CIOB Malaysia was formed originally as the Institute of Building Malaysia Centre, as an affiliate to the Institute of Building by a group of 25 qualified builders in 1976. Officially inaugurated by Dakut Lee San Choon, Minister of Transport (Minister of Works prior to the inauguration), the membership has grown tremendously with the current figure standing at 866.
Through its membership growth, the branch has undergone a number of changes and periods of development. When the Institute of Building was granted the Royal Charter to become the CIOB in 1980, the centre was renamed as the Chartered Institute of Building Malaysia Centre and in 1993 the centre had its status upgraded to become the Chartered Institute of Building Malaysia Branch.
As well as its commitment to promote membership drive among qualified professionals from the Malaysian construction industry, CIOB Malaysia also examines and grants recognition to institutes of higher education that offer construction related courses of a required standard, through an accreditation process. To date, two institutes of higher education in Malaysia have been warded exemptions by the Institute.
CIOB Malaysia is actively involved with various committees of statutory organisations and agencies, construction related professional institutes and trade associations. These include: the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, Standard Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM), the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM), Professional Services Development Corporation (PSDC), Malaysian Professional Centre, Quality Assurance Division of the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology (MiGHT).