Keberkesanan Latihan Asas Kepolisan Kadet Inspektor Terhadap Amalan Integriti dalam Kalangan Pegawai Kanan Polis

This study is an assessment of the effectiveness of the Inspector Cadet Police Basic Training Programme on the practice of integrity as a result of the implementation of the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) Integrity Plan. The training programme is aimed at creating senior police officers who practice good governance iorder to improve the quality of service delivery and management as well as to create an excellent image of RMP. The RMP’s commitment to upholding integrity has been proven by management improvements through the implementation of some initiatives such as the establishment of the Department of Integrity andStandard Compliance and the implementation of the RMP Integrity Plan, and the implementation of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Module in the RMP training module. This descriptive study uses a qualitative approach based on a structured design of a case study. Primary data were obtained through a semistructured interview method with eight informants selected through purposive sampling techniques and supported by secondary data through document analysis and library research. The findings show that the training module has been a dominant influence and the main catalyst for the practice of integrity, apart from workplace environment and family as new findings. The study concludes that the implementation of the integrity learning module in the Police Basic Training Programme has provided the knowledge and skills towards the inculcation of integrity but somehow officers can still be influenced by work environment and family factors.

Connecting with Deities: The Practice of Spirit Mediumship among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang

The belief towards the spirit medium is one of the oldest beliefs in Chinese folk religion. This research explored spirit mediumship practices among the Chinese in Kuantan, Pahang, and interviewed 10 spirit mediums by applying interpretive phenomenological analysis. The findings indicate that the ability to interact with deities is either due to unavoidable illness, hereditary, naturally acquired, or learned. Indeed, a spirit medium may or may not convey messages to the audience or the deities from ritual performances. However, the ritual had revealed an “indispensable and official” status among mediums and worshippers. Although some expectations of this practice have faded due to modernity, it is still popular among the Chinese, especially in bonding the Chinese together as one community.

Perbandingan Penerbitan dan Harga Buku Mengikut Genre di Malaysia dan Jepun Menggunakan Data Akses Terbuka dan Simulasi Monte Carlo

Reading habits are often associated with an increased cognitive level. However, book genre can also affect the cognitive level. This is because different book genres can be attributed to different types of knowledge and tendency towards a specific book genre can be viewed as a preference towards a specific type of knowledge. Research on Malaysians’ interest and the tendency towards book genre and type of knowledge can be investigated using the publication data of each book genre and its prices. The objective of this research is to analyse and compare the book publications and the average price of each book’s genre in Malaysia with those of Japan. Comparison was done based on book categorisation genre strategy to 12 book genres. Based on Monte Carlo simulation method data, Malaysians are attracted to book genres on language, literature and science. While the Japanese are more interested in the book genres of social sciences and hobbies/art. The similarity between Malaysian and Japanese societies are that both societies also favour book genre of literature. However, it is possible that the themes of literary genre in Japan and Malaysia are very different. The result of this study can be used to identify the differences between Malaysian and Japanese reading habits as well as for formulating strategies to change Malaysian reading habits towards the style of Japanese reading habits.

Kesan Variasi Harga Minyak Terhadap Corak Perjalanan Pelajar Institusi Pengajian Tinggi

In Malaysia, most of the studies conducted on the effects of increase in fuel prices have focused on a group of people who have a regular monthly income. Little attention is given to the younger generation without income, especially among students in higher education. Malaysian students are also among the highest group of people who make daily trips. The increase in fuel prices has also increased the daily cost of students and can affect their daily commute. This study aims to examine the specific effects of the increase in the prices of fuel on the travel patterns of young people in higher education institutions. A total of 596 respondents among university students were involved in this study, which selected randomly from public and private universities in Malaysia. By focusing on the patterns of travel before and after the increase in fuel prices, the respondents were asked to fill out a questionnaire related to their weekly trip activities. From the survey conducted, there are variations in the choice of transport mode for educational purposes and personal activities of the respondents. Among the preferred mode of transport include driving cars, riding bikes, walking and taking public services. However, the highest mode of transport of the movement of respondents from residential areas to campus based on the weekly frequencies are walking and driving cars. Whereas, for personal purposes, students are most likely to prefer driving cars. Research shows, the rise in fuel prices do not provide a significant change to the travel patterns of the respondents. However, slight changes in the pattern of respondents’ travel have occurred, such as the reduction in the frequency of personal vehicle used and the increase in the frequency of sharing the vehicle.

Pembentukan Usahawan Kraf Tangan Wanita di Malaysia: Peranan Sikap, Warisan Keluarga dan Pembudayaan Nilai Agama

The participation of women in entrepreneurship plays a significant role in economic development especially in reducing unemployment, increasing production and consumption, achieving gender equality, social and cultural reforms. One of the dominant areas for women is batik and songket entrepreneurs who are synonymous with women on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Studies have identified three key elements that contribute to the development of this craft entrepreneur, viz. attitude, business inheritance and religious value culture. Qualitative design methods based on case studies and in-depth interviews were used in this study on 12 informants in the state of Kelantan and Terengganu in Malaysia. The findings show that there are three main factors that cause the formation of women handicraft entrepreneurs, namely attitude, family heritage and religious values. Hence, all the factors that make up a female handicraft entrepreneur in Malaysia are discussed in this article. The findings imply that increasing women entrepreneurs in handicrafts can raise the quality of handicraft products into becoming the best tourism products in the East Coast.

Indian Agent Involvement in the Establishment of Permanent Settlement for the South Indian Labouring Community, 1923–1941

This article investigates a long-neglected aspect of Indian Malaysian history, namely the Indian Agents of the Government of India to British Malaya. The Indian Agents were representatives of the Indian Government who were appointed under the Indian Immigration Act of 1922 to investigate and report on the state of affairs of Indian communities in the British colonies. The official duties of the Indian Agents in British Malaya were formalised under Section 73 (III) of the Labour Code 1923. Between 1923 and 1941, six Indian Agents were appointed in British Malaya. Throughout their tenure, they focused on and reported extensively on the socioeconomic conditions of the Indian working-class community, particularly south Indian labourers. One problem that came to their attention was the underdevelopment of the community’s permanent settlement in the country. The Federated Malay States (FMS) government did not appear to be concerned about the situation. Similarly, private estate managers reacted indifferently to the issue. Both saw permanent settlement as simply an economic measure to keep the community as a labour force, rather than a way to alleviate their socioeconomic hardships. This article shows how the Indian Agents were able to uncover a range of issues that were impeding the establishment of permanent settlements for south Indian labourers in the FMS. Some of them demonstrated exceptional levels of direct involvement. The article’s primary goal is to assess the degree to which the Indian Agents influenced the overall development of permanent Indian labour settlement.

Rent-seeking Practices in the Housing Development Approval Process

The lengthy, uncertain and onerous planning approval process in various countries around the world has prompted frustrated housing developers to seek influence by paying off approving officials. A research was conducted in Malaysia to investigate in greater detail this rent-seeking phenomenon by asking six fundamental questions. Rich data were obtained by interviewing 22 housing developers and consultants who work for them. Developers engage in rent-seeking behaviours to overcome genuine and artificial hurdles when applying for development approval. All approving agencies, though not all their staff, reciprocate to such behaviours. The monetary value of the payoffs depend on the rank of the public actor and project features. The higher the office holder is, the larger is the expected pay-off. Big and complex development projects in urban centres have a higher pay-off tag. Low value items television sets and car repairs serve to support normal lifestyle whereas high value items such as golfing and holiday trips support lavish lifestyle. Establishing good rapport is a prerequisite to the rent seeking and giving exchange. Elements which help foster reciprocity by state actors to housing developers’ rentseeking behaviours include low civil servant salary and high living cost, and weak punitive action. Common ethnicity facilitates nuanced communication by the latter, but common religion may dampen the former’s enthusiasm to accept any payoffs. Eventually house buyers and the general public are the casualties by virtue of higher house prices and substandard infrastructure. Given the combination of inherent features of the planning system and certain elements that impinge on state actors both of which promote rent-seeking practices, a realistic law enforcement solution is to prioritise illicit market-state exchanges involving grossly distorting rent extraction and pecuniary rewards of significant magnitude rather than total eradication of the practice.

The Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex: Re-assessing the Emergence of Ancient Kedah

This article proposes new historical perspectives arising from the findings in the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex, Kedah, by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2009. Excavations in the complex unearthed the remains of iron smelting sites, wharves and other brick structures, dating back to the 2nd/3rd century AD. The discoveries of furnaces, tuyeres and iron slag attest to Sungai Batu’s role as the centre for primary iron production, employing the bloomery method. The study suggests that Ancient Kedah appeared as one of the hubs for the trans-Asiatic trade network with the rise of the iron industry, while its economic complexity grew steadily in successive centuries. The early emergence of Ancient Kedah was a development synchronous with the later phase of the Indian-Southeast Asian exchange network between the 2nd to the 4th century AD when inter and intra-regional trade intensified. Due to its favourable geological features, strategic location with a suitable ecozone, as well as being a thriving centre for primary iron production, Ancient Kedah emerged as an important harbour. It was this trading and industrial past, the article will argue, that contributed to the rise of other economic hubs within Ancient Kedah, such as Pengkalan Bujang and Kampung Sungai Mas, which eventually developed into entrepôts after the 5th century AD.