On the 10th December 2018, an unprecedented historic event took place in the lower courthouse of the Malaysia Parliament. After years of repressive and regressive stance on student activism, members of parliament voted unanimously to amend the Universities and University Colleges Act 1975, which finally allows student political participation on campus. However, claims of youth apathy and the portrayal of youth in mass media as “unprepared and inexperienced political actors” pose a detrimental dilemma on the participation front. Intrinsic experiences of the youth community, especially from within the confines of universities have been misunderstood, and in fact, very much alienated. Therefore, the impact of the amendment amongst students is assessed in this research. Through exploring the experiences of youth who are caught up between state autonomy and civil liberties, this study employs qualitative research methods through asynchronous in-depth interviews in understanding youth’s freedom of expression. The findings are analyzed thematically to extract emergent themes from interviews derived from participants’ experiences with bureaucratic structures of the university environment and secondary data on the existing models of polity within the campus. Results show that structural barriers empowered by the existing ideological control provide both perceived positive and negative experiences to the participants. The majority of participants were alienated from the mechanisms of existing democratic institutions and discourses whereas subaltern voices of the youth prevail outside the confines of state-oriented spaces. This study has implications on the Overton Window practices of policymakers in providing true autonomy to students.
There are 90000 professional expatriates working in Malaysia and the number is projected to increase year by year. This creates a need to explore work-life balance among expatriates in Malaysia. In this study, qualitative research method was used, and the data was collected using interview guide as the instrument. Actual data was collected from five (5) international lecturers in a public university in Sarawak. The data was analyzed using content analysis. The finding revealed that workload and family support are main contributors to work-life conflict among expatriates while receiving better salaries, meeting new people and experiencing culture are the work-life enrichment factors. Expatriates use general adjustment and interaction to adjust better with their new environment. Hence, it is recommended for organizations to support expatriates through relevant activities to assist them to achieve work-life balance in a foreign country.
This study aims to explore gender, race, stress and sleep quality as factors which influence the academic performance of undergraduate students. The samples of study involved 80 students from the Faculty of Cognitive Science and Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Questionnaire used in the data collection comprising demographic information, stress questionnaire (Student Stress Inventory (SSI)) and sleep quality questionnaire (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)). The academic performance of the undergraduate students in this study was measured by their cumulative grade point average (CGPA). The result of the study showed that female students performed better than male students; whilst non-Bumiputera students performed better than Bumiputera students. The study also found that the higher the stress level of a student (SSI score), the lower his or her CGPA results. Moreover, the findings showed that there is a significant difference in FCSHD undergraduates’ academic performance based on their sleep quality, in which the mean of CGPA for students with good sleep quality is higher than that of students with bad sleep quality. Ultimately, the study reveals that gender and race do play a part in the academic performance of students and having good sleep quality and a little bit of stress is equally important in learning and helpful in attaining good grades and hence, should be leveraged by students.
The aim of this study is to examine the factors that drive students’ self-disclosure on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). A total of 215 undergraduates from two public universities in East Malaysia were recruited as respondents. This study adapts self-disclosure model by Elmi, A.Iahad and Ahmed (2012), where the model proposed trust as one of the factors that complementing other existing factors in online self-disclosure. This study proved that privacy concerns (r = -.212, p < .01), perceived trust (r = .22, p < .01), perceived ease of use (r = .213, p < .01), and perceived enjoyment (r = .28, p < .01) are significantly related to students’ online self-disclosure on SNSs. In addition, as trust plays a vital role in moderating the users’ online self-disclosure behavior, this study formulated students’ trusts on SNSs based on three dimensions which are individual, institutional and online trust. Findings of study suggested that there is a significant difference between online trust based on male and female respondents.
The occupational safety and health of workers are aimed to protect employees.. Safety at workplace is a crucial aspect in a company’s organization. Safety in workplace is important in guaranteeing the worker’s wellbeing. The Malaysia Government has taken the required steps by introducing the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 on 25th of February 1994. The responsibilities in enforcing Occupational Safety and Health Act is given to the Occupational Safety and Health Department (OSHD) which is under the Ministry of Human Resource.
Emotional Intelligence appears to be a significant influencing factor in academic achievements. This study aims to identify the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and mathematics achievements (a relatively sparse research areas of academic achievements) among undergraduates in higher learning institution of Sarawak. 100 respondents from a higher-level institution of Sarawak participated in this study. Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) is used to measure the trait emotional intelligence of the undergraduates. The result was analysed using descriptive analysis and inferential analysis, namely two-way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation. Two-way ANOVA was used to test if there is significant difference in demographic attributes (gender and place of residence) towards maths achievements and trait emotional intelligence of the undergraduates. Pearson Correlation was used to test the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and mathematics achievements of the undergraduates. Generally, this study found that there is no significant difference for factors related to demographic attributes (gender and place of residence) against maths achievements and trait emotional intelligence of the undergraduates. Meanwhile, a relationship was found between trait emotional intelligence and mathematics achievements among undergraduates in higher learning institution in Sarawak. The outcome of the study appears to suggest that trait emotional intelligence can help undergraduates to understand themselves more and to control and manage their emotions and feelings and have better relationship with their surroundings. And this could positively impact on their maths achievements.
Trace elements play a significant role in giving nutritional benefits to the body because they act as essential cofactors for all physiological processes. However, there are some trace elements which may bring more harm than good when entering the human body. Due to its ability to incorporate trace elements in an amount that is proportional to an individual’s dietary intake and environmental exposure, human fingernails are suitable biomarkers in assessing the health status of an individual as they reflect on the trace element concentration present in the body. This study has analysed fingernail samples of 23 adult females residing in Kuching and Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia for four elements, namely Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. By using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), the mean elemental concentrations found in fingernail samples of research participants were 171.8 ± 33.8 μg/g for Zn, 27.8 ± 14.8 μg/g for Cu and 2.64 ± 0.94 μg/g for Pb. Cd concentrations were not able to be detected as they were below the detection limits. A standard reference material, NIST 1568b Rice Flour was used to verify the methods used in elemental analysis using FAAS. Independent t-test which was used to compare the means of Zn and Cu between vegetarians and non-vegetarians showed no significant differences for both elements. Moreover, correlation analysis showed negative correlations between Cu/Zn pair and Pb/Zn pair, whereas significant positive correlation was obtained for Cu/Pb pair. The overall data from this study showed good agreements with data obtained from studies in other countries. Therefore, the current data in this study represents the latest background elemental concentrations in fingernails of the residents in Kuching and Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.
In the age of modern competitive market force, where traditional marketing system is not enough to capture the loyalty from customers, and the increasing consciousness toward the brand making the marketer more concern to survive and the competition are becoming more difficult. So, customers are more conscious about their choice and giving more priority on the right product with right features, conditions, images and quality at the right price. The aim of this study is to explore customer consciousness toward brand loyalty between Malaysian and International Students. Quantitative research method is being used to evaluate the outcome of the research where total survey respondents were 197 (140 Malaysian and 57 International students) and the scope of the research is limited to the respondent of University Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan. The result of regression linear and Pearson Correlation showed that except price-consciousness, brand-consciousness, quality-consciousness and social-consciousness have positive significant relationship toward brand loyalty.
The objective of this study is to identify the relationship between task characteristics (variety of skills, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) and employee engagement. The study was conducted in a healthcare service in Sabah, Malaysia. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect data by using convenience sampling. A total of 78 respondents participated in the study. Data was analyzed using Spearman Correlation. The results revealed a significant and positive relationship between task characteristics (variety of skills, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) and employee engagement in the studied organization. This has important implications to employers. It is recommended that managers, human resource development (HRD) practitioners and supervisors provide employees with more challenging tasks, autonomy and feedback from time to time. Moreover, work designs should include how the tasks may improve employee identity and significance.
Academic self-efficacy is important for students which will help them to perform better in studies. This study aims to explore the level of academic self-efficacy among UNIMAS undergraduates based on gender, CGPA and trait emotional intelligence. The samples of study involved are 50 male and 50 female participants which consists of final year students from Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development. The academic self-efficacy of the students is measured using the questionnaire adopted from a study by Sachitra and Bandara (2017) and The Short Form (TEIQue-SF) Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire is used to measure the trait emotional intelligence of the undergraduates. The result was analyzed using descriptive analysis and inferential analysis; independent samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation. The results of the study have shown that female students have higher academic self-efficacy compared to male students. In addition, students who obtain a higher CGPA also have higher self-efficacy. There was also a small positive correlation between trait emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy.
Proverbs are created when people started to observe and understand the nature around them. Proverbs consist of literal meanings and implicated meanings. The way these proverbs have been said, portrays the beauty and smoothness of the language to which the proverbs belong. This research is mainly conducted to distinguish Indian community's intellectual and philosophical abilities in conveying direct and indirect meanings. The theoretical framework used in this research is inquisitive semantics by Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin (2014). This is a qualitative research. The researcher attained 25 datas by interviewing four (4) Indian informants. However, this research acquired only three 3 data in which the image of sugarcane has been used. Finding shows that the Indian community's proverbs are established from their observation towards nature and the Indian community has their own philosophical understanding and also intellectual standards in the creation of proverbs. Actual meanings behind the data used in this research have been successfully decoded using the theory of inquisitive semantics. In a nutshell, this study is highly justifiable as the theory used in this research is a renowned and authoritative theory.
The Energy Equivalence Rule (EER) is an unresolved issue in ecology. This rule states that the amount of energy used for each species in a population is independent of its body size. A study on the relationship between abundance and body size of bird assemblages was conducted in Western Sarawak. Abundance data of bird assemblages from seven selected sites in Western Sarawak were used to produce a regression line of log absolute species abundance versus log average body mass. Data from all selected sites were combined to represent bird assemblages in Western Sarawak and the slope produced was -0.216. The slopes obtained for each site were 0.808, -0.080, -0.258, -0.067, -0.161, -0.072 and -0.237, respectively. Statistical analysis shows that the slope of combined data did not differ significantly from -0.75, as expected under the EER. Thus, this study shows that the EER can be applied as a general rule of community structure of bird assemblages in Western Sarawak.
Education emancipates a society, and this is also true in Sarawak for where it has an important role in maintaining the core values of Sarawak Malay identity politics. Education, and how it is related to the political consciousness of the Sarawak Malay, shall be the main subject of this research. The purpose of this study is to analyse the role and importance of education in maintaining the core values in Sarawak Malays identity politics. This study was conducted through library research and other secondary sources as it tries to explore the elements of education and the social and political change of the Sarawak Malays. Education not only provided the access to social mobility and socio-political awareness of the Sarawak Malays, but it also enhanced the politics of identity of Sarawak Malays through the inculcation of values based on Islam and the local context of Malayness (Kemelayuaan).
Technology is a tool that influences today’s lifestyle especially in the employment sector. The use of technology in employment may help in increasing the worker’s appraisal. The efficiency can be measured based on the increase of the productivity and the acceptance in using this system to help in upgrading the quality of the product output. It also assists in communication, increasing the worker’s integrity, productivity and the spread of information.
This study is attempting to study the convergence of high-technology productivity of the automotive industry in Asia. This study uses time series data collected from 10 Asian countries from 2002-2016. In addition, this study was tested using the panel method proposed by Phillips and Sul (2007a), to identify whether the convergence of automotive technology high-tech productivity convergence or divergence. The results for full panel convergence in this study show divergence. However, in this study there were three convergence clubs found. The first clubs are Japan, South Korea and Thailand, the second club is Indonesia and Iran while the third club is Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. This study suggests that governments need to play an important role to implement good policies to attract more Asian countries to work with each other. This study can be summarized that economies in Asian countries experience different levels of development and the shift in economic behaviour is very different among Asian countries.
Contamination of drinks with E. coli O157:H7 served in food premises such as restaurants can cause haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uremic syndrome to humans. The presence or absence of faecal pathogen was demonstrated using coliform group as indicator microorganisms. Therefore, this study was conducted to detect the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in drinking water from food restaurant premise in Kota Samarahan and Kuching to ensure safe and potable drinking water is served to the consumer. A total of thirty (n=30) drink samples including six types of each of the samples are cold plain water, iced tea, iced milo, syrup and iced milk tea. Most Probable Number (MPN) procedure was used in this study to enumerate the MPN values of coliform bacteria in each drink collected. A total of 53.33% (16/30) of the drink samples showed positive E. coli detection. Then, the PCR assay showed 6.25% (one out of 16 isolates) samples were positive and carried stx1 gene produced by E. coli O157:H7 in iced milo sample types. This study showed the drinks collected from food premises was contaminated with faecal contamination, which was not safe to drink by the consumer. Therefore, preventive actions should be taken to prevent foodborne illness outbreak in future
Breeding territoriality plays a role in determining the reproduction outcome of many passerines species. The spot-mapping was used to estimate the breeding territory size of a territorial male of Oriental Magpie robin (Cospychus saularis) at Dahlia College, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak which is located within Kota Samarahan. It was conducted by mapping the song perching locations established by a marked male. The breeding territory size of the male was estimated to be 0.78 hectares. The data analysis was done using Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) which was constructed by using Google Earth Pro software. Study on breeding territory size of this bird species is crucial to understand more regarding the breeding behaviour of this species. Data on the behavior of this species could be used for future studies of this bird in Borneo.
This study aims to investigate the perception of Muslim travellers toward Halal lifestyle in South Korea. This study is significant due to a huge growth of Muslim tourists in South Korea over recent years. Statistics has shown an influx of Muslim tourists from Malaysia travelling to South Korea from year-to-year. Interviews were conducted to gain in-depth and comprehensive insights of Malaysian Muslims’ percipience on the Halal culture in South Korea. The questions were designed in the interview covers three issues, which include the pre-travel behaviour, extensity of information search, and travel decision. According to the interviews, most of the travellers spent their time conducting research, explicitly on Halal dietary matters before heading to South Korea. They also stated that it was quite hard finding places that serve Halal food. Therefore, we concluded that the Halal principle adoption in Korea influences the travel decision by most Muslim travellers.
In the Chinese community, patriotism had been a strong sentiment, but this sentiment had not been shown openly among the Chinese. Thus, this article aimed to identify the patrotic sentiments of the Chinese community in the Malay poems by applying relevance theory pioneered by Sperber and Wilson (1986). This is a qualitative study. Three poems written by Lim Swee Tin (LST), a famous Malaysian poet were analysed. Poetic lines in the poems that manifested the patriotic sentiments were identified from corpora and they were further analysed with relevance theory. Findings of the study showed that data consisting the patriotic sentiments practised by the Chinese were identified in LST’s poems. The results also showed that there were implicit meanings behind the data analysed and the implied meanings and messages had been found to be in relevance with the values and cultures practised in the Chinese community. Not only that, the study also highlighted the importance of relevance theory in analysing the data as results obtained were more theoretical, academic and of high validity. Thus, the results obtained were not only undisputed, but it also an add-on to the existing facts, understanding and knowledge to the Chinese community particularly on the culture of Chinese community.
Oral health gained attention worldwide as it exerted unfavourable and undesired influences on an individual’s daily lives and wellbeing, especially among the rural population. In order to increase the understanding on the oral health among the rural community, this study aimed to determine the oral health knowledge and practice and its association with sociodemographic characteristics among the longhouse residents in Julau, Sarawak. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 105 residents were recruited from five longhouses, namely Rumah Panjang Mengga, Rumah Panjang Ikeh, Rumah Panjang Michael, Rumah Panjang Budit, and Rumah Panjang Manju. Information related to sociodemographic characteristics, as well as oral health knowledge and practice was gathered through face-to-face interview by using a structured questionnaire. Spearman rho correlation test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Krukal-Wallis H-test were applied during data analysis. Median (interquartile) age of the children and adults was 10.0 (5.0) and 50.0 (22.0) years old, respectively. Findings revealed that oral health knowledge and practices among participants, both children and adults were inadequate as a high proportion of the participants were unable to provide answers for oral health related questions (functions of fluoride and correlation between gum disease with heart disease) and several oral health practices (regular oral check-up, change of toothbrush, and consumption of sweetened food) were also not being engaged in the daily life among the children and adult participants. A significant correlation was found between age and knowledge score among adult participants (rs = -0.389, p < 0.001). Besides, significant higher oral health knowledge score were found among adult participants with higher education level (H = 27.466; p < 0.001) and significant higher in oral health practice score was found among unemployed adult participants when compared to self-employed and employed workers for government and private (H = 9.631, p = 0.008). In conclusion, younger and educated participants are more knowledgeable regarding oral health. Engagement of oral health practices were related to occupation of the adult participants. Provision of health education and education aid for longhouse community should be continued taking into consideration age, level of education level, and even occupation in order to improve their oral health knowledge and practice.