7
COP 14, Continuous current carrying capacity, Iz of a phase conductor ................ 7
COP 15, Current, I2 or Ir to ensure effective operation of overload
protective device................................................................................................... 8
COP 16A, Prevention of nuisance tripping of an overload protective
device due to inrush current or similar temporary overcurrent ................................ 9
COP 16, Determination of short circuit current, kA (kilo Ampere) ........................... 9
COP 17, Rating of short circuit protective device, kA ............................................. 9
Protection against voltage disturbances ................................................................ 9
COP 18, Installation main earthing terminal (MET) ................................................ 9

4.4.4
4.4.4.1
4.4.5
4.4.6
4.4.7
4.4.7.1
4.4.8
4.4.9
4.5
4.5.1

STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

MS 1979:2015

Contents (continued)
Page
4.5.2
4.6
4.6.1
4.6.2

COP 19, Installation with surge protective device (SPD)...................................... 10

Wiring systems ................................................................................................... 10
COP 20, Prevention of eddy current effects ........................................................ 10
COP 21, Separation of high voltage (HV), low voltage (LV),
extra low voltage (ELV), signal, and, control and instrumentation cables ............. 10
4.6.3
COP 22, Installation of low voltage single phase and three phase circuits ........... 11
4.6.4
COP 23, Connection of conductors made of dissimilar metals ............................. 11
4.6.5
COP 24, Buried conduits, cable duct systems or similar ...................................... 11
4.6.6
COP 25, Bending radius of cables ...................................................................... 12
4.6.7
COP 26, Support and clamping or tying of cables ............................................... 12
4.6.8
COP 27, Space factor (SF) ................................................................................. 12
4.6.9
COP 28, Cable installed or concealed inside walls, within partitions and similar .. 12
4.6.9.1 COP 28A, Cables not concealed inside walls, within partitions and similar .......... 13
4.6.10
COP 29, Mechanical protection for cables inside walls, within partitions
or similar............................................................................................................. 13
4.6.11
COP 30, Cables installed within ceiling space ..................................................... 13
4.6.12
COP 31, Water heater, booster pump, Jacuzzi, water features circulating
pumps or similar (hereinafter refers as wet-equipment) ....................................... 13
4.6.13
COP 32, Air conditioner, electric oven or similar
(hereinafter refer as high-current using equipment circuit) ................................... 14
4.6.13.1 COP 32A, Terminations of circuits ...................................................................... 14
4.6.13.2 COP 32B, Installation requirements of electrical equipment and accessories ...... 14
4.6.14
COP 33, Group reduction factor .......................................................................... 14
4.6.15
COP 34, Consideration for loaded conductors in determining group
reduction factor................................................................................................... 15
4.6.16
COP 35, Size of neutral conductor ...................................................................... 15
4.6.17
COP 36, Neutral conductor reduction at the discretion of
professional design electrical engineer................................................................ 15
4.6.18
COP 37, Phase conductors connected in parallel ................................................ 15
4.6.19
COP 38, Cable suitable for the most onerous condition....................................... 15
4.6.20
COP 39, Minimum size and material of wiring conductors ................................... 15
4.6.21
COP 40, Neutral and protective earthing conductors for every circuit .................. 15
4.6.22
COP 41, Allowable voltage drop ......................................................................... 15
4.7
Electrical connections ......................................................................................... 16
4.7.1
COP 42, Soldered connections ........................................................................... 16
4.7.2
COP 43, Use of sockets and crimps for connections ........................................... 16
4.7.3
COP 44, Cables for final circuits ......................................................................... 16
4.7.4
COP 45, Sealing of walls, floors, partitions, and similar ....................................... 16
4.8
Switching and control.......................................................................................... 17
4.8.1
COP 46, Multi-pole switching devices of electricity supply to an installation ......... 17
4.8.2
COP 47, No miniature circuit breaker (MCB), fuse, disconnector, links or similar
in a neutral conductor of TT configuration ........................................................... 17
4.8.3
COP 48, Operation of residual current device (RCD)........................................... 17
4.8.4
COP 49, Conductors passing through the magnetic circuit of an (RCD)............... 17
4.8.5
COP 50, Current operated residual current device (RCD) ................................... 17
4.8.6
COP 51, RCD for single phase installations ........................................................ 18
4.8.7
COP 52, RCD for three phase installations ......................................................... 18
4.8.8
COP 53, RCD for hand held and fixed apparatus ................................................ 18
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STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

MS 1979:2015

Contents (continued)
Page

4.8.9
4.8.10
4.8.11
4.8.12
4.8.13
4.9
4.9.1
4.9.2
4.9.3
4.9.4
4.9.5
4.9.6
4.10
4.10.1
4.10.2
4.10.3
4.10.4
4.11
4.11.1
4.11.1.1

COP 54, RCD for special places ......................................................................... 18

COP 55, Location of RCD in single RCD protected installation ............................ 18
COP 56, Periodic testing of RCD ........................................................................ 18
COP 57, Selection of short circuit protective device ............................................ 18
COP 58, Requirement for devices for emergency switching ................................ 19
Surge protective devices (SPD) .......................................................................... 19
COP 59, Installation of SPD ................................................................................ 19
COP 60, Standards compliances for SPD ........................................................... 19
COP 61, Ratings of SPD..................................................................................... 19
COP 62, Protection of electronic devices by SPD................................................ 19
COP 63, Installation of SPD in special environments........................................... 19
COP 64, Earth connection of SPD ...................................................................... 20
Isolation.............................................................................................................. 20
COP 65, Requirement for circuit isolation ............................................................ 20
COP 66, Marking of isolation devices.................................................................. 20
COP 67, Prohibition on the use of semiconductor devices for isolation ................ 20
COP 68, Prevention of unintentional re-energising .............................................. 20
Earthing.............................................................................................................. 20
COP 69, Uses of earthing system ....................................................................... 20
COP 69A, Sharing of and interconnecting installation earthing systems
of different buildings............................................................................................ 21
4.11.2
COP 70, Earth electrodes ................................................................................... 21
4.11.3
COP 71, Restriction on the use of conductive water pipes, gas pipes and
other conductive structures for protective earthing .............................................. 21
4.11.4
COP 72, Maintenance and periodic inspection and test of earthing system ......... 21
4.11.5
COP 73, Minimum cross-sectional-area (CSA) of protective earthing conductor .. 21
4.11.6
COP 74, Methods of connecting earthing conductors, earth electrodes, etc.
buried in soil or ground ....................................................................................... 22
4.11.7
COP 75, Selection of protective earthing conductors........................................... 22
4.11.8
COP 76, Size of protective conductors ................................................................ 22
4.12
COP 77, Minimum crosssectionalarea (CSA) of equipotential
bonding conductors ............................................................................................ 22
4.13
Change-over switch of a standby system or alternative system ........................... 23
4.13.1
COP 78, Prevention of parallel operation of standby or alternative electricity
supply with the public electricity supply ............................................................... 23
4.13.2
COP 79, Separate neutral for the standby or alternative system .......................... 23
4.13.2.1 COP 79A, Separate earthing for the standby and alternative system ................... 24
4.13.3
COP 80, Overcurrent protection for essential services ........................................ 24
4.14
Inspection and testing ......................................................................................... 24
4.14.1
COP 82, Supervision of work on LV single phase installations ............................ 24
4.14.2
COP 83, Supervision of work on LV three phase installations.............................. 24
4.14.3
COP 84, Testing of work on LV single phase installations ................................... 24
4.14.4
COP 85, Testing of work on LV three phase installations .................................... 24
4.14.5
COP 86, Testing by electrical services engineer ................................................. 24
4.14.6
COP 87, Condition precedent for receipt of electricity.......................................... 25
4.14.7
COP 88, Insulation resistance (IR) test on completed LV installations ................. 25
4.14.8
COP 89, Electrical installation inspection and testing .......................................... 25
4.14.8.1 COP 88A, Socket polarity check on completed electrical installations.................. 25
STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved
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MS 1979:2015

Contents (concluded)
Page

4.14.8.2
4.14.9
4.14.9.1
4.14.9.2
4.14.10

COP 88B, Phase sequence check on final three phase circuits ......................... 25
COP 90, Requirement for labelling .................................................................... 26
COP 90A, Requirement for colour coding of cable management system ............ 26
COP 90B, Requirement for colour coding of cables and conductors .................. 27
COP 91, As-built documentation........................................................................ 28

Annex A

Basic singleline schematic diagram for single phase incoming

distribution board .............................................................................................. 29

Annex B

Basic singleline schematic diagram for three phase incoming

distribution board .............................................................................................. 30

iv

STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

MS 1979:2015

Committee representation
The Industry Standards Committee on Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Energy (ISC E) under whose
authority this Malaysian Standard was developed, comprises representatives from the following organisations:
Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia
Department of Standards Malaysia
Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers
Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia
Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation
Malaysian Association of Standards Users
Malaysian Cable Manufacturers Association
Malaysian Electrical Appliances and Distributors Association
Malaysian Green Technology Corporation
Persatuan Kontraktor Elektrikal dan Mekanikal Melayu Malaysia
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd
Sarawak Energy Berhad
SIRIM Berhad (Secretariat)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd
Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia
Suruhanjaya Tenaga
Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia
Tenaga Nasional Berhad
The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
Universiti Malaya

The Technical Committee on Electrical Installation, Protection and Insulation Practice which supervised the
development of this Malaysian Standard is managed by The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia
(TEEAM) in its capacity as an authorised Standards-Writing Organisation and consists of representatives from the
following organisations:
Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia
EITA Resources Berhad
G.H. Liew Engineering (1990) Sdn Bhd
Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia
Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd
Sarawak Energy Berhad
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Electrical and Electronic Testing Section)
Suruhanjaya Tenaga
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (Distribution Division)
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (Generation Division)
The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia (Secretariat)
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
Time Era Sdn Bhd
Universiti Malaya

The Working Group on Electrical Installation of Buildings which developed this Malaysian Standard consists of
representatives from the following organisations:
Abbaco Controls Sdn Bhd
Covis Sdn Bhd
Mektricon Sdn Bhd
The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia (Secretariat)
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia

STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

MS 1979:2015

Foreword
This Malaysian Standard was developed by the Working Group on Electrical Installation of
Buildings under the authority of the Industry Standards Committee on Generation,
Transmission and Distribution of Energy. Development of this Malaysian Standard was carried
out by The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia (TEEAM) which is the
Standards - Writing Organisation (SWO) appointed by SIRIM Berhad to develop standards for
electrical installation, protection and insulation practice.
Major modifications in this revision are as follows:
i)

COP 01: Nominal voltages have been updated.

ii)

COP 02A has been added to address compliance with regulatory requirements and
electrical standards.

iii)

COP 04: Basic protection is highlighted.

iv)

COP 05: Additional requirements on protective earthings and equipotential bonding of

equipment have been added.

v)

COP 06: The term earth fault is used to replace the term fault; additional requirements
on the use of overcurrent protective device (OPD) and residual current device (RCD) as
well as the maximum disconnection time have been included.

vi)

COP 07: Recommended value for the resistance of installation earth as well as the
measurement method has been updated.

vii)

Clause 4.3, protection against harmful effects, such as smoke and deleterious effects on
adjacent equipment has been added into consideration.

viii)

COP 08A has been added to include protection against burns.

ix)

COP 09: Distance for out-of-reach has been specified.

x)

COP 10A has been added to include requirements of thermal cut-off devices.

xi)

COP 11A has been added to include overcurrent protection of neutral conductors.

xii)

COP 11B has been added to include overcurrent protection of protective earthing and
equipotential bonding conductors.

xiii)

COP 12A has been added to allow neutral conductor reduction at the discretion of
Professional Design Electrical Engineer.

xiv)

COP 15: Overload trip current has been updated taking into account the types of circuit
breakers.

xv)

COP 16: The method of ascertaining minimum short circuit current rating has been
revised.

xvi)

COP 20: Installation recommendations to prevent eddy current effects have been
updated.

vi

STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

MS 1979:2015

Foreword (continued)
xvii)

COP 21: Extra low voltage (ELV), signal and control, and instrumentation cables have
been added into consideration.

xviii)

COP 28: Requirement for mechanical protection has been added.

xix)

COP 28A has been added to include requirements for cables not concealed inside
walls, within partitions and similar.

xx)

COP 31: Scope has been extended to cover other wet-equipment apart from water
heater, and requirements for the power circuits have been updated.

xxi)

COP 32A has been added to include requirements for terminations of circuits.

xxii)

COP 32B has been added to include installation requirements of electrical equipment
and accessories.

xxiii)

COP 34: Consideration for load conductors in determining group reduction factor has
been updated.

xxiv)

COP 39: Material of wiring conductors has been restricted to electrical grade copper
only.

xxv)

COP 41: Allowable voltage drop has been revised.

xxvi)

COP 43 has been removed.

xxvii)

COP 44: Requirement for cables in final circuit to be continuous without any joint has
been added.

xxviii)

COP 45: Scope extended to cover walls, floors and other similar structures, and
requirements for sealing have been updated.

xxix)

COP 46: Requirements for multi-pole switching device have been updated.

xxx)

COP 47: Scope has been extended to cover disconnector, links or similar.

xxxi)

COP 48: Requirement has been updated to prohibit disconnection of protective

earthing conductor.

xxxii)

COP 49: Additional requirement for conductor passing through the magnetic circuit of
an RCD has been included.

xxxiii)

COP 54: Instances for 10 mA RCD installation has been updated.

xxxiv)

COP 55: Elaboration on the installation location of RCD has been added.

xxxv)

COP 56: Act and regulation governing the periodic test of RCD has been added.

xxxvi)

COP 59: Additional requirements for the installation of SPD have been included.

xxxvii) COP 60 has been altered to cover the standards to be complied by SPD.
STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

vii

MS 1979:2015

Foreword (continued)
xxxviii) COP 61: Minimum requirements of SPD ratings have been extended.
xxxix)

COP 62 and COP 63 are no longer applicable.

xl)

COP 64: Requirements for the earth connection of SPD have been updated.

xli)

COP 65: Requirement for the operation of main incoming isolated has been added.

xlii)

COP 68: Auto-reclosing circuit breaker and RCD are prohibited to prevent unintentional
re-energising.

xliii)

COP 69A has been added to cover sharing of and interconnection installation earthing
systems of different buildings.

xliv)

COP 73: Minimum cross-sectional - area of protective earthing conductor has been
updated.

xlv)

COP 74: Additional requirements on the inspection chamber and the connections have
been included.

xlvi)

COP 76: Cross reference to COP 73 has been made.

xlvii)

COP 77: Requirements for minimum cross-sectional-area have been updated.

xlviii)

COP 78 has been altered to cover change-over switch of a standby system or

alternative system.

xlix)

COP 79A has been added to include separate earthing for the standby ad alternative
system.

l)

COP 86: Cross reference to COP 86 has been made.

li)

COP 88: Requirements for insulation resistance test has been updated taking into
account different circuit nominal voltages and maximum conductor design operating
temperature.

lii)

COP 88A has been added to include socket polarity check on completed electrical
installations.

liii)

COP 88B has been added to include phase sequence check on final three phase
circuits.

liv)

COP 90: Requirements for labelling have been updated.

lv)

COP 90A has been added to include requirement for colour coding of cable
management system.

lvi)

COP 90B has been added to include requirement for colour coding of cables and
conductors.

lvii)

COP 91: Requirements for as-built documentation have been updated.

viii

STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

MS 1979:2015

Foreword (concluded)
lviii) Annex A has been added to provide an example basic singleline schematic diagram for
single phase incoming distribution board.
lix)

Annex B has added to provide an example basic singleline schematic diagram for three
phase incoming distribution board.

This Malaysian Standard cancels and replaces MS 1979:2007, Electrical installations of

buildings - Code of practice.
Compliance with a Malaysian Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations.

STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

ix