Information from the national drug abuse monitoring system was analysed to determine the trends in extent and pattern of drug dependence in Malaysia over the period 1970 to 1986. The annual incidence and prevalence rates of reported drug dependents increased by many folds when compared to the early seventies. Generally, the profile of drug dependents identified has remained relatively stable throughout the years. A stable pattern of drug abuse was also noted over this period. Factors influencing the trend patterns are discussed, as well as the implications of these findings for policy purposes.
A Population Oratorical Competition between upper secondary pupils aimed at getting students interested in population problems will be held in Johore from May to June. The competition will be launched on 20th May 1981 in Segamat by En. Nordin bin Nazir the Deputy Director of Education, Johore. 81 secondary schools will be sending 184 students to participate at this oratorical competition. The Districts of Kluang, Segamat, Batu Pahat, Muar and Johore Bahru will send students who will face an elimination round during the 1st stage of the competition. The competition is jointly organized by the State Education Department and the National Family Planning Board with a funding support of $3500 from the National Family Planning Board. The Director-General, National Family Planning Board Malaysia, Datin Dr. Hajjah Nor Laily Aziz is scheduled to officiate at the opening ceremony and to give away the prizes on 27th June 1981.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 stated that everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality. Equity, solidarity and social justice are understood as basic characteristics of universal access to social health protection founded on burden sharing, risk pooling, empowerment and participation. It is up to national governments and institutions to put these values into practice. The financing of social health protection can be through a mixture of taxation and contributions to public and mandated private insurance. Through risk pooling, these funds provide for equity, solidarity and affordability of services. According to International Labour Organization (ILO), ultimate objective in social health protection is to achieve universal social health protection coverage defined as effective access to affordable health care of adequate quality and financial protection. Social protection plays a vital part in reducing the vulnerability of the poor so that they can fruitfully access health and education services.
Social security traditionally means a social insurance program providing social protection, or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. It also hovers around the subject of social insurance, where people receive benefits or services in recognition of contributions to an insurance scheme. Providing services for medical care, aspects of social work and even industrial relations may be included as part of social security services. Lately, the term is also used to refer to basic security, a term roughly equivalent to access to basic necessities. The 1 World Conference on Social Security organised by the Brazilian Government on 1st to 5th of December 2010 stimulates the countries to adopt universal, comprehensive and equitablesocial security systems as a valid, ethical and feasible option in the process of national reforms and regional integration. The main challenge to achieving the noble objective of universal social security system is financial sustainability and social cohesion supported by political will. As seen in a number of countries, Malaysia has a mixed social security schemes comprising state and private schemes, statutory obligatory requirements on the part of
employers as well as state social assistance programmes. Maintaining the quality of life of the individuals and their dependents has become the primary focus of policies and programmes in providing social security. Among the critical pressures on the population’s standard of living is the provision of health care. Extension of the coverage for social security is critical in ensuring social inclusion.
At present, social protection system is a requirement for those involved in all sectors of employment
such as pensions to Government employees and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to private sector
workers. The primary basis of the system is to provide protection to address poverty, financial
assistance and future guarantees. However, no structured social protection system was introduced to
the informal sectors workers in Malaysia such as farmers and others. The purpose of this study is to
examine the level of knowledge and acceptance of social protection systems among farmers in the
Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA). This study involved 573 respondents covering 4
regions within the MADA area. In conclusion, this study will examine the level of knowledge and
acceptance of farmers on social protection systems in their communities.
China's 13th Five-Year Plan, launched in March 2016, provides a sound policy platform for the protection of marine ecosystems and the restoration of capture fisheries within China's exclusive economic zone. What distinguishes China among many other countries striving for marine fisheries reform is its size-accounting for almost one-fifth of global catch volume-and the unique cultural context of its economic and resource management. In this paper, we trace the history of Chinese government priorities, policies, and outcomes related to marine fisheries since the 1978 Economic Reform, and examine how the current leadership's agenda for "ecological civilization" could successfully transform marine resource management in the coming years. We show how China, like many other countries, has experienced a decline in the average trophic level of its capture fisheries during the past few decades, and how its policy design, implementation, and enforcement have influenced the status of its wild fish stocks. To reverse the trend in declining fish stocks, the government is introducing a series of new programs for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, with greater traceability and accountability in marine resource management and area controls on coastal development. As impressive as these new plans are on paper, we conclude that serious institutional reforms will be needed to achieve a true paradigm shift in marine fisheries management in China. In particular, we recommend new institutions for science-based fisheries management, secure fishing access, policy consistency across provinces, educational programs for fisheries managers, and increasing public access to scientific data.
This article examines the rationale behind the Heath government's 1970 decision to negotiate a Five Power Defence agreement with Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia and to maintain a small British military contingent in Southeast Asia as a part of this new politico-military framework. It argues that while its overriding foreign policy concern was to end Britain's problematic relationship with the European Economic Community and to make membership of this grouping the cornerstone of its foreign policy, the Heath government was careful not to cast Britain's post-imperial future in purely European terms. The successful negotiation of the Five Power Defence Arrangements in 1970-71 was instrumental in achieving this by ensuring that London would maintain close links with key Commonwealth partners in the Asian region. In what was not only an attempt to neutralize potential domestic opposition to Britain's entry into the EEC, but also a lingering reluctance to do away with the rhetoric of Britain as a leading power with extra-European interests, Heath was eager to show that by making a contribution to the stability of Southeast Asia, Britain still had a role to play outside Europe.
At present, 70% of the world's 1.1 billion smokers are in developing countries, with over 50% in Asia alone. The current study examined patterns of youth smoking in Thailand and Malaysia. Respondents were 2002 youths between the ages of 13 and 17 from Thailand (n = 1000) and Malaysia (n = 1002). Respondents were selected using a multistage cluster sampling design and surveyed between January 2005 and March 2005. Approximately 3% of youth between the ages of 13 and 17 were current smokers, with an additional 10% to 12% reporting experimental smoking. Males were between 7 and 15 times more likely to report smoking behavior than females. Less than 1% of females respondents in either country met the criteria for current smoking, and less than 5% met the criteria for experimental smoking. In contrast, more than 50% Thai males and approximately one-third of Malaysian males aged 17 met the criteria for either experimental or current smoking.
Climate change and nuclear war are currently the most dangerous challenges to human civilisation and survival. The effects of climate change are now sufficient to persuade many governments to take effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today there are about 27,000 nuclear warheads, many at least ten times more powerful than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, and a meaningful medical response to a nuclear attack is impossible. Nevertheless, the threat of nuclear war does not raise public concern, and indeed the nuclear-weapon states are upgrading their capability. The only effective preventive measure is the abolition of nuclear weapons. Steps towards this include: a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, for the nuclear weapon states to observe their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to enter into force. The ultimate need is for a Nuclear Weapons Convention; International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War have launched an International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN) to promote a NWC.
Balancing economic development with international commitments to protect biodiversity is a global challenge. Achieving this balance requires an understanding of the possible consequences of alternative future scenarios for a range of stakeholders. We employ an integrated economic and environmental planning approach to evaluate four alternative futures for the mega-diverse island of Borneo. We show what could be achieved if the three national jurisdictions of Borneo coordinate efforts to achieve their public policy targets and allow a partial reallocation of planned land uses. We reveal the potential for Borneo to simultaneously retain ∼50% of its land as forests, protect adequate habitat for the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), and achieve an opportunity cost saving of over US$43 billion. Such coordination would depend on enhanced information sharing and reforms to land-use planning, which could be supported by the increasingly international nature of economies and conservation efforts.
The 'seasonal haze' problem is one which afflicts large parts of Southeast Asia in years of drought. The major cause is forest, bush and field fires in the states of Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia, and to a lesser extent in Sabah, Sarawak, and other parts of Malaysia. Almost all of these fires now seem preventable, since they are intentionally set to clear land for cultivation. Theoretically, the government authorities at central, provincial and local levels in these countries should be responsible for controlling activities in their territory. In practice, however, air pollution control through regulatory policies and practices is extraordinarily difficult to implement and maintain in a situation of this kind in developing countries, especially at a time of crippling economic setbacks. Moreover, the establishment of legal liability, through an international tribunal or otherwise, hardly seems a politically feasible course of action for the government of an affluent 'victim state' such as Singapore. Faith in the usual solutions--science, regulation, law and diplomacy--is weakened by one's sense of current realities. The purpose of this paper is to review the issues and suggested responses, the cost implications of each, the responsibilities as well as entitlements that might apply to the various stakeholders, and the special role of Singapore as an affluent 'victim state'. We also discuss the incentive mechanisms that would be needed to manage forest fires.
State planning plays a central role in Malaysia's social and economic development. The government's rural development policies are designed to promote agricultural incomes and help counterbalance ethnic inequalities. The Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) implements one of the internationally most successful land development and resettlement programs. In this article, we quantify the impact of FELDA settlements on local out-migration rates, linking macro and micro approaches and using data from the Malaysian Family Life Survey, national censuses, and other sources. A model of instantaneous migration rates specifies an individual's migration rate as a function of individual-level sociodemographic characteristics, the level of urbanization of the origin and destination, and the extent of rural development at the district of current residence. Our results show that in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the existence of rural development centers in a district reduced the levels of out-migration to pre-1965 levels.