## 1 Introduction  
Anisotropic materials has been widely used in many large structures such as bridges, buildings, pedestrian walkways and cross-arm in transmission tower. Wood and wood composites are those common anisotropic materials used to build many civil structures [1; 2; 3; 4]. However, many studies reported that most wooden structures experienced premature failures after long period of service, especially when continuously exposed toward extreme weather [5; 6; 7]. These premature failures are also contributed by creep and natural defect such as wood ageing process, which subsequently may lead to structural collapse [8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13].  
Creep is one of the major concerned by structural engineers in order to eliminate any possibilities of structural collapse during its service operation. Creep is a term referred to the tendency of a solid material to move slowly or deform permanently under the influence of persistent mechanical stresses. They are divided into several phases starting from instantaneous deformation followed by primary (transient), secondary (steady-state) and tertiary (accelerated). This mechanical phenomenon usually due to shear yielding, chain slippage, void formation, and also breakage of fibres [14; 15]. To be specific, the creep response of wooden materials is dependent based on their level of stress, operation time, and surrounding temperature [16]. Numerous creep studies of wooden materials have been carried out by many researchers in many ways including development of creep test rigs [17; 18; 19], and creep numerical analyses [20; 21] and coupon tests [22; 23].  
Currently, creep properties of wooden cross-arm in latticed transmission tower is still unexplored based on the previous literatures. Earlier, several research studies reported that the wooden cross-arm has shorter life span (less than 20 years of service) than its life expectancy due to its natural wood defects [24; 25]. The wood defects occur due to natural fibre and wood defects as the wood is exposed to a constant loading for a prolonged time [26; 27; 28]. Hence, this issue has led engineers and researchers to find a solution in order to extend lifespan of the wooden cross-arms. One of the solution is the implementation of bracing system in the current cross-arm structure as suggested by [PERSON] et al. [29]. Thus, this study evaluates the influence bracing system on long-term mechanical performance of wooden cross-arm.  
Evaluating creep properties and responses of a full-scale wooden cross-arm used in 132 kV transmission tower could eliminate numerous exaggerated factors that happen in coupon scale test. The geometry and profile of the material could be neglected when the test is conducted in coupon scale, such as flexural, tensile, and compressive properties. Thus, more reliable data collection would be achieved when a full-scale size cross-arm is used in carrying out creep test to understand the mechanical behaviour during long-term loading condition. The investigation of long-term behaviour of main component member for the cross-arm structure could provide a more holistic perspective in order to evaluate the behaviour of the whole structure either with or without bracing.  
Nowadays, many latticed transmission towers are still used the conventional wooden cross-arm to transmit electrical power. A literature survey revealed that no previous works have evaluated the creep properties of full-scale wooden cross-arms used for 132 kV towers [30; 31]. Thus, this manuscript is expected to examine the effect of addition braced arms on the creep properties and responses of wooden cross-arms with its actual loading conditions. The study also intended to set a baseline for creep profiling of full-scale wooden cross-arms. At the end, the outputs from this study would create a practical perspective for engineers to understand the long-term mechanical performance of the conventional wooden structure.