The Use Of Seal In Early Malay Official Letters : A Personal Identity And Ethnic Culture

This brief article discuss on how the seals that were used on the official Malay letters incorporated and displayed the identity of the senders, whether they are individual dignitaries or governments. The early Malay seals are among the symbol and identity of the sender. In the traditional Malay society the seal was not something that anyone can own and use indiscriminately.  The seals were used as personal symbols by the individual rulers and dignitaries and subsequently became something that was passed on as part of their inheritance. For an individual sultan or dignitary, the seal represented and displayed his identity. The concept of identity in relation to the early Malay official letters is actually the Malay identity. This article also discuss the shape and form of seal, the language used, and .calligraphy or artistic writing style

Illumination and Calligraphy in Malay Letters

Malay manuscripts contain all kinds of knowledge. The manuscripts not only tell stories, they also depict various knowledge within the minds of past generations. In this paper discuss elements of illumination and the use of calligraphy in Malay letters on past Malay letters. The research is limited on Malay letters in social letters in the period 1521-1899. Malay society in the olden days practiced very fine arts as shown in the Malay letters through illumination and through the use of various types and designs of calligraphy. They used the world of nature to express their feelings. This paper will reveal that the traditional Malay society was not impoverished of art, that they had the highest aesthetic value in art, even beyond comparison with the present

Transformative PdPc Approach in Civil Engineering Integrated Design Project for Enhancing Student Learning Experiences and Nurturing Future-Ready Graduates

To enhance student learning experiences in practicing civil engineering skills, Integrated Design Project (IDP) courses using a transformative learning & coaching (PdPc) approach were designed. A role-play method acting as a consultant firm was adopted to expose the students with the real working environment before joining the industry upon their graduation. Mentoring and coaching methods provided by both academic experts and professional engineers through knowledge-sharing sessions were conducted. The main target of the IDP courses was not only to produce graduates with good technical knowledge, but also to be future-ready engineering practitioners

The Structure of Society

This paper attempts to characterize the structure of society by examining the pattern of household expenditure, consumption, and saving of the lower, middle, and upper classes in Malaysia. The analysis is based on the household data taken from the Household Expenditure Survey of Malaysia in 2009/2010. The paper begins by arguing that the existing definitions of middle class fail to capture its essence as perceived by the society. Using a new definition, we find that the middle class constitutes about 60% of all households in the sample. By contrast, the lower class and upper class constitutes, respectively, 33.5% and 6.5% of all households in the sample. When the analysis is extended to cover the period 1998-2010, we find evidence of the shrinking lower class and the swelling middle class, signifying the presence of social mobility. We also find that the expenditure and consumption shares of income are pro-cyclical and the saving share of income is counter-cyclical for all income classes. When consumption is broken down into several sub-categories, we find that the idea of consumption smoothing appears to be most applicable to the upper class. Keywords: lower class, middle class, upper class, consumption, savin

The Structure of Society

This paper attempts to characterize the structure of society by examining the pattern of household expenditure, consumption, and saving of the lower, middle, and upper classes in Malaysia. The analysis is based on the household data taken from the Household Expenditure Survey of Malaysia in 2009/2010. The paper begins by arguing that the existing definitions of middle class fail to capture its essence as perceived by the society. Using a new definition, we find that the middle class constitutes about 60% of all households in the sample. By contrast, the lower class and upper class constitutes, respectively, 33.5% and 6.5% of all households in the sample. When the analysis is extended to cover the period 1998-2010, we find evidence of the shrinking lower class and the swelling middle class, signifying the presence of social mobility. We also find that the expenditure and consumption shares of income are pro-cyclical and the saving share of income is counter-cyclical for all income classes. When consumption is broken down into several sub-categories, we find that the idea of consumption smoothing appears to be most applicable to the upper class. Keywords: lower class, middle class, upper class, consumption, savin

Shear failure of the Meraka hardwood in bolted connections loaded parallel to the timber grain

This current study was conducted to establish a bolted connection experimental database on Malaysia woods. The effort of improving the retrofit guideline in designing the wall-diaphragm connections of masonry buildings can be continuously done. Brittle failure verifications on the Meraka hardwood to verify the occurrence of row shear failure are presented in this paper. The hardwood species was selected due to its common use as structural rafters and joists in the construction of roof and floor diaphragms of masonry buildings, respectively. Ten groups of a single row of steel-wood-steel (SWS) connections loaded parallel to the timber grain were tested. Each group was prepared with a total of ten replicates of specimens. Comparisons of bolted connection strength between the experimental results and the predictions of the existing design equations are discussed. It was found that the timber standard of Malaysia (MS544) too conservative in estimating the strength, whilst the Row Shear Model (RSM) is more comparative

Design Optimization of the Bolted Connection Loaded Parallel to the Timber Grain for Masonry Building Retrofits

The experimental results of timber bolted connection tests for the purpose of optimizing the use of current design standard are presented. The test was conducted to investigate the structural performance of bolted connections loaded parallel to the timber grain. Both ductile and brittle failure modes were investigated to identify the governing parameters that affect the types of failures. The Meraka hardwood was chosen because it was found to be commonly used in the construction of the structural components of floor and roof diaphragms in Malaysia unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings. From this study, a wood database can be established for assisting the design engineers in developing the retrofitting technique of the building, especially the timber diaphragm joint part of the wall-diaphragm connections. Eighteen characteristics of steel-wood-steel (SWS) with a single row bolted joints were tested in tension, whereas ten specimens were prepared for each connection group. From the results obtained, it can be observed that the current timber design code is far too conservative compared to the optimized design proposed in this paper

Malaysia National Annex to MS EN 1998-1: 2015, Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance - Part 1: General rules, seismic actions and rules for buildings

The Malaysia National Annex was developed by the Technical Committee on Earthquake under the authority of the Industry Standards Committee on Building, Construction and Civil Engineering. Development of this national annex was carried out by The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia which is the Standards-Writing Organisation (SWO) appointed by SIRIM Berhad to develop standards for earthquake. This standard is based on the National Annex to BS EN 1998-1:2004, Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance - Part 1: General rules, seismic actions and rules for buildings and is implemented with the permission of the British Standards Publishing Ltd

STRENGTH ENHANCEMENT OF REINFORCED PEAT WITH RUBBER WASTE AND MELAMINE UREA FORMALDEHYDE (MUF) RESIN

Peat is classified as a problematic soil due to its low shear strength, low bearing capacity and high compressibility characteristics, which has become a crucial problem in the construction development. The presence of this peaty soil caused difficulties due to its instability and high settlement rate. This paper presents the stabilization of local peat from Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia by using two types of processed tire-waste disposal, namely shredded rubber powder (RP) and rubber crumb (RC) at a controlled percentage of 10% of the weight of peat. In this study, liquid Melamine Urea Formaldehyde (MUF) resin was used in different percentages (i.e., 10%, 20%, and 40%) and mixed along with 5% cement to act as a binder. All of the additives were added into the peat at its optimum moisture content. The samples were cured for 7 and 28 days at room temperature and the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) test and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test are performed on the reinforced peat stabilized with MUF. Based on the findings, the results show that shredded rubber crumb, rubber powder and MUF polymer resin gradually improved the strength of the reinforced peat samples by increasing the effective contact area between the peat and the additive. The highest UCS strength recorded is 438 kPa with a composition of 10% rubber powder, 40% of MUF polymer resin and 5% cement. According to the CBR test findings, the peat increased strength as a result of the addition of 10% rubber crumb, 40% MUF and 5% cement which is 20.3%for soaked condition. Furthermore, the results show that peat soil may be used as a subgrade. The findings of this study indicate that the use of shredded rubber crumb and rubber powder with addition of MUF can improve the engineering properties of peat soil. Thus, these findings may be applied in the construction of subgrade layer

Modified Equations for Optimisation of Retrofitting Techniques in Masonry Buildings

This research produces modified equations for developing a comprehensive procedure in designing bolted timber connections in local hardwoods. The retrofitting technique of wall-diaphragm connections in masonry buildings can be optimised using the proposed modified equations. It can be seen that not only the enhanced connection strength can be achieved, the present research works also promoting an economical design as less steel fabrication is required