Religion, gender, course and ethnic differences in students’ ethical awareness

The research tries to answer the question of 'does religion, education and social surroundings play a role in developing students' ethical behaviour?' To understand more on the topic, I have surveyed students at the Labuan branch of University Malaysia Sabah in malaysia, a public university where most of the students are taking a first degree in Business and Computer Studies. Using a survey questionnaire, I test five important hypotheses: whether ethical attitudes are affected by religiosity, religion, social life, university education and by what happens around them at home. The result shows that ethical awarenss is mostly determined by religion. In addition, the findings also shows that ethnicity also play a role in a students' awareness of ethical values

Ideology and Islamization in Malaysia: an analysis using a sociology Of knowledge

The past thirty years have seen a swift advance in the idea of Islamization of Knowledge (IoK) in Malaysia. The term ‘Islamization’ meaning the reform of knowledge in Islam, has been used by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and Ismail Al-Faruqi, especially in the late 1970s, to explicate the process of Islamizing and the reformation of academia in the Muslim world, in the aftermath of the ‘malaise’ of the ʿummah. The IoK project in Malaysia is substantially related to the Sociology of Knowledge (SoK) theory which accentuates that ideas are closely related to the settings where the ideas initiated. This paper analyses the origin of the IoK as an ideology using a SoK theory proposed by Karl Mannheim (1893-1947). According to Mannheim, the particular conception of ideology implied when a person is being skeptics of the ideas forwarded by his opponent whether it is an individual, groups or organization. From this point of view, we are looking at the person’s idea merely as a disguise or falsification of his true nature or interest. Mannheim called this a ‘distortion’ rather than simply lies and it can gradually become clear when it is contrasted with the total conception of ideology (Mannheim, 1954). The total conception of ideology for Mannheim is somewhat different in its scope where it deals with the ideology of a certain time in history or a historical-social group and it is concerned with the characteristics and composition of the total structure of the mind of the people or group in this certain time frame (Mannheim, 1954). Furthermore, the paper investigates a different perspective of knowledge where it will look into the questions of ‘What makes Malaysia's intellectual and political environment so conducive to generating the IoK project? What were the main reasons for the government to engage in a project like IoK? What was the role of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohammad in promoting IoK and what was the reason for him in doing so?’ The paper concludes that Mahathir’s Islamization project is also part of his bid to stay in power by controlling knowledge. Under Mahathir’s rule, he tries to control the way knowledge is disseminated to the people by controlling Islamic institutions, strengthen Islamic law against the civil law of the country and formed Islamic based institution of higher learning promoting his way of Islam

The Sociology of Knowledge as a Means of Studying Knowledge Production: A Review of Asian and Western Scholars

This paper analyses the Sociology of Knowledge (SoK) proposed by Karl Mannheim (1893-1947) and other scholars to provide a modified theory to the study of knowledge production and the product. It is hoped that the study of SoK theory could lead to the formation of a theory that could objectively explain why a person, organization acted the way they are and how they obtain knowledge. The paper also seeks to discuss the importance of major SoK terminology and conception such as the concept of ideology, utopia, objective and subjective reality, and power/knowledge. Beside Mannheim, the SoK theory was also assumed and expanded by other scholars such as Peter Berger in his work The Social Construction of Reality (Berger & Luckmann 1991). Another scholar who had a corresponding vision as Mannheim is Michel Foucault in his work Archeology of Knowledge (1972), The Order of Things (1994) and Discipline and Punishment: The Birth of the Prison (1977).  The gradual interest in the theory of SoK in recent years can be identified in the works of Goldman (1994) who asserted how relevance Mannheim’s work to the social thought of modern times since it provides a detailed explanation of the causes, problems, and solutions to the theory of knowledge. Furthermore, Mannheim’s theory also offers a comprehensive explanation of how external factors define an individual’s thought (Drucker, 1972; Heeren, 1971; Tanner, 2009; Pels, 1997).  The farsightedness of Mannheim’s theory goes beyond the years of his time and is still applicable today. The work of Peter Berger focusing on how reality affects a person’s thought and Michel Foucault, who explains the origin of knowledge has mostly shifted scholarly attention towards the importance of SoK and the study of epistemology of knowledge and its relation to reality. Asian scholars were also obligated to Mannheim as they have applied his theory to explain the past and current events that are linked to the socio-historical situation of Southeast Asia. The late Prof. Syed Hussein Alatas, for example, used Mannheim’s theory to write his magnum opus entitled Myth of the Lazy Native: A Study of the Image of the Malays, Filipinos and Javanese from the 16th to the 20th Century and its Function in the Ideology of Colonial Capitalism (1977b) which reveals colonial ideologies (a term used by Mannheim to refer to false knowledge or lies) in developing Southeast Asian nations

The usage of social media, social networking sites and students’ ethics: a study of students at Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus

The research tries to answer the question on what were the reasons the social media and networking sites were used by students? Which particular component of the social media is the main component of their usage? Is it merely as a means of pastime activity, a source of showing affection to another (friends, colleagues, parents, etc.), source of trends (fashion), sharing problems or social networking. Do students understand the ethics of using the social media? This is what is focused in this article where a quantitative survey was used to determine a students’ response on their usage of the social media and social networking websites. The findings show that the main reason students used the social media and networking websites is purely for academic (learning) purpose. Students also used it as a means of entertainment and enjoyment during pastime

Religion, Gender, Course and Ethnic Differences in Students’ Ethical Awareness

The research tries to answer the question of ‘does religion, education and social surroundings play a role in developing student’s ethical behavior?’ To understand more on the topic, I have surveyed students at the Labuan branch of University Malaysia Sabah in Malaysia, a public university where most of the students are taking a first degree in Business and Computer Studies. Using a survey questionnaire, I test five important hypotheses: whether ethical attitudes are affected by religiosity, religion, social life, university education and by what happens around them at home. The objective of the survey is to determine whether their awareness of ethical conducts is based on their religion, courses taken at the university or other external factors. The result of the survey will show whether ethical awareness is determined by internal factors such as religion and home education, or by external factors such as university and school education, courses taken at the university or their social life

COVID-19: Unveiling the Ethnoreligious Relations in Malaysia

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province. Since then this infectious disease has speeds globally, resulting the implementation a Movement Control Oder (MCO) in almost all, if not, all countries around the globe as a means of minimizing the spread of the disease. Apart from that, the imposition of MCO also is vital to diminishing panic among the global population, a situation ignited by the fact that the disease brings a significant impact to not only human health but also involves various areas of human life. In Malaysia, though the disease is mainly a medical issue, it also unveils the ethnoreligious relations among the population within the country. Nevertheless, even though scholars often described the ethnoreligious relations in this country as weakening, as of to date, examination on the ethnoreligious relations in Malaysia during the outbreak of such disease remain limited. Thus, explanation on what exactly is the present ethnoreligious relations among the citizens in this country during this shocking incident of pandemic respiratory disease linked to COVID-19 is inadequate. Therefore, using media reports analysis, this paper analyzes the ethnoreligious relations in this country that unveils during the outbreak of respiratory disease caused by COVID-19, and thus ascertain how actually the disease has unveils such phenomenon. This paper explores the prospects of a national improvement which focusing on either maintaining or consolidating an ethnoreligious harmony in this country regardless of what the situation they are encountering

Musical instruments and native language learning among rungus in Sabah, Malaysia

Native Language learning is a complex and remarkable achievement because the process generally emerges from unique interactions that distributed across social networks and is embodied in individuals. Accordingly, scholars portray the need of a specific approach in native language learning. Among the native learning approach identified is the ‘experiential learning’, an approach based on the idea of learning from experience as the path to lifelong learning and development. Scholars who is a fan of the learning approach argues that providing the learners an opportunity to learn through experience thus become immensely valuable. Some even specifically suggest that musical instruments can be used as a promising experience based instructional instrument in language learning. But how exactly the musical instruments affect native language learning process? Through the application of a mixedmethod approach, this paper examines the relationship between musical instruments and the native language learning via the lens of Rungus in Sabah, Malaysia. It shows that the musical instruments affect the native language learning among Rungus in Sabah, Malaysia. What this now hinted is that the musical instruments are an important part of a successful native language learning process, thus made it clear the need among instructors to consider musical instruments as part of their teaching activities