Two conceptions of social capital in Malaysia

This paper discusses two conceptions of social capital in Malaysian society.The discussion is based on the findings of two separate studies on social capital in the state of Kedah, Malaysia. The first study employed a qualitative approach focusing on two religious communities in the Kuala Muda District.The second study utilised a survey method and had produced a localized instrument for measuring social capital. The findings from both studies illuminate some of the types of social capital that can be associated with the Malaysian social fabric.In the first instance social capital can be conceived as emerging from religious communal setting and comprises three (3) different yet interrelated social realms.These types of social capital can further be differentiated based on levels of social organization – the micro-level and macro-level.The second conception of localized social capital suggests that it can be measured based on six (6) areas of communal relations that can typically be found in Malaysian society.It portrays the importance of considering indigenous social setting in formulating localized conception of social capital. This paper concludes with a discussion on the implications that these findings have on social capital research in Malaysia particularly on how they can be utilised to investigate indigenous conceptions of social capital

Malaysia menuju negara tua: apakah yang boleh dipelajari daripada pengalaman negara Jepun?

Dalam tempoh masa sekitar sedekad sahaja, Malaysia akan berhadapan dengan realiti baharu, iaitu menjadi sebuah negara tua. Penuaan adalah fenomena global yang telah, sedang dan bakal menjadi realiti bagi kebanyakan negara di dunia. Merujuk pengalaman negara lain yang sudah pun menjadi negara tua, cabaran yang perlu didepani adalah amat besar dan memerlukan strategi tindakan yang sistematik. Jepun adalah antara negara tua yang sedang bergelut dengan pelbagai isu melibatkan warga emas. Sebagai sebuah negara maju yang berstatus kuasa ekonomi dunia,Jepun mempunyai kelebihan dari segi kewangan dan kemahiran teknikal, seperti teknologi robotik, dalam menangani cabaran tersebut. Bagaimanakah negara membangun seperti Malaysia, dengan keupayaan kewangan dan tahap kepakaran yang jauh lebih rendah, akan berdepan dengan cabaran yang sama? Sedekad bukanlah jangka waktu yang panjang bagi menghadapi situasi yang mencabar seperti ini. Justeru, artikel ini mengupas secara kritikal apakah yang boleh dipelajari daripada pengalaman negara Jepun, dengan membuat analisis terhadap situasi penuaan yang melibatkan kedua-dua negara dari aspek kesiapsiagaan, realiti semasa dan prospek akan datang

Community social capital in Malaysia: A pilot study

Social capital is a vital concept in identifying resources in the social network, which has the capability to be used to improve life quality and to facilitate the society development process. It emerges in the form of individual asset and needs to be analyzed through collective lifestyle or a community. An initial process has been explored to identify social capital components. The outcome is translated into an instrument comprising of six social capital components based on survey items and past studies namely participation in community activities, proactivity in the social context, neighborhood connections, multi-racial tolerance, a sense of trust and protection, and life values. A pilot study involving 41 respondents was carried out in several neighboring areas in the northern part of Malaysia. The study results show that all six components have a high internal reliability value. These components of social capital are categorized into three levels namely low, moderate and high. The findings demonstrate that the majority of the four components are at the high level. They are participation in community activities, neighborhood connections, multi-racial tolerance, and, a sense of trust and protection whereas majority of the respondents for the components of proactivity in the social context and life values is at the moderate level

Prosedur perlaksanaan dan penilaian latihan praktikum Ijazah Sarjana Muda Pengurusan Kerja Sosial (BSWM) Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)

Latihan praktikum merupakan antara komponen utama dalam kurikulum pengajian Ijazah Sarjana Muda Pengurusan Kerja Sosial (BSWM) yang ditawarkan oleh Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). Matlamat latihan ini diadakan adalah untuk memberikan pendedahan kepada pelajar terhadap elemen praktis dan keperluan-keperluan berkaitan kemahiran kerja sosial dalam konteks sebenar sebelum mereka menempuh alam kerjaya. Dalam usaha melahirkan graduan yang lengkap dengan kemahiran dan ilmu pengetahuan berkaitan profesion kerja sosial, komponen praktikum dilihat sebagai mewakili suatu gagasan penilaian yang kritikal bagi mengukur kemampuan pelajar dalam mengaplikasikan ilmu teoritikal dan praktis secara menyeluruh dalam konteks amalan yang sebenar. Artikel ini memberikan gambaran menyeluruh tentang latihan praktikum di bawah program BSWM. Ia memperihalkan prosedur perlaksanaan dan proses penilaian pelajar, disamping membincangkan tentang rasional serta asas yang diguna pakai untuk melaksanakan dan menilai program latihan ini

Social capital and community cohesion: the constitution of community social capital in Malaysia

This paper discusses what constitutes community social capital and how community cohesion is achieved.The insights explicated in this paper came from a study on community social capital in Malaysia.The study utilized a combination of focus group discussions and a survey method of a total of 293 respondents covering six communities from six districts in the state of Kedah, Malaysia.The study had produced a community social capital measuring instrument comprising a total of 36 items covering six different dimensions.The study reveals that within the conceptual corpus of social capital, there are several “social dimensions” that can be construed as the socio-psychological contexts where people within a community may converge and develop a sense of togetherness.Social cohesion is the outcome of the interaction that occur within these realms. This correspond to an age-old sociological wisdom about society being the product of social interaction

Developing social capital indicators for Malaysian society: some findings from a pilot study

In this paper we discuss some of the findings from a pilot study on developing indicators for measuring community-based social capital in Malaysia.Social capital is a concept which has been widely used by researchers and policy makers to understand the inner workings of society. Scholars throughout the world have developed various measures of social capital, but one that measures the concept specifically for Malaysian society is still non-existent.We have initiated an attempt to develop a set of indicators to measure social capital that takes into account the social terrain of Malaysia’s multicultural and diverse society.As this project is still at its early stages, a series of pilot studies have been initiated and some preliminary findings have begun to emerge.In this paper, we report the findings based on a pilot study conducted at one of the higher institution campus in the district of Jitra, Kedah in which 50 young respondents were involved. The study produced two important conclusions. First, the instrument and the indicators that we have developed showed high internal reliability score.Second, despite being in the younger age bracket, the level of social capital amongst the respondents ranges from high to medium

Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) dan kedudukannya dalam pengurusan zakat negeri Kedah Darulaman

Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) ialah manusia kurang upaya yang memenuhi semua kriteria seperti mempunyai kecacatan fizikal atau mental, jangka panjang atau berulang-ulang yang sebahagian besarnya menghadkan prospek mereka untuk masuk ke dalam bidang pekerjaan.Hal ini telah menyebabkan mereka berada pada kelompok miskin dalam masyarakat. Institusi zakat merupakan pihak yang bertanggungjawab untuk membantu golongan miskin terutama OKU. Namun situasi kini masih menimbulkan tanda tanya mengenai mekanisma pengurusan zakat. Ini kerana kebanyakan institusi zakat tidak menyebutkan dengan jelas dan spesifik mengenai kedudukan OKU dalam agihan zakat berbanding dengan pembahagian-pembahagian zakat kepada golongan lain. Oleh itu, penelitian perlu dilakukan terhadap kedudukan OKU dalam pengurusan zakat negeri Kedah, seterusnya mengenal pasti bentuk agihan zakat dalam kalangan OKU yang diamalkan oleh Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah dan akhirnya meneliti tahap penerimaan zakat dalam kalangan OKU di negeri Kedah.Kajian ini mengaplikasikan kaedah kualitatif dan kuantitatif.Data dikumpulkan melalui dua kaedah iaitu kaedah temu bual dan kaedah soal selidik.Kaedah temubual yang bertujuan membuat pengesahan berkenaan agihan zakat terhadap OKU di negeri Kedah dilakukan bersama pegawai daripada empat kumpulan pakar bidang iaitu Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat cawangan Kedah, Jabatan Mufti Negeri Kedah dan Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri Kedah.Manakala kaedah soal selidik adalah membabitkan OKU di daerah-daerah negeri Kedah untuk meneliti status sumbangan zakat terhadap mereka.Persampelan rawak mudah digunakan melalui senarai OKU negeri Kedah membabitkan jumlah sampel seramai 92 orang. Hasil kajian menunjukkan hampir keseluruhan OKU adalah terdiri daripada golongan asnaf.Kebanyakannya menjelaskan bahawa mereka tidak pernah mendapat bantuan zakat meskipun mendapat sedikit bantuan dari Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat

Assessing the metacognitive awareness of online reading strategies among pre-university students

To achieve successful comprehension, a student has to be fully responsible of their own reading. However, being able to read proficiently carries a greater meaning now as more online materials are involved. Many students have been discovered to have difficulties mastering these non-linear readings as it requires more sophisticated strategies compared to conventional linear readings. It is believed that being aware of one’s strategies could improve the quality of their comprehension and due to that, it is the objective of this study to find out the metacognitive online reading strategy awareness of the participants involved by using Survey of Online Reading Strategies (OSORS) established by Anderson (2003). 495 pre-university students in a Malaysian public university were chosen to be the participants of this study. At the time of the study, they were taking English Language course and English is their second language. From the study, it was discovered that all the participants were aware of most of the online reading strategies but with a very different level of awareness. The strategies under the Problem Solving (PROB) strategy was the highest and this category involves the use of specific techniques when readers encounter problems while reading online. The students involved portrayed their least involvement with the strategies under Support Strategy (SUP) where tools such as live chatting, note taking, and using pictures and graphs are used in assisting their online reading. Due to the inconsistency in the level of awareness discovered in the findings, it is concluded that metacognitive online reading strategies need to be included in the teaching curriculum and teachers too need to be aware and be an expert in utilising the strategies

MALAYSIA-INDONESIA BILATERAL RELATIONS: EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE STAGE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GENERATION X AND Y INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA

Malaysia and Indonesia are traditionally neighboring countries in ASEAN and sharing a historical background, language, culture, and religion. It is undeniable fact that Malaysia-Indonesia relations are often influenced by current national issues such as water territorial, Indonesian immigrants, national product, and others.  Reviews These issues always sparked conflicts and Provoked various actions from Indonesians and dieting. Normally, Indonesians are more sensitives compared with dieting when faced with this situation as well. This article focuses on knowledge and understanding of X and Y Indonesian generation on Malaysia-Indonesia bilateral relations. This article incorporates the qualitative method with primary data obtained through a questionnaire distributed amongst respondents. Respondents are consisted of UIN's first-degree students and staff s and were selected by purposive sampling. Apart from that, focus group discussion and interview session was held to get a view from respondents. This article found that X and Y Indonesian generations have a good understanding of Malaysia. They are also usually aware of the importance of Malaysia-Indonesia bilateral relations. In addition, they acknowledged Malaysia as an essential country for Indonesia's present interest. Respondents also showed high sensitivity regarding competition between Malaysia and Indonesia. The important finding of this writing is both generations s acknowledge the fact that they are closest neighboring country and a good relationship should be maintained in facing the global challeng