Investing in toll highway: private or public financing with scenario-based solution

Whilst governments worldwide juggle competing priorities within the context of limited budgets, Malaysia has acted to seek more effective ways of building highways. In Malaysia, private involvement is allowed for the construction of highways in order to stimulate economic activity that is rarely matched elsewhere. This private finance involvement is able to reduce the public sector workforce and increase employment opportunities. However, most of the private or public/private toll highway project partnerships in the 80s and 90s have yet to yield any hard evidence of being successfully profitable, since few of the typically 30- to 50-year concession agreements have yet to mature. This paper provides a financing appraisal and scenario-based solution to aid private or public decision-making to finance highway projects

Retorik naratif dalam novel “Orang Kota Bharu”

Kajian ini merupakan penelitian secara tekstual dan kontekstual terhadap novel Orang Kota Bharu karya Sasterawan Negara S. Othman Kelantan. Tumpuan utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti jenis retorik dan meneliti beberapa elemen retorik yang digunakan. Pengkaji memanfaatkan teori retorik moden oleh Enos dan Brown (1993) untuk menjelaskan makna kata yang halus sifatnya. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa pengarang mementingkan retorik jenis naratif untuk menyampaikan pemikiran beliau. Novel ini bertemakan sejarah masyarakat Kota Bharu selepas kemerdekaan negara dengan mengetengahkan beberapa isu politik, ekonomi, keagamaan dan sosial. Berdasarkan analisis elemen retorik, didapati pengarang memanfaatkan bahasa figuratif yang merangkumi elemen metafora, anafora, repeten, epifora, simile, personifikasi, hiperbola, dan hibrida dengan berkesan. Pemanfaatan elemen ini dalam penulisan novel menjadikan bahasa yang digunakan halus dan mendalam. Tahap pemikiran yang tinggi diperlukan untuk memastikan bahawa pembaca memahami maksud sebenar yang ingin disampaikan oleh pengarang

The biology of the Mango Leafhopper, Idioscopus nitidulus in Malaysia

Field experiments were conducted to study the biology of the mango leafhopper, Idioscopus nitidulus Walk., following outbreaks in north Peninsular Malaysia in 1986 and 1987. The developmental period on inflorescense was 13.77±0.25 days for males and 13.50±0.60 days for females, and mean incubation period of eggs was 3.85±2.00 days. Hoppers reared on the inflorescence produced 277±110 eggs with a hatchability rate of 90.2±8.4%; those on shoots produced 149±57 eggs and had a hatchability rate of54.8±22.0%. A female mating only once laid 176±72 eggs, whereas multiple mated females produced 149±57 eggs. On shoots in the field, the longevity of females (69.8±9.8 days) was not significantly different from that of males (60.5±8.5 days)

Protecting women’s interest (Maslahah) in marriage through appointment of a guardian (wali) under Islamic law

Waliin general refers to a person who consents or leads a marriage contract. Under the majority school of law (jumhur) including the Shafi’is, wali constitutes one of the pillars of marriage the absence of whom will render the marriage void. On the other hand, under the Hanafischool of law, wali is not a pillar but merely one of the conditions for execution of a marriage contract. Even though under the Hanafischool, the absence of wali does not seem to render the marriage invalid so long as the marriage fulfills some other conditions and the wali does not intervene in the marriage of his ward. Nevertheless, this condition does not seem to deny the importance of wali in the marriage of his ward. This paper is to highlight and emphasize on the fact that the appointment of wali in marriage of a woman is significantly to protect women’s or wards welfare (maslahah). The paper among others wishes to examine the importance and wisdom of having wali in marriage of a woman and exploring further the reason why the presence or consent of a wali is considered crucial particularly under the majority school of law. Examination will extend to analysis on the requirement of wali under the law in Malaysia and several Muslim Countries to serve as comparison. The research is basically library research. Minor part of the research involve interviews on certain opinions of the scholars on the importance of having wali in marriage. It is believed that this research will significantly contribute to knowledge especially in disclosing the philosophy and wisdom of having guardian (wali) in marriage of a woman under Islamic law while many Muslim women nowadays (with special reference to Malaysia) seem to disregard wali while contracting their marriage

Titah ucapan pembukaan Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan oleh Sultan Muhammad V: satu analisis retorik

Kajian ini merupakan penelitian aspek retorik dalam titah ucapan KDYMM Sultan Muhammad V, Sultan Kelantan ke-29. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti teknik retorik dalam teks rasmi diraja, untuk menganalisis dan menghuraikan aspek penggunaan kosa kata, kekuatan dan keberkesanan seni pengucapan Sultan Muhammad V. Data kajian ini dianalisis secara kuantitatif untuk meneliti peratusan penggunaan teknik retorik, dan secara kualitatif, iaitu dengan huraian deskriptif teks berlandaskan prinsip ketiga teori retorik moden Enos dan Brown (1993), iaitu untuk memberikan kesan mendalam terhadap ujaran atau penulisan. Sebanyak 251 ayat telah dicerakinkan daripada tiga teks ucapan, di samping terdapat 27 jenis teknik retorik yang telah dikenal pasti dengan ditandai ungkapan tertentu berdasarkan kategori Lakuan Bahasa. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa Sultan Muhammad V menggunakan beberapa elemen retorik dalam titah ucapannya, iaitu aliterasi, polisindeton, repitisi, soalan retorik, metafora, simile, alusi, dan kosa kata asing daripada bahasa Inggeris dan bahasa Arab. Teknik dan elemen yang dimanfaatkan dalam pengucapan ini mampu memberikan kesan terhadap kefahaman khalayak

Debt and financial performance of REITs in Malaysia: an optimal debt threshold analysis

The aim of this study is to estimate the optimal debt threshold of Real Estate Investment Trusts in Malaysia (MREITs). This study uses continuous sequential threshold regression approach adopted from Bai and Perron (1998; 2003) and Perron (2006) methodologies and collaborates the threshold regression by Hansen (2001; 2015) to estimate the MREITs optimal debt threshold. In this regard, although by regulation, MREITs are allowed to use debt up to 50% of their total assets, the result of this study indicates that MREITs need to maintain a debt level of between 14.33% and 21.40%, to balance the external funding needs and the optimal level of financial performance. Given the high dividend payout requirement, and the marginal tax rate of zero, if debt is chosen as the dominant approach of obtaining external financing needs, MREITs need to carefully monitor the optimal level of debt in order to maximize the shareholders return and to avoid debt overhang problem. The finding offers a useful guide to MREITs managers in strategizing their financing decision to support their external growth needs by investing in real property

MEDIATION ANALYSIS USING THE HIERARCHICAL MULTIPLE REGRESSION TECHNIQUE A Study of the Mediating Roles of World-Class Performance in Operations

The changing environment in an organization is forcing the organization to find a plan of integrated management framework and adequate performance measurement. Failure to plan basically means planning failure for the business. Finding the critical factors of quality management practices (QMP), the mediating roles of the contextual factors of world-class performance in operations (i.e., world-class company practices or WCC, operational excellence practices or OE, company nonfinancial performance or CNFP), and the company financial performance would enable the company to facilitate the sustainability of TQM implementation model. This empirical study aims to assess how TQMa holistic management philosophy initially developed by W. Edward Deming, which integrates improvement strategy, management practices, and organizational performanceis specifically implemented in the oil and gas companies operating in Indonesia. Relevant literature on the TQM, the world-class performance in operations (world-class company and operational performance), the company performance (financial and non-financial performances), and the amendments of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia concerning the oil and gas industry, and related research on how the oil and gas industry in Indonesia develops sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable development programs are reviewed in details in our study. The findings from data analysis provide evidence that there is a strong positive relationship between the critical factors of quality management practices and the company financial performance mediated by the three mediating variables, i.e., world-class company practices, operational excellence practices, and company non-financial performance

Biological Studies of Novel Aspirin-Chalcone Derivatives bearing Variable Substituents

The evolution of drug resistant bacteria has now becoming a major concern in the search for new antibacterial agent. Ongoing interest has also developing to find a new class of compounds with antioxidant properties. Herein, a series of hydroxylated chalcones 1a-g and aspirin-chalcone derivatives 2a-g were successfully synthesised for antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Chalcones 1a-g were prepared by Claisen-Schmidt condensation of 4-hydroxyacetophenone and benzaldehyde derivatives, while 2a-g were synthesised via esterification of aspirin with 1a-g. All the synthesised compounds were elucidated using CHNS elemental analysis, FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. All compounds were evaluated for antibacterial assay via disc diffusion method and antioxidant assay using stable free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Only 1a showed moderate activity against Escherichia coli, while 1b-g and 2a-g showed no inhibition against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus in comparison ampicillin as standard antibiotic. Compounds 1b-g and 2a-g having various substituents contributed to bulky molecular structures and caused difficult penetration into the cell membrane thus, unable to inhibit the bacterial growth. Compounds 1a-g and 2a-g also displayed poor antioxidant properties on DPPH in comparison to ascorbic acid due to low phenolic pharmacophore. The formation of bulky structures for 2a-g have hindered the antioxidant properties compared to 1a-g

(±)-1,2-Bis(N′-benzoyl­thio­ureido)cyclo­hexa­ne

In the title compound, C22H24N4O2S2, the two thio­urea segments of the side-arm groups are inclined at a dihedral angle of 73.09 (9)°. The central cyclo­hexane bridge adopts a chair conformation. The mol­ecule is stabilized by N—H⋯O intra­molecular hydrogen bonds forming S(6) rings, and N—H⋯O and N—H⋯S inter­molecular hydrogen bonds forming infinite chains developing parallel to the b axis

Mediation Analysis Using the Hierarchical Multiple Regression Technique: A Study of the Mediating Roles of World-Class Performance in Operations

The changing environment in an organization is forcing the organization to find a plan of integrated management framework and adequate performance measurement. Failure to plan basically means planning failure for the business. Finding the critical factors of quality management practices (QMP), themediating roles of the contextual factors of world-class performance in operations (i.e., world-class company practices or WCC, operational excellence practices or OE, company nonfinancial performance or CNFP), and the company financial performance would enable the company to facilitate the sustainability of TQM implementation model.This empirical study aims to assess how TQM—a holistic management philosophy initially developed by W. Edward Deming, which integrates improvement strategy, management practices, and organizational performance—is specifically implemented in the oil and gas companies operating in Indonesia. Relevant literature on the TQM, the world-class performance in operations (world-class company and operational performance), the company performance (financial and non-financial performances), and the amendments of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia concerning the oil and gas industry, and related research on how the oil and gas industry in Indonesia develops sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable development programs are reviewed in details in our study. The findings from data analysis provide evidence that there is a strong positive relationship between the critical factors of quality management practices and the company financial performance mediated by the three mediating variables, i.e., world-class company practices, operational excellence practices, and company non-financial performance