An association of idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus (ISLE) with genetically determined N-acetylation polymorphism has been suspected from previous studies, mainly on Caucasian populations in which there is an approximate incidence of 50% of slow and rapid acetylators. The present study is of the incidence of ISLE and acetylator status in a mixed population of Malaysia. The results did not support an association between ISLE and acetylator status: the frequencies of slow acetylators in the ISLE patients who were Malaysian Chinese and Malay were 13 and 38% respectively. This did not differ significantly from the respective healthy groups (20 and 29%). The small number of Indians in the survey did not allow a valid comparison, but the figures did suggest a lack of association between ISLE and acetylator status.
Many studies have shown that schooling levels of husband and wife are important determinants of household behavior in developing countries. This article asks how the schooling levels of husband and wife come to be associated with each other through the marriage market. The Kiefer-Neumann model of labor market search is adapted to marital search, the aim being to explain both the positive sorting on educational levels for spouses, and the positive relationship between female schooling and age at 1st marriage. World Fertility Survey data for Indonesia, Korea, and Malaysia are employed in the analyses.
This article surveys the arrivals of Muslim refugees from countries in Southeast Asia who have not only come to Malaysia for political refuge, but who have also stayed on, in many instances integrating into the local Muslim community. The author concludes that Burmese, Thai, and Filipino Muslim refugee-cum-migrants, and the estimated 500,000 illegal Indonesian migrant workers in East and Peninsular Malaysia make the presence of economic migrants in Malaysia's towns and rural sectors a far more pressing concern to Malaysians than that posed by the arrival of genuine political refugees. Only the Indonesians present in Malaysia are consistently termed by all parties as illegal migrants and some of them have been subjected to well-publicized deportation by the Malaysian immigration authorities. Sympathy for fellow-Muslims in distress explains Malaysia's open-door policy to Muslim refugees. The Koran specifically enjoins Muslims to assist Muslim refugees who have been persecuted by others. However, the necessity to maintain regional political and military alliances, principally as a bulwark against Communism, and the Malay--Non-Malay, Muslim--Non-Muslim dichotomy in Malaysia which almost evenly divides Malaysia's 16 million population into mutually antagonistic halves, results in any overt public policy in favor of Malays and Muslims to be immediately denounced by the other half of the population as a move against the Non-Malays and Non-Muslims. Without political and media attention, the refugees live wherever they can find work, as do hundreds of thousands of mainly Indonesian illegal migrant workers. They surreptitiously get their children admitted to public schools, and through bribery, can even get Malaysian identification papers. Malaysia is a relatively tranquil haven for Malaysia's Muslim refugees compared to their homelands, but their continued stay remains dependent on the ever-present struggle for more equitable sharing of political and economic power between the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. At present, it is deemed inopportune to discuss publicly the issue of Muslim refugees in Malaysia. To do so would be to invite strong emotional responses from Malaysian Muslim groups objecting to refugee repatriation to what they see as continued persecution in Southeast Asia's non-Muslim countries, and from non-Muslim Malaysians who see in their continued presence a possible long-term demographic threat. Furthermore, the presence of Muslim evacuees granted refugee status brings painful memories as to why non-Muslim refugees principally from Indochina were denied such a similar privilege.
"This article examines some of the links between the phenomena of urban migration and squatter settlements in the Third World city. This will be done by demonstrating that both are outcomes of fundamental social and political forces that have operated on these societies. Migration and squatting are placed in a context of the historical processes that led to the uneven development of Malaysia. The article offers some explanation for the origin of the inequalities observed in spatial structures--in this case urban housing--by focusing on one of the contributory factors, namely migration."
The author examines migration trends in Malay villages. "This report deals with the case of Galok, a settlement opened in the last decade of nineteenth century about 40 kilometers up the Kelantan River, based on field data collected in 1970/71 and 1984." The low rate of population growth due to migration is analyzed, with a focus on the impact of rural-urban migration and changes in household composition. (SUMMARY IN ENG)
"Data from the Malaysian Family Life Survey are used to examine the sensitivity of urban/rural income differentials to the definition and measurement of income. Measured income differentials vary with the extent to which nonmarket activities are included in the scope of income, how the distribution of income is summarized, and whether one adjusts for differences in hours of work, household size and composition, ethnic composition, and other sociodemographic characteristics. For example, depending on the measure chosen, estimates of the amount by which urban income exceeds rural income in Malaysia range from 9 percent to 141 percent."
"This paper will focus on ethnic differentials in the nuptiality of West Malaysia and on their evolution since the Second World War. The growing similarity of nuptiality patterns in the Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities will be outlined and the influence of age and sex distributions on the observed changes will be examined. The sources of data for this study are the 1947, 1957, and 1970 Population Censuses and the 1974 Malaysian Family and Fertility Survey."
The defendant, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, was accused of voluntarily causing a woman to miscarry, such miscarriage having been performed without good faith and an intention to save the woman's life. The Court upheld the conviction of the defendant, rejecting his argument, supported by an expert witness, that he had performed the abortion in order to avoid the possibility of pulmonary embolism, which might result because the woman had enlarged varicose veins. It held that the argument was not reasonable under the current law and that procuring an abortion was a serious matter to be done only as a last resort to save the life of a woman or to save her from becoming a mental "wreck."
The Asia-Pacific Expert Committee on Hepatitis B Management recently reviewed the impact of hepatitis B in the region and assessed the differences and similarities observed in the practical management of the disease in individual Asia-Pacific countries. Hepatitis B is a major health concern in the Asia-Pacific region, and of all chronically infected carriers worldwide, approximately 75% are found in Asia. The disease poses a considerable burden on healthcare systems, and is likely to remain a cause of substantial morbidity and mortality for several decades. Disease prevention activities, including screening and vaccination programs, have been implemented successfully in some Asia-Pacific countries and similar measures are being established in other parts of the region. The management of hepatitis B in the Asia-Pacific varies throughout the region, with each country confronting different issues related to treatment options, disease monitoring and duration of therapy. The influence of cost, availability of diagnostic equipment, and patient awareness and compliance are of additional concern. Although guidelines such as those developed by the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver have been created to address problems encountered in the management of hepatitis B, many physicians in the region still find it difficult to make satisfactory management decisions because of the treatment choices available. This article examines the different approaches to hepatitis B management in a number of Asia-Pacific countries, and highlights the difficulties that can arise when adhering to treatment guidelines and disease prevention solutions that have proved to be successful in the region.