E-Hailing Services in Malaysia: A Snapshot of Legal Issues and Risks

The rise of e-hailing services such as Grab and MyCar has overshadowed public transportation in Malaysia. E-hailing is a transport service that allows passengers to book a trip in real-time using virtual devices such as mobile phones. E-hailing platforms are predicted to grow tremendously as consumers continue to demand them for their convenience, speed, and cost-saving benefits. Beginning in October 2019, Malaysian e-hailing operators have been subject to control-oriented laws similar to those imposed on taxi drivers. This article highlights the regulatory framework governing e-hailing services in Malaysia and the legal issues and risks that e-hailing services face. It employs qualitative legal research, emphasising the study of law and the use of web, print, scholarly, and government statistics. The data were structured using theme analysis to generate a discussion narrative regarding e-hailing services in Malaysia, taking into consideration multiple viewpoints on the regulatory framework, legal concerns, and risks of this industry. It is found that despite the existence of essential laws that legalise e-hailing services, it has been discovered that legal concerns concerning legal status, safety, privacy, and liability persist in Malaysia's e-hailing services. On the one hand, there is a genuine urgency to ensure users' safety, which must not be suffocated by harsh and overbearing laws. As a result, understanding legal reactions to e-hailing services and exploring innovative approaches to handle growing legal difficulties is critical

The Practice of Public Diplomacy by The Gulf Cooperation Council Countries Towards Indonesia

As part of their “Look East” foreign policy, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been focusing on enhancing their relations with several Asian countries, including Indonesia, which is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. The adoption of this policy has resulted in an apparent increase in cooperation between these Arab Gulf nations and Indonesia. There is a visible trend of growing cooperation between GCC countries and Indonesia, particularly during the first term of President Joko Widodo, covering areas from diplomacy, energy, and trade to investments. Although the expansion of diplomatic, energy and economic ties between both sides has been widely discussed in the literature, little attention has been paid to the public diplomacy strategies used by the GCC countries in their interactions with Indonesia. Realizing the limitations of their newly developing relationships with Indonesia and the importance of promoting a positive image to secure their political and economic interests in the region, the GCC countries are fully aware of the need for effective public diplomacy strategies. This research, therefore, aims to examine the public diplomacy strategies employed by the GCC countries towards Indonesia. These strategies can be arguably divided into four distinct groups: educational initiatives, cultural activities, religious studies and practices, as well as humanitarian aid. This study argues that while public diplomacy has increasingly become an integral part of the GCC countries’ strategies in establishing relations with Indonesia, the application of these strategies has been prevalent only among a few GCC countries in which extensive political and economic relations are already well forged with Indonesia

The Agility and Compassionate Leadership of the Next Normal

This research investigates insight into how leaders could lead the rising waters of the Covid-19 pandemic with agility and compassion. Based on pertinent literature, leaders must redefine their leadership mindset to harness team behavioural change toward team dynamics in organizational resilience. Through phenomenological research of eight companies’ leaders, a proposed model was presented to define the behavioural shift that facilitates leaders in orientating team mindset while embracing compassion. The next normal needs of the organization on the change of leaders’ behaviour, implying that building unique and pleasing agile and compassionate practices would lead to an improved organizational team workplace. This focuses on leaders’ efforts to empower teams through a cohesive concept to enable long-term team success. The research contributes to the body of knowledge through its constructivist approach and identification of underlying team dynamics pivotal for organizational resilience

Visually Impaired Usability Requirements for Accessible Mobile Applications: A Checklist for Mobile E-book Applications

The definition of an e-book is a book in an electronic format, which can be beneficial to all readers, mainly those struggling with print books because of their vision impairments. Nevertheless, the visually impaired cannot access regular e-books because they do not meet their unique needs, and they require a more accessible e-book to reach the same expected advantages as those typically seen. Due to the lack of a clear list of these needs, developers are not aware of the specific requirements of the visually impaired for e-book applications. This paper aimed to analyse the visually impaired usability requirements for usable and accessible e-book applications. Three main activities were conducted: reviewing the literature, conducting an online survey of the visually impaired, and comparing the two results obtained earlier to acquire verified usability requirements. This study reviewed current works on the usability and accessibility of e-books from 2010 to 2022. Besides, this study also conducted reviews on common accessibility needs and standards for mobile applications. A total of 24 usability requirements were identified from the literature and compared with ten results from seven visually impaired respondents using an online survey. With these verified usability requirements, designers and practitioners can use them as a checklist to ensure all needs are considered when designing mobile e-books for the visually impaired

Legal Issues in the Laws Governing the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Awards in Petroleum Disputes in Iraq

Recognition and enforcement of international arbitration awards is the most important stage of arbitration, being one of the most important alternative methods for resolving petroleum disputes. When an arbitration award is issued, there are two ways to enforce it: The first is through voluntary (consensual) enforcement. The second is through judicial enforcement when the losing party refuses to respect the award. In order to enforce the arbitral award, the enforcement rules approved in each country shall be applied, taking into account the international conventions in this regard. Through doctrinal legal research methods, this research seeks to analyze the Iraqi laws that govern the enforcement of arbitration awards in petroleum disputes and to clarify the legal issues and challenges facing the enforcement of arbitration awards in Iraq, which are represented by the weaknesses of the Iraqi Code of Civil Procedures and the absence of a mechanism for enforcing arbitration awards in the Iraqi enforcement law and foreign court judgments, in addition to the existence of laws in force that prevent enforcement. The importance of this study lies in the necessity of developing the legal system for enforcing arbitration awards in Iraq to create a friendly environment for international arbitration, which will attract and encourage foreign petroleum investment in Iraq. Therefore, this study proposes a restructuring of the legal system for the enforcement of arbitral awards and the introduction of legislative improvements by enacting a new arbitration law, amending the Iraqi enforcement law, and repealing the law on the Protection of Funds, Interests, and Rights of Iraq from Inside and Outside Iraq

The Exposition of HR Management in A Micro-Business: Kak Yus Soya Case Study

Human resources (HR) plays a key role in any business, regardless of its size. Besides recruiting new hires and optimizing existing staff to keep a business running smoothly, HR is also responsible for boosting employee engagement and productivity. Despite the importance of human resource management (HRM) to every organization’s efficiency, micro-businesses struggle with HR challenges such as staff recruitment, training, and retention. Small businesses, especially family-owned ones, often view HRM as an unnecessary investment. This case study examined appropriate HR activities at a micro-enterprise named “Kak Yus Soya.” The purpose of this case study was to identify disparities between Kak Yus Soya’s HR practices and a theoretical HR framework. The next course of action was to evaluate the company’s preparedness to implement HRM and, from there, to design the most suitable HRM framework in light of the organization’s needs and capabilities. The case study objectives were fulfilled by employing a mixed-method approach that combined qualitative and quantitative data collection. The data-collecting process was designed to allow continuity between the objectives of the case study, where each objective was related to bridging the HR gaps in the organization, which subsequently aided in developing a practical HR framework for Kak Yus Soya. At the end of the study, a structured HRM model for micro-enterprises was created in accordance with the theoretical framework that served as the foundation of this case study. The established HR framework integrated five HR activities: i) assessing employer readiness, ii) HR planning, iii) selection and recruitment, iv) training, and v) performance appraisal. These activities are the fundamental components that a good HRM system must contain

Pengetahuan Generasi Muda Terhadap Gagasan Rukun Negara (Young Generation Knowledge towards the Philosophy of Rukun Negara)

Rukun Negara adalah deklarasi falsafah kebangsaan yang telah diwujudkan sejak berpuluh tahun yang lalu. Ia mempunyai matlamat untuk memastikan masyarakat berbilang kaum di negara ini dapat hidup harmoni dan bersatu padu. Kajian dan tulisan mengenai Rukun Negara agak terhad terutamanya berkaitan kesedaran dan penghayatan generasi muda. Walaupun terdapat usaha untuk mengukuhkan kesedaran masyarakat dari masa ke semasa, kita masih belum jelas dengan keberkesanannya. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk menjawab persoalan mengenai tahap pengetahuan generasi muda terhadap gagasan ini. Kajian tinjauan telah dijalankan dalam kalangan mahasiswa yang berusia dalam lingkungan umur 20 hingga 25 tahun. Rasional pemilihan mereka adalah kerana merekalah yang akan mencorakkan dan seterusnya menerajui negara di masa depan. Jika sekiranya mereka mempunyai kesedaran yang tinggi, maka ia merupakan satu petanda yang sangat baik kepada negara. Ini akan menjadi asas dalam usaha untuk memantapkan penggunaan Rukun Negara sebagai wadah perpaduan dan kemajuan negara. Dapatan daripada tinjauan terhadap 240 responden menunjukkan generasi muda mempunyai pemahaman yang agak baik berkaitan Rukun Negara. Secara keseluruhannya, mereka mampu untuk menjawab persoalan asas berkaitan Rukun Negara dengan sebaiknya. Ini menunjukkan teras kepada pembentukan jiwa generasi muda untuk pengukuhan perpaduan sudah wujud, maka usaha seterusnya perlu dilaksanakan dengan baik. Kajian ini sangat signifikan dalam memberikan pemahaman mengenai status dengan baik. Kajian ini sangat signifikan dalam memberikan pemahaman mengenai status pengetahuan pengetahuan generasi yang bakal menjadi pemimpin negara pada masa depan terhadap generasi yang bakal menjadi pemimpin negara pada masa depan terhadap falsafah kebangsaan