MELAKA AS A FOOD TOURISM DESTINATION IN MALAYSIA: DOMESTIC TOURIST EXPERIENCE

Melaka was awarded as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 7 July 2008 due to 500 years of development and its role in trading and cultural exchange between Eastern and Western world countries in the Straits of Melaka. The rich history makes Melaka a multi-ethnic cultural heritage and historical tourist destination in Malaysia, mainly food. This study aims to identify the variety of local food in Melaka offered to tourists and review the experience of domestic tourists in Melaka, specifically in food eaten, eatery locations, and foods brought as souvenirs. A total of 297 respondent participated in this study, and a convenience sampling method was applied. The result showed that 65 different menus and drinks from Malay, Chinese, Indian, Baba-Nyonya, and Portuguese ethnic enjoyed by domestic tourists. Malay food is the primary choice of most respondents, while asam pedas (spicy sour) is the most favourite food among tourist. Most domestic tourists enjoy local food at restaurant and market/street food accessible around Melaka city. Dodol, a type of Malay sweets, was the most purchased food as a souvenir.

AN EMPLOYMENT PROJECTION MODEL IN THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR IN THE STATE OF PAHANG: A CASE STUDY

Pahang is a state that is constantly intensifying development efforts to ensure the well-being of its people in achieving the target of becoming a viable state by 2050. However, the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has threatened the well-being of the population, especially the negative impact on the socio-economic landscape. As a result, almost all economic and social sectors were closed and has resulted in workers experiencing wage reductions, layoffs, and consequently rising unemployment rates. Therefore, Pahang state government needs to optimize all the opportunities available, among them is throughout efficient and effective management of employment resources. This study is a case study under the topic of employment resource management for the Pahang state government. The main objective of this study is to support Pahang state government in identifying the projected source of labor for the year 2020-2025, especially in the industrial sector. Apart from that, this study also seeks to help the Pahang state government by identifying factors related to the development of the industrial sector in line with the increase in employment resources. To realize the objectives of the study, secondary data were fully used in the data analysis. The results of the data analysis have projected that employment resources in the state of Pahang will increase approximately by 5,000 people a year and will reach a total of 1.77 million by 2025. The total labor force also increased from 748,000 in 2021 to 767,300 people in 2025 with Labor Force Participation Rate equivalent to 63.31%. At the same time the projection also records the total external labor force increasing to 42,400 people although at the same time the total working population increased to 733,600 people. The study also proposes employment projections in the industrial sector from 2021 to 2025. It is hoped that various initiatives that are implemented by various stakeholders to the industrial sector in Pahang could offers innovative employment opportunities to various sections of society to enhance socio-economic growth and spread the wellbeing to the society.

TRAVELERS EXPERIENCES IN RAIL TOURISM AMONG SPECIAL INTEREST TOURIST IN SABAH MALAYSIA: THEORETICAL REVIEW

Rail sometimes serves mainly as a transportation corridor connecting rural areas, or urban settings and green strips. However, the rise in the tourism industry in a developed country has increased the popularity of trails used in recreation. Apart from that, rail travel can be experienced as an enhancement of travel especially the onboard journey. Even though the rail tourism industry is well developed around the world, the studies related to rail travel in Malaysia are less plentiful. Therefore, this paper aims to review the idea of traveller’s experiences in rail tourism and identify the factors that contribute to rail tourism in Sabah Malaysia, especially among Special Interest Tourists (SITs). SITs can be defined as a specialized style of touristy that focuses on one topic and personally conducted tour by folks that wish to develop their interests. A content analysis on rail tourism, traveller’s experience, and the dimension of rail services was conducted for this paper. This is also involved an interview with the stakeholder to clarify and explain the features of rail tourism based on the content analysis and literature review. As for that, it's pointed out that the features and characteristics of the rail tourism setting as the variables of development criteria can make the touring route from the railway station is a pleasurable experience for tourists. It will give an impact on the experience and generate the intention of travellers to revisit and experience the services again. The final theoretical framework has been developed to show the concept of rail tourism among Special Interest Tourists (SITs) in Sabah Malaysia.

PUBLICATION TREND ON TRAVEL PREFERENCES OF SENIOR TOURISTS FROM 2000 TO 2020

The ageing population is the crucial phenomenon that has led to the new market segment in tourism known as 'senior tourists.' A senior tourist is determined as an older traveller or grey tourist. The number of elderly keeps growing throughout time; hence, grey tourists will be relevant preferences, differing from the younger tourists. This paper aims to evaluate the relevant studies regarding travel preferences that involve senior tourists. The objective is to understand the publication trend behind the development of travel preferences for senior tourists. The findings suggest that the overall travel preferences among senior tourists studied include 12 aspects of travel preferences. Researchers tend to focus on the aspect of accommodation among senior tourists compared to the other elements. At the end of the review, this paper is set out to outline the literature review analysis to provide greater insight into the development of travel preferences among grey tourists in tourism research from 2000 to 2020. This paper's output offers future directions to explore the offer trends and future direction in tourism and behaviour literature.

A REVIEW OF MALAYSIAN SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ASSESSMENT TOOLS: THE SOCIAL DIMENSION

Building assessment tools have been introduced for nearly two decades to specifically recognize buildings performance towards sustainable development goals. However, the requirements to achieve sustainability in buildings are mainly focused on the environmental and economic aspects, while the significance of social aspects has been scarcely emphasized in many building assessments tools. This paper presents a review of social aspects in the sustainable building assessment tools adopted in Malaysia. In total, four building assessment tools are selected and discussed with the aim to identify to what extent the building assessment tools cover the social dimension. The results of the content analysis indicate that the assessment tools have included partial criteria of social aspects but the scope could further expand to preserve the key features of the social aspects including quality of life, human health, and environmental satisfaction. The findings provide a valuable overview of the building assessment tools and address gaps in existing building assessment tools from a social aspect perspective.

THE IMPACT OF COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE ACQUISITION AND UTILIZATION ON HOTELS' PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIA

Acquisition and frequency utilisation of Competitive Intelligence (CI) are critical strategic activities designed to assist firms in evaluating emerging trends in their business environments, major and potential threats, capabilities, and competitions for businesses today, particularly in the tourism and hotel sectors. However, there is still ambiguity about the impact of competitive-intelligence acquisition (CIA) and utilisation (CIU) on firms' performance, particularly for the hotel industry in a developing country such as Malaysia. Thus, the purposes of this research are to define the nature of CI practice in Malaysian hotels, and to illustrate the relative importance of various CIA types and sources to marketing managers in Malaysian hotels, moreover, to investigate the impact of CIA and CIU on the financial and non-financial performance of Malaysian hotels. A quantitative research design was adopted in this study. To obtain the necessary data for analysing the hypothesised model of the study, 505 questionnaires were issued to marketing managers in member hotels of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), and a total of 184 analyzable questionnaires were gathered, with a response rate of 34.44%. The research data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and statistical package for social sciences "SPSS". Despite that half of the responding hotels practiced CI informally, and many of these hotels began practicing CI five years ago, the study found that hotel marketing managers have high and medium interest levels for most types and sources of CI in Malaysia, these five CIA's types were the most important: (1) competitors, (2) customers, (3) human resources, (4) socio-cultural, and (5) Global. As well, these five CIA's sources were the most important: the internet and extranets, (2) customers, (3) electronic information services/intranets, (4) business associates, and (5) newspapers and periodicals, and industry trade associations. Furthermore, the results indicate that CIA and CIU had a positive and significant impact on hotels' performance, but CIU has the most effect. These findings enrich those in positions of power like owners, managers, and practitioners, as well as academicians, with greater knowledge of the relationship and influence of CIA and CIU on firms' performance, particularly for hospitality and tourism firms.

AN EFFECTIVENESS OF STRATEGIC LAND DEVELOPMENT ON SEWERAGE PLANNING AND LAND SERVICES IN INDAH WATER KONSORTIUM SDN BHD

The higher demanding factor for residential and commercial units has seen an increasing number of STP maintained by IWK every year. This increasing number of STP has forced IWK to incur increased operating and maintenance costs. With a limited number of employees and a large catchment area, it has raised several issues and problems such as the issue of encroachment into the STP land. To overcome the issues and problems, strategic land development is needed where it is also a method in achieving sustainable development. This study used a qualitative method by analyzing the current work procedures or guidelines and government documents used by IWK such as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, National Land Code, and Malaysian Sewerage Industry Guidelines. The findings of the study found that the function of IWK in sewerage land management for public STP and the former STP site is quite limited. Thus, a new procedure or guidelines need to be developed to improve these weaknesses. Based on the land issues faced by IWK, it shows that the strategic land development will be able to help IWK in the planning stages in the future effectively. While sustainable development can be achieved by IWK using a combination between the new land management model and GIS application. This new land management model needs to be combined and should include all the existing procedures or guidelines and be controlled by one unit only. GIS as the most powerful tool today seen can help IWK to manage all the matter related sewerage lands, such as finding the decommissioned STP site, selecting the new location for the Regional STP project, and selection of the new alignment for a property connection project. Indirectly, it can help IWK to reduce the cost of operation and maintenance, sewerage land issues, environmental issues, and others.

ARCHIPELAGO MUSICAL ELEMENTS IN ANANDA SUKARLAN'S WORK AS PART OF BUILDING INDONESIAN IDENTITY

This study aims to examine the contribution of Ananda Sukarlan as a composer who is serious about building an Indonesian identity through the use of various Indonesian musical elements as material in composing piano and vocal works. How composers arrange various musical aspects that can work in a composition is the focus of this research. The study of musicology is used as an approach to dissect various aspects of the musical used, such as; melody, harmony, texture, tonality, scale, rhythm, timbre. Archipelago musical elements are a fundamental aspect in composing works that have 'new values' and 'different tastes' because they have uniqueness or characteristics. The complexity of the compositional techniques used in the preparation of the work shows a high level of creativity in producing vistuosic works. His works have become a repertoire for recitals, competitions, and music concerts for Indonesian and foreign pianists and soloist singers. Studying the works of Ananda Sukarlan indirectly also understands the musical diversity, the beauty of the region and the rich history of Indonesian culture.

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY ON SAFETY PRACTICES AT CONSTRUCTION SITE: TOWARDS SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR PUBLIC

The construction industry is globally known as one of the most hazardous workplaces. Companies in the construction sector are undeniably often focused on completing projects on time, which results in tight work schedules and increases the risks of regular construction site activities, especially for the public who lives in the area. Inadequate rules and regulations in public safety and construction sites not practicing the safety practices to protect the public from harm are potential to cause public accidents to happen. Additionally, little improvement in safety practices at the construction sites and lack of awareness in implementing proper safety practices at a construction site could cause the increasing the rate of public accidents too. This study merely aims to explore the safety practices to be implemented at a construction site in a way to prevent public accidents from occurring. In order to achieve the aim, this study has two (2) objectives; 1: to determine the experience in handling accident cases involving the public at a construction site, and, objective 2: to explore the safety practices to be implemented at the construction site. For this preliminary survey, the qualitative research design was selected and the total number of five (5) professional individuals specialized in safety and health in construction sites were chosen as interviewees based on their experiences in handling public safety issues in construction sites. The results show the most recommended safety practices that need to be implemented which is barricade all entrances and exits of the construction site to prevent access from the public. This study provides good insights to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in identifying the need for safety practices to prevent public accidents at the construction site in congested urban areas.

TOURISM-RELATED URBAN REGENERATION OF HISTORIC CITIES: A REGENERATION STRATEGIES FOR KOCHI, KERALA

The process of reinducing life into decaying assets and developing future potential with the growing tourism of a historic city is known as tourism-related urban regeneration. The assets and potential for such heritage cities consist of built heritage, traditional industries, or cultural resources. The research is based on a study of a historic city in southern India called Kochi in Kerala state, which is famous for its built heritage, cultural evolution, and traditional economic industries. It is globally known for its historical spice trade. However, at present these assets are degenerating due to their low interest in public participation in conservation and regeneration. From the 12th to 17th century, the city Kochi (Cochin-Travancore) achieved global prosperity because of its sea-trade route, linkages with major continents, political patronage, and its existing natural resources. After independence, the city growth gets affected by inadequate development policies and low participation. With the passage of time, the city retained the built heritage and multi-shaded culture with its historical settlement patterns. The city today has shown a strong potential for tourism as there are plenty of heritage buildings, heritage settlements, and the traditional culture of the region. The city’s socio-economy is dominated by traditional industries of skilled craftsmanship and service providers. But at present, this traditional economic potential and cultural heritage of the city are struggling to grow with maximum potential due to the high rate of urbanization and participation failure. Therefore, the research looks into the city’s assets and its economic turbulence that could be a potential for the tourism-related urban regeneration of the region.