Malaysian Authorities Research Articles

STRATEGIES USED BY THE AUTHORITIES IN DEALING WITH ONLINE PURCHASING FRAUD

Cases of online purchase fraud are escalating and this has created concerns about the level of security available for online users. Previous studies have provided solutions to deal with the risk of fraud when using the Internet but no study has focused on discussions about the strategies employed by the Malaysian authorities when dealing with online purchase fraud. Therefore, this study aims to discuss the strategies employed by Malaysian authorities to make online purchasing safe for online users. This qualitative study employed the interview method and content analysis to collect and analyse data, respectively. The documents analysed included journal articles by past researchers, while interviews were conducted with government and non-government agencies that are directly involved with online users. Findings show that the authorities have disseminated consumer information and education through the media, provided channels for lodging complaints, communicated directly with sales service providers, conducted monitoring and inspections, enforced the disclosure of eight vital pieces of information according to P.U (A) 458, encouraged the procurement of the SSM BizTrust certificate, established collaborations with related agencies and conducted research. It is hoped that the suggested improvements can be implemented so that the implemented strategies can have a more positive effect.

Delving into the Story of an Unwed Mother in Malaysia by Longitudinal Photovoice Methodology

Regardless of the age of the unwed mother, pregnancy out of wedlock is considered as sinful, violation of the norm and disgrace to the family in most of Asian countries including Malaysia. Although the Malaysian society and authority are concerned on this matter, however, people rarely talk about this topic in public due to shame and stigma. Owing to that, little is known about the perspectives of this marginalized group about their life experiences. The shared data were used to explore the life experiences of an unwed mother in three different life times. The data were then analyzed by using the House-Tree-Person (HTP) analysis. The study found that the unwed mother felt the life in the shelter home as unwelcome, lost of dignity and self esteem. Consequently, it impacted on her later life that she felt more lonely and unable to regain back her dignity and self-esteem that she longing for. The data can be benefited to the Malaysian authority as well as the society to be more sympathecically and acknowledge the experiences of unwed mother. Hence, it will increase the awareness and understanding towards unwed mothers as well as to reduce the stigma on them.

The Commitment of Local Authority Offices toward Sustainable Energy Practices

Globally, there is a strong trend among local authority offices towards focusing on energy sustainability. This movement is vital as they faced challenges in managing their assets due to financial constraints and declining resources. This study aims to investigate the commitments of the local authority offices in Malaysia towards sustainable energy practices. The objective of this study was to identify the sustainable energy initiatives implemented within the selected local authorities in Malaysia as a case study. For this research context, ‘the commitment’ refers to the extent of information found concerning sustainable energy initiatives undertaken to manage their assets. Eight (8) semi-structured interviews with FM practitioners representing the eight local authorities from the City Hall and Municipal Council categories were conducted. Generally, the commitment of the local authority offices in Malaysia towards sustainable energy implementation was still at an initial stage, with seven (7) related initiatives identified. However, the introduction of energy-saving techniques, energy-saving technology, energy-saving equipment, and encouraging the involvement of officers and staff in energy-saving was the most significant initiatives identified. Therefore, given this perspective, the proactive role of local authorities is needed towards sustainable energy implementation. Indeed, this organisation have to take the lead in achieving sustainability goal.

GAMBLING IN MALAYSIA: ISSUES, PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Gambling is a normal activity among many non-Muslim Malaysians, and especially the ethnic Chinese Malaysians (CM). In this paper, we asked 60 Malaysian youths if they had gambled before and 78.3% (N=47) had replied ‘yes’. This showed that gambling is quite an acceptable cultural behaviour but that it can lead to more serious repercussions if uncontrolled. Moreover, past research supported the observation that Malaysians do generally gamble more than their Asian counterparts. Not surprisingly then, a majority of these 60 young Malaysian respondents surveyed believed that gambling is an entertainment and only 28.3% (N=17) think that gambling is a harmful activity. In this paper, the respondents were also surveyed on their perception of loan sharks which is an issue loosely associated with gambling and/or gambling addiction. Due to local media reports on loan shark harassments of their borrowers, it was clear that most of the respondents viewed loan sharking negatively. On the other hand, this paper also argued that gambling as an addiction, a social problem, and a mental health disease have not been publicly or widely acknowledged by the Malaysian authorities even though the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) by the American Psychological Association (APA) has classified gambling addiction as a kind of substance-related, addictive disorder. Finally, this paper also provided possible solutions to help curtail gambling addiction as a mental health disease, an addiction, and a social problem.

A Phenomenology Study on Misappropriation of Assets and Corruption in Malaysian Local Authorities: A Reality Check

Year on year, the Auditor General’s Report had reported on the inefficiencies and weaknesses in the government administrative system. Accordingly, this research aims to identify why misappropriation of assets and corruption are still occurring despite the elaborated preventive measures in place. Due the sensitivity of the area, a phenomenological study is the most appropriate method to approach the objective. This research used the evidence collected from both the semi-structured interviews and open-ended survey from local authorities in Malaysia. Information and data from face-to-face interviews served as the primary source of information while responses received by postages served as a secondary support to the primary research instrument. Based on the responses, inefficient leader becomes the centrepiece of the other ten challenges, namely, attitude, weak enforcement, lack of internal strengths, ineffective training, lack of authority, opportunity due to lack of control, burden of proof due to bureaucracy, favouritism/ excessive discretions, organisational culture, and public perception. This research contributes to the literature by investigating a commonly proposed subject but underexplored methodology by incorporating phenomenology and open-ended survey simultaneously in data collection to understand a holistic view of the discussed issues. While detailed research of whistle-blowing programs is outside the scope of this research, future research should acknowledge the importance of whistle-blowing programs in the Malaysian public sector which move beyond the compliance of established policies and procedures.

Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Distance Education Services Open University for Indonesian Citizens in Malaysia

The Indonesian Open University (UT) has had extensive experience in providing, implementing, and developing educational services in Indonesian and abroad. Several problems related to the planned development of Distance Education Services (PJJ-UT), have become obstacles that hinder the smooth expansion and management of UT abroad. This paper aims to analyze the opportunities and challenges in developing PJJ-UT in Malaysia. The approach used in this study is a qualitative method. The data are collected through participant observation as well as unstructured in-depth interviews involving resources ranging from UT managers, students, and alumni. The results: (1). Many fresh graduates from Senior High School, have departed for Malaysia before the time of receiving their graduation certificate. They are constrained from realizing their intention to continue their study while working; (2). Indonesian illegal migrants who have joined as students, have limited space for movement and are being arrested by Malaysian authorities; (3). Implementation of the mandatory overtime system at workplace, prevented students from participating in examinations; (4). The distance of the student coverage area, resulted in delays in taking academic activities; (5). The dropping out phenomenon among students who are not motivated to study is high, especially after returning to their homeland.

Enhancing Tax Compliance in Malaysia: Does Tax Learning and Education Matter?

The self-assessment system has become the key administrative approach for personal and corporate taxation in developed and developing countries, including Malaysia, first implemented in 2001 for companies, followed by individual taxpayers in 2004. It is one of the most significant transformations in Malaysia’s taxation, which requires higher tax awareness and improvements in voluntary tax compliance, especially for individual taxpayers. The present paper attempts to uncover the role of compliance strategies in increasing tax compliance and reveal the importance of tax learning and education, one of the central focuses of the tax authority in Malaysia. The study examines three Inland Revenue Board Malaysia’s (IRBM) current strategies: the threat of punishment, tax learning and education, and interaction with the tax authority. From a survey of 501 respondents, the results suggest that IRBM’s two current strategies (threat of punishment and tax learning and education) have a significant positive relationship with tax compliance behaviour among individual taxpayers. In addition, this study proposed enhancing tax learning and education by using current technology in delivering tax knowledge efficiently and embedding tax syllabus in schools and universities. The findings of this study provide significant and valuable input to the tax authorities, particularly IRBM, in evaluating current compliance strategies with the mission to cultivate tax compliance behaviour.

Teachers’ Perceptions and Challenges to the Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning during Covid-19 in Malaysia

The use of technology in education has been an ongoing debate among educators. Although educators are highly encouraged to integrate technology in the classroom, they are still sceptical to fully utilize them. This changed drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 which forced educators and learners to rely heavily on the use of technology to support learning. This paper identifies teachers' technology usage in the classroom, their perceptions on the use of technology in the classroom and the challenges of integrating technology in teaching and learning. We employed a quantitative research approach with survey design and non-probability snowball sampling. To collect the data, a questionnaire was distributed to 78 primary and secondary school teachers. We found that teachers in that particular area mostly used smart phones to access internet and conduct lessons due to the limited availability of devices from the students’ end, internet connectivity, and limited instructional time. Despite the challenges presented, they believed the importance of technology in education, and it helped enhance students' digital competence and responsible use. This research, thus, present an insight to the educational authorities in Malaysia of the general perceptions of teachers on the technology used during the pandemic and in turn, will increase digital access and awareness for a better quality of technology integration in teaching and learning.

A Case Study of Malaysian Teachers’ Practice of Play-based Learning in Preschool

Malaysian early education authorities have advocated for play-based learning in Malaysian classrooms in recent years. However, there is minimal recorded evidence of the state of play-based learning implementation in preschools. This study seeks to investigate the practice of play-based learning by three Chinese-ethnic teachers in a preschool. The choice of a case study is to enable a detailed examination of the intertwining relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice of play-based learning among the case study teachers. The findings obtained from three sets of self-report rating and observation point to a stronger influence of knowledge than attitude on the teachers’ practice of play-based learning. Improved knowledge about play-based learning is critical for the Malaysian preschool teachers to apply play-based learning in their teaching practice. Without adequate knowledge in play-based learning, there is the risk that teachers will continue to perceive “play” and “learning” as two separate entities, and correspondingly believe that play has an adverse effect on learning.

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI AMALAN PENGASINGAN BAHAN SISA PEPEJAL DALAM KALANGAN ISI RUMAH: KAJIAN KES DI SELANGOR

Malaysia, as one of the countries committed to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN), has set out to achieve those goals by 2030. One of the efforts undertaken is through the Resource Allocation Initiative (SSI) under the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act 2007 (Act 672) was launched and came into effect in September 2015 in which Malaysian households are encouraged to participate by practicing solid waste segregation at home. Although there are various negative effects on unstructured waste management, many past studies have only discussed factors of intention and recycling practices among households as opposed to solid waste segregation practices. Therefore, the objective of this study is to highlight the role of intrinsic motivation in influencing solid waste segregation behavior by using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a framework. A survey of questionnaires was conducted among the residents of residential units in the state of Selangor, and a total of 361 questionnaires were returned. Smart PLS software is used to analyze the data. The results showed that all variables including attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control had significant relationships in predicting solid waste segregation behavior. Based on the results of this study, recommendations are made to encourage solid waste segregation behavior among households. In addition, this study makes a significant contribution to the knowledge of household behavior in practicing solid waste segregation. From a practical point of view, this study is very important for local authorities in Malaysia and around the world to encourage the involvement of households to segregate solid waste to protect and safeguard the environment and reduce pollution.

Increasing destination loyalty of international students towards Malaysian higher educational institutions

<span>Educational tourism has gained popularity worldwide due to the emergence of the knowledge economy that has increased the global demand for tertiary education. Therefore, the trend has inspired this study to examine the factors affecting international students’ destination loyalty to revisit and recommend Malaysian higher educational institutions as their educational tourism attractions. In this study, 200 international students who were currently studying in Malaysian higher educational institutions were recruited through purposive sampling technique. The statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS were performed for data collection analysis. The findings demonstrated that the service quality, destination image, and cost of the study were positively correlated with the students’ satisfaction wherein students’ satisfaction contributed positively and significantly to the destination loyalty of international students in recommending and revisiting Malaysia for educational tourism. This study provided all the higher educational institutions and authorities in Malaysia with a better understanding of international students’ expectations and perceptions towards studying in Malaysia. Subsequently, the relevant stakeholders could implement effective strategies to improve and assist the Malaysian government in accomplishing the aspiration of becoming one of the most excellent international education hubs in the world.</span>

Sama-Badjao Halaw from South Ubian, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines from 2000-2018: Narratives

Issues on Filipino migration are widespread across the world. But the most prevailing and crucial one is the migration among the Sama-Badjao people in South Ubian in the province of Tawi-Tawi or widely known as halaw issue. Sama-Badjao people illegally migrate to Sabah, Malaysia because of poverty and desire to give their children a better future. This study specifically seeks to answer the following queries: who are Sama-Badjao halaw? What are the factors that push them to migrate to Sabah? What are their experiences as halaw in Sabah, Malaysia? What are the effects of halaw to the socioeconomic condition of Sama-Badjao society in South Ubian, Tawi-Tawi? This study is qualitative, narrative and descriptive in design. Data were gathered through personal interviews using the researcher’s designed guide questionnaire and phone interviews. The travel documents and removal order from the Malaysian and Philippine governments of the identified key informants were presented to validate the halaw key informants’ personal information. The data show that Sama-Badjao halaw from the municipality of South Ubian easily entered Sabah without detection from both government authorities. However, while Sama-Badjao halaw work in Sabah, sacrificing for the sake of their families’ economic survival in the Philippines, many of them were apprehended and imprisoned by the Malaysian authorities. After spending months in Malaysian prison, they were deported to the Philippines. Anxiety and harsh punishments were among the indelible experiences of Sama-Badjao halaw under the Malaysian prison.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE COMPETENCY AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

The article reviewed the relationship between language competency and business opportunity in five global regional trading blocs. By having the language competency may facilitate the business opportunity but language differences may create frictions between the business partners and/or the workers. Besides for the purpose of communication, language use in the business world may enhance trust and loyalty between business partners and from the customers. Different linguistic landscapes are formed and dominated by different language communities in the global business world. Five important languages used in the global business world which are English, Mandarin, Spanish, German and Portuguese, are reviewed according to their regional trading blocs. Malaysian authority specifically the Malaysian Education Ministry is suggested to design and adapt more practical and relevant education language plan to produce graduates with different language competencies for the future human resource market. The authority is also suggested to create a favourable institutional environment for variant language use in the country.

Assessing Public Awareness of the Economic, Environmental, and Social Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

Due to the fact that COVID-19 is a novel viral infection, there is no pre-existing immunity in humans, and everyone is presumed to be a susceptible host. Therefore, public awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on Malaysia remains unclear for decision-making purposes. Hence, this study sought to ascertain the level of public awareness about the economic, environmental, and social implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. The instrument, a google form questionnaire, was developed in response to previous studies. For data analysis, a total of 437 completed responses were obtained. The data analysis process used both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The findings indicated that respondents reported a significant influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysia's local economy, environment, and social aspects. Additionally, the economic effect varied significantly among age groups, income categories, and residential areas. The socio-economic crisis altered investment patterns and had a profound impact on both the economic and social sectors. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the socio-economic implications of COVID-19 and to develop comprehensive socio-economic preparations to maintain Malaysia's social, environmental, and economic sustainability during and after the pandemic. This study delved into critical COVID-19 responses and society's lessons learned in order to keep Malaysian authorities, businesses, and industry informed.

Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak by Authorities in Malaysia Viewed from Fiqh Al-Ma’al Perspective

Malaysia is among the countries with the most citizens inflicted by covid-19 outbreak in Southeast Asia in early phase of year 2020, however persistent efforts performed by Authorities in Malaysia especially Ministry of Health has succeeded in constraining this disease among its people. Nevertheless, preventive measures done by Authorities in Malaysia raised several questions among the people particularly if viewed from fiqh al-ma’al perspective. This article aims to explain on the preventive efforts for covid-19 outbreak taken by Authorities in Malaysia viewed from fiqh al-ma’al perspective. Methodology of this article was based on qualitative study. Data were collected from document analysis by referring to books particularly related to fiqh Islami, kaedah-kaedah fiqh, usul fiqh, fiqh al-ma’al, contemporary fiqh books, current fatwas, journal articles and authorised websites. Data collected were abalysed and elaborated through inductive, deductive and comparative methods to gain for appropriate results in alignment with determined research objectives. This study found that preventive efforts for covid-19 outbreak executed by Authorities in Malaysia do comply with fiqh al-ma’al and those efforts are on the right track according to the fiqh. It clearly invites great maslahah (benefits) to the people. On account of that, it is hoped that Malaysian citizens not need to worry with the preventive efforts instead they should keep on supporting the sincere efforts until chain of covid-19 outbreak spread can ultimately be broken.

MODELING THE NONLINEAR FISCAL REACTION FUNCTION IN MALAYSIA

The fiscal reaction function (FRF) provides valuable insights into a country’s fiscal sustainability and output stability. However, there is no consensus yet on how to model it. Thus, this study investigates the best functional form for the FRF by adopting a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approach that accounts for a potential structural break in the data across periods. We examine the case of Malaysia and address the country’s data by using a break-point of the unit root test. The test results indicate the presence of a structural break in the country’s FRF. Moreover, the primary balance of Malaysia has an asymmetrical reaction to the country’s public debt and the output gap. This result suggests that a nonlinear behavior of FRF with a structural break is an accurate approach for the fiscal authority in Malaysia (for example, the Ministry of Finance) in designing prudent fiscal policy. This study finds that an asymmetric fiscal reaction in Malaysia neither guarantees fiscal sustainability nor supports output stability, thus suggesting the need for an independent fiscal council to promote prudent fiscal policy.

A cohesive model of predicting tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting amongst small and medium sized enterprises

PurposeThe issue of tax evasion through fraudulent financial reporting committed by companies is a major concern facing the tax authority in Malaysia. As such, the purpose of this study is to propose a cohesive model of predicting tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting amongst small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) taxpayers.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed model for this study is designed to explore the extent of the relationships between the independent variables: family ownership firms, company size, presence of tax professionals, company’s duration in business and frequency of tax audits and the moderating variable, i.e. tax audit officers’ level of competence; and the dependent variable, i.e. tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting. This study is grounded on four theories: agency theory, political cost theory, economic deterrence theory and competency theory. Data will be gathered from actual audit cases resolved by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. Ordinary least square regression analysis is proposed for the investigation.FindingsThis study anticipates that family ownership firms, company size, presence of tax professionals, company’s duration in business and frequency of tax audits could be associated with tax evasion amongst SMEs in Malaysia. This study further proposes that highly competent tax audit officers could mitigate the relationship between frequency of tax audits and tax evasion practices amongst SMEs in Malaysia.Originality/valueThis study should be able to provide a cohesive model of predicting tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting amongst SMEs in Malaysia. Research on fraudulent financial reporting amongst SMEs is very limited, especially involving the level of competence of the tax audit officers; therefore, this study should contribute to the tax evasion literature by providing a comprehensive model of predicting tax evasion through fraudulent financial reporting using a Malaysian tax setting.

A Proposed Shariah Compliant Fintech Model as An Alternative Financing Product to Tackle Food Security Challenges in Malaysia

Ensuring food security becomes a significant issue in many countries, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, the agriculture sector's development is critically essential to improving food availability. Despite several initiatives launched by the Malaysian authorities to support small farmers, this sector continues to suffer from accessing financial services. This paper objective is to develop a shariah based financing alternative model known as the Shariah-Compliant Fintech (SCF) Model. This model incorporates crowdfunding solutions and smart contracts into one platform to provide a seamless experience for the investors and fund seekers. This paper starts with the conceptual exploration of the literature in the areas of food security, financing challenges facing farmers, smart contract and Crowdfunding application. The sources of the literature cover secondary sources such as books, online resources and journal articles. This paper provides a conceptual framework of the shariah compliant fintech model that could be a viable solution for the global crowd investors to participate in the impactful investment opportunities. Second, the platform represents a marketplace for small farmers to seek financing from alternative sources of funds for their agricultural projects. This study offers a comprehensive shariah investment procedure and structures of the fintech industry, which can assist policymakers to create necessary policies that regulate Crowdfunding and smart contracts activities.

Correlation Analysis and Multilinear Regression Model for Prediction on Solid Waste Generation in Malaysia

Increased volumes of solid waste generation continue unabated due mainly to rapid population increase, urban migration, economic enhancements, and modern lifestyles. Two significant factors contributing directly to the higher volumes of solid waste generation are population and gross domestic product (GDP). In Phase 1 of this study, a correlation analysis with a Pearson coefficient of more than 93% (r > 0.93) shows a strong positive linear relationship between the amount of solid waste generation and population and GDP. Phase 2 provides a multilinear regression analysis and the development of a regression model. They indicate that a 1-unit increment in the amount of solid waste generation is caused by 0.06 of the population and 0.119 of GDP while ßo remains constant at 124.449. Therefore, the multilinear regression model in this study can be applied by solid waste management authorities in Malaysia to accurately forecast future solid waste generation volumes. However, further investigation on other significance factors are suggested for future work in order to develop a holistic model for solid waste management in Malaysia.

Analysis of Socio-demographic Factors Influencing Households Participation in Sustainable Food Waste-management in Malaysia

Most local authorities in Malaysia spent as much as 60-70 percent of their annual budget to dispose food waste together with other municipal solid wastes to landfills. It is time for Malaysians to start reducing food waste through sustainable method, as it is becoming an uphill task to manage food wastes generated in Malaysia. When households reduce the amount of food waste generated in a sustainable way, it could help reduce cost, and other related bills for households, and as well in running their other daily activities. The main objective of this study is to assess how sociodemographic factors of households in Selangor and Terengganu influence their behaviour towards participation in sustainable food wastes management program. The study applied purposive nonrandom sampling consisting of 333 respondents, 257 were from Selangor and 76 from Terengganu. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaire. Descriptive and logistics regression model analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings have shown 48.7 percent of Terengganu respondents spent not more than RM100 on food per week, while Selangor had 41.2 percent within the same period who spent such amount. 35.4 percent of Selangor respondents spent between RM101-200 compared to Terengganu which spent same amount at 30.3 percent within the same periods. The survey shows 43.2 percent of Selangor households disposed 1-3kg food wastes, while Terengganu on the other hand had 51.3 percent who disposed same quantities of food wastes per week. Respondents with higher education, those on government jobs, small family size and ethnicity have significant impacts on the respondents' behaviour towards participation in sustainable food waste management program. Note: US$1=RM4.09