Program In Malaysia Research Articles

Estimation of Leachate Volume and Treatment Cost Avoidance Through Waste Segregation Programme in Malaysia

This study aims to calculate the avoided leachate volume and treatment cost from waste segregation practices compared to the existing waste disposal methods of landfilling. The mathematical equations were used to analyse the waste segregation rate, leachate volume and treatment cost. The study findings reveal that 99.4% of mixed waste was disposed of in landfills, resulting in an annual generation of 565 thousand cubic meters (m3) of leachate with an estimated treatment cost of MYR 19.82 million (USD 4.36 million). The segregated waste, which accounts for only 0.06%, reduces 354 m3 in leachate volume and a cost-saving of MYR 12.42 thousand (USD 2.73 thousand) in the treatment expenses per year. The findings concluded that waste segregation practice could reduce waste management costs by reducing leachate production and treatment costs and environmental impacts.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES AND ACHIEVEMENT WITH LEARNING MOTIVATION AMONG STUDENTS OF CHINESE AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMME IN MALAYSIA

In Malaysia, teaching Chinese as a foreign language began in 1963 and has grown in popularity. Language Learning Strategies, or the measures students take to increase their learning, are critical to the final success of Chinese as a Foreign Language. Student achievement is determined by the application of language learning methods. Learning motivation, on the other hand, has a significant impact on academic achievement. This study's purpose is to (1) investigate the level of Language Learning Strategy, Learning motivation, and Language Learning achievement. (2) To investigate the relationship between Language Learning Strategy and Language Learning achievement; (3) To investigate the relationship between Language Learning Strategy and Learning motivation; and (4) To investigate the relationship between Learning Motivation and Language Learning Achievement among students of the Chinese as a Foreign Language programme in Malaysia. The collected data were analysed quantitatively using SPSS for descriptive analysis and the relationship between language learning strategies, learning motivation, and achievement. The Pearson correlation analysis showed the highly correlated between language learning strategies, learning motivation, and achievement.

Survey on tick infestation in stray dogs in localities of Malaysia

The close relationship between dogs and humans has led to concerns regarding the transmission of zoonotic pathogens through ectoparasites such as ticks. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of ticks and the intensity on stray dogs with specific risk factors (size, sex, neutering status, body part). Additionally, identifying the predilection sites of ticks on stray dogs was crucial for developing an effective tick control program in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 64 stray dogs from Kelantan and Selangor States. These dogs were subjected to integumentary examinations, collecting 431 ticks comprising Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. “tropical lineage” and Haemaphysalis bispinosa from 53 infested dogs. The overall occurrence of tick infestation was 82.81% (53/64), with an average intensity of 8.13 ticks (range: 1–17) per stray dog. All the potential risk factors considered in this study showed no statistically significant result (P value >0.05). The head, ear, and neck were the most preferred attachment sites for ticks. These findings underscore the importance of implementing tick control programs for stray dogs, which serve as reservoirs of ticks and tick-borne pathogens for owned dogs and humans.

International Posture Of Malaysian Learners In Arabic Programme

Language learners with a solid international posture are generally more willing to communicate in the foreign language they learn. However, studies on global posture could have been conducted better, especially for Arabic language learners. Therefore, this study aims to examine the level of readiness of students of Arabic studies programs in terms of international posture. This study uses a quantitative design by distributing online questionnaire instruments to 180 final-year students of the bachelor’s degree from three public universities in Malaysia, namely Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), and International Islamic University (UIA). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. The results showed that students in tertiary Arabic Studies programs in Malaysia report that international posture is in the moderate range but relatively lower. Students need to capitalize on all these aspects, which will directly and indirectly contribute to better achievement in learning Arabic.

Instructional Elements Assessments of Entrepreneurship Education in a Technical University in Malaysia

The technical and vocational education and training (TVET) program occupies the national education system to allow the students to learn practical, hands-on skills aligned with the industries' needs, ultimately preparing the students for the inexorable integration of technology brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). The rapid pace of change and broad impacts featuring IR 4.0 demand specific critical thinking skills, creativity, and readiness for risks, the qualities that are connected to entrepreneurship. Thus, it clarifies offering entrepreneurship education (EE) alongside a TVET program. There are arguments that EE is poorly embedded into the TVET program in Malaysia. The instructional elements concerned with the content, techniques, and activities through which students engage in creating entrepreneurial knowledge and value are considered essential for EE's success in a TVET program. This study assesses the state of instructional elements (i.e. content, teaching methods, infrastructure facilities, and learning assessments) of EE offered within a TVET program in Malaysia. Data were obtained from 37 students of a private technical university in Malaysia who enrolled for their entrepreneurship course through a series of group interviews. The study enlightens a few meaningful findings to propagate the entrepreneurial culture within a TVET program: (1) the content should be tailored to the readiness of the students, (2) action-based teaching methods should be engaged, (3) prior entrepreneurship experience should be specified for the entrepreneurship lecturer; (4) presence of ideal infrastructure facilities, and (5) learning assessments must be focusing in developing attributes of entrepreneurs.

Exploring the Role of Student Exchange Programs in Fostering Halal Understanding among South Korean Non-Muslims

One of the challenges in halal is the acceptance among non-Muslims of the values, due to their lack of appreciation in understanding its concept. Media bias, culture, personal beliefs, racism and Islamophobia are some of the common causes. Past studies concluded that the concept of misjudgment could be realigned to a positive attitude by providing the appropriate information and education. Therefore, the study was conducted with the aim, of assessing how the provision of halal knowledge through the concept of a student exchange program could change a group of non-Muslims’ attitude, acceptance and behavior towards halal. A research experiment was administered that involved a group of university students from a private university in South Korea, who voluntarily took part in a 7-day halal program in Malaysia. The study involved 1) a pre-test assessment, 2) participation in the student exchange heutagogy program and 3) a post-test assessment. Based on the paired sample test results, overall, there was a significant increase in the halal understanding among non-Muslims of South Koreans. The novelty of the study stems from the need to understand non-Muslims’ perception of halal, specifically from the learning and cultural perspectives.

The Impact of the Linus Literacy Programme on Reading Ability Skills in Malaysia

This study was conducted to identify factors contributing to reading proficiency among primary school students who attended the Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) Programme in Malaysia. A total of 108 students were selected to participate in this study, which used a mixed method. The findings show no significant difference in the proficiency of reading aspects between students in terms of gender. However, the findings proved that students whose parents work in the government sector show better achievement than students from families where their parents working in the private sector. This study also found that students obtained a better command in reading during the post-test was higher than during the pre-test. A qualitative approach is applied to obtain desired data by using observation, interview and document review techniques. The study found that the LINUS teachers used various methods such as demonstrations, instructions, drills and fun learning during teaching sessions while incorporating learning aids; for instance, scan cards and reading kits help students recognise syllables and increase reading ability. Low-income parents, type of occupation, passive LINUS students and frequent absenteeism are among the constraints identified in this study. Keywords: education, LINUS programme, literacy, primary schools

Factors Influence Recycling Intention Among University Students

The recycling programs in Malaysia have been initiated since the early 1990s. Unfortunately, findings indicated that only five per cent of households’ practices are being recycled. Hence, by adopting the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study aimed to investigate the factors influencing recycling intention among university students in Malaysia. Hypothetically, six factors influence the recycling intention behaviour: attitude, past recycling experience, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, moral norms, and convenience of availability recycling infrastructure. This study used non-probability sampling to obtain information from 80 randomly selected samples among university students. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses. The findings showed that all the investigated antecedents significantly correlate with the recycling intention among university students. The findings also showed that the regression is significant, and 68% of recycling intention is jointly determined by attitude, subjective norm, moral norms, the convenience of availability of recycling infrastructure, previous recycling experience and perceived behavioural control. Even though the study’s findings are not generalisable due to limited respondents, the findings can provide future direction of research and offer policymakers valuable information to develop an effective policy related to recycling in Malaysia.

Recommendation for Improvement in COVID-19 Vaccine Program in Malaysia: An Online Nationwide Qualitative Survey

Introduction: Maintaining high levels of vaccinations is important for public health success in any vaccination planning. Success requires a better understanding of the public’s perceptions of diseases and consequent decisions about vaccinations. This study aims to gather exploratory qualitative data on public opinion on the Malaysian Government’s COVID-19 immunization campaigns. Methods: Open-ended question on Google Form was advertised online between 2 to 17 December 2020. The questionnaire form was deactivated when saturation has been reached. The free text questions were analysed by qualitative thematic analysis by all authors on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Results: Six hundred and sixty-one participants replied to the online questionnaire. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis on suggestions for future National COVID-19 Immunisation Program. First, COVID-19 vaccine administration policy; secondly, knowledge dissemination and plan to address obstacles of public acceptances towards the vaccine proactively; thirdly, better implementation programs by the government and fourthly, using local research expertise for vaccine development and alternative medicines. Participants believe all this are essential in increasing their trust and uptake for the government’s future national COVID-19 Immunisation Program. Conclusion: This study highlights the suggestions made by the public for the Malaysian Government. These findings will help develop education and intervention strategies for new vaccine introduction to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

Adolescents' experiences and views of the national school-based thalassaemia screening programme in Malaysia: a qualitative study.

In 2016, a national school-based thalassemia screening programme was implemented in Malaysia. This study aimed to explore the experiences and views of adolescents from an urban school who had undergone the screening programme. We carried out in-depth interviews with 18 participants aged between 18 and 19 years old, with 12 of them identified as carriers during the school screening. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Three main themes emerged from this study: (1) issues encountered at various levels of the school screening programme: appropriate age for screening, thalassaemia education in school, parental consent and follow-up visit and post-test counselling; (2) experiencing emotional rollercoaster: worry, anxiety, shame, stigma; (3) choosing future partners after carrier status was known-prepared or unprepared? Various issues and screening-related challenges were encountered before, during and after the screening test. Recommendations include improving thalassaemia screening education for both school-going adolescents and parents, and better follow-up care and support for those identified as carriers. These will help stakeholders to be well informed and supportive of thalassaemia screening in schools.

Concept Paper on the Recommendations for the Improvement of the Operating Guidelines for the Integration Special Education Program in Malaysia

This study aims to improve the operating guidelines of the Special Integration Education Program (PPKI) in Malaysia through qualitative methodology. The problem statement for this study is the insufficient operational guidelines for the Integrated Special Education Program, leading to sub-optimal results for students with special educational needs. Research objectives include identifying key challenges in the implementation of Special Integration Education Program operating guidelines, exploring stakeholders' perspectives on the current system, and developing recommendations to improve Special Integration Education Program operating guidelines. The literature review highlighted previous studies on the subject, emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive approach to the operationalization of Integrated Special Education Programs. The conceptual framework shows how the research will be conducted, using qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The findings are expected to contribute to the improvement of the implementation of the guidelines for the operation of the Integration Special Education Program in Malaysia, which will ultimately benefit students with special education needs.

Students’ Perception Towards Teaching Practices Among Lecturers With Professional Engineer Certification: A Qualitative Approach

Engineering bachelor’s degree programmes in Malaysia require up to thirty percent (30%) of lecturers in their faculty to have professional engineering certificates. However, the teaching approach by these professionally certified lecturers, compared to those who were not certified engineers has not yet been fully investigated. This study utilised a qualitative approach and selected eight (8) engineering students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Civil Engineering in a local university. The aim is to explore these students’ perception of the teaching approaches implemented by the senior lecturers with professional engineer certification, each having vast experience and skills in engineering. The university students were interviewed using an online video conferencing service. The results of this study were then thematically analysed. The results revealed that their lecturers’ mode of teaching usually involves the formation of groups for assignments or projects in the class, besides daily teaching using slides. By doing assignments in groups, it is believed that students will have a better understanding of the subjects. However, most of the students revealed that they have problems performing the assignments, despite realising the importance and advantages of these group assignments. Working together on an assignment would create good team spirit and instill good communication skills. They understood the purpose of pursuing their bachelor’s degree at the university and hope that they could secure their lecturer support and other platforms like YouTube to increase their knowledge in the respective subjects. The students also suggested that the university and their faculty could provide sharing sessions from other experts in engineering as well as improve the facilities, and Wi-Fi connection on the university campus.

Ethical disputes, coordinating acts and NGO accountability: Evidence from an NGO river-care programme in Malaysia

We use the Theory of Orders of Worth (OW) espoused by Boltanski and his associates to understand how disputes emerge in situations and how such disputes themselves reach agreements in the context of community engagements by an NGO. Based on a nine-month period of fieldwork at an NGO river-care programme in Malaysia, we find that, in situations of disputes, coordinating acts are predicated upon moral justifications by social actors, making the programme accountable to multiple stakeholders. Moreover, these coordinating acts develop dialogic accounting and transform felt accountability forms into adaptive accountability forms. We conclude that NGO accountability in a developing country like Malaysia is a manifestation of the ability of moral justifications governed by multiple orders of worth and such adaptive accountability forms mediate to assimilate global development agendas into local policies and programmes.

Backward Design: An Approach to the Professional Development of School Leaders

Influential leaders are one of the essential elements to achieving the goals of school transformation. Optimizing the ability of school leaders requires opportunities to practice what they have learned from the training module of the School Transformation Program 2025 (TS25). Since the results of the school’s achievements can convince the community to support and cooperate with the school, the researcher adopted an approach known as the backward design as a model for the professional development of school leaders. First, however, the researcher needs to examine the feasibility and appropriateness of this approach. Therefore, the researcher conducted a School Leaders Perception Study (SLPS) through a questionnaire to survey 225 leaders’ perceptions of 82 Kota Kinabalu district schools about implementing the TS25 program in Malaysia. This survey was administered through a google form to gauge school leaders’ acceptance level of TS25 program implementation. It also aims to identify the need for self-development among school leaders, which they usually implement through best practice sharing. In addition, the researcher also studied the willingness of school leaders to implement TS25 partnerships targeted at the community through the questionnaire. After determining the reliability of the SLPS questionnaire, the results of descriptive analysis showed that Kota Kinabalu district school leaders strongly agreed with school transformation implemented according to the school context. Most of them also agree that partnership implementation is a valuable learning opportunity in professional development. The findings also indicate that targeted TS25 partnerships with the community should begin from the results of existing school achievements. Therefore, the researcher suggests a backward design approach as an innovative approach for school leaders’ professional development.

Aligning theory with practice: Child health programmes in Malaysia, a Narrative Review.

The Malaysian healthcare system, particularly for maternal and child health, has been well recognised to provide high-quality services and be at par with systems in other developed countries. Current health programmes and technological advancements effectively detect vulnerable groups of children, such as small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, antenatally. However, the postnatal care for SGA infants is not clearly evaluated, as this group of children is mostly classified as healthy in many medical contexts, especially in primary care settings. Available health programmes and healthcare service delivery must be continuously evaluated by implementing beneficial and relevant evidence-based theories. Articles, reports and guidelines used in providing mother and child health services in Malaysia published since 2000 were reviewed. There was no specific monitoring strategy used for SGA infants without critical health issues in early childhood, as they were commonly treated as healthy infants. Several challenges in aligning theory with the current practice of healthcare service delivery and recommendations for dealing with such challenges were identified. The alignment of theory with the current practice of service delivery should be tailored to the needs and demands parallel to the dynamic change in populations in the urbanisation era.

Perception of Public on COVID-19 Immunisation Program in Malaysia

Perception of Public on COVID-19 Immunisation Program in Malaysia

The Political Economy of Poverty Reduction in Malaysia

This article critically examines regional differences in poverty reduction in Malaysia with a focus on political economy factors. More specifically, we focus on the East–West regional divide in income poverty, between four historically poorer the West Malaysia and two states of Eastern Malaysia–Sabah and Sarawak during 1970–2019. Between 1970 and 1990, Malaysia implemented the New Economic Policy (NEP), arguably the longest and most ambitious race-based affirmative action programme in the world. In this context, we also assess whether and how its affirmative action policies succeeded in closing regional gaps. During the NEP, Sarawak saw greater and earlier reductions in income poverty and inequality than the resource-rich states of Sabah and Terengganu, where poverty largely persisted. We argue that politics played a key role in explaining Sabah’s different trajectory vis-à-vis Sarawak, Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. The ethnicity-targeted policies of the NEP meant the Malays and Muslims were given priority over all other groups. The faster decline in poverty in Sarawak coincided with Muslim control since 1970. On the other hand, when Sabah was under the non-Muslim rule, there was little progress on poverty alleviation. The situation reversed when Sabah fell under Muslim control. The key lesson is that politics do matter during the implementation phase of poverty alleviation programme in Malaysia.

Critical Success Factors that Determine the Entrepreneurial Readiness among the B40 Women in Selangor

Low-income (B40) women might become entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons, including motivation, resourcefulness, opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial skills. The B40 group has been given a boost in their quality of life through a variety of initiatives, including the provision of bank loans, business facilities, and access grants. This study focuses on four factors that relate to women's motivation, resources, opportunity and ability in order to examine the entrepreneurial preparedness among the B40 women who had participated in an entrepreneurial training programme in Malaysia. Thus, this study attempts to examine the challenges faced by women especially in urban areas of B40 to increase their revenue. These studies seek to determine the readiness of low-income women for entrepreneurship, intending to increase household income in sharpening their abilities to survive in urban. By using a simple random sampling technique method, the number of samples is 102 low-income women, who have participated in the entrepreneurial enculturation program were the selected population. Unexpectedly, motivation, resources and entrepreneurial ability were found to be non-significant predictors of entrepreneurial readiness among the B40 women, although entrepreneurial opportunity appeared to be a significant predictor towards entrepreneurial readiness. Although the exclusion of motivation, resources and entrepreneurial ability did not relate towards entrepreneurial readiness, these results should be interpreted with caution. The study sheds light on an under-explored and new context to advance existing knowledge in the field.

Phylogenetic and Haplotype Analyses Offer Insights Towards Conservation of Pteroptyx tener Olivier, 1907 (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Populations from Malaysia

The synchronous-flashing firefly, Pteroptyx tener Olivier, 1907 is a congregating firefly with high economic value for the ecotourism industry. However, the populations of P. tener are increasingly being threatened due to habitat destruction. The assessment of genetic variation within and among populations of the species from Malaysia might play a major role in conservation and management programs. Objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships among P. tener from five populations in Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo (Sabah) using cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), and to obtain its haplotype information. A total of 50 sequences of P. tener were used in the Neighbour-Joining (NJ), Maximum Parsimony (MP), and Bayesian Inference (BI) phylogenetic analyses and successfully formed several distinct clades of West and East Malaysia (East Coast and West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia) with moderately to highly supported bootstrap values and posterior probabilities. Several haplotype analysis parameters are presented; low nucleotide diversity (PiT, 0.01893), haplotype number (Hn, 19), and high haplotype diversity (Hd, 0.89469). Our findings assumed that the geographical isolation due to the inability for flying long distances without help by the wind and flooding in tidal rivers. The data presented here are important genetic information on the P. tener populations and are important for the conservation programme in Malaysia by conducting the breeding program among populations that have similar genetic information.

Islamic crowdfunding model for empowering student entrepreneurship program in Malaysia

This paper aims to explore the potential of crowdfunding in empowering student entrepreneurship programs in Malaysia. Recently, digital crowdfunding has been considered a new unique tool for pooling funds through online platforms. This modern fundraising technique has successfully supported business activities and community-based projects. This concept can be utilized to support the current student entrepreneurship programs at universities, where it was reported that these institutions had experienced a limitation in terms of budget. Over the period, students at higher education institutions have witnessed challenges and difficulties in surviving their learning journey, particularly in terms of financial capability. Entrepreneurship is believed to be able to help students discover an additional income during their studies. Based on the interview, it was found that crowdfunding should be promoted to support small entrepreneurs, including students. However, proper models are needed to ensure crowdfunding is not misused and its efficiency and applicability. Regarding student entrepreneurship programs, Waqf and Infaq can be applied as crowdfunding models. The outcome of this paper would benefit many parties, including student entrepreneurs, crowdfunding platforms, universities, and society.