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This paper discusses the phenomenon of adolescent self-harming behaviour. Cases of adolescent self-harming behaviour do exist, and the number is increasing every year along with the report of mental health problems among children and adolescents issued by the Malaysian Ministry of Health through the National Health and Morbidity Survey Statistics report. This phenomenon needs to be given due attention by all parties, especially guidance and counselling teachers in schools so that the National Education Philosophy can be achieved and produce students who have good mental health and a healthy mindset. Therefore, this paper was produced in order to help guidance and counselling teachers as well as those who want to understand further the phenomenon of self-harming. paper also discusses the behaviour of teenagers who injure themselves and among the factors that are the cause of teenagers self-harming which is often associated with various psychiatric symptoms such as depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders, family factors and bereavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurs are often faced with challenges and obstacles in managing a business. Therefore, entrepreneurs must plan, manage, and implement business strategies efficiently and effectively. The Covid-19 pandemic has gravely wounded Malaysia’s economy. Small and medium enterprises (SME’s) are experiencing challenging times that led to income decline during the Movement Control Order (PKP) period implementation by the government, which resulted in business closures. This paper will discuss the challenges and issues faced by entrepreneurs during the period of PKP implemented by the government. Qualitative data collection methods were conducted through online and face to face interviews with ten (10) entrepreneurs in the state of Kedah. Additionally, data was collected using faceto-face interviews exploring the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs during this period of time. The narrative showcases that many small and medium enterprises (SME’s) are facing challenges and difficulties caused by the destruction of the Covid-19 wave. There are five main challenges and difficulties faced by small entrepreneurs during this period of time. These challenges and difficulties are categorized into five main categories which are marketing, management, production, product, and financial. Therefore, small and medium entrepreneurs’ capability in managing their businesses during a tough time depends on their resilience, especially in marketing and financial management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence has been a global phenomenon in society for ages. It is so complex and needs to be dealt with accordingly. This paper tries to discuss one of the findings from the overall, bigger study that was carried out to examine the issue of economic abuse and the financial well-being of victims of domestic violence. It attempts to explore the issues faced by victims of domestic violence from the perspective of practitioners who handle such cases. The data of this qualitative study was obtained during interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) conducted using thematic analysis. A total of fifteen staff members or practitioners in the Department of Social Welfare were asked to share their experiences in handling cases of domestic violence victims as well as financial conflicts and the economic well-being of abuse victims. The results of the study found that the issues of economic and financial abuse are focused on the issue of employment and source of income as well as the dependency of the perpetrator and the victim, the issue of the perpetrator’s negative lifestyle and the perpetrator’s control over the financial resources generated by the victim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The language load within mathematics test items can lead to inaccuracy in assessing Orang Asli pupils’ mathematical ability due to their struggle in comprehending the academic language. This study aims to determine the validity of using test accommodations in the form of oral academic language and oral native language when administering mathematics computation and word problem test items among the Orang Asli pupils. Methodology - By employing a quantitative approach, this study utilised random equivalent group design to examine the validity of using oral test accommodations among 334 Grade Four Orang Asli pupils. Three testlets were constructed and used in this study: written test in the academic language (WAL), oral test in the academic language (OAL), and oral test in the native language (ONL). The three testlets comprised Paper 1 and Paper 2, each consisting of 20 mathematics computation and 20-word problem test items, respectively. One-way ANOVA was used to analyse and examine if there were differences in the mathematics performance between the three groups of tests administered to the Orang Asli pupils. Findings - The results indicated that the test scores of the pupils on the oral tests were higher compared to the written test administered to the pupils for both mathematics computation and word problem items. For computation items, the pupils performed better in the OAL testlet, followed by the ONL testlet. On the other hand, the pupils obtained the highest test scores in the ONL testlet compared to the OAL testlet for word problem items. Furthermore, the results illustrate that there is a difference in the mathematics performance of the Orang Asli pupils between the oral tests in both languages and written tests in the academic language. Significant - This study clearly shows that language plays a prominent role in affecting the Orang Asli pupils’ mathematics performance. By utilising the oral test as a promising test accommodation, this measure could help address the language barrier faced by the Orang Asli pupils in mathematics testing.

This paper aims to evaluate the peculiarities of a mechanism utilised by the Indonesian government to conduct infrastructure development, that is, the government’s assignment of contracts to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This mechanism differs from public procurement or public-private partnership. This paper raises three questions: (1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing government assignment of contracts to SOEs? (2) What should be done to prevent the disadvantages? and (3) What lessons can be learned by other countries from the Indonesian experience? This paper employs qualitative legal research. It starts by analysing public satisfaction and dissatisfaction as reflected in the news, literature and interviews. The legal causes of dissatisfaction which are basically the problematic regulations, are then analysed. Finally, the legal principles and legal concepts enshrined within the regulations are examined to seek legal solutions. The advantages of the government’s assignment of contracts to SOEs are to simplify the tender process and to enable the government to quickly provide infrastructure. Nonetheless, the private sector feels aggrieved because the regulations that dictate when a project may be contracted to an SOE are unclear, and public funding is predominantly circulated among the SOE groups. To address these problems, the government should adhere to the globally recognised principles of equality and accountability and the concepts of competitive neutrality and the right to development. The bittersweet Indonesian experiences maybe not only the refinement of the Indonesian law and policy, but also their use as food for thought for any country considering infrastructure development.

The laws in Malaysia uphold the rights of children to participate in family law proceedings, particularly in custody disputes. However, with regard to the practice of mediation (sulh) in child custody disputes, the specific legislation that highlights measures to obtain the views of children is still vague. This paper will discuss the practice of children’s participation during mediation (sulh) in child custody disputes. The study reported in this paper has also highlighted the challenges and the adequacy of legal provisions on the practice of children’s participation during mediation (sulh). The present qualitative study has adopted a library-based research method to collect information, data, and theories from selected materials, including journal articles, textbooks, statutes, and interview methods. It also discussed how children were engaged in court-directed mediation proceedings in the Syariah Court of Malaysia. It has also examined the practice of the Syariah court in accepting the voice of children in mediation regarding decision-making in child custody dispute cases. The examination focused on the relevant legislations and policies relating to children participating in mediation in the context of international legal provisions and Syariah laws. The paper further discussed the analysis of whether the rules and procedures in Malaysia are adequate to sustain children’s participation during mediation. The data were also gathered from interviews conducted with mediators or sulh officers. Finally, the study revealed that interviewing children during sulh sessions at the Syariah Court is common even though there are no clear regulations on the practice. It is suggested that a broader interpretation of the current legislation on the voice of children enables the legality of the practice of accepting children’s voices during the Majlis Sulh. Furthermore, it is recommended that a proper standard operating procedure (SOP) for obtaining children’s views during the mediation (sulh) process is also needed.

This paper discusses the theoretical influence of key audit matter and audit quality. This paper discusses a literature study method approach to explore the possible impact of key audit matters (KAMs) and audit quality. In particular, the authors believe implementing key audit matters can largely affect audit risk, going concern evaluation and audit response procedures, which in the end can influence on audit quality. Implementation of key audit matters in Indonesia began in 2022, audit firms are strongly advised to prepare better audit working papers and mitigate audit risks. This can help them consider matters that require the auditor's significant attention, which in turn is hoped can increase the flexibility and effectiveness of communication between auditees and auditors. In addition, the author recommends that regulators or audit oversight boards require the application of boards to apply key audit matters to all audit work, not just mandatory for listed companies. It is hoped that this rule will help audit companies work more carefully in dealing with audit risks, which appear to be positively related to audit quality. As far as the author knows, limited educational study has explored the possible influence of key audit matters (KAMs) on audit quality in Indonesia. Therefore, this paper reduces the research gap in the audit literature. On the other hand, this paper can be used as a foundation for developing research instruments (e.g., questionnaires, interviews, or content analysis) to grant empirical evidence.

The current crisis as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge that requires an immediate and best response. To expand the fiscal space, the taxation system plays a very important role in addressing the revenue shortfall by the government. It is better to combat tax evasion, including illegal financial flows through a non transparent tax system such as the current consumption taxation system in Malaysia, namely the Sales Tax and Service Tax (SST). In this paper, we use the general equilibrium model (CGE) to examine the broader macroeconomic impact on the reimplementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It was found that imposing GST at a lower rate of four per cent was able to generate high government revenue and contributed about three per cent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and succeeded in increasing the level of investment. Similarly, the GST rate of six percent for the next 10 years can give more impact on government revenue. The comparison between SST and GST can be seen significantly in Malaysian macroeconomic instruments. In this spotlight, the idea of reimplementation of GST is to upgrade the government tax collection mechanism and reduce the national deficit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year Malaysia loses a very valuable workforce due to the family conflicts faced by young married women. Many studies have found that young working mothers have difficulty balancing between work and family (Delina & Raya, 2013; Pradhan, 2016; Boushey, 2016). There are various factors that drive the phenomenon. Other factors that also contribute to this problem are the inadequate provision in terms of appropriate facilities, services, and infrastructure to support the needs of women in achieving work-life balance. Life and work balance is important to increase the happiness as well as the quality of life of their families, and in turn, influence their productivity and creativity in work. A better support system will provide many options for women to choose to remain in the employment sector despite having to take care of children and manage their family life. Therefore, this paper will discuss the barriers that contribute to the problem of achieving a work-life balance for working women in Kedah. The method of this study is the interview. The study involved respondents among administrative staff and support staff in the public sector. The importance of the study is, will be able to help the important parties such as policymakers, administrators, and public agencies as well as implementers to obtain information on the views of women in Kedah in the context of their work-life balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research interest in the field of green marketing and waste management can be demonstrated through the published literature on the topic. However, there is a paucity of extensive and systematic research focusing on the evolution of this discipline in terms of its citation work. The main objective of this study is to explore the status of scholarly works on green marketing and waste management through a bibliometric citation and networking analysis of papers published from 2012 to 2021. The data was extracted from the Web of Science (WOS) utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysed (PRISMA) review process. The VOSviewer software was used to visualize the networking linkages. The findings of descriptive analysis showed that publications and citations related to green marketing and waste management are highest in 2021. Likewise, the networking analysis showed that the Science of the Total Environment journal has the highest citation counts, while Wan Yinfeng, Wang Junshi, Xu Guoping and Yi Huang are the authors with the highest citation counts, respectively. The findings also uncovered Sinosteel Wuhan Safety & Environmental Protection Research Institute (WSEPRI) as the most cited institution. Co-authorship and co-occurrence analysis were also found to provide significant discoveries. This study offers future scholars’ knowledge on the analysis of cited journals, papers, authors, institutions, and countries in the same field. Overall, the study serves as a guide for journal editorial boards on the growth among authors and networking opportunities in the field of green marketing and waste management, especially at the international level.

The present paper discusses an age-old craft practised in India named Pattu weaving. This weaving technique is based on the extra weft weave design. Along with the ground warp and weft, few extra bright colored yarns are used in this technique to weave beautiful motifs on the fabric during the weaving process. The craft follows the sustainable way of fabric manufacturing as the fabrics are made on the handloom and follow the traditional ways for pre-weaving process also. The craft becomes more relevant in the present scenario considering the fact that for the last few decades unsustainable practices have increased drastically due to the imbalance of demand and supply, scarcity of natural resources, advent of unsustainable technologies among the other factors. While traditionally, sustainable practices were an integral part of the lifestyle of human beings and balanced the eco-system of the earth. One of the ways for balancing the natural energy consumption is utilization of all natural resources wisely by reinventing traditional craft practices. Hence, the present study focuses on the materials, tools, techniques and processes used in the Pattu weaving craft. PASTLE analysis of the craft has also been done to understand the opportunity and challenges of the craft. Along with this, a comparative analysis of the traditional and contemporary raw materials, techniques, motifs, colour range and application of the craft have also been covered in this paper. For this study, the primary research is based on the information that was collected during Craft Research Documentation activity funded by the Ministry of Textiles, India. Data from Secondary research has also been added to strengthen the analysis.

Purpose – There is an absence of systematic review papers in the achievement motivation theories literature. In terms of current research trends, English learning motivation is gaining attention as a determiner of success in FLA. Hence, this review aims to trace the trends in the empirical studies on achievement motivation theories and tools, ranging from 1970 to 2022. Methodology – With a focus on theories, diversity of research participants, and practical ELT-related issues addressed by previous researchers, this paper applied the PRISMA Systematic Review Protocol to offer a comprehensive synthesis of 91 empirical studies on theories of achievement motivation. Findings – The majority of the published studies were from China and Iran. There was also a large number of studies conducted on tertiary-level learners. Structural equation modelling was found to be the most widely used analysis. In addition, technology-assisted learning is the current trend in achievement motivation research. Significance – This paper offers new insights into the existing achievement motivation literature and identifies the research gaps. This study recommends more studies on expectancy-value theory including in-depth qualitative studies involving culturally diverse populations and experimental research to develop more effective pedagogical approaches and expand the current understanding of achievement motivation.

The introduction of One Person Company (OPC) has revolutionized the concept of Company operations around the world. Many countries have witnessed significant growth in their economy and Gross Domestic Products (GDP) as a result of the development of OPC. The concept of OPC received much reception because it allows one person to operate a company that has a corporate personality distinct from him. This paper is a comparative study of OPC practices in Asia and Europe with focus on legal entity, incorporation procedure, minimum share capital, appointment of a nominee and conversion of OPC. By using the doctrinal data gathering approach, the researchers examine the relevant journals, articles, books, papers, and Internet sources with a view to achieve the objective of the study. In choosing the sample States, the article further uses the GDPs as a yardstick for selecting the participating countries. The reason for adopting the GDP as the criterion is because it provides an economic snapshot of a nation which is used to calculate the size of an economy and its growth rate. The findings of the research paper reveal that the economies around the world were boosted since the inception of the OPCs. Countries like the United Kingdom, Singapore and China witnessed 3.5 percent growth in their economy since inception of OPCs. Establishing and operating Businesses have become easy because the single shareholder need not go through the tedious process of documentations, getting minimum requirements for partners as is applicable for other forms of company operations.

The positive acceptance of cryptocurrency by the public indicates their interest and enthusiasm for cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, the regulatory overlay related to cryptocurrency is still at its infancy level, posing challenges to its estate administration upon the death of the owner of a cryptocurrency, which will lead to its disappearance and loss as it becomes impossible to be inherited. Hence, in light of this undesirable possibility, this paper aims to analyze the legal and Shariah issues on the estate administration of cryptocurrency from the perspectives of Malaysian laws and Shariah. This paper examined doctrinal research by examining relevant legal provisions, Shariah rulings, fatwa, cases, and non-legal literature on estate administration. This paper concludes that there is a lacuna in the estate administration of cryptocurrency as its regulatory framework is still new and evolving. Therefore, the legal and Shariah issues highlighted in this paper may provide some important policy implications for regulators and policymakers to fulfil the lacuna in the estate administration of cryptocurrency in Malaysia.

Given the exposure to today's easy-to-know information, children should seemingly become mature faster than their predecessors, and therefore better informed even at a tender age. However, it remains to be seen whether fixingthe age of 18 forminors or children to enter into contracts is relevant. This paper focuses on contract law; it examines the age of majority and the legal implications of contracts entered into by minors. To a certain extent, this paper examines the issue by making comparisons between Malaysian and English law. The findings derived imply that the determination of the age of majority needs to be compatible with the capacity of minors and current realities. This determination must be premised on a fair balance between protecting minors' welfare and the interest of those who have attained the age of majority.

In the domain ofintellectual property (IP), the Geographical Indication (GI) is deemed to be a sleeping beauty due to its imperial reverberation in consolidating cultural and economic values, particularly in the developing and least developed countries. Bangladesh, being rich in cultural diversities and traditions, has a number of world famous foodstuffs, handicrafts, agricultural products and cultural heritage that could qualify as geographical indications. In this context, the country introduced a sui generis method of GI protection with the promulgation of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 2013, which was also monumental in discharging Bangladesh's obligation under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The present paper has :firstly chosen to examine the concept of the GI and its legal framework from the IP perspective in order to safeguard both the cultural legacy and genuine producers of geographically exhibiting products of Bangladesh. The key focus of this paper is, however, on the compatibility of TRIPS to Bangladeshi law, particularly inrelation to the aspects of protection and registration of Gls, and to identify the unexplored challenges that the country is supposed to confront as a developing nation. Finally, this article portrays some way-outs to combat potential challenges and help ensure the prospects of Bangladesh in an ever expanding local and global market of GI goods.

In the last few decades, Malaysia has become a global hub for higher education services. Policies and programs have been put in place to improve the higher education system in the country and attract more international students. This development needs to be aligned with an effective dispute resolution framework to ensure the continuous development of the Malaysian higher education sector. The methodology employed in this paper is a doctrinal method based on the nature of the discourse. To examine the relevant higher education concepts and dispute resolution framework, research papers pertinent to the subject were analysed. In addition, relevant legislations were consulted to determine the adequacy of the existing legal framework for dispute resolution in the higher education context in Malaysia. The main objective of this paper is to examine the nature of education services and the existing dispute resolution mechanisms in the Malaysian higher education sector. The paper will explore education services as either a "public good" or a "private good" and whether students are consumers in the real sense and have consumer rights. This research establishes that although scholars have often argued as to whether or not students are consumers, in Malaysia and other Asian countries, students are perceived as customers, and therefore, the interest, welfare and satisfaction of students must always be of utmost priority. A thorough study of the existing laws reveals that there is an inadequate provision in the education laws in Malaysia, especially regarding the mechanisms of dispute resolution in its higher education institutions.

Many parties face difficulties in performing contracts due to the economic dislocation since the outbreak of COVID-19. The extraordinary nature of this pandemic situation calls for good faith in contractual settings. The discussion of this paper focuses on the imposition in a force majeure event which will cause many contracts to be unenforceable. The research method used doctrinal analysis to discuss the force majeure clause in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the obligation of good faith in contracts. This paper will discuss the COVID-19 pandemic as a force majeure event, arguing that the rise of "good faith" in contract law and the application of "good faith" in contracts as a mitigation for a force majeure event. The paper will then present its conclusion and recommendations. The findings highlight the significance of applying "good faith" in the event of force majeure and beyond as a mitigating factor in alleviating uncertainty and unfairness.

Food production in Nigeria depends largely on subsistence farmers in the rural areas, where inefficient transport system remains a serious challenge and threat to food security in the country. This paper examines the effect of road transport system in the rural areas on food security in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopts a descriptive analysis, Multicollinearity and Cronbach Alpha Reliability tests as well as regression analysis on the primary data. Findings from the study reveal through the multicollinearity test, absence of significant correlation among the independent variables and the Cronbach Alpha confirms internal consistency of the variables. Furthermore, the regression analysis indicates that transportation infrastructure has a positive and statistically significant effect on food security. More so, rural development and road network show positive significant effect on food security. Meanwhile, Market infrastructure and Security issues are not statistically significant to explain variations in food security. The paper therefore, recommends that governments should extend efficient road transport to the rural areas to facilitate the movement of agricultural produce from the village to the market and the industries. This will help to reduce wastes resulting from damage of farm produce due to the long distance to the city.

The growth of illicit enrichment crime, or living beyond one’s means is a significant challenge in combating corruption. Many countries have shown their commitment towards preventing illicit enrichment crimes by criminalising and penalising illicit enrichment in their laws, including Hong Kong and Singapore. Illicit enrichment is a crime and Malaysia has no clear provisions on illicit enrichment to prevent it. Therefore, this paper analysed the adequacy of Section 36 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 [Act 694] (MACC Act 2009). The legal framework on illicit enrichment in Hong Kong and Singapore were referred as sources of critique. To achieve the said objective, this study adopted a doctrinal approach using qualitative research methodology. The scope of the paper is limited due to the inadequacy and indirectness of the law on illicit enrichment in Malaysia. This paper critically analysed the international framework of illicit enrichment and conducted a comparative analysis of the law in Hong Kong and Singapore, namely the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and the Prevention of Corruption Act 1960, respectively. In conclusion, this paper found that the current law in Malaysia is inadequate and Malaysia can learn to adopt the said laws as provided in Hong Kong and Singapore. This study serves as a guide for legislators intending to address the current inadequacies of the law on corruption in Malaysia, equipped with better knowledge on the characteristics of illicit enrichment. Suggestions to address the issues are proposed.

Previous researchers’ general impression inferred that western colonialists contributed to the decline of waqf practice in the Muslim world. However, whether this statement is accurate in the case of the British colonial rule in Penang is uncertain. This research paper reviewed waqf practice in Penang under the British colonial rule. This paper also discussed how the colonial rule influenced and impacted waqf development in the state. Due to the nature of the study, doctrinal legal research methodology was employed, which involved examining law cases, legal provisions, policy documents, books, journal articles, and working papers. This study found that the British colonialists did not abolish waqf but improved its practice according to English trust and charitable laws. Unlike other colonialists, waqf practice under British rule in Penang had flourished, albeit with some flaws. The authors are convinced that this writing will provide a balanced perception of the colonialists and their hidden purpose in occupying the Malay states.

E-judiciary, meaning application of information and communication technologies (ICTs), in justice delivery mechanism is a global phenomenon as inordinate delay in settling disputes resulting in backlogs of cases is one of the common problems in access to justice in almost every judicial system. In Bangladesh, the backlog of cases has become a huge problem, creating a bottleneck in access to justice. Globally, case management is considered an approach appropriate to resolve the problem of delayed justice. Its attraction and utility lie in the ability of the mechanism to provide predictability in the administration of justice. ICTs are now regarded as essential tools for effective case management in addition to delivery of judicial services in an efficient manner. Realising its value as well as benefits, the judiciary of other countries like Australia, Malaysia, and India is using ICTs for reducing the backlog of cases and delivery of justice in an effective way. The countries have already modified their laws as such. To solve Bangladesh’s problem of delayed justice, a project for introducing ICTs in the judiciary has been launched by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh to facilitate prompt and efficient delivery of justice as well as necessary information to the litigants and the public. Hence, this article seeks to highlight the implications of ICTs in the justice delivery mechanism in Bangladesh. This study adopts the qualitative approach of research where primary and secondary data have been gathered from various statutes as well as existing literature. To underline the role of ICTs in making justice accessible, experiences of Australia, Malaysia and India have been shared in this paper. The paper finds that the application of ICTs in the judiciary can make a substantial impact in enhancing access to justice by reducing the backlog of cases. Therefore, the paper recommends that for ensuring access to justice, the application of ICTs in the justice delivery mechanism should be enhanced in Bangladesh.

Academicians represent the key factor in providing education service to students and universities cannot work well without academicians. This study aimed to examine the influence of human resource practices (HR practices) on employee engagement among academicians in Malaysian private universities. This paper examined four HR practices, namely employee compensation, performance appraisal, training, and employee development. The conceptual framework developed for this paper aimed to fully understand the influence of HR practices and employee engagement. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to academicians in Malaysian private universities using the proportional stratified random sampling technique. This study was conducted on 331 respondents. Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis were performed with SPSS to test the hypotheses and secure results. The results indicated that each HR practice (performance appraisal, training, and employee development) has significant impact on employee engagement among academicians in Malaysian private universities. This study could provide useful information for decision-makers in Malaysian private universities in designing more appropriate and effective HR practices to improve employee engagement among academicians and for the government, in improving human resource employment acts, policies or legislation related to Malaysian private universities.

The global use of genetically modified (GM) crops is rapidly expanding. While the advent of this agricultural biotechnology offers new promises to cater to the rising demand for Indonesia’s food security, the government should ensure its safety. This paper examines the regulatory regime over biosafety in Indonesia by considering the global fragmentation of biosafety regulation that debates its impact on environmental and health aspects. After Indonesia ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which both specifically become the global guideline on how domestic biosafety policies are regulated, environmental and health issues are among the priorities which the use of GM crops contests to the precautionary approach. Amidst the insufficient scientific ground on its safety, GM crops' use is supposed to result in adverse impacts, and the suspicion over the safety of such a new cutting-edge agricultural technology ended with a series of rejections. This paper's results reveal that amongst the global contention over the regulatory regime on biosafety, which resulted in the bifurcation of the biosafety regulation, Indonesia has added to the new polarization. This polarization includes the release of GM crops certification, and Indonesia's desire to regulating biosafety deliberates over the definition and translation of biosafety in the domestic regulatory regime against the global regulatory diversity of biosafety.

The Orang Asli group forms a minority community in Peninsular Malaysia, whose livelihood mostly depends on their land and the surrounding area. Dispute over customary land rights of Orang Asli has been continual in Malaysia although Malaysian Courts, in several cases, have upheld the Common Law rights of Orang Asli to their customary lands. This poses a challenge to some Orang Asli communities and State Governments. Based on focus group discussion, profiling survey, and library research methods, this paper analyses the land rights of Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia, by placing focus on Orang Asli in Kampung Parit Gong, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. The findings indicate that the Kampung Parit Gong Orang Asli community has been strictly adhering to the customs of ‘Adat Perpatih’ since yesteryears, and that they highly value the land, both through usage of land and by inheritance. Several important concerns were raised by the Orang Asli in Kampung Parit Gong, particularly on the security over their rights on the said customary land and the guarantee of their future generations’ socio-economic well-being. Having said that, this paper proposes several legal and administrative measures to not only address the uprising issues, but also to ascertain that the rights of Orang Asli residing in Peninsular Malaysia are safeguarded.

This paper explores the adoption of Paul Samuelson’s Public Good Theory as a theoretical justification for a permissive licensing scheme enabling the use, and re-use orphan works in Malaysia. Orphan works are copyright-protected works with unlocatable or unidentified right holders, and are currently on the rise due to the proliferation of unregistered, anonymous, and abandoned copyright works. The literature denotes the challenges arising from the difficulty faced by potential users in obtaining the permission for creative and innovative use of orphan works as required under Copyright law. Such challenges impede the potential use and re-use of orphan works for the purpose of knowledge dissemination, progress in the arts, preservation and digitisation activities. This paper contributes to the current body of knowledge by canvassing two important issues. The first issue focuses on the challenges faced by potential users to use and re-use orphan works in Malaysia. The second is Paul Samuelson’s Public Good as a theoretical justification for permissive license to use and re-use orphan works. It is anticipated that a legislative reform grounded on Paul Samuelson’s Public Good Theory will spur grassroots innovations, creativity and entrepreneurialism among members of the public. The permissive licensing scheme supports global calls for legislative reform of copyright law to facilitate the use and reuse of orphan works.

The use of nanomaterials in food-by-food producers has increased in today’s modern society. Food that contains nanomaterials is known as nano food, which is associated with both benefits and risks. Due to the uncertainty of its risks, it is important to accord consumers with the right to informed choice in the context of nano food consumption. In the absence of this right in the existing food legislation in Malaysia, this paper aims to examine the underlying principles from the perspective of consumer-related theories to provide theoretical justification in reforming the present food legislation. This paper presents how the identified consume-related theories can be applied to explain the need for such rights in Malaysian legislation. Three consumer-related theories, which are the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Consumerism heory, and Postmodernism Theory, are analysed through a doctrinal approach and via theory analysis. Deductive inferences were made to establish the rationale for the need to have the right of informed choice available to consumers in the context of nano food consumption. The examination of the theories evidently shows that the right to informed choice can be exercised through labelling requirements for nano food. This paper contributes significantly to the existing body of knowledge as it highlights the need for the right to informed choice for consumers in nano food consumption, and emphasises the identification of consumer-related theories to support legislative reform so as to include the right. This paper suggests the use of labelling as a way of according the right to informed choice to consumers in nano food consumption.

Every country has its land policy system. Indonesia employs deeds registration which refers to the Basic Agrarian Law (BAL) and Malaysia uses a title registration system called the National Land Code (NLC). Indonesia has yet to complete its land registration mandate throughout the country since the mandate was officially introduced in the BAL 1960. While Malaysia has adopted a Torrens system concerning land matters, recognising that land registration is everything. The first part of the paper focuses on beneficial ownership, confidential land ownership data, identifying land registration constraints and strengthening land administration abilities, while the second part focuses on land registration as a legal instrument and land rights ownership affirmation. The main question in this research is to analyse whether the quantity, quality and legal certainty guarantees of land registration are strongly influenced by a well-organised land registration system. Indonesia and Malaysia are still addressing weaknesses in their respective land registration systems based on issues. There is a need for improvement of roles from two main stakeholders, namely the government’s role in streamlining administration and the role of community participation in supporting successful land registration. This paper will also provide recommendations for academicians, government/institutional leaders, and legislators to assess and continuously strengthen the BAL as the fundamental principle of land law in Indonesia, especially in its land registration system and legal certainty over land registration.

Purpose – Due to the dynamic nature of schools, the Department of Education currently faces significant issues including low teaching quality, teacher shortages, absenteeism, poor school climate, lack of well-trained and motivated instructors, and instability. Total Quality Management (TQM) is often linked to the school environment, teacher satisfaction, and performance, playing a crucial role in improving the quality of education. This paper aims to identify how teacher job satisfaction and school climate influence the relationship between TQM and school performance. Methodology – A total of 346 teachers from Pakistan’s highperformance schools and low-performance schools, with diverse positions and wage scales, were chosen as participants in this study using stratified random sampling. Data was collected quantitatively using a survey inquiry and SPSS version 24 was utilized to analyze the data and answers the study questions. The mediation procedure was evaluated using the Sobel test. Findings – Findings showed that the TQM variable has the highest mean value (mean=4.87) compared to the other variables tested, namely job satisfaction, school performance and school climate. According to the study’s findings, TQM, job satisfaction, and school climate all have a favourable and significant direct influence on school performance. Additionally, school climate and job satisfaction variables were found to be partial mediators linking TQM and school performance. Significance – This study significantly enhances school quality management through a positive environment and capable human resources. The findings are also anticipated to encourage the Pakistan government to establish organizational management and educational leadership training courses to emphasise the significance of TQM and its most efficient use in the education sector.

Purpose - Art forms such as music and drama are among some recognised tools used by educators. This has sparked interest in how art can be used in education, making it a fertile field for educational research. However, there is a missing connection in how drawing can be used as a tool for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students to learn about literature. Methodology - This paper will incorporate an Arts-Based Research (ABR) method to determine how visual art, particularly drawing, can be used as a tool to advance EFL students’ understanding of a selected literary text, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” (2015) This qualitative study, viewed through the lens of Richard Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML), involved 10 EFL participants and revealed strategies for integrating drawing that are absent in traditional approaches. Additionally, Hameed’s (2022) elements of art, Yenawine’s (2014) Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), and Showalter’s (2003) concepts of literature learning will be included to ground the framework of the intervention. Findings - This study can be regarded as a method to liberate traditional teaching practices into contemporary approaches, serving as a tool to merge cultural knowledge while improving confidence, higher-order thinking skills, and expression. It also allows educators to be flexible and provoke more reflection and participation. The data discusses three main strategies in exploring how integrating drawing can help EFL students learn about literature: mining to trigger thoughts, engaging with the senses, and giving permission to wonder. Visual art allows individuals to create their responses by exploring new ideas and representing emotions, confirming plans, and comprehending the deeper level of literary texts. Significance – The study will offer insight and work as an alternate strategy for educators and learners alike to utilise visual art as a tool in teaching and learning literature. The findings will also ease the alarming condition where literature teaching and learning are stereotyped as daunting.

This study aims to provide insight into the publication trends of microcredit programmes from 2000 to 2021. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of 1,241 scholarly works related to microcredit programmes as recorded in the Scopus database in September 2022. Specifically, this paper will analyse the evolution of microcredit programmes research by examining (a) document and source types, (b) year of publications and languages, (c) types of sources and subject area, (d) keyword analysis, (e) geographical distribution and citation analysis as well as (f) citation clustering analysis. The results of the bibliometric study provide important information on publications’ current and future trends in the field of microcredit programmes. Based on the data, the number of publications on microcredit programme research has fluctuated over 21 years since 2000. The results, also, present the United States as the largest contributor to microcredit programmes research, followed by India. Meanwhile, the Journal of World Development published the most publications related to research on microcredit programmes. The implications of this study indicate the evolving nature of microcredit programme research and the need for continuous exploration and analysis in this field. Understanding publication trends, identifying leading contributors, and to considering additional databases for research can contribute to the development of current and future studies on microcredit programmes.

Green manufacturing practices (GMP) are promoted by the United Nations through an effort known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has been welcomed by Malaysia to address global environmental problems, with manufacturing sectors becoming the primary focus, in line with the National Policy goals to enhance the capacity of the manufacturing sector by 2025. However, Malaysia’s green commitment is less encouraging globally, as most manufacturers are still struggling to implement GMP due to weak leadership, resulting in low acceptance within the organization. Servant leadership is proposed as a mediator to help manufacturers implement GMP effectively, where this leadership is less concerned with the context of green practices in Malaysia. In this paper, the influential factors of GMP implementation will also be identified. A total of 40 factory managers responded to the survey used in a pilot study. The initial results show that the most influential factor is law enforcement, based on mean score, followed by proactive communication and technology advancement. Meanwhile, servant leadership did not mediate the relationships between the business environment and organizational factors, except for individual factors and GMP, as employees are empowered to be creative in their own ways. This study offers new perspectives to manufacturers who intend to maintain their commitment towards GMP.

Many nations are creating E-courts to simplify court operations. However, religious e-Courts take more work to execute. This study has identified religious court e-Court implementation issues and solutions using Delphi and ANP. It first employed Delphi and a literature review to interview experts face-to-face. Eight judges, I.T. workers, and attorneys from three religious court districts analysed the model using a priority scale with an Analytic Network Process (ANP). The study found that infrastructure or equipment from the application of the e-Court system is the main issue, with a geometric mean of 0.306, followed by Human Resources (0.262), the system (0.219), and regulation (0.213). Improving e-Court system regulation (0.850) and infrastructure were the primary solutions (0.770). This paper details cluster priority solutions and issues. This study suggests that the highest religious court authority focuses on infrastructure, human resources, e-Court operational systems, and associated legislations. The government must adopt the e-Court system and registration laws to encourage more active socialising. The study prioritises e-Court implementation issues in the religious courts of Indonesia.

Agriculture is crucial in guaranteeing food security all over the world. Essentially, farmers play a significant role in food security. Producing improved crop varieties is one of the ways to increase sustainable crop productivity. Farmers in Malaysia, in particular small-scale farmers, are still practicing and relying on some traditional agricultural practices. In order to protect new varieties of crops and plants, there exists some legislation vis-a-vis intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the field of agriculture. Patents and plant breeders’ rights, for instance, bring with them some legal implications towards farmers. This paper aims to examine the existing legislation governing farmer rights in Malaysia, focusing on the relevant provisions of the Protection of New Plant Variety Act 2004 (PNPVA). The research also dwells on current issues pertaining to PNPVA’s implementation and the ongoing proposed amendment. The research has employed doctrinal analysis in its investigation and analysis, which has been based on the available data and materials, supported with input collected from an interview with the Department of Agriculture (DOA). The study has found that the concept of farmer rights should not be jeopardized amidst the Government’s commitment in harmonizing the law with the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), while optimizing the access of Malaysian farmers to new crop varieties and plant technologies. The present study has also come to the conclusion that the Government must balance the protection afforded to plant breeders with that granted to the local farming community in Malaysia.

The concept of “sustainable public procurement” has emerged worldwide. It instructs governments to prioritize sustainability throughout the procurement process in the economic, social, and environmental aspects. Such a concept is significant as the government has an enormous purchasing power to stimulate the market. Nonetheless, past empirical research indicates that in the context of Indonesia, the country has not addressed several vital issues on sustainable public procurement despite the worsening environmental degradation. There have been no specific guidelines and capacitybuilding system established for government officers. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss this problem from the perspective of law and suggest the necessary improvements in the legal framework, utilizing normative legal research methods focusing on the applicable laws. Through a comparative approach, using statutes and conceptual frameworks, this study examines the Indonesian current legal instruments governing sustainable public procurement. Several other countries will be used as exemplars of best practices. This research finds that the legal framework of sustainable public procurement in Indonesia is relatively inadequate compared to other countries, particularly regarding guidelines for implementation and institutional cooperation. In addition to its Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2021, Indonesia should strengthen the planning, monitoring, and enforcement mechanisms through strategic overarching plans and further regulations to foster the effective implementation of a system of sustainable public procurement.

Indigenous forests and indigenous communities have always shared a deep emotional, spiritual, and practical bond. This paper aims to methodically examine the relationship between the level of rights held by indigenous people concerning indigenous forest governance and the ability of the indigenous community in ensuring the long-term viability of its ecosystems. Concurrently, in examining and discussing these issues it is hoped that it can also contribute to the survival of the indigenous people in the future. The elucidation of indigenous people’s rights in the context of indigenous forest governance is based on the empirical scrutiny of the study hypotheses, utilizing the Sikor et al. type of rights. A quantitative analysis through Somer analysis was also carried out on the comprehensive secondary data sets obtained from six selected ASEAN member countries. The findings show that the six selected ASEAN member countries have not yet been granted the third level of rights for indigenous peoples with regard to indigenous forest governance. The statistical evidence strongly suggests the urgent need in these countries to grant indigenous people rights over indigenous forest governance, both within a legal framework and in practical implementation, particularly at the definitional and allocative level of rights. The absence of such rights at the highest levels raises significant concerns about the sustainability of indigenous forests and the welfare of indigenous people across the observed ASEAN member countries.

The Strengthening Program for Rural Banks (SPRB) in the Philippines has allowed universal banks to purchase rural banks, and this policy highlights the possible advantages of expanding business combinations for intangible assets. Considering the SPRB, this paper examines the intangible motivation behind banks' actions to purchase capital-deficient financial institutions. This study aims to address sources of intangible assets for Philippine banks as Tobin's q measures. Using Tobin's q as a measure of intangible value allows for identifying contributing factors that determine it based on financial data. The study subjects are actively traded Philippine Universal Banks between 2009 and 2018. The influence of variables in the study on intangible asset value, as Tobin’s q measures, was determined using an Ordinary Least Squares model. Operational factors significantly influencing intangible value are investments in subsidiaries and associates, the return on assets, and bank deposits. Activities intended to reach target customers, such as those captured by marketing and advertising expenditures, positively influence intangible value. These findings imply that merely purchasing more assets does not improve the value of intangible resources. Instead, asset productivity, funds to make more loans, and informing the public of bank activities benefit intangible asset values. The implications of these findings offer insight into the sources of intangible assets that investors value.

Academic research journals play a significant role in the field of academia. Its major functions in producing, disseminating and exchanging academic knowledge are important to showcase the research performance of individuals. Publication of academic papers has been considered as a criteria for appointments, hiring, promotions and tenure decisions, worldwide. The current requirement to consider publishing in high quality journals is in its indication of the quality of a person’s research output. It is measured through the quality of the academic research publications, the number of citations of specific papers and the total number of citations. Accordingly, it is important to examine the issues regarding high impact publication of Scopus law journals in Asian countries. This is to enable all new SCOPUS law journals to study and practice good governance in publishing quality articles and for the board of editors to enhance the quality of journal management. The objectives of this paper are: (i) to examine the profiles of law journals in Asian countries indexed by Scopus and Web of Science (WoS); (ii) to examine citations and impact factors of law journals in Asian countries indexed by Scopus and WoS; and (iii) to study the ranking of Scopus law journals in Asian countries. This was an exploratory research and thus qualitative research method was adopted. An oline survey and an interview(s) were conducted by the researcher to gather data. The chief editor and managing editors of the Scopus law journals were the respondents via the online survey and an interview was conducted with the expert in managing high impact publications i.e. the Director of Citation and Infometrics Division, Ministry of Education, Malaysia. Besides, secondary data was gathered from Scopus and WoS. In brief, the challenges in managing high impact journals are securing and maintaining high quality articles published by the journals. There must be periodic review of standard operating procedures by the board of editors in order to maintain an effective and efficient reviewing process, together with engaging staff with excellent proofreading skills. Additionally, the publisher must continuously upgrade the online publication system and maintain a friendly website for authors, subscribers and readers. Ethical practices and a focus on high quality and standard of article publication must be upheld by writers, editors, publishers including the indexing body.

Immunisation protection includes vaccination programme that is very crucial to prevent the spread of disease among children or those with low immune systems. However, the cases of contagious diseases such as measles have increased dramatically in many countries around the world, including Malaysia. This may be partly due to the rise of certain groups or movements that do not believe in the efficacy of the vaccines. This paper outlined the scenario and existing framework on the administration of the vaccines in Malaysia, with respect to the practices of some countries namely the United State, Italy and Singapore on the implementation of the immunisation programme to its community. Subsequently, this paper highlighted the issues on compulsory vaccination on whether it violated the fundamental liberties incorporated in the Federal Constitution. The researchers adopted a doctrinal approach, whereby materials were compiled from the Malaysian and other jurisdictions’ legislations, case laws, journal articles, and databases. This paper is intended for policymakers as well as the public to understand the possibility for implementing compulsory vaccinations from a legal perspective.

This paper aims to provide an examination of the theories that underpin corporate insolvency as developed in the US and the UK, and apply that to the two novel corporate rescue mechanisms; the corporate voluntary arrangement and judicial management, which are embedded in the Companies Act 2016 (CA 2016) of Malaysia. This paper adopted a doctrinal and theoretical approach to law. The tension in the corporate rescue mechanisms in the CA 2016 between creditors and other stakeholders of a company affected the objectives on corporate insolvency in Malaysia. This paper identified the theories that are reflected in the corporate rescue mechanisms in the CA 2016– a gap within the provisions which was left out in the process that ranged from consultancy and leading up to the drafting of the CA 2016. In addition, the objectives of introducing the corporate rescue mechanisms were identified. These findings may pave the way to reform the corporate rescue law in order to enhance its conformity with the objectives of corporate rescue in Malaysia. This in turn would facilitate the recovery of financially distressed companies and the minimisation of the loss of employment.

The purpose of this paper is to determine if the law currently in force is ineffective and thus contributes to the occurrence of forest offences. The paper analyses the punishments under the National Forestry Act 1984 based on the perceptions of related stakeholders on the effectiveness of those punishments in addressing illegal logging and other forest offences. A questionnaire was utilized to obtain responses from 240 purposively selected stakeholders. The collected data were analysed in the context of measures of central tendency to identify the extent to which the respondents agreed with the stated items. The results demonstrate that the law was generally perceived to be acceptable. The findings also identified compensation payment based on the value of tree or wood as themost significant item, while longer imprisonment term was rated as the least significant item.

E-Wallet has been applied in Muslim and non-Muslim jurisdictions in many parts of the world including Malaysia, China, India, and Korea. The application is widely used and has raised questions with regard to legal and shariah issues. This paper aims to analyse specifically, legal issues affecting e-wallet practices. This paper adopted a qualitative research approach. The data collected include document reviews, ethnographical interviews and observations. This study found several legal issues related to e-wallet inter alia, an unclear position on the liability of board directors of e-wallet operators, breach of mandate and exclusion of liability of e-wallet operators. As e-wallet is important as an enabler to increase financial inclusion, it is important to address the legal issues on e-wallet to enhance good governance and best practices of e-wallet in Malaysia. The findings from this paper can be used as a basis for policymakers including scholars in the formulation of guidelines on legal and shariah compliance of e-wallets.

Taxation research has received considerable attention from many scholars, practitioners and policymakers across the globe. Many scholars have also conducted research on taxation in the Malaysian context. However, papers that track the trends of such research are scanty in the existing literature. The aim of this study is to review the trend and frequencies of published literature on taxation in Malaysia based on the Scopus database using the search term “Malaysia and taxâ€. The design of the study is bibliometric analysis. As of 23rd September 2020, a total of 88 documents were retrieved and analysed using Excel, Hazing’s Publish or Perish and VOSviewer software. Based on the standard bibliometric indicators, this paper reports the research papers and source types, years and language of publications, subject area, most active institutions, most active sources’ titles, keywords, authorship, abstract, title analysis and citation analysis. Findings revealed that there is an increase in growth rate of literature on studies related to taxation in the Malaysian context from 1977 to 2020 published in the Scopos database. The publications reached an all-time peak in 2016 to 2017 but significantly dropped in 2018 and 2019 based on the data retrieved from the Scopus database. The findings further show that Universiti Teknologi MARA is the most influential institution with 18.18% of the total documents retrieved, followed by Universiti Utara Malaysia with 9.1% respectively. Additional findings of the study show that Advance Science Letters is the highest source title with 14.71% of the published documents. The finding also indicates that Adhikari, Derashid and Zhang (2006) are the most influential authors with 187 citations as at 23rd September 2020. The research is limited to the literatures published in Scopus database, other database were not covered in this study. Malaysian policymakers should provide more research grants to tax practitioners and academicians to increase the level of publications in this field.

Generally, Rent to Own (RTO) is a financial scheme offered by financial institutions to help those who cannot afford the 10% initial deposit and access to financial schemes. One value-based intermediation (VBI) initiative is the RTO Islamic financing product. The market segment of this product is for the new generation whereby they can own a house without paying any deposit on account of the fact that housing estates are increasingly expensive. This paper starts with the background concept of VBI, then it discusses on the modus operandi of RTO offered by financial institutions. This paper also discusses legal and Shariah aspects related to RTO. Adopting a qualitative method, the data were collected through semi-structured interviews with relevant parties involved with the RTO product. In addition, some preliminary information had been accessed through the financial institution’s website. This paper found that RTO has played important roles as one viable VBI initiative and it is approved as a Shariah compliant product

Related party transaction or RPT is a transaction that could either be harmful or beneficial to the company and minority shareholders. RPT can be considered as an efficient tool for the company or abused by the controlling shareholders. Therefore, one of the key factors to address this transaction is through disclosure. This study applied a content analysis method using materials that were largely library-based including primary and secondary data. The former was gathered from relevant theories to explain the application of the legal theories. Meanwhile, the latter was derived from published materials, such as textbooks, journal articles and online databases. In order to assess these materials, a combination of descriptive, critical and comparative data analysis approaches was employed in this study. This paper aims to understand the underlying applicable legal theories on RPT by analysing and comparing the disclosure framework in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand that adopt the ASEAN Disclosure Standards (“ADSâ€). This paper finds that there is a disparity in the disclosure standard among these states despite having ADS in place. This problem calls for a clearer ex-ante approval process in ADS and to consider the model from the European Union’s Shareholders Amending Directive 2017/828 to improve the disclosure framework in each jurisdiction. In conclusion, ADS indicated the requisite for the conflicted parties to declare and obtain approval from the minority shareholders however with unclear procedure and minimal threshold.

The formulation of the National Policy on Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and Internet of things signals the Malaysian government readiness to come up with the necessary policy framework for the digitalised era. It has been said that universities’ curriculum structure and instructional design must also be revisited to ready the graduate to face the onslaught of technological revolution. Through content analysis of relevant literature, this paper analyses the myriad ways in which legal education has been impacted by IR4.0 both in terms of the ‘body of knowledge’ as well as the ‘skill sets’ required for law students to survive in the era of automatous systems. The paper is structured to first explain the concept of IR4.0 and how some national countries leverage the digital technology to improve their economy or facilitate social transformation. The paper proceeds with a discussion of how autonomous system, artificial intelligence and data analytics can enhance the instructional design of teaching and researching law. In terms of the body of knowledge, most of the legal principles drawn for the brick and mortar environment are no longer relevant in the IR4.0 era. The paper reveals that the traditional method that focuses on the training of law graduates to think like a lawyer by understanding the reasoning in the judgement of cases or the preparation of conveyancing and court documents are no longer relevant in the IR4.0 era as these activities could easily be undertaken by bots. Instead, law students should be imparted with a multiplicity of human skills that could not be performed by autonomous systems such as those involving conscience, high level thinking, and emotion such as mediation, negotiation, counselling, court prosecution, advocacy, witness examination, plea mitigation as well as social skills, resource management skills, technical skills and most importantly system skills.

Malaysia continuously negotiates, signs and ratifies international treaties to foster closer relationship with its counterparts. The Federal Constitution of Malaysia provides no direct provision in granting treaty-making capacity to a specific person(s) or institution(s). However, it may be deduced from the available provisions that such power is exercisbale by the executive arm of the Federal Government. By definition, the executive includes the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which is elected among the Malay Rulers by the Conference of Rulers. This paper reassesses the roles and functions of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers in the making of international treaties. The study is carried out using library based research method that assesses the provisions of the Federal Constitution, local case(s) and international conventions, in particular the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969. The paper will delve into the available legal documents to explain the functions of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers under the Federal Constitution and accordingly reassess the legal position of the the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers in the making of international treaties. The finding of this paper will show that, in practice, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers hve no the executive power to conclude and sign international treaties. Nonetheless, the Federal Constitution does confer certain limited powers on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers that may indirectly influence the making of international treaties. These roles are normally consultative in nature.

Following the upsurge and development in the globalized and emerging economies, commercial misunderstanding and disputes transcending national borders may also be on the rise. Such disputes can hamper the economic activities and operation within those emerging economies, in particular those activities related to the foreign direct investment. National legal mechanism may not be attractive to international investors. Instead, international commercial arbitration (ICA) could be a preferred choice by foreign investors through which contractual disputes can be resolved via independent forum because it helps to foster market efficiency, facilitate foreign direct investment and protect the interest of foreign investors. To offer insights on this issue theoretically and empirically, this paper presents a logic-based and empirically based conceptual discussion to investigate the influence of ICA on FDI, in particular its application in the context of Algeria and the importance of domestic courts’ execution of arbitral awards. The paper finds that ICA is indispensable to contractual conflict resolution and can consequently assists FDI inflows into the country that entrenches it. Algeria may increase FDI inflows by strengthening the legal framework for arbitration through the enhancement of national laws relating to ICA and guaranteeing their effective execution and enforcement by local judicial system.

Rapid change in business environment poses threat to business survival. It is crucial to examine the core of business sustainability. This paper proposes changeless factors in response to today’s business environment. Specifically, it addresses (1) the people factor (2) the purpose factor and (3) the principle factor as the pillars through which an organization finds its stability in the sea of business change. This paper demonstrates the unchanged factors to ensure business sustainability and to achieve long term objectives. After mapping the conceptual model, the paper devotes particular attention to conceptualizing the changeless cores of business. This research contributes practical insights for managers to further understand the cores of business sustainability. Specifically, it will assist managers to have clear goals in making decisions and managing change to enhance competitiveness in the business environment.

Kertas ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji kesan keterangkuman kewangan terhadap pertumbuhan firma dalam kalangan firma kecil, sederhana dan besar (275 buah firma) di negara Malaysia dan Indonesia dengan menggunakan teknik penganggaran regresi ambang keratan rentas. Tahap keterangkuman kewangan diukur berdasarkan agihan perkhidmatan kewangan merentasi firma iaitu akses kepada kredit. Keputusan kajian mendapati wujud kesan tidak monotonik dalam hubungan antara keterangkuman kewangan dan pertumbuhan firma, yang mana kesan keterangkuman kewangan terhadap pertumbuhan firma hanya signifikan dan positif di bawah tahap ambang. Implikasi dasar daripada kajian ini mencadangkan pemilik firma dan institusi kewangan perlu mengekang pengagihan akses kepada kredit supaya berada dalam lingkungan nilai optimum atau tahap ambang untuk menjamin pertumbuhan firma. Abstract This paper aims to investigate the effects of financial inclusion on the firms’ growth from selected small, medium and large firms (275 firms) in Malaysia and Indonesia countries using a cross section threshold estimation technique. The levels of financial inclusion across firms were measured based on the distribution of financial services across the selected firms (access to credit). This paper reveals that there is a non-monotonic effect in the financial inclusion-firm’s growth nexus in which the impact of financial inclusion on firm growth is significantly positive below a certain threshold point. The main finding suggest that the firms’ owners and banking institutions should restrict the distribution of credit access within the optimum value or threshold level in promoting the growth of the firms. Keywords: Financial inclusion; firm growth; threshold estimation.