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The intense desire to produce good quality human capital is not sufficient by having basic skills for certain fields only. There is a need to have a competitive attitude to enhance their level of competency as it is a big concern for many employers today. Hence, the study was conducted to identify the competitiveness factors that influence the level of competency among graduates, especially those who are employed in the service sector in Malaysia. This study used the survey method for data collection. Stratified purposive sampling was applied and a questionnaire was distributed to 450 graduates from 13 service sectors based on the statistics obtained from the Ministry of Higher Education 2016. The findings from the exploratory factor analysis found that seven competitiveness factors consisting of 47 items formed the competitiveness attitude among graduates. However, based on a multiple linear regression analysis, only five models of competitiveness factors produced significant relationships with graduates' competency, which are job competitiveness, organizational management competitiveness, dominant competitiveness, goal competitiveness and self-improvement competitiveness. In fact, aggressive competitiveness and general competitiveness do not influence graduates' competency level significantly. Therefore, it can be concluded that graduates' competitive attitude such as having emotional control, innovation, and competitive enthusiasm to be the best, is one of the important characteristics for graduate marketability in the future. In addition, it is hoped that their level of competency can be enhanced through the development of competitive factors for the advancement of the country's higher education talents.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the focus and strategies used by public universities in Malaysia, for enhancing their graduates' competency level as well as suggesting ways to reduce unemployment among university graduates. This study aims to identify the focus and strategies of public universities to enhance graduates' competency level, as well as their key challenges. Methodology: The study used an exploratory research approach by applying a qualitative method. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with expert informants such as a deputy vice chancellor of academic affairs, directors of graduate employability, and representatives from the alumni centre of eight selected public universities in Malaysia. Data from information provided by informants were analysed using content analysis. Findings: The results show detailed explanations and practical roles of Malaysian public universities in enhancing graduates' competency level and subsequently securing their employability by meeting market demands. However, this paper argues for stronger changes and reforms at the institutional level to support the degree of competency among graduates, such as improving teaching methods and programmes offered. Furthermore, university-industry collaboration also needs to be strengthened to develop a competitive and capable talent in the country. Significance: The paper extends the strategies and focuses that have been implemented by public universities by providing more detailed and practical solutions to ensure that curriculum designs are more effective in supporting the development of graduate competency. Study findings are useful for improving universities' strategies and implementation, to pursue a balanced quality of education in developing future talent.

Efficiency and effectiveness are parts of key features in good governance. Public procurement as part of public administration is a tool to achieve development goals and is managed using large amounts of public funds. This makes public procurement vulnerable to elements of malpractice. Therefore, it needs to be managed efficiently and effectively to achieve optimal results through the judicious use of public resources. This study aims to analyze issues related to efficiency and effectiveness in public procurement management and mechanisms to overcome them. This research leverages on a qualitative approach via document review of the Auditor General's Report for the period of 8 years from 2011 to 2018 with a focus on audit remarks related to management efficiency. In-depth interviews were also carried out with procurement officers in federal agencies, states, local authorities and statutory bodies as well as officers from monitoring and enforcement agencies. This study found that there are issues regarding efficiency and effectiveness in the procurement management involving the pre-procurement phase; assessment phase; and the post-decision phase. In order to deal with this issue, the study emphasized four main characteristics to be possessed by the management which are thorough; wise; firm; and open. The findings of this study add to the corpus of knowledge on important aspects of good governance and provide input to stakeholders to formulate more comprehensive policies to preserve the public interest through more efficient and effective government procurement management. [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]

In order to become a leading enforcement agency that is professional, competent and committed to working with community, the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) is in dire need of human resources with high integrity. Various efforts to strengthen the integrity of police personnel were implemented including the application of integrity modules in training, the wearing of the “Integriti Amalan Kita” badge, the launching of the RMP Integrity Plan and the establishment of the Department of Integrity and Compliance Standards (JIPS). However, the image of RMP is overshadowed by various violations of integrity by its entities as early as five years of their services. This ontological study explores and analyzes the phenomenological practice of the integrity in the recruitment and selection process of police officers implemented by the RMP. This study uses a qualitative approach, with a case study design, based on primary and secondary data. Primary data were obtained through a semi-structured interview method on a total of 30 informants among police officers nationwide selected through purposive sampling techniques. While the secondary data were obtained through documentation and library studies. This study based on RMP Integrity Plan 2016- 2020 and the Police Organisational Integrity Theory. The findings show that the recruitment and selection process implimented by RMP emphasize the element of integrity but there are weaknesses in implementation aspect such as external influences, fraud, abuse of power and system weaknesses but it can be overcome through the involvement of external agencies, system strengthening and refinement of recruitment and selection process. [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 study examines the evolution of the Indonesian military doctrines during the Old Order, the New Order, and the Reformation Era. Under Sukarno's leadership, the use of military force was outward looking and offensive, apart from constantly viewing neighbouring countries as potential enemies. Suharto prioritised homeland security and built synergies among nations within the region. The military doctrine during the Reformation Era has undergone four amendments as an effort to improve military professionalism. This study analyses factors that led to the evolution of the Indonesian military doctrine and explains the evolution that took place during the three periods. This study employed a qualitative method supported by Neoclassical Realism analysis through literature study, document analysis, and interviews as an attempt to analyse various factors for the military doctrine evolution. The study outcomes showed that domestic politics emerged as the most dominant factor that sparked the evolution of military doctrine. Finally, this study concludes that the evolutionary doctrine of the Indonesian military reflects a form of adjustment to political developments and strategic environment in maintaining the Indonesian national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the normalization of Vietnam-China relations in 1991, bilateral trade relations have grown so rapidly that China has emerged as Vietnam's major trading partner for many years. The strengthening of trade relations was subsequestly followed by increasing inflows of China's FDI, loans and project contractors to Vietnam. The deepening of China's economic engagement in Vietnam has led numerous studies to argue about Vietnam's economic dependence on China indicating deterioration of the Vietnamese government's power to manage it. The Vietnamese government's ability to manage economic dependence on China continues to be questioned in an era of global economic uncertainty beginning with the global financial crisis of 2008 and the rise of global protectionism post-2008 heightened by the US-China trade war that has begun in early 2018. This study argues that China's deepening economic engagement in Vietnam in terms of trade, investment, loans and project contracting has never abolished the power of Vietnamese government. Instead, the Vietnamese government's power was transformed or restructured as it actively implements various policies and strategies to address deepened China's economic engagement and its impacts. However, this study also argues that the power of Vietnamese government is constrained by a variety of internal and external factors including global economic uncertainty driven by the US-China trade war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of China's economic development after the implementation of reform and opening-up program in December 1978 has led to stunning economic growth in the history of China's development. Among the emphasis on the economic reform are the openness of industry and the growth of exports by allowing market forces, yet still under strict control by the state. Since then, the term China Model has emerged in explaining its economic development process. The rise of China as the world's new economic hegemonic power can be seen through Outward Direct Investments (ODI) strategy as a platform that integrates China into the international economy. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the key elements of the China Model that drives its economic development; and to discuss the importance of ODI in the China Model based on previous studies. This study was conducted by applying qualitative methods. The results of this study found that the China Model is an important strategy in the development of China's economy, while ODI is not only one of the dominant factors in the development of China Model but also an important instrument in China's soft power strategy. Based on the findings, we conclude that this study highlights the importance of the China Model that brings a miracle to China's economic development and contributes to the corpus of knowledge on the importance of China's experience in development that can serve as a guide for other developing countries to plan their development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is both thrilling and frightening. The technology under this era would have an impact on mankind. The 4IR has the potentials of increasing income heights through new entrepreneur innovations. The new technologies under 4IR will improve productivity and reduce the cost of communication and transportation. On the one hand, there are numerous gains of the 4IR, on the other hand, there are also many challenges associated with it. With particular reference to security, it is feared that the 4IR could pave the way to greater insecurity, particularly when it is used by terrorists like Boko Haram to carry out their attacks. The main argument of this paper is that the non-deployment of 4IR technologies in countering Boko Haram terrorism is a major hindrance to Nigeria's war against terrorism. The major objective of this study is to investigate how the use of 4IR technologies have enhanced the activities of Boko Haram terrorist and Nigerian counterterrorism operatives. The data for this research were sourced through secondary sources and analyzed by the use of the qualitative method. The strategic theory was espoused as the framework of analysis. The research discovered that the sophistication in the activities of Boko Haram is bone out of the utilization of the 4IR technologies in their operations. The 4IR enable the terrorist to seek assistance from renowned terrorist groups and acquire state-of-the-art weapons and training. The paper further reveals that the Nigerian counterterrorism initiative is not effective in curbing the Boko Haram attacks partly because it is premised around the third industrial revolution technologies. This research recommends 4IR technology compliance as the first step to match the Boko Haram onslaught before the use of soft power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investments in higher education and human capital development in enhancing the competency level among university graduates is one of the main issues in Malaysia. Through this human capital development, the country can generate more competitive graduates with the aims to meet current challenges in a competitive job market. However, based on a secondary review, this research found that the level of competency among graduates assessed through their knowledge, skills and attitudes to manage their field of work not only requires the aspects of human capital such as technical skills, interpersonal skills and conceptual skills, but also the development of competitive attitudes among graduates also need to be emphasized. Therefore, this article review outlines the dimension of emerging human capital and competitiveness aspects with the purpose to improve the competency level among university graduates. In addition, this research proposes a conceptual framework to increase the level of competency among university graduates. Finally, the researchers also give some suggestions to reduce unemployment rates among current university graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barisan Nasional's manifesto for the 14th General Election focused on the agenda of "With BN for a Greater Malaysia," which is based on three fundamental development programs under the "Najibnomics". The implementation of Najibnomics is based on the federal government's efforts under Najib Razak premiership to create inclusive and balanced economic conditions as well as to establish a high-income country with a comprehensive development. The BNled federal government implemented Najibnomics by introducing a comprehensive and practical economic policy called the New Economic Model (NEM). In order to achieve economic equality, NEM under Najibnomics, emphasised on a balanced distribution of economic benefits among the social classes in Malaysia and is strongly in favour of the populist development. This article argues that the fall of Najibnomics in GE14 is strongly connected with the election manifesto offered by Barisan Nasional. The rejection of Najibnomics was influenced by a combination of factors including the function of BR1M as a social assistance or a tool for the regime; the role of Najib Razak in the 1MDB scandal; the weakness of GST's implementation and the economic distribution imbalanced, which contributes to the rise of cost of living in Malaysia. Thus, GE14 which witnessed the defeat of BN for the first time in Malaysian political history, signalled the rejection of Najibnomics by the people despite the populist offers presented by the BN Manifesto. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Reformation Era, the Indonesian military has made three transformations of doctrine. The previous military doctrine established during the New Order reinforced the dual function of military. In its development, the two army roles have caused deviations within the national political system and reduced the military's professionalism. Therefore, at the beginning of Indonesia reform experienced an increase in national security threats. This study discusses the implications of the military doctrine transformation toward the national security during the Reformation Era. The study used qualitative methods by conducting semistructured interviews on nine selected informants. The data were analyzed from the perspective of Neoclassical Realism. The results of this study suggest that military doctrine is transformed into organizational, professionalism, threat perspectives and patterns of military operations aspects. Implementation of the military doctrine transformation in the realization of national security is determined by the perception of national leadership on domestic politics, geopolitics and the systemic factors and policies in the fostering and use of military power. The study concludes that the transformation of military doctrine as a form of adjustment to the development of domestic politics, geopolitical areas and systemic factors can restore the stability of national security from various threats to the state sovereignty, territorial integrity and the safety of the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a regionalism initiative, establishment of the ASEAN Community needs plausible level of public awareness, good public perception and strong public support from the public for its legitimacy. The current paper discusses the opinion among the public pertaining to regional economic integration under the ASEAN Economic Community initiative in comparison to political-security cooperation under the ASEAN Political Security Community in 2015 among educated public in four ASEAN countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The study aims to solicit and compare the current situation of public opinion of these two kinds of liberalisation in ASEAN within the context of awareness, perception, and support. The research objectives were achieved by means of statistical measures and analyses on the opinion among 1,471 Gen Y respondents in these four ASEAN countries gathered from a public opinion survey in 2015. The study reveals interesting findings. Firstly, it found that the extent of awareness of both APSC and AEC is still weak resulting in weak extent of perceived relevancy and benefits as well as weak support for APSC and moderate-level support for AEC. Secondly, by comparing the opinion on APSC to AEC, the study found that awareness, perception and support for economic integration in ASEAN were in fact higher than political security cooperation. Finally, some implications of these issues are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women today are important asset to the society and country. They are not only capable of leading the states, but are also able to lead the country; the participation of women in administrative bodies at national and local levels could bring changes to policies and laws that focus on women, children and families. However, women are still lagging behind men in political leadership, especially in Malaysia. This study relates leadership and gender factors in political participation of women in Malaysia in 1980-2013. The aim of this study was to examine the factors of leadership and gender in women's political participation. The research method used was a qualitative method through observation and interviews with some respondents selected among former cabinet ministers, scholars who have researched on gender and also a member of parliament. In addition, the researchers also obtained secondary data related to this study. The data and tables obtained from reliable sources were then analyzed qualitatively. The conceptual framework used in this study was the leadership theory supported by the concept of gender. The study found that Malaysian women today are better prepared and have a high political awareness and their role as a counterweight in decision making. Therefore, the participation of women in politics is important because it can change the future and society's view of women and their role in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students going through the process of education at the tertiary level are expected to possess good leadership skills. These skills are essential and need to be developed among the students via the informal and formal educational system. A group of students from the faculty of education were given the Leadership Assessment Instrument to rate themselves on aspects of leadership skills. Their responses were analyzed to give five traits of leadership characteristics: focused drive, emotional intelligence, building trust or enabling others, conceptual thinking, and systems thinking. It was found that mean scores for all the characteristics were higher for the graduate students as compared to the undergraduates. The highest mean score for both groups of students was within the trait of emotional intelligence, and the lowest mean score for both groups was within the trait of conceptual thinking. The findings showed that many students have the competency to understand and master their emotions and those of others. However, many of them lack the competency of conceiving and selecting innovative strategies and ideas for the organization, and thus needed more enhancement in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of "security" has spurred the imagination of people for as long as there has been a need to overcome fear. Traditionally in the field of International Relations, the issue of security has been discussed from the "realist" perspective. With the end of the Cold War, security has been recast to include issues such obvious threats as organized criminal activities, (including trafficking in humans, drugs, and weapons), plus threats to human rights, health and safety, and opportunities for education and economic well-being. Concurrently, this shifting paradigm has signalled an increasing interdependence and the importance of non-military issues; it also demonstrates the influence of a "neo-liberal" approach, in which security concerns are increasingly focused on human well-being and less on the state. Human security literature can be traced way back at least to 1994, when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published the "Human Security Framework." It had seven dimensions, namely, environmental, economic, health, personal, community, political and food. Three years later, the dimension of "cultural security" was added in a refined version created by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In this article, the authors provide a critique of that resulting model. The models emanating from the UN agencies are useful and comprehensive, but since they are intended to be universally applicable to all countries, they need to be modified when applied to specific regions or countries by taking into account the specificities of the region. Thus, we offer the rationale for a modified and extended model based on UNDP and UNESCO models, which we call, "The Bangi Approach to m Human Security," or "BAGHUS." We analyzed that human security issues fell into two major categories, namely, "man-made issues" and "natural disasters." In this article, the focus is on the former. Preliminary findings suggest that BAGHUS provides a complementary platform that is useful for analyzing the security needs of a country. It involves two new dimensions, social security, other than it recognizes the link between personal security and community security. It is hoped that, as a new approach, BAGHUS will contribute to a better understanding of human security issues in the SE Asian region and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]