KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 3 -- A landmark High Court judgment has dismantled a decades-old bureaucratic hurdle in the construction industry, a move that could make the process of getting planning applications approved both cheaper and faster for property owners.

The court ruled that local authorities cannot prohibit architects from submitting planning applications, declaring the common practice of restricting such submissions exclusively to registered town planners to be illegal and unenforceable.

The Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) hailed the decision as a critical step in cutting unnecessary red tape.

For decades, some local authorities have used internal circulars to block architects from making planning submissions, which the cour...