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Massive investments in higher education have witnessed a proliferation of public and private universities in Malaysia. A parallel development of concern is the view that public university graduates are finding it more difficult than their private university counterparts in transiting from university to work. To test the empirical veracity of this widely expressed belief, data from 441 currently employed graduates from three major urban centres were analysed to determine factors that increased the probability of securing permanent employment within six months of graduation, the officially used cut-off period. While the findings indicated that the transition is eased largely by personal endeavours (other than being Chinese) such as mastering English, attaining a high GPA, and participating in extracurricular activities, we also found a negative association between having a public university qualification and the length taken to secure the first permanent job. We discuss the implications of these findings for Malaysian education policy. If a public university degree indeed disadvantages a graduate in transiting to work, it would undermine the role of public universities as avenues for the upward social mobility of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Additionally, the large expenditures on public universities would appear to be misallocated.

Women have overcome many challenges within the labour market, but gender inequality still exists in the form of total employment by categories and states. The higher gender disparity was found in Selangor with the ratio of the men and women employed at 599,200 and this is concentrated in the 30-34 years old. The past findings on the gender discrimination practice in the Malaysian labour market motivated this study to fill the literature gap by providing an upclose analysis on the differences observed within the different states in Malaysia, the difference that can be observed by age group, by the status of employment, by the different sectors of employment and the gender difference as observed in mean and median wages. As context for the finding, an overview of the government policy initiatives to close the gender gap is also provided. One of the proposed recommendations was the balanced responsibility between both genders in household care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective - Studies related to the distribution of income are very important for national development as they are related to efforts to reduce the gender earnings disparity. Women have overcome many challenges within the labour market, but gender income differentials persist in Malaysia. Methodology/Technique--Reducing gender income differentials is one ingredient for sustained economic growth. This article examines the gender income distribution in several submarkets within the Malaysian labour market and discusses some initiatives to reduce income disparities therein. The data used here were drawn from the Department of Statistics and cover the 10-year period from 2010 to 2019. Findings - Data show evidence that there exists gender earning disparity in Malaysia along the lines of education, specifically tertiary education, and ethnicity, specifically in Indian and Chinese communities. Novelty - This paper proposed a few policy recommendations with the hope that they will aid in the effort of reducing gender income differentials, which are a critical share of the country's human capital development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacturing sector is a major avenue for female employment in the urban labor market in Malaysia. Only two studies, both published more than two decades ago, have examined gender earning differentials in this sector. Since then, the percentage of women being educated has increased, along with their participation rate, and several laws protecting their rights have also been passed, making it timely to re-examine the earnings gap. We do this by drawing on more recent data from a larger representative survey of manufacturing employees. The Blinder-Oaxaca technique, utilized in the previous two studies, was used to estimate the existing earnings gap and to decompose it to differences attributable to endowments, coefficients (traditionally viewed as subsuming discrimination), and the interaction between the two. We found a smaller gap than previously reported, with better female endowments helping to narrow the gap, and unexplained differences in coefficients being responsible for the remaining gap. The interaction effect was not statistically significant. Contrary to the earlier studies, the differential treatment of women in the manufacturing sector, rather than endowment differences, is hampering the equalization of earnings. This calls for newer approaches to closing the earnings gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: To evaluate the adherence of medication safety information provided on over‐the‐counter (OTC) product labels and patient information leaflets (PILs) to the Malaysian and international regulatory guidelines. Methods: A total of 133 randomly sampled OTC medications (gastrointestinal = 31, pain = 36, skin = 35, coughs and colds = 31) from 17 community pharmacies located around Klang Valley, Malaysia were evaluated. The adherence of relevant safety information provided on the OTC product labels and PILs from the manufacturing companies to the Malaysian and international regulatory guidelines was evaluated. Results: The majority of the products (n = 81) were locally manufactured, followed by 34 products from the European region. About 31% (n = 41) of the sampled OTC products were sold without PILs. Overall, 98% of the labels adhered to all the criteria, but none of the PILs adhered to all the parameters. Information on action to be taken in the case of a missed dose (96%), advice on consulting a doctor/pharmacist for further information (92%) and disposal instructions (98%) were generally missing. Surprisingly, none of the PILs included the compulsory statement which is essential for adverse drug reaction reporting. In addition, only 30% of the studied PILs provided information on the date of revision. Overall, imported products had slightly better adherence compared to locally manufactured products. Conclusion: The safety information stated on the OTC products marketed in Malaysia has room for improvement to ensure safe and effective use of these products. A uniform format and collective effort is needed to ensure consumers receive adequate information about OTC products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seaweeds are an important ingredient of functional foods recommended for daily food, due to their unique compositions and nutritional value. Padina tetrastromatica is a brown edible seaweed that is commonly found along the coastal regions of Peninsular Malaysia and consumed as food by some coastal communities. This study investigates the nutritional and antihyperglycaemic potential of P. tetrastromatica extracts, which is generally accepted as an important functional food. In our methodology, we induced diabetes intraperitoneally in experimental animals with a dose of 65 mg kg−1 body weight of streptozotocin. Oral treatment with 200 and 400 mg kg−1 of P. tetrastromatica ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts were initiated, respectively, to experimental rats once daily for 18 days. Metformin was used as the positive control. Biochemical estimations and histopathological analysis were included in this study. Treatment with P. tetrastromatica extracts significantly lowered the plasma glucose levels in Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. In addition, P. tetrastromatica extract treatment also showed a significant reduction in serum alanine transaminase levels. However, no significant changes were observed in serum aspartate transaminase levels. The ethyl acetate extract of P. tetrastromatica at 400 mg kg−1 dose shows some nephroprotective effect, which is observed from the significant increase in the plasma albumin levels. Histopathological evaluation revealed no marked morphological changes in tissues of the isolated organs of the ethyl acetate extract-treated group, revealing the safe nature of P. tetrastromatica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the availability, price, nutritional composition, and quality of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) in supermarkets and hypermarkets in Petaling, the most populated district in Malaysia. The survey covered 85 stores through on-site visits, identifying 251 unique PBMA products from 42 brands. The PBMAs were categorized into nine groups: Burgers/Patties, Coated Meat, Luncheon Meat, Minced Meat, Pastries, Pieces/Chunks/Fillets/Strips, Prepacked Cooked Meals, Sausages, and Seafood Balls/Cakes/Meatballs. The survey indicated widespread availability of PBMAs in Petaling, with premium supermarkets offering the most extensive selection. The median prices of PBMAs across categories were below MYR 7 (~USD 1.6) per 100 grams, with Pieces/Chunks/Fillets/Strips being the most affordable. Nutritionally, PBMAs exhibited lower energy, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, and protein levels than meat equivalents, while showing higher carbohydrate content. Nutri-Score profiling revealed generally favourable scores (Grade A to C), indicating moderate to good nutritional quality. These findings suggest that PBMAs offer a viable alternative for consumers in Malaysia seeking healthier and more sustainable food options, particularly for those aiming to reduce their intake of fat and sodium. However, PBMAs may not be recommended for individuals seeking a higher protein and lower carbohydrate diet. Further research is recommended to explore micronutrient profiles to enhance dietary decision-making., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Lou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Executive functioning and its related components have been found to promote well-being. However, there is a limited understanding of the underlying mechanism. Drawing from the job demands-resources and PERMA models, the present study examined the hypothetical mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between executive functioning deficit and well-being among 314 working adults in Malaysia. Participants answered a survey consisting of the Executive Skills Questionnaire-Revised (ESQ-R; a new measure of executive functioning deficits for working adults), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Employee Well-Being Scale, and Self-Rated Creativity Scale. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the ESQ-R score was negatively associated with all other target variables, while the latter was positively related to each other. Moreover, supporting the hypotheses, the results of mediation analysis using PROCESS macro found that work engagement mediated the negative relationship between executive functioning deficits and well-being after statistically controlling for the creativity score. The findings not only replicate the beneficial role of executive functioning in employees' well-being but also shed light on the underlying process of the relationship. Implications and directions for future studies are discussed.

This study assessed knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) related to vitamin D and its relationship with vitamin D status among Malay female office workers. A total of 147 women aged between 20 and 55 years were recruited from a university in Kuala Lumpur. They answered questionnaires related to KAP on vitamin D, sun exposure, dietary vitamin D intake and physical activity. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) was analysed using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Nearly half (45%) of the subjects had good knowledge but moderate attitude (76%) and practice (84%) towards sunlight exposure and dietary vitamin D intake. Median serum 25OHD was 34.1 nmol/L with the majority (91%) had vitamin D insufficiency (25OHD < 50 nmol/L). Knowledge was weakly associated with attitude ( r = 0.29, p < 0.001) but no association was found between knowledge and practice ( r = 0.08, p = 0.355) nor attitude and practice ( r = -0.001, p = 0.994). Serum 25OHD was positively associated with sunlight exposure ( r = 0.22, p = 0.008) and dietary vitamin D intake ( r = 0.37, p < 0.001). It can be implied that this group is at increased risk of low bone health status, which highlights the needs of public health campaigns to improve their vitamin D status.