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This paper discusses the tendency of new voters to vote for the first time in the 15th General Election (GE15). Based on the statistics released by the Election Commission (SPR), the number of new voters who voted for the first time is around 6.2 million, of which 1.3 million are between 18 and 20 years old. Since they are a group of first-time voters, the tendency of their political support could be unclearer. Many parties wonder where their political support is headed, especially in the manycornered competition involving extensive political cooperation such as Perikatan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, and Gerakan Tanah Air. Accordingly, this paper aims to examine the tendency of new voters during the last GE15 campaign period through an online survey. The survey was conducted openly with the target of eligible voters, and 1438 respondents have given feedback. The study results show that 91 percent of the total number of respondents will go out to vote, and they tend to choose elected representatives who have integrity and are free of corruption, do not break promises, and are highly educated. Most of the group of respondents also tend to support national political trends. From that, new voters who vote for the first time have a good intensity of political literacy. Therefore, they become the determinants of changes in the current political support unrelated to political patronage elements like previous generations. They can also be catalysts for change in society in general and the country's leadership in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immediate response by countries worldwide to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 was through the implementation of border lockdown, minimizing human movements. Malaysia launched Ops Benteng (Fortress Operation) via National Task Force (NTF) as the country faced high risk transmission through under-detected illegal movements of people across the land and maritime borders. Human trafficking and smuggling has been a great concern before the pandemic, and thus posing unprecedented challenge to the Malaysian border security agencies. This paper aims to analyze the role of security agencies involved in Ops Benteng, the extent of coordination and challenges faced by NTF while implementing the border control measures. The methods include structured interview with officials from Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the Home Ministry (KDN), and the National Security Council (NSC). This studywill be the first in articulating duties and responsibilities, as well as cooperation between border control agencies and challenges faced in security governance structures. The author argues that the dilemma of compartmentalizing problems by the agencies working in silo and the bureaucratic hurdles that impede coordination efficiencies need to be addressed by all involved stakeholders and the implementation efficiency can be further enhanced by an integrated cooperation framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the reaction of members of the Malayan Communist Party towards the British administrators during the emergency in Malaya. The analysis focuses on the observation of the memoirs written by selected MCP members involved in the emergency in Malaya, 1948 - 1960. The objective of the research is to show the reaction of the members of the MCP through the guerrilla movement as well as the cooperation displayed by the masses throughout the 12 years of emergency. Hence, memoirs written by a number of selected members of the MCP such as Abdullah C.D., Suriani Abdullah, Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin, and Shamsiah Fakeh were used as the primary source of this discussion. Analyzing the memoirs of the selected members are important to identify the types of reaction displayed by the organization during the emergency as the memoirs holds the ability to clearly magnify the reactions discussed in this paper. The memoirs were observed, interpreted and arranged in a single chronology supported by objective argumentation and notes from the primary documents sourced from the archive. The archive sources were retrieved from the National Archive of Malaysia, The National Archive (TNA), London as well as National Archive of Singapore along with documents in the form of newspaper. The document consists of foreign offices files (FO 800), the colonial files (FCO 141) as well as the cabinet files of the British government (CAB). This paper therefore, conclude that memoirs of the selected MCP members has the ability to show the reactions of the MCP on the national state of emergency declared by the British administrators in order to present an objective historical discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The employment relationship is a contemporary concept compared to industrial relations. Moreover, employment relationships include employer-employee relations, institutions and power. Therefore, this study examines the literature that is in line with trends and developments from time to time about trade unions and the employment relationship. Besides, the literature on trade unions and employment relationships in the Malaysian language and scope of political science are still lacking. Thus, all papers related to the two topics including democracy was identified. This study considers both qualitative and quantitative research papers. The year limitation for this literature review is from 2001 to 2021 to see trends and developments on this topic in the last 20 years. Following on from that, this study finds that the factors of trade union membership, trade union density, organizing and recruiting, trade union challenges, union democracy, employer tactics, and the role of the State are discourses that are consistently discussed among scholars in various countries. This consistency suggests that the theme of trade unions is well established in the employment relationship literature because trade unions to this day remain seen as the most relevant actor in fighting for workers' rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to demonstrate another side of the history of secular education in the Malay States in the 1940s and 1950s. The focal point of this paper is on the discussions published in the Malay magazines and newspapers on the responsibility of the teachers to enhance methodology of their teachings. This is a library research and conducted based on qualitative approach. Information derived from the Malay magazines such as Majalah Guru, Panduan Raayat, Sahabat and Bintang Malaya. Besides that, secondary sources like books and articles had also consulted. Documents consulted demonstrate that teachers were required to have a charismatic personality and creative in their teachings. Governments paid special attention to the issues related to education and tried to eradicate illiteracy through radio broadcasting program. In summary, discussions on teaching methods and strategies as well as teachers' personality traits published in Malay periodicals in this period of study contain valuable information for those involved ineducational field today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Johor Sultanate emerged in the 16th century as the heir of the Malay Sultanate of Melaka. This paper examines the consolidation of Johor's authority from its founding up to the new era of politics and administration in the 18th century. The Johor Sultanate was one of the rising powers in the Malay World. To the Malays, the nexus, focal point, and execution of power began and end with the palace. This power encompasses not only politics and administration, but the socio-economic aspects as well. With this in mind, the objective of this paper is to discuss the extent of the Johor Sultanate's enduring presence from 1528 to the 18th century (in fact, even to the present), and also explain the significance of the 'sultan' as the pillar of Malay authority. The final objective is to assess how the Johor Sultanate became an influential Malay power among the competing regional and foreign powers for centuries. This paper uses the qualitative method based on historical discipline. Therefore, the library research method was used, with the author's exhaustive consultation of Malay manuscripts and authoritative secondary sources. This study found that overall, the political and administrative developments in the Johor Sultanate within the period in question saw many ups and downs. However, the sultanate endured as the symbol of Malay power from 1528 to the 18th century. The position of the 'sultan' as the pillar of Malay authority remained, even with conflicts of succession and dynastic changes. Therefore, the Johor Sultanate remained among the most influential powers in the Malay World, alongside their competition such as Aceh, Jambi, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and other political entities. This was achieved through an organised political and administrative system, as well as well-planned diplomatic relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses an Indonesian woman named Noer Nahar who struggled and sacrificed time and money to help her husband, Natsir achieve his ambition of developing a modern religious school known as the Pendis School (1932-1942) during the Dutch colonial era, specifically in Java. The article examines the role and character of a modern woman in the struggle to shape awareness in children and women in terms of education, nationalism and the emancipation of Indonesian women. According to Noer Nahar, the Indonesians were not only weak in general knowledge of the world, their religious knowledge too was not properly developed in the modern education system. Based on these problems, the main objective of this study is to analyze the role of Noer Nahar's struggles in establishing a modern religious school, known as the Pendis School in West Java. The question now is, did Noer Nahar's struggles to form such a school, succeed? The discussion in this paper is based on the analysis of various resources spanning from private letters, work papers and interviews, to the archival research method based study that analysed Dutch documents. This research employed materials and data from the National Archives of Indonesia, the National Library of Indonesia and the Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah of Indonesia. This paper traces Noer Nahar's struggle in developing a modern religious school despite not getting any support from the Dutch colonial regime. As a female teacher, she also fostered education through Indonesian nationalism to her students for the ultimate purpose of obtaining Indonesian independence. This writing highlights Indonesian women figures in the folds of history for public knowledge and awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Jardine Matheson & Co.'s (JM) response to the riots, strikes, and boycotts that the Chinese people, particularly the workers, engaged in from 1925 to 1926. The occurrence was widespread and lasted for a considerable amount of time. spreading from the south to other regions. The British were a prime target of protests, strikes, and boycotts. JM became one of the British companies that were immediately impacted by the disaster as a result. JM's business's shipping, port, and manufacturing sectors were severely disrupted and destroyed.JM suffered a large loss because of the riot's property damage. JM was also required to comply with the workers' requests for pay increases. To defend JM's position and business interests in China, JM reacted to the incident because of the circumstance. Therefore, qualitative research methods and library research were utilized to examine JM's response to episodes of riots, strikes, and boycotts that happened throughout the time covered by this paper. Primary sources for the study included letters, reports from the London Foreign Office (FO371), meeting materials and minutes from the JM Company, and British business organizations including the China Association. While secondary sources are the results of earlier research, including books and journals. Both sources were used in the creation of this article. The results of this study are expected to add to the corpus of additional knowledge in the study of modern Chinese history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1970s, the government has been focusing on building unity among multi-racial communities. This is being taken seriously through the implementation of several key policies such as the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the National Cultural Policy. The goal of both policies is to create an ambitious National Unity. One of the elements contained in the National Cultural Policy relates to sports activities. Through sports activities, the government believes that it can foster inter-racial relations, in addition to fostering common sense and at the same time stimulating the spirit of nationalism among societies. However, it should be noted that the scope of sports activities is too broad to explore. In addition, studies about it have received little attention from local scholars, although they are widely reported. Because of this, it is important to choose the main aspects of sports activities to be the topic of discussion. Therefore, this paper focuses on the existence of a group of football supporters who call themselves Ultras Malaya. Since 2007, the involvement of Ultras Malaya has shown a lot of light that the sport of football is capable of bridging race relations. It has been shown by the attitude of the group. To see these things, it is very important to go back to the history of the establishment of Ultras Malaya and also require that the aspect of uniqueness displayed by Ultras Malaya that can be used as a medium for integration platrorm. This paper uses a qualitative approach. While primary data were obtained based on interviews with the Ultras Malaya coordinator, apart from the direct involvement of the authors in the group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the existence of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) in Sabah and its achievements in the General Elections (GE) from 1986 to 2018. Thus, the historical research design is used by examining newspapers, election reports and interviews. Respondents chosen for the interview are individuals who have been directly involved in early political movements of PAS to provide a new narrative of Sabah political landscape. The results showed that the existence of PAS in Sabah and its achievements in election results were inconsistent and showed a decrease despite a slight overall national increment during the 2008 and 2013 general elections. During these elections, UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) and PKR (The People's Justice Party) showed vertical increment, whereas PAS has shown horizontal and unchanged election results. The lack of political dynamism and direction as well as poor reconciliation with other dominant political parties at the state or national level were two of major issues surrounding PAS that made it difficult to win the election. It is hoped that this paper will guide political leaders from Malaysian Peninsula who wish to extend their party to Sabah as well as setting the party's direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the role of newspaper reports by the New York Times and Washington Post on the anti-palm oil campaign on Malaysia-U.S trade relations concerning anti-palm oil campaign. The campaign was initiated by the American Soybean Association (ASA), the American Heart Association (AHA), the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the National Heart Savers Association (NHSA), with the support of newspaper reports mainly from the New York Times and Washington Post. This paper posits that the campaign published by the newspapers affected the Malaysia-U.S trading relationship, in particular, in relation to palm oil imports and exports. The historical research method was employed for this study analyses both primary and secondary data. In addition, interviews were conducted to validate the findings. This study is crucial in filling the gap in the literature on the anti-palm oil campaign published in newspapers and its impact on Malaysia-U.S. relations. At present, the anti-palm oil campaign remains on the agenda of developed countries and other international green peace groups. The Malaysian government has remained as an active player in promoting the palm oil industry in the U.S. and European countries. This research demonstrates that newspaper reports influenced members of the U.S. Congress to propose a bill on the labeling of tropical oils. Palm oil is seen as a source of saturated fats, which poses a health risk. Newspaper reports were also used as evidence to garner support for the bill in Congress. This anti-oil palm campaign led to a decline in Malaysian palm oil exports to the U.S. These newspaper reports led to tensions in Malaysia, and the anti-palm oil campaign is perceived as an "act of war in a foreign country". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the beads: total 216 beads, in the form of shapes, colors, size, weight and its transparences. In archeological context, beads is a small artifact the contribute and important role in the reconstruction of local cultural history. Beads found in any site does not emerge on its own, but it has their own function and purpose. The writing of this paper, mainly focus on glass beads. The beads are found a Trench I in Pulau Kelumpang which was found by writer during his researched in 1989. The result of this analysis shows in it own form: size and weight, although they are from same material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will approach the development of Alor Setar as a commercial centre in the era between 1735-1909. Within this context, the advancement of this city will be plotted from the aspect of the commercial activities being conducted as well as the factors that triggered the growth of a better and rapid-growing Alor Setar. This study uses the qualitative measurement which involves the collection and data analysis from primary sources obtained from the National Archive of Malaysia such as letters sent by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa to Francis Light, Reminders from the Rulers of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Hamid's Letters and CO 716, Kedah/Perlis Sessional Papers, 1905-1937. The outcome of this study shows that since the year of 1735, when Alor Setar began its operation as the state administration centre, the city had become the hub for local people and also foreigners. Within this period of time, there was evidence of hasty trading activities between Alor Setar and foreign traders from Penang, India and China. Among the commodities being merchandised were food supplies namely rice, farm animals and woods. The consequence of these transactions provided a large sum of income to Kedah state. In addition, the commercial activities in Alor Setar had been enhanced with the presence of trading emporiums which allotted stores selling assorted items, for example the pawn shop, textile stores and groceries stores. The existence of Alor Setar as a rapid-growing commercial centre was contributed by several factors such as the effectiveness of administration, the efficiency of town safety control, the sophistication of the communication and transportation system, the competency of health control system and also the presence of town port. These indeed have become the undeniably alluring attractions for traders to pursue their trading business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers are an important political socialization agent in assisting the process of fostering ethnic unity among students. At primary school level, teachers act as influential political socialization agents in nurturing awareness of students at their early age on the importance of ethnic unity especially in the context of a multi-ethnic society in Malaysia. However, the process of fostering ethnic unity in Malaysia generally, and at the primary school level in particular, is still faced with various challenges and obstacles. Hence, this paper discusses the barriers to the role of teachers as effective political socialization agents from the aspect of school administration practices in shaping ethnic unity at the primary school level. The data collection process for this study was carried out through focus group discussions method involving 16 Malay, Chinese and Indian teachers from National School (SK), The Chinese National Type School (SJKC) and Tamil (SJKT) in Petaling district, Selangor. The results found that there are three factors of administrative practices that hinder teachers in playing a role as agents of ethnic unity that can affect the process of fostering the values of unity in a school. First, teacher separation system throught double-session schooling system; second, grouping of teachers in teacher's office by subject; and thirdly, the focus more on syllabus than other aspects such as ethnic unity in school. This study found that these three factors contribute to the existence of ethnic gaps among teachers, but also at the same time become an obstacle to the role of teachers as effective agents of ethnic unity in schools. Hence, the school should pay attention to this issue and raise awareness of all school members on the importance of ethnic unity in the institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kedah is a state with a history in the agricultural sector, such as rice and cassava production, since before the arrival of the British. However, the rubber started to be brought in after the British intervention in 1909, prompting many European and Chinese investors to open rubber plantations on a large scale. Until the beginning of the Second World War in 1941, the production of rubber cultivation overgrew. This paper aims to investigate the extent of the role and contribution of the Chinese in the Kedah rubber plantation sector from 1909 to 1941. This research highlights the method of content analysis as a key data collection method on the history of the Chinese in Kedah through The National Archives of Malaysia for data analysis on the function and contribution of the rubber cultivation field. The results of the study found that the Chinese were involved in developing the rubber plantation sector since the beginning rubber was introduced in 1909. Besides, they are also entrepreneurs and owners of rubber plantations. Up to 1930, the acreage of rubber plantations owned by the Chinese in Kedah exceeds another race such as Malay and India. Chinese workers were also brought in to further boost the rubber plantation sector. The Chinese also established associations among rubber entrepreneurs to look after the welfare of each other. Subsequently, several policies involving rubber cultivation were introduced by the British such as the introduction of ownership licenses and the sale of rubber. As a result, the significant involvement of the Chinese in the rubber plantation sector has increased the economic output of the state of Kedah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mainstream rise of "bundle" clothing consumption in Malaysia mirrors the global trend of thrift shopping. Theories about this phenomenon range from the birth of recessionistas, to environmental conservation and identity construction. In this paper, I examine the trend of "selam bundle", or diving into clothingbundles in thrift shops, where people deliberately purchase material goods to communicate their fashion tastes to the public. Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and field are also used to elucidate this phenomenon. I theorise that the act of thrift shopping, or "selam bundle" here is not caused entirely due to a lack of funds based on social class, as individuals from various levels of income participate in this activity. Instead, I view "selam bundle" as an act of increasing one's "street cred" or social capital, where the more unique the find, the more "street cred" one achieves. This is also an activity that is common among the hipster subculture. Observations about thrift shopping or "selam bundle" were made using a mixed-method approach, combining visits to thrift stores, watching YouTube videos of thrift bloggers, reading their blogs, obtaining newspaper interviews and feature stories about thrift shoppers and thrift shops, and obtaining data from social media, as well as data from a large-scale survey titled Platform Integrasi:Pendekatan 'Top-Down' dan 'Bottom-Up' Dalam Mendepani Cabaran Kesepaduan Sosial (Integration Platforms: 'Top-Down' and 'Bottom-Up' Approaches to Facing Challenges in Social Cohesion). As this is a shopping act that transcends the usual social categories of social class, I theorise that "selam bundle" can be seen as a potential platform of social integration, driven by the grassroots or everyday-defined approach to constructing identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the world economy created its own footprint as a result of the phenomenon. 1/3 of that economic space is owned by the informal economy also referred to as the Local Economy or System D. The increasingly sophisticated and world-class phenomenon takes the place of the economic space left by the formal economy. The manipulation of the vast resources, the dynamic practices that take place in the legal and illegal dimensions, provide a guarantee of employment shadowed by survival. This paper traces the phenomenon occurring on the Sebatik Islands of Malaysia and Indonesia. The research approach is qualitative based on the interviews of key informants. The results suggest that this phenomenon occurs due to the fact that economic space and opportunities can be exploited for the sake of sustainability in meeting economic demands, especially marginalized groups at the border that ultimately establish a local integration of kinship relations beyond ethnicity, identity and ethnic boundaries itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The refugee's narrative in Malaysia is unforeseen because most of them live in vulnerability without essential necessities such as shelters, foods, financial issues, difficulties in getting medical treatment and children living sans formal education. The instability of the refugee life has attracted the attention of many actors notably NGOs, to provide humanitarian assistance. Therefore, this paper sheds light on identifying the role of NGOs in alleviating refugee suffering and concurrently to explore how their participation contributes to community integration. This study is a case study that adopted a qualitative approach through a semi-structured interview with four MyCARE's officers and participant observation. The selection of organization has been made based on the active participation of refugees in Malaysia since its establishment. The findings show that forms of humanitarian assistance are subsistence assistance, food packs, health care, education, counselling, self-reliance and qurban have greatly reduced the burden of refugees. The NGOs involvement, activities, foreign partnerships, recipient, distribution across the globe, charitable, government support through this humanitarian activities have found elements of religious, ethnic, ethnic, gender, age and power to share in unity and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of the South China Sea disputes must consider the "hedging" behavior of the claimant and non-claimant countries. This behavior is characterized by an insistence on not aligning with any of the competing powers, through intentionally contradictory actions to offset multiple risks, or through a continuous effort to maintain a fallback position. Indeed, in the face of China's increasingly assertive actions and U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, nearly all the states in the region have avoided "balancing" (fully aligning with the U.S. to check China) and none of them have adopted "bandwagoning" (fully aligning with China for economic reasons but at the expense of autonomy and other national interests). Instead the Southeast Asian states have insisted on hedging. This paper argues that this proclivity to hedge is a result of both structural and domestic factors. Structurally, the high uncertainties surrounding China's intentions, U.S. commitment, and future U.S.-China ties have compelled the smaller states to avoid putting all their eggs in either power's basket. Domestically, for their political legitimation, the ruling elites in the states hedge to offset multiple risks and pursue mixed policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses diaspora and the media, in particular how a diasporic society uses citizen journalism when discussing the practice of democracy in their native country. Recent studies have revealed the significance of citizen journalism compared to mainstream and traditional media and this paper aims to consider the phenomenon by comparing African diasporic citizen journalism with that of Malaysia. Both countries have high levels of active citizen journalism which has been found to be influential. However, current statistics suggest that Malaysia has overtaken Africa in numbers of citizen journalists and output and uniquely, tends to be practiced by resident Malaysians. This paper suggests that a more in-depth study of the practice in Malaysia could lead to the development of a positive citizen journalism culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The situation and the issue of cooperation between the Kedah Government and the Perlis Government in developing domestic water supply in Perlis from 1969 until 1978 had various interests in both parties. With this cooperation, the development of domestic water supply in the state of Perlis can be implemented in accordance with the planned planning for a long time. In addition, with this partnership, Perlis had a dependency on the procurement of clean water from Kedah for domestic purpose. There are many steps and stages that had been implemented during this collaboration. Therefore, this paper will discuss the problems and issues of water shortage in Perlis, the form of cooperation between the Kedah Government and the Perlis Government, the domestic water supply project implemented in Perlis, the impact and benefits of the cooperation between the Kedah and the Perlis Government in developing domestic water supply in Perlis. This research started from 1969 because during the year the official relationship between the Kedah and the Perlis Government was established in developing the domestic water supply system in Perlis. This research ended in 1978 as the water supply development project implemented was fully completed according to the designated plan. This research obtained research materials and datas at National Archives of Kedah/Perlis Branch, National Archives of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Kedah Public Library, University of Malaya Library and Kedah Water Company (SADA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the history, development and experiences of the propaganda agencies in Malaysia during the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation, 1963-1966. The discourse, however, commences from their development since the years of Emergency, 1948-1960. This is crucial for obtaining earlier information as the British has already started the initiatives to establish and aknowledge the importance of the propaganda agencies. They evolved from colonial information bodies to official government propaganda agencies after Independence. The executors also shifted from the British colonial officer to the local officers. The second section of this article focusses on the execution of the propaganda and psychological plans during the confrontation. Based on the past experiences during the emergency, the Ministry of Information and its subordinate, the Psychological Warfare Section, have formulated and launched series of systematic propaganda. Films, campaigns, and mass rallies were used to instil patriotism in propaganda. The principal aim was to inculcate the people's confidence towards the ruling government and simultaneously, hostile to the enemies. As a result, the government was able to mobilize the supports from the locals as well internationals. This article uses mainly the primary sources located from the Malaysia National Archive such as newspapers, magazines, the government papers and parliamentary reports. This article concludes that the propaganda agencies played a significant role in both the Emergency and the Confrontation. The experiences gained during the emergency period served as foundation to launch more efficient propaganda during the confrontation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an analysis of the evolution and changes that occurred in public procurement in Malaysia from two eras, namely the era of British colonialism and the era of the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP). The targeted objective is to examine the changes that occurred in public procurement during the period, analyze the reasons and factors why those changes occurred and then the impact that was left behind. This is important because the public procurement policy in those two periods has become the basis of the government procurement system in Malaysia today. Political and the direction of the government were found to play a role in shaping the form of public procurement in both eras and it was systematically legitimized. The British have made public spending run according to their mold and direction even though the sultan is still the supreme ruler of a state. Through the term “advising” versus “directing” in managing the administration, the British established the Federal Assembly as a legitimate control tool to govern and dominate the financial administration in their colonial states. Crown agents played an important role in public procurement representing the supreme British government in London and this continued until after independence. NEP which was launched in 1971 witnessed an important transition where there was a clear role for the government by being more actively involved in the national development agenda through public procurement. This happens through affirmative policies in the form of legislation, bureaucratic frameworks and quota systems. This has had an impact on the country’s public procurement policy until now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 12th General Election has revealed drastic changes in the Malaysian political landscape, in particular the success of the opposition party (Pakatan Rakyat) in gaining control over several states in Malaysia, including Selangor. This success has enabled Pakatan Rakyat to govern at a state level, a commitment that includes, fulfilling their campaign promise to return democracy at the local level before their five-year term ends. Nonetheless, the very fact of the five year's ruling demonstrates that Pakatan Rakyat had previously failed to bring back democratic local elections in Selangor, in accordance with their promise they made at the 12th General Election. With regard to this issue, this paper attempts to identify the factors that have restrained local elections from being properly revived in Malaysia, specifically Selangor. The recent election result demonstrates that a number of factors have contributed to this failure, including legal constraints, the disapproval of the Federal Government, financial issues, and the reluctance of the Election Commission to properly manage local elections in Selangor. Furthermore, this paper also argues that a lack of consensus among Pakatan Rakyat members regarding this issue has indirectly hindered the restoration of democratic local elections in Selangor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political and economic development was related apparently in the political and economic history of Terengganu. Since the first elections held in 1955 until the election of 1969, the people of Terengganu have shown their concern when choosing leaders whose they trust to develop the state, both physically and spiritually. This paper aims, to assess the attitudes and sensibilities of the people Terengganu in assessing the performance and personality of the political leaders who have been elected to represent them. The discussion in this paper is centered on the political developments ranging from elections held during the period. This discussion is based on government documents and resources from private collections and the results show that the ruling party will be evaluated by their success in achieving the goals as promised in the election manifestoes. In the manifestoes of the political parties contesting, the economic aspect is one of the key issues highlighted to gain support. Hence, the focus of this paper is to evaluate the economic development of Terengganu and the performance of the ruling party. This study found that economic development and the performance of elected leaders is a priority of the people Terengganu in choosing their political leaders and it was show in the electoral boxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dramatic changes taking place in Indonesian politics since the fall of Soeharto's autocratic regime has resulted in Indonesia's political space becoming more open and democracy beginning to flourishagain in the country. Local politics that were previously restricted and not allowed during Soeharto's time began to open up andlocal people began to regain autonomy in their respective districts. This paper discusses and analyzes subnational politics in Indonesia before and after the political transformation of 1998. The aimis to portray the political changes at the subnational level during both periods. This paper argues that during the New Order era, the centralized system of government is the main factor that hindered the growth of a vibrant democracy at the local level. This is because the centralization of power gave rise to two things. On the one hand, this established a collaboration between the central and local elites to maintain the central power, and on the other hand, it also led to opposition from other local elites who became known as the 'local strongmen. The effect that arose from the colloboration of central elite and local strongmen is the cooptation of political democracy at the subnational level. During the Reformasi Order, the expectation that the collaboration ofcentral elite and local strongmen will change did not happen and this led to the emergence of new political dynasties in some districts. Thus, political reform that is expected to bring about total changes to the Indonesian politics remains. This led to the perceived changes to remain an illusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the history and evolution of the actuarial profession. In Ancient Roman Empire, the title actuarius was given to the secretary of the Senate, responsible for compiling the Acta Senatus. In addition to duties as a secretary of the Senate, actuarius also refers to the Roman Empire’s officials who manage the daily record of the government for publication in the Acta Diurna. As time passed, the role of the actuarius continued to expand until the Eastern Roman Empire where actuarius was also involved with the distribution of wages and provisions to the Roman military. In the 18th century, the term actuary which was derived from the Latin actuarius was adopted for the Chief Official to refer to a position as a mathematician in a life insurance company. The profession continues to grow and develop where actuarial science is needed in various areas including general insurance, pensions and social security, investment and modern financial economics. This paper also explores the history and development of the actuarial profession in Malaysia, before and after independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although NGOs are certified as successful actors in uplifting the value of human life, scholars state that there is a vital issue behind it, needs to be focused on, namely the transparency of organizational accountability. This study aspires to unravel the types of behavior that contribute to non-transparency involving organizational accountability. A qualitative approach by interviewing informants who are directly involved in NGO work, the study has been able to answer that the behavior tends to nontransparency in NGOs involves distrust in financial management, not reporting financial among NGOs staff and to outsiders and doubting the percentage of donations taken by the organization. Indirectly, the findings of these three characteristics exposure to NGOs to avoid them in order to maintain the credibility of accountability. We believe, the success of humanitarian asistance depends on good governance. The information shared by NGOs regarding the results of donations, accountability of expenses, projects and the impact obtained is intended to show their efficiency and effectiveness thus attracting the attention of donors to obtain donations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Second World War in 1945, economic and social development began to develop. In Peninsular Malaysia, fishing is one of the economic sectors that is recovering, which can be seen based on the development of input and output data trends. The development of fishery sector input data such as the number of fishermen, boats and fishing equipment and output data such as fish landing data and fishery product trade since 1947 to 2009 has reflected the policy objectives implemented by the authorities. Various issues and problems occurred since after the Second World War until 2009 have led to the introduction of various policies by the government to solve the problems that occur and improve the development program of the fisheries sector. This writing uses primary data from the Annual Report of Fisheries, Department of Fisheries Malaysia for various years. The time series data is analyzed using Microsoft Excel software to build graphs that can show data trends. The policy introduced by the government will affect the fluctuation of input and output of the fisheries sector in Peninsular Malaysia. The results of data analysis show three main trends in the development of the fisheries sector in Peninsular Malaysia that reflect the influence of policy. The first trend of the early development policy stage with the main objective of modernization of inputs (Fishing gear and boats), the second trend of rapid development of technology and fishing efforts that reflects the policy emphasis to exploit resources on a large scale to meet domestic and foreign demand. The third stage trend is the emergence of the problem of overexploitation, pollution and destruction of the marine environment. At the last level, the emphasis of the policy is to reduce the overexploitation of resources and protect the marine environment. In summary, the government's policy emphasis during the period 1947-1964 was based on modernization objectives, 1965-1981 emphasis on mass production objectives and 1982-2009 emphasis on resource and environment conservation objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the position of the labour market and the living standards in the Federated Malay States (FMS) during the Great Depression. The collapse of the European market since the end of 1929 directly impacted the economic growth of the FMS which depended on it to export raw materials. This form of dependency is one of the effects of the implementation of imperial economic policies in the FMS that integrates the colonial economic structure with the global economy. This situation allows the FMS to emerge as one of the major exporters of raw materials in the world. Although the issue of the FMS' economic development has received attention among the historian, the issue of living standards and labour markets has not been studied deeply in previous studies. Therefore, this article explores both issues by proving the inequalities of employment opportunities and wage rates among laborers in the FMS during the depression. The FMS Government administrative records and CO576 colonial records were used to examine colonial policies related to the labour market and living standards. These two sources record empirical data that prove the phenomenon of disparity in both sectors. The results of the study found that the fall in the export economy of the FMS had a relative impact on job opportunities and the unemployment rate of workers. In any case, the protection policy only benefits the skilled workers who are dominated by immigrant labour. This group is also protected by the enforcement of the minimum wage rate by the FMS government. The purpose is to ensure that the colonial economic sector in the FMS continues to operate despite the economic recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decision of the Malaysian government to make it compulsory for students to pass History at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia level in 2012 has attracted a positive response from Malaysian people. General public opinion on making history compulsory seems favourable on all sides of the social and political spectrum, but there remain many questions to be answered regarding the content of the history syllabus. Certain quarters have pushed for a re-evaluation of the syllabus that includes, amongst other things, the history of each Malaysian race and its leaders. This paper provides a comparison of the successes and failures of history education in developed countries including Britain, Australia and Canada, to consider whether Malaysia can learn from their experiences. It also provides an evaluation of Malaysia's history syllabus at Form Five level, particularly in terms of what, should properly constitute Malaysian history, as well as exploring the relevance of history teaching to the country's educational objectives. Finally, it explores problems of teaching history at school level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses bilateral relations between Malaysia and Singapore in the context of the water dispute. The dispute began when Malaysia proposed to review the sale price of water to Singapore before continuing with signing a new water agreement. However, Singapore rejected the Malaysian claim because the latter did not doing it in 1987 as stipulated. Malaysia protested against the Singapore's attitude because it felt that the review of the sale price of water can be carried out any time after the 25 years, while Singapore argued that the review should be done every 25 years. The different interpretations by the two countries on clauses 17 and 14 of the 1961 and 1962 Water Agreements caused the emergence of the strained bilateral relations. This tension heightened due to the roles of factors outside the 1961 and 1962 water agreement such as rights of mutual agreement, water pricing formula, the determination of the quantity of water, the component package system, the setting of the water price review period, the attitude of the leaders and role of the media. Therefore, to determine the extent to which relations between Malaysia and Singapore is affected by the water dispute issue, the paper discusses the role of the 1961 and 1962 Water Agreements in the bilateral relations of both counties. The main argument of this article is that the refusal of both countries to compromise in the the water agreement dispute causes the problem to be difficult to resolve, thus creating tension bilateral relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon being elected as Prime Minister in 2003, Abdullah Badawi promised to make changes in the political and administrative aspects. However, four years into his leadership, the promise remained unfulfilled and this led to the dissatisfaction among the people. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the emergence of civil disobedience during Abdullah Badawi's era and its impact upon the election and democratization process. This article argues that civil disobedience occurred due to four factors, namely unfulfilled promise to reform, economic problem, corruption in government and the government's failure to handle racial issues. Consequently, the National Front coalition failed to gain the two-thirds majority of seats during the 2008 parliamentary general elections and at the same time lost five states to the opposition. Second, even though the emergence of civil disobedience failed to create a change of government, however, it has been able to give birth to cyber democracy and create awareness among Malaysians to challenge the Abdullah Badawi's leadership of the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The election of Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono (SBY) as Indonesia's president in 2004 gave rise to the expectation that the level of professionalism of the Indonesian military will also improve. This prospect is based on his background as a former senior military officer who has the experience to spear head the reform process, but this expectation proved wrong. Although the military no longer intervenes in national politics as had happened in the past, but the former's continued engagement in business, politics and state owned enterprises is seen as an obstacle to the restoration of professionalism in the military. Therefore, in order to understand and analyse the level of military professionalism in SBY's presidency, this paper discusses the level of military involvement in Indonesia's political affairs, business, elections and the former's sensitivity towards human rights. In addition, this article will also discuss the steps taken by SBY in reforming the military during his reign. The main argument of this article is that military professionalism in Indonesia during President SBY's rule is slowly improving, although the pace by which this improves is rather slow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of the relationship between politics and business ahead of the 15th General Election in Malaysia is very interesting to be analyzed. The fall of Barisan Nasional (BN) in the previous 14th General Election has ended the dominance of the coalition of parties that dominated the accumulation and concentration of wealth at the federal level through the practice of patronage politics in Malaysia since independence. In addition to ending BN's dominance, GE-14 also opened critical awareness among the masses about political funding and the relationship between politics and business, especially following the biggest kleptocracy scandals in history, namely 1MDB and Najib Razak. Through secondary data, this study analyzes the relationship between politics and business through the perspective of the elite who lead the parties in the 15th General Election. The findings of the relationship between the political elite and business are analyzed through the aspects of direct ownership of the political elite in private companies, ownership of the political elite in governmentlinked companies (GLC), ownership of the closest family members of the political elite in private companies and GLCs, as well as ownership of the closest friends of the political elite in private companies and GLC. This study also reflects the implications of the relationship between the political elite and business from the point of view of the equality of political funding which is quite critical for fair political competition in a democratic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice-planting is synonymous with the Kedah Malays to present times. Paddy is the lifeblood of the majority of Malays in the state for ages. Interestingly, British control over Kedah since 1909 witnessed how, for the first time in Kedah history, the Malays were explicitly compelled by the government to remain in this activity. This new arrangement was clearly evident with the implementation of strict rice-land policies, especially throughout the period 1917-1932. The focus of this research is twofold: firstly, to evaluate the implementation of rice land policies during the period in question, and secondly, to analyse Malay form of reaction to this issue. To answer both questions, this study uses the qualitative method by focusing on Kedah State Secretary Files and the State of Kedah Annual Reports. Based on the analysis of implementation of rice land policies by the Kedah land administration, and the ensuing Malay reaction towards the government in 1917-1932, the implementation of these rice land policies ensured Malay retention in this traditional activity. Unfortunately, a large number of Malays suffered negative effects from these policies. The lower classes were proscribed by the government from opening and working their land as they please, and risked harsh government penalties for failure to adhere to the set policies. In contrast, the Malay elites continued their monopoly of rice lands due to government policy of maintaining their land-owning privileges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the First World War, the British needed a cheap supply of raw materials to support the mother country's industry sector keeps operating. Hence, the imperial economic policy was implemented in the colonies which caused the colonial economic activities to be subordinated to the metropolitan. Following this development, this article analyses the form of metropolitan control over Malaya's agricultural sector through the role played by the Department of Agriculture. The impact of this control is assessed based on the diversity of colonial agriculture that then leads to the development of tropical crops besides rubber. The development of oil palm, coconut and tea as commercial crops is influenced by high demand in the empire market, especially in London. This study uses CO 717 and 576 records to prove metropolitan control over the Department of Agriculture's operations, while the Federated Malay States (FMS) report is used to analyse the impact of colonial agricultural diversity in Malaya. This study found that colonial agricultural diversity is more dominant in the FMS which is the major exporter of tropical commodities from Malaya. For this reason, the British only combined the administration of the FMS' Agriculture Department with the Straits Settlements, whereas the Unfederated Malay States only received the services of the Department of Agriculture from the FMS. Although the Department of Agriculture plays a significant role in carrying out agriculture research, the outcome of the development of commercial agriculture was only dominated by European planters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the transition of Japanese administration to Thailand and its impact on the Malay elite in Kedah, 1942-1945. The scope of this article covers the era of Japanese administration in Kedah and after Japan handed over Kedah administration to Thailand on 18th October 1943 until the end of Japanese defeat in 1945. Later, Thailand voluntarily handed over administration in the Northern Malay States to the British on 15th August 1945. Qualitative methods were used to produce this article by analyzing primary sources such as government files, newspapers, maps, documents and others. The results of the study found that the changes in the Japanese administration and the Thai government in Kedah have affected the Malay elite in Kedah. The position of the Sultan is not recognized unless it is used as a religious symbol for the people. Similarly, with other elites, most of them fled because they did not want to cooperate with Japan. After the administration was handed over to the Thai government, the position of Kedah’s elite was not difficult compared to the Japanese administration. Administrative power was returned to the public administration. Montri Spa was created and the power of the Sultan as head of state was restored. The Thai government only acted to continue what the British had done with the advice of a Thai adviser stationed in Kedah. Everything discussed in the meeting and the decisions taken should be minute to the High Commissioner of the Army in Bangkok. In conclusion, the change of administration from Japan to Thailand in Kedah has had a direct impact on the Malay elite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay discusses the Kedah Malay text known as Salasilah atau Tarekh Kerja-an Kedah which was written by Wan Yahya Wan Mahamad Taib and printed in 1911, the issue of its discountinued printing and the texts’s contributions to Kedah historiography. Although outshined by the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa and the At- Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah (1928), this text reflects the critical view of its author, who was a senior state official, on contemporary developments in Kedah at a time when the state was hemmed by both Siam and the Britain. The research’s qualitative method is based on the perusal of primary sources located at the National Archives of Malaysia Kedah/Perlis branch, Kedah Public Library and Universiti Sains Malaysia Library. The research outcomes show that despite its criticisms of the ruler, the Salasilah atau Tarekh Ker-jaan Kedah is an important contemporary source of Kedah history which attempts to augment the position of the elite to ensure the sustainability of the Kedah monarchy in the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Melaka State Election (PRN) took place on November 20, 2021. It happened when four State Assemblymen (ADUN) (two from the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), one from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU), and one Independent representative) withdrew support from the state leadership led by Barisan Nasional (BN). This PRN has returned the mandate to the people to elect the leader of their choice. The results showed that BN regained control with a two-thirds majority victory. Thus, this article will look at several aspects from the Melaka PRN, such as the comparison of the results of the 14th General Election (GE) and the 2021 PRN in Melaka, the pattern of voter support, and an analysis of BN's victory to see if it can be used as a yardstick in the upcoming GE-15. This study found that the voter support for BN at the Melaka State Assembly (DUN) level is very high and consistent from GE 1 to GE 13 and PRN 2021. Except for GE-14, BN is comfortable with a two-thirds majority in every election. Findings show that the areas contested by BN in the Melaka PRN have improved in performance. This improvement is evident, especially among its component partners, such as the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), both of which failed to win seats in GE14. Meanwhile, the overall performance of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) has declined. Parti Islam Se Malaysia (PAS) also failed to win seats in the GE14 and PRN Melaka. The study also discovered six factor that can be utilized to determine whether the Melaka PRN can be used as a yardstick for GE-15, namely the strength of the contesting parties, manifesto, campaign and strategy, majority vote, timing, and issues. Overall, in the race to GE-15, BN has managed to outperform PH and PN in the Melaka state seat. The implication is that the opposition party is strategizing to compete in GE15, and various possibilities such as mergers or party defections, could occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arab diaspora expanded beyond its origins in the Middle East thus settling in different areas of the Islamic world. Some known as Ahl al-Bayt Hadhrami, moved from Hadramaut, home to a small number of the descendants of Prophet Muhammad SAW from the ancestry of Sayyidina Husain. They were instrumental in Islamizing the Malay world. The Ahl al-Bayt Hadhrami families particularly in the state of Pahang, played a vital role in the local community. As such, this article discusses the origins, history, and presence of Ahl al-Bayt Hadhrami in the state of Pahang, as well as their contributions to the local community via da'wah and Islamic education, trade, and local politics. To accomplish these objectives, a qualitative approach is used, which includes a library method based on literature analysis and a field work method based on interviews. Personal documents on the Ahl al-Bayt Hadhrami clans in the state of Pahang, as well as interviews with two guardians of the Ahl al-Bayt Hadhrami lineage in the states of Pahang and Terengganu are used as references. It is discovered that the Ahl al-Bayt Hadhrami clan that settled in the state of Pahang earlier on are descendants of Sayyid Ahmad b. 'Isa al-Muhajir (873M-956M). They are divided into six major kinships: al-Yahya (Ben Yahya), al-Habsyi, al-Kherid, al-Hindhuan, al-Attas, and al-Haddad and have made major contributions to the Pahang community. Their participation in trade is aimed at fulfilling their necessities and boosting the local economy while their involvement in politics is to succeed in their community proselytizing approaches. Their ongoing contribution in the fields of da'wah and Islamic education is a continuation of the legacy of the Prophet SAW. To this day, the Ahl al-Bayt Hadhrami family continues to expand and integrate into the local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the challenges faced by Chinese traders who involved in the food production sector during the period of 1900-2000. Issues such as the 1929 economic recession and the abolition of Penang's free port status left a profound impact on the Chinese food production sector in Butterworth. This situation was exacerbated by the introduction of additional taxes and the Hartal incident in Penang in 1947. 0ne of the main problems is the extend to which each of the challenges has affected the Chinese food production sector in Butterworth. This study applies the method of historical interpretation by analyzing the primary and secondary sources available in the library, Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Penang State Branch Archives, Penang State Information Department and the Companies Commission of Malaysia Penang State Branch. The results of the study found that Chinese traders who worked in the food production sector have faced various challenges in line with changes in current political issues and internal problems. However, Chinese traders who run small-scale food production businesses are not affected by the current political situation. All the issues that occurred before and after independence were not a stumbling block for them to continue their business. Even the various political issues that occurred during the period did not leave a big impact on the small-scale Chinese food production business because the capital used to run the business was low. Therefore, this study is particularly important to understand the political issues and challenges that occurred as well as the impact on Chinese business during that period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current debates on Malaysian federalism often constrained to structural and institutional discussions such as in the division of powers, fiscal federalism and the relation of centre-state governments. This article, however, attempts to add a new layer to the intellectual corpus by exploring the subject matter from a normative perspective, that is federal political culture - as a set of behavioural rules and mechanisms in managing ethnic diversity and political stability. This perspective focuses on three issues in managing an ethnically divided society, namely federalism as a morally binding agreement, federalism as social solidarity and federalism as a decentralisation of power. Using primary source through interviews and secondary sources such as scholarly works and newspapers which are qualitatively analysed, this article argues that federal political culture is central in a federal state such as Malaysia due to its compatibility with the core principles in federalism such as unity in diversity, separation of powers, autonomy and political co-operation. In the end, this article concludes that federal political culture can provide a way of thinking, actions and political cultures that meet the values of federalism and thus promotes social cohesion, territorial integrity and political stability in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses The Kerian irrigation Scheme and its impact on the paddy farmers' economy aspect in Kerian, Perak (1906-1941). The opening of Kerian Irrigation Scheme in 1906 had actually helped in the widening of the cultivating area and increase the paddy production as had been discussed in the previous writing. However, the problem lies in the details on the impact of the preparation of the irrigation scheme on the economy aspect of the paddy farmers were thorough, especially with the enforcement of "The Kerian Irrigation Enactment, 1905". In order to address the issue, this article uses both methods, namely, qualitative and quantitative methods. This article finds the costs borne by the paddy farmers kept on increasing due to the higher cost of land rental and the settlement to the irrigation scheme as a result of the enforcement of "The Kerian Irrigation Enactment, 1905". However, the paddy production was not totally exceeding or at least at par with the average requirement required by the British administration due to weather and pests' attacks. In short, from the economy aspect, the lives of the paddy farmers were not improved with the existence of the irrigation plan because of the increasing paddy cultivating costs borne by the paddy farmers. The time scope for this article begins in 1906 because The Kerian Irrigation Plan was fully opened for the use of the people in Kerian and ended in 1941 due to Japan colonisation. The primary source referred to are the official British colonial records such as Reports on the Krian Irrigation Scheme, Annual Report on Social and Economic Progress of the People of Perak and Report of the Rice Cultivation Committee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collective participation defined as action by two or more individuals in achieving mutual objectives and benefits. However, there are disagreements leading to individual participation. Disagreements can also be found in the citizen's participation in nation's defence system where there are two individual types: first, those who are highly enthusiastic in defending the nation and second, the apathetic type. Therefore, applying participating theories such as rationale logic theory and expressive logic theory is seen as capable to unravel the extent that those participations are measured either firstly based on remunerations or participation incentives or secondly on individual expressions that bears positive attributes during participation. Study data are qualitative in nature through literature involving analyses on sources such as books, journals, theses and websites. This study found that both theories have their own strengths in collectively solving the nation's defence system participation problems. However, expressive logic theory is more suitable to be practiced as it includes expression and love for the nation that surpasses the expected incentives and remunerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the roles and limitations of domestic election monitoring organizations (DEMOs) in Malaysia, which lie at the midpoint of the democracy/autocracy continuum? Although DEMOs have been active in Malaysia since GE 1990, until the 10 series of by-elections held after the historic 2018 General Election (GE 2018), they were not as prominent as legitimate third parties compared to DEMOs in several other Southeast Asian countries. This article identifies three factors that play a key role in influencing the operation of DEMOs in Malaysia: the dual character of the Malaysian electoral system, the polarisation of civil society and political complexion of DEMOs. Although the post-2018 General Election saw the Election Commission diversify the involvement of DEMOs, it ironically created a convergence among pro-Pakatan Harapan DEMOs. The findings also suggest that the three crucial factors in developing election monitoring involvement of civil society, democracy assistance and a combination of grievances and the structure of political opportunities did not play a complementary role in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines the role and contributions of the Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu Kelantan (MAIK) in the development of education in the state of Kelantan since the opening of its first school in 1917 until the end of British administration in Kelantan in 1957 following Malaya's independence. As an organization that defended the religion, customs and welfare of the Malays, MAIK managed to undertake strategies to modernize education to benefit Muslims in the state despite being plagued by colonial policies. Its administrative bureaucratization which closely emulates the British bureaucratic system in the state and in Malaya enabled MAIK to plan educational innovation in a much more systematic manner. Other than opening its own schools MAIK also managed to bring in more schools in the state to be under its umbrella. MAIK's strategy of providing English and Arabic schools show it was able to put in place a balance education that incorporate both religious and secular needs of the local society. MAIK even preceded the British in the provision of education for women. It was responsible to develop female education in Kelantan including to provide opportunities for girls to further their education overseas. This study uses a qualitative method that involves data collection and evaluation from primary sources obtained from the National Archives of Malaysia, National Library of Malaysia, MAIK Library, and Hamzah Sendut Library of Universiti Sains Malaysia. This study found that efforts to bureaucratize educational administration, the establishment of English and Arabic schools, and the empowerment of women education not only strengthen MAIK schools and enabling them to receive public support but also placed MAIK and the intellectuals behind it as important actors and agents in defending the welfare of the local society through education throughout British colonial rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the changes in Malaysia's foreign policy towards China during the Abdul Razak era from animosity to the normalisation of relations. Three questions are highlighted in this research; first, what are the factors that influence the changes in Malaysia's foreign policy towards China; second, how the three levels of analysis structure Malaysia's foreign policy towards China and third, to what extent the established relationship has an impact on the national interests of the two countries. The arguments of these three factors are analysed through three stages namely the international structure, domestic changes and the role of leaders. The neoclassical realism theory is applied in analyzing the structuring of Malaysia's foreign policy towards China during the Abdul Razak era. This research applies a qualitative method of obtaining primary data through structured interviews with key informants; an analytical method based on chronology; and supported with empirical evidence from the secondary data. Overall, this research concludes that harmony interest and pingpong diplomacy influenced the changes in Malaysia's foreign policy towards China. Although the two countries are suspicious of one another in diplomatic relations, there was an increase in comprehensive cooperation through trade and political aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aimed to analyse the main historical sources and the issues discussed by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas in his interpretation of history on the coming and spreading of Islam into the Malay World. According to Barton, the perspective and final conclusion of historian are based on the sources that he referred to. Thus, it is important to study and analyze al-Attas's sources to understand his historical interpretation. Historical and text analysis methods were applied to gather data and examine al-Attas's works, which contains historical data on the early part of Islam in the Malay World. The works are as follow, Preliminary Statement on a General Theory of the Islamization of the Malay - Indonesian Archipelago, Islam dalam Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, The Correct Date of Terengganu Inscription and particularly Historical Fact and Fiction. The study details the primer sources in his historical interpretation are the Holy Qur'an, hadis, artifacts, genealogy (silsilah, tarsila, shajarah) and classical Malay historical texts. The findings indicated that these main historical sources were selected by al-Attas due to its utmost authority in the interpretation of history on the coming and spreading of Islam to the Malay World. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Malaysia, the majority of political parties are organised along racial lines. These resulted in political rivalry, power struggle and to stand out as a champion of the party representing a certain ethnic. Therefore, in a multi-ethnic society, competing political parties need to get the votes from people from diverse etnicities to form a government. Political coalitian or political alliance is seen as an effective strategy to achieve this objective. This strategy was utilised to initiate a few political coalitions that negotiated and worked together to form a government.. This political alliance became the unifiying space for the race-based political parties to put aside their underlying interests and work to achieve a better well-being for Malaysians. Party Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) is a Malay majority and an Islamist political party. It has participated in several political coalitions. PAS managed to win higher votes in the elections compared to when the party was stand alone. Members of PAS including women fully support the decison made by the party leaders to form coalitions. This article aims to trace PAS's position in the political alliance and the role of PAS women as the party engages in political coalitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]