Workers In Malaysia Research Articles

Comment on “Transforming Malaysia's Higher Education: Policies and Progress”

Investment in education is right as regarded one of the most important strategies for social and economic development in the long term. Historically, the private and social returns to schooling are higher at the primary and secondary levels compared to the tertiary level. However, as countries become more developed and wealthier, the returns to tertiary education could exceed that of primary education (Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2018). As Malaysia heads towards graduating from middle-income status, human capital development is a key policy the country's Twelfth Malaysia Plan 2021–2025 (12MP, see Malaysia, 2021). For tertiary education, the goal is to improve the quality of universities. In this regard, Tham and Chong (2023) provide a timely assessment of the quality and policy challenges to improve the quality of higher education in Malaysia. A key policy challenge highlighted by Tham and Chong is how to measure the quality of higher education. As they rightly point out, the official performance indicators used such as use of selective international university rankings are clearly problematic given that the paradox of high rankings juxtaposed with under-employment of university graduates. Furthermore, they also opine that the implementation of quality assurance and accreditation systems have not ensured the quality of teaching in universities. In reflecting the challenges facing higher education in Malaysia, it is worth examining some of the key institutional and political factors as well as constraints that have shaped the trajectory of the sector in Malaysia. These include the impacts of affirmative action policies (the New Economic Policy [NEP], and its successor variants) in both student intake and faculty hiring in public universities. Ethnic (Bumiputra vs. non-Bumiputra and regional [Peninsular vs. Sabah and Sarawak]) dimensions continue to be emphasized in the 12MP. In addition, the effects of the use of Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language) as the medium of instruction at all levels of education continue to be debated. In the past, this language requirement in teaching had also limited opportunities for hiring foreign academics. The liberalization of higher education in the 1980s was partly undertaken in response to such policies. Furthermore, the subsequent internationalization of higher education created more space for the role of market forces which mitigate some of these policies. Although the emergence and development of private higher education have invigorated higher education in Malaysia, it has created a dualistic system that raises issues related in inequality. The issues of quality and inequality are intertwined. More studies are needed on the quality gap between public and private higher education in Malaysia and the extent to which it has exacerbated inequality. This has also implications of social cohesion. Needless to say, the quality of higher education in Malaysia greatly depends on the quality of primary and secondary students. The performance of Malaysian students (15 years old) in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests indicate that their performance is lower than expected given its income level (World Bank, 2019). Any assessment of the quality of higher education outputs will need to consider the quality of the student intake (ex-ante). Thus, the transformation of higher education will require reforms of primary and secondary education as a necessary pre-condition. Finally, any assessment of the quality of higher education needs to consider whether universities are producing graduates and research that meet industry needs. The phenomenon of unemployment and underemployment amongst domestic graduates suggests this is a serious problem. In upgrading the pool of skilled workers in Malaysia, the Malaysian government should also re-examine the potential benefit of facilitating the absorption of skilled foreign students educated in Malaysian universities. This would be part of a required re-orientation of the country's labor policies which are currently in favor of importing relatively low-skilled workers. Such policies also need to address the long-term structural changes in the Malaysian economy in terms of the rise of services, the relative decline of the manufacturing sector, global value chain participation, and the digital transformation. These and other issues need to be addressed for another reason—tackling the brain drain problem that involves the emigration of skilled Malaysian workers to more developed economies such as Singapore, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Workers' perceptions on the tolerability of their respirators in Malaysia

Background: Little is known about Malaysian workers' tolerance for respirators in the workplace. This study aimed to assess Malaysian workers' perceptions of respirator tolerability and its relationship to socio-demographics and compliance.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of heat strain score index (HSSI) into the Malay language.

Concerns about the health and safety of working populations as well as preventive actions to reduce heat-related illnesses and fatalities have intensified as global warming and heatwaves continue to rise as a result of climate change. This study aimed to translate and culturally-adapted the translated Malay version of the Heat Strain Score Index (HSSI) questionnaire so that it can be utilized as a screening tool for heat stress among the Malay-speaking outdoor workers. The original English version of HSSI underwent forward-backward translation and was cross-culturally adapted into the Malay language by bilingual translators based on established guidelines. The content validation was reviewed by a six-member expert committee including the representative of outdoor workers. Face validation was carried out among 10 outdoor workers involved with various work tasks. Psychometric analysis was conducted based on a cross-sectional study among 188 workers who were eligible. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used for construct validity while internal consistency reliability was performed using Cronbach's alpha. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to calculate the test-retest reliability. Both content and face validity were acceptable with the overall content validity index being 1.00, while the universal face validity index was 0.83. The factor analysis using varimax rotation extracted four factors which explained 56.32% of the cumulative percentage of variance and factor loading ranging from 0.415 to 0.804. The internal consistency reliability was acceptable with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.705 to 0.758 for all the factors. The overall ICC value was 0.792 (95% CI; 0.764-0.801) which signifies good reliability. The findings from this study indicate that the Malay version of HSSI is a reliable and culturally-adapted instrument. Further validation is needed so that it can be used extensively assess the heat stress among susceptible Malay-speaking outdoor workers in Malaysia who are exposed to hot humid environments.

Religious behaviours and commitment among Muslim healthcare workers in Malaysia

Religion is among the determinants of human beliefs and values in various societies, shaping people’s behaviours in a range of life aspects, including the workplace. In view of the influence of religion in Malaysia, this issue becomes highly significant. With regard to the profound impact of religion on creating individual and collective behaviours, the present study aims to investigate the effects of religious behaviours (RBs) on organisational commitment (OC) among Malaysian healthcare workers (HCWs) in 2022, by a survey method implemented using standardised questionnaires for data collection. The statistical population comprised of 2500 HCWs from 10 hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown and Malacca, Malaysia, selected by the simple random sampling among the Muslim staff. The data analysis was further fulfilled using the AMOS software package for structural equation modelling (SEM). In general, the study results demonstrated a significant and positive relationship between RBs and OC among Malaysian HCWs (p-value = 0.84, t-statistic = 6.50).Contribution: As demonstrated by the study results, it is possible to inspire OC among employees through strengthening RBs and take advantages of the results. Thus, RBs shown by employees can definitely bring positive results to organisations; therefore, OC in Malaysian HCWs improves.

The Urgency of Human Security in Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers: Case Study Indonesian Migrant Workers In Malaysia And Hong Kong

It has become undeniable phenomenon that the demand of migrant workers has arises in this globalization era. Better condition of working has triggered people movement to get better job and salary outside their countries. One of the major sending and receiving region of migrant workers is Southeast Asia. Two main destinations of Indonesian migrant workers are Hong Kong and Malaysia. It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore that Indonesian migrant workers often face human rights abuses when they are working abroad, for instance, retained legal document, exceeded working hours, human trafficking resulted in physical violence. In Malaysia, Indonesian migrant workers mostly become the victims of human trafficking, physical abuse and excessive working hour. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the violation of the rights of migrant workers are the excessive of working hours as well as physical violence. This paper argue that Malaysia and Hong Kong are two main countries which has shown significant differences in addressing human rights violations. This paper seeks to remedy those problems by comparing policy in both countries related to human rights abuses. This paper uses Human Security concept as the conceptual framework followed by its two approaches type, for instance, Economic Security and Personal Security. At the end, this paper conclude that Hong Kong has implemented better law enforcement than Malaysia.

Housing Rights: The Migrant Workers' Housing Conditions in Malaysia and Qatar from 2017 Until 2022

Most countries in the world depend on migrant workers to do the Dirty, Dangerous, and Demanding (3D) jobs in their country. This study will highlight Malaysia and Qatar because both countries depend on migrant workers as a major workforce. Still, the international community criticized the way they treated their migrant workers. This study is important in terms of giving a clear picture and better understanding of the housing condition of migrant workers in Malaysia and Qatar. Does the condition improve or not after the Covid-19 strike? This study aims to analyse the housing condition of migrant workers in Malaysia and Qatar from 2017 until 2022. This article used the qualitative research method. This article was also written based on primary data and document analysis. The primary data for this article was obtained from the field. The researcher conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews and phone calls with ten migrant workers and five locals in Malaysia. For secondary data, document analysis was done using a series of academic journals, reports, and digital materials. This article indicates that the housing condition of some migrant workers in Malaysia and Qatar did improve after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, some of them still lived in the same condition because of their employers’ ignorance. The issues of migrant workers’ housing cannot be resolved easily without cooperating with stakeholders and taking a long-term comprehensive approach.

COVID-19 Related Mental Health Effects in the Workplace: A Case of Fast-food Industry in Malaysia

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the fast-food industry adversely. Consequently, the employee's responsibility is expanding, they are stressed over their well-being also in light of the fact that they are in touch with individuals consistently. This might increase the stress and tension alongside contributing to mental health issues among the employees. However, little attention has been paid to this issue in Malaysia towards a deep understanding of the influential factors. Thus, the goal of this study is to identify the influential factors and the most consequential factor that cause mental health issues among fast food employees in the workplace during pandemics as well as to examine the relationship between the influence factors and fast-food employees' mental health. Quantitative research data has been gathered among 161 fast food workers in Malaysia to determine the workload, job satisfaction, work environment, and salary to deal with employees' mental health. The convenience sampling method was used to select fast food restaurants for the study. Besides, personal contact was used to approach the fast-food workers, who were then snowballed into participating. The data was collected by using a self-administered questionnaire through google form. Then, the data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Multiple regression was conducted to identify employees’ mental health using the aforementioned four variables, and the findings revealed that 52% of the variance in employees’ mental health was explained by workload, job satisfaction, work environment, and salary. In addition, the findings gathered from this study indicated a favorable correlation between employees' mental health and both workload and work environment. Meanwhile, researchers found that employees' mental health was weakly positively correlated with both their job satisfaction and their salary. This research attempts to encourage managers in focusing on these four criteria in order to improve employee well-being.

Concerns of Airborne Ammonia in Ice-Production Facilities: Enhancing protection of workers in Malaysia.

A study on profiling of ammonia concentration and its validation using two types of direct reading instruments has been conducted for eight months from September 2021 till May 2022 in four different zones in West Malaysia. The study is using a high performance multigas analyzer integrated with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Multirae data analyzer to measure ammonia concentration in thirty-eight ice-production facilities in Malaysia. This study is limited to databases of ice-production facilities registered with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Malaysia. The study involves thirty-eight ice-production facilities with fourteen compliance verification using USECHH checklist. The results of monitoring and validation confirmed that ammonia is detected at various locations in the factory layout. It is found to be localized and concentrated at the machine room followed by machine room combined with production room. Both instruments seem to show similar trend which can validate the profile obtained for ammonia in the ice facilities. Recommendations are suggested for employers to improve layout of the ice-production facilities based on these measurements.
 The study also seeks to find a correlation between the compliance of these facilities with the Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemicals Hazardous to Health (USECHH) Regulations 2000 and compliance with ammonia checklist from the Guideline of Safe Management of Ammonia Refrigeration System 2020. Pre and post assessment is conducted using the same ammonia checklist to identify any gap. It was found that the results obtained for the USECHH compliance, ammonia checklist compliance either pre or post assessment are not positively correlated. This finding emphasizes that there is still a lack of commitment from these ice-production facilities even after the visits by authorities. Comparison between the monitoring data and the degree of compliance using ammonia checklist from the said guideline was also made. The results obtained emphasize that there is no strong correlation between the monitoring data and the degree of compliance using the ammonia checklist.
 This study shows an insight of chemical management in Malaysia at ice-production facilities and provides suggestions, recommendations, measures and outcomes of enforcement. Future measures to be taken is also suggested to boost compliance. At the same time, the outcomes and implications of this study on chemical management and chemical safety status in Malaysia can also assist other developing countries to improve their chemical management. Future research with risk modelling of ammonia leakages could also be ventured into. Ice plants are recommended to redesign their layout based on this study.
 Keywords: ammonia profiling, compliance enforcement, ice production facilities, lack of commitment, USECHH compliance.

Occupational Disease and Injury in Malaysia: A Thematic Review of Literature from 2016 to 2021.

Working people are exposed to occupational hazards and are at risk of having occupational disease or injury in a rapidly industrializing country like Malaysia. This study aims to review and summarize the occupational disease and injury in Malaysia from 2016 to 2021. This study used PubMed and Scopus databases to conduct a systematic literature search using a set of keywords. The selected records dated from 1 January 2016 to 8 September 2021 were extracted into the Mendeley Desktop and ATLAS.ti 8 software. Systematic screening was conducted by two independent researchers and finalized by the third researcher. Data were coded and grouped according to the themes. The results were presented as the table for descriptive analysis and cross-tabulation between the themes. A total of 120 records were included in this study. Under the theme of main health problems, the findings showed that mental health, infectious disease, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the top three problems being discussed in the literature for the working people in Malaysia. The findings also showed an increasing trend of mental health problems during pandemic COVID-19 years. In addition, hospital was the highest workplace where the occupational health problems were reported.Discussion/Conclusion. There was substantial work on the mental health problem, infectious diseases, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders as the main health problem among workers in Malaysia in the past five years. The employers must report any occupational health and injury case to the authority and prompt intervention can be initiated.

Background From The Government Of Malaysia For Giving Amnesty To Indonesian Illegal Labor In Malaysia During 2002-2009

For Indonesia, international migration was an interesting phenomenon in overcoming labor problems of employment crisis. In addition to obtain benefits of remittance from sending productive age workers abroad, the Government can solve the problem of unemployment. Based on the cclassification, the encouraging factors for labors to migrate were divided into three categories, including demand pull, supply push and network factors. Indonesian workers in Malaysia, however, did not comply with the immigration law, that required them to arrange for work permits to be allowed to work in Malaysia, which they did not make, or the validity period was not extended. As a cconsequence, they became illegal. But due to high demand of workers needed by Malaysian capital owners, they asked the Government to issue an amnesty, so that their businesses would not stop or go out.

Background From The Government Of Malaysia For Giving Amnesty To Indonesian Illegal Labor In Malaysia During 2002-2009

For Indonesia, international migration was an interesting phenomenon in overcoming labor problems of employment crisis. In addition to obtain benefits of remittance from sending productive age workers abroad, the Government can solve the problem of unemployment. Based on the cclassification, the encouraging factors for labors to migrate were divided into three categories, including demand pull, supply push and network factors. Indonesian workers in Malaysia, however, did not comply with the immigration law, that required them to arrange for work permits to be allowed to work in Malaysia, which they did not make, or the validity period was not extended. As a cconsequence, they became illegal. But due to high demand of workers needed by Malaysian capital owners, they asked the Government to issue an amnesty, so that their businesses would not stop or go out.

Linking Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Behaviour among Manufacturing Workers in Malaysia: A PLS Predict Approach

Linking Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Behaviour among Manufacturing Workers in Malaysia: A PLS Predict Approach

Decision-Making, Irregular Migration, and Benefits: A Case of Chin Migrant Workers in Malaysia

Abstract: Malaysia is a primary destination country for many economic migrants from Myanmar, including those from Chin State. Their remittances are essential sources of income for their families' survival. However, the diversity of workers' migration experiences, the challenges to finding regular migration pathways, and finally, the benefits of working in Malaysia remain unclear. This study employed nongovernmental referrals and snowball sampling to explore the above research questions. Findings indicate that the primary driving factors for Chin people's migration are poverty, a decline in agricultural production due to climate change, and a lack of employment opportunities at home. In addition, in Myanmar, people in Chin State experience structural discrimination based on ethnicity, religious affiliation, military oppression, and human rights violations. Barriers to regular migration include: (1) access to broker services; (2) the high cost of a legal work permit; (3) complicated paperwork and lengthy bureaucratic procedure; (4) geographical challenges to accessing the registration center; and (5) the high cost of living in the city while waiting for application results. For many, the irregular migration journey is a huge sacrifice, though female migrants are especially vulnerable, including to sexual harassment by brokers. However, the higher wages they can earn in Malaysia sometimes enable them to repay their debts and support their family's basic needs and welfare. The findings suggest that the national and local governments must enhance the socioeconomic conditions of the Chin people to minimize the "push factors" as well as streamline the regular migration process to facilitate those who choose to migrate.

A Study on The Factors Impacting Retirement Planning Among Low-Income Workers in The Northern Region, Malaysia


 Since the world's ageing population is expanding quickly, retirement planning has been identified as one of the top concerns of all nations. As a developing country, Malaysia has also been touched by this issue. Particularly, retirement planning among low income earners is frequently contested because of a lack of available financial resources among them. Therefore, this study aims to investigates the factors influencing the retirement planning among low income workers at the Northern Region, Malaysia. This study anticipated that saving attitude, financial socialisation, financial literacy, and demographic characteristics could all have an impact on retirement planning. A quantitative method with convenience sampling was applied in this study. This study used an online questionnaire to collect primary data from working adults with limited financial resources. Using SPSS, the data that was gathered was examined. Multiple linear regression and Pearson Correlation Analysis were both used in the analysis. The findings demonstrate that ethnicity and state, as well as financial socialisation, saving attitudes, and financial literacy, have a substantial impact on retirement planning among low-income employees in Malaysia's Northern Region. This study will give researchers, policymakers, governments, and Employee Provident Fund a detailed picture of retirement planning among low-income workers in Malaysia's Northern Region (EPF). 

MIGRANT WORKERS AT MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION MARKET: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THEIR FACING DIFFICULTIES

Migrant workers play a significant role to the economy and social development of Malaysia. Most of these employees are working at the construction industry which is known one of the highest hazardous working zones in the globe in terms of personal safety and health. The construction activities comprise various building performances, such as concreting, plastering, paving, bricklaying, painting and other related works. The local people are not much interested to work at this sector. Consequently, Malaysia requires hiring more foreign workers in order to continue the growing demands of building schemes. However, the working situations for those migrant workforces are often challenging but these do not hinder them from working. The aim of this study is to identify and examine some difficulties which are facing by migrant workers in Malaysia. The qualitative method has been used in gathering and analysing of data of this research. This research has found that migrant workers do not achieve some basic legal and humanitarian rights at construction sector in Malaysia. It is submitted that a proper step should be taken to minimise the identified challenges to protect the rights of migrant workers and to influence them to continue working at construction industries in Malaysia.

STUDIES ON LOW-SKILLED MIGRANT WORKERS IN MALAYSIA IN 2000-2018: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Malaysia is a popular destination for low-skilled migrant workers primarily from developing and less developed countries. Their huge presence in the country has consequences for the economy and society which have sparked interest among scholars in studying the multitude of low-skilled migrant workers issues. Despite the volume of studies on low-skilled migrant workers, which cover a broad range of issues, little is known about the trend and direction of this stream of research. This paper aims to identify and highlight the main research traditions and scopes of low-skilled migrant worker studies in Malaysia by reviewing 35 articles published between 2000 and 2018. Although there are no peculiar patterns observed for the 19-year period, the increase in interest to write or research on low-skilled migrant workers among scholars is quite evidenced lately. Authors of the papers reviewed generally preferred to use either the terms “migrant workers” or “foreign workers” to refer to the low-skilled non-citizen workers in Malaysia. Almost all studies reviewed were empirical in nature that adopted more of qualitative rather than quantitative approaches to analyzing low-skilled migrant worker issues. Social, behavioral, policy, legal, and workers’ rights issues were more dominant as compared to economics and health-related issues.

Tax Evasion Behavior among Salaried Worker in Malaysia: A Socio- Psychological Framework

Tax Evasion Behavior among Salaried Worker in Malaysia: A Socio- Psychological Framework

The Influence of Gender, Age, Academic Level and Motivation on Satisfaction Toward Benefits Received by Gig Economy Workers in Malaysia

The emergence of new modes of employment relations has contributed to the development of gig economy workers who are employed on a mostly freelance basis, carrying out short-term jobs or contracts without or with one or more employers. The research aims to identify the level of motivation and satisfaction towards the benefits received by gig economy workers, to assess differences in the level of motivation and satisfaction based on gender, age and academic level and to ascertain if the demographic variables and motivation are predictors of satisfaction. A set of questionnaires in google form is utilized for data collection in the Selangor area via various social media. A total of 384 responses were recorded and analyses including descriptive and inferential tests were done. Both motivation and satisfaction are at a high level. ANOVA tests showed that motivation and satisfaction are significantly different based on gender (motivation: F=6.482, p<0.05 and satisfaction: F=0.040, p<0.05) and age (motivation: F=5.977, p<0.05 and satisfaction: F=3.940, p<0.05). Regression analysis indicated that age and motivation explained 59.0% of the variance in satisfaction (adjusted R2=0.59, F(2,381)=276.020, p<0.05). Policies and interventions can be developed to create an environment and conditions conducive to employee happiness, resulting in an increase in employee motivation and work satisfaction. Because gig workers have demonstrated a desire to learn and grow, respective agencies can provide complimentary, voluntary educational activities such as full-fledged courses and seminars in areas deemed needed.

Role of Social Activism Representative Board of Indonesian National Youth Committee (BP-KNPI) in Malaysia During Movement Control Order 2020-2021

Through activism, community organization, and engagement in social movements, youth worldwide are becoming active actors, demonstrating their ability to influence society in times of crisis. In the context of Indonesian youth, especially those who are part of the diaspora community, attachment to fellow children of the nation is evidenced by social activism, as was the case in Malaysia during the movement control order between 2021 and 2022 through the representative body of the Indonesian Youth National Committee (BP-KNPI). Since its establishment on October 9, 2011, the Indonesian Youth National Committee (BP-KNPI), the representative body for Indonesian youth in Malaysia, has been proactive in playing its role as a second-track diplomatic force, advocating for youth and employment issues, and engaging in social activism to help Indonesian communities in Malaysia. During the pandemic period between March 2020 and December 2021, with the movement control order policy, the representative body of the Indonesian Youth National Committee (BP-KNPI) plays a role in social activism in three domains: (1) the field of employment by supporting the labour recalibration program, which repatriates illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia (2). in the humanitarian realm by organising assistance from both internal and external parties, such as the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur; and (3). conducting second-track diplomacy to strengthen relations with the Malaysian Young Council and elements of the Malaysian government. In cyberspace, BP-KNPI Malaysia is also very active in raising solidarity and providing information related to recalibration programmes and social assistance through its members' potential as content creators and relationships with well-known media. Our research concludes that BP-KNPI Malaysia, as a youth civil society, has always been proactive in problem-solving during the pandemic through social activism in humanity, migrant workers from Indonesia, and legal literacy in cyberspace. BP-KNPI Malaysia also tactically implements the spirit of energy and harmony promoted by DPP-KNPI.

Chronic Disease Management Behaviours among Malaysian Low-Income Workers: A Descriptive Study

Chronic disease is a global issue and is a growing concern in the world, including Malaysia. It is one of the most common causes of decreased quality of life, disability, and mortality [1]. Moreover, it has become a common problem in the community, especially among low-income households in Malaysia. Some evidence demonstrates that health problems associated with low-income workers are obesity, high body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, coronary heart disease and cancer [2-12]. Prevention is better than cure; therefore, chronic disease management behaviours play a pivotal role dealing with the diseases and improving quality of life. Given the above scenario, it is crucial to understand chronic disease management behaviours. This study aims to assess the level of chronic disease management behaviours among low-income workers in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 support staff in the selected ministries in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The sampling technique was random cluster sampling, and the data was collected via online platforms from July 2021 to November 2021. Respondents received a questionnaire comprising two sections: (1) Sociodemographic data, (2) Self-management disease by the Chronic Illness Resources Survey (CRIS). Socio-demographic data included gender, age, ethnicity, level of education, marital status, and total monthly household income. Chronic Illness Resources Survey (CRIS) adapted from (13), which requires the respondents to rate their self-management disease from (1) Not at all to (5) A great deal consists of eight items. The items were measured on health care, planning and disease management goals. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data using IBM SPSS version 26.0. The quantitative data were analysed descriptively for frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Most of the respondents were females (73.6%), Malay (95.0%), married (72.5%), aged between 30 to 39 years old (61.8%), had monthly household incomes ranging from RM 2501 – RM3000 (25.0%) and had educational levels of STPM/ Matriculation/ Diploma (43.6%). Table 2 indicates that more than half of the respondents (53.2%) had a high level of chronic disease management behaviours. This finding indicates that most respondents had good non-communicable disease management behaviours (Mean =3.73, SD =0.769). Table 3 shows that respondents had a higher score for items such as ‘I use prayer/ worship or meditation in managing the disease’, ‘I spend time taking care of my health and doing the things I enjoy’, ‘Chronic disease behaviours management is important to me in managing disease’ and ‘I focus on the things I do well to manage the disease’. Whereas the moderate score is ‘I reward myself for managing illness’, ‘I share with others about disease management’, ‘I evaluate or think about my accomplishments in achieving goals for disease management” and I arrange the schedule so that it is easy to manage the disease’. From these data, it is clear the respondents taking care of their health.
 
 It can be concluded that most respondents had good non-communicable disease management behaviours. The reason for these findings may be due to the current health issues about non-communicable diseases and communicable diseases, leading them to possibly adopting a new normative lifestyle in daily life. While their chronic disease management behaviours are good, they still need to be improved. Therefore, it is important to continuously apply chronic disease management behaviours in daily life for improving health. This step will ensure longer life expectancy and better quality of life. Besides, the government should continue their efforts in raising awareness on health management among the community, especially among the low-income in Malaysia. The study has contributed additional knowledge to the current literature about chronic disease management behaviours. This finding showed that respondents had good non-communicable disease management behaviours. The reason for these findings may be due to the current health issues about non-communicable diseases and communicable diseases have led to them possibly adopting a new normative lifestyle in daily life. Nonetheless, chronic disease management behaviours are good, but they still need to be improved. Therefore, it is important to continuously apply chronic disease management behaviour in daily life for improving health. This will ensure longer life expectancy as well as better quality of life. Besides that, the government should continue their efforts in raising awareness on health management among the community, especially low-income in Malaysia.