Tabung Haji's global standards for hajj management

This case is about Lembaga Tabung Haji Malaysia (TH) and its uniqueness as the first and only model of a dedicated institution in the world to systematically manage the Hajj pilgrimage. Since performing Hajj is one of the pillars in Islam, there is an increasing number of Muslims who want and are able to perform Hajj, hence the need for a systematic method of managing the whole journey. TH was established to do just that; and the institution has managed to perform effectively and efficiently throughout the years. This case study highlights among others, the role of Tabung Haji Act, TH investment and savings plans for pilgrims-to-be, and TH Staff to be among the many unique characteristics that have given the institution global recognition for hajj management

Influence of Policy Strategies, Instruments, and Malaysians’ Attitude on Sustainable Edu-tourist Industry in Malaysia

This paper proposes a theoretical model that explains predictive influence of edu-tourist policy strategies, and instruments, including, attitude of Malaysians towards international edu-tourists on sustainable edu-tourist industry in Malaysia. The design / methodology that was adopted in this article involves presentation of an hypothetical model which shows sustainable edu-tourist indusrty in Malaysia as a dependent variable been influenced by two (2) sets of  independent variables: policy strategies, and instruments, including, the mediating influence of attitude of Malaysian towards internaional edu-tourists between Malaysian edu-tourist policy strategies, and instruments, and sustainable edu-tourist industry in Malaysia. These variables, whether consciously or unconsciously influence the choice of Malaysia as a preferred edu-tourist destination country among international edu-tourists. The limitations of this study stem from the nature of the study itself.  The study integrate factors identified in existing literature that influence sustainable edu-tourist industry in other countries, hence, replicate same in the context of Malaysia.  Future research on the subject in Malaysia context will examine the existing relationships among the aforementioned variables. In particular, it will give and analyse the weight of each factor and the relative importance of each element for the factor it belongs. Therefore, determining the relative importance of each element and factors they belong would constitute an important source of information for future work on sustainable edu-tourist industry in Malaysia. Since, there are few studies which try to examine the influence of policy strategies,and instruments, including, the mediating effects of attitudes of Malaysian towards internaional edu-tourists between edu-tourist policy strategies, and instruments, and sustainable edu-tourist industry in Malaysia from an integrated point of view, this paper contributes to bridging the gap. Keywords: Policy Strategies, Policy Instruments,  Edu-tourism, Edu-tourist

Unravelling the Interplay of Public Debt, Inflation and Unemployment on Poverty in Malaysia: A Comprehensive Examination

This study addresses a critical gap in the existing body of research by exploring the relationship between macroeconomic variables and poverty in Malaysia from 1992 to 2022. Employing the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method, the research investigates the impact of three key independent variables - unemployment, public debt, and inflation - on the dependent variable, the poverty rate. The findings reveal significant insights: unemployment positively affects the poverty rate, underlining the vulnerability of unemployed individuals to poverty. In contrast, public debt emerges as a negative determinant of poverty, emphasizing the importance of prudent fiscal management for poverty reduction. Intriguingly, inflation does not exhibit a statistically significant association with the poverty rate. These results offer a valuable contribution to the limited macroeconomic studies on poverty in Malaysia, shedding light on the intricate dynamics between economic variables and poverty, and provide valuable guidance for policymakers and researchers alike in the pursuit of targeted poverty alleviation strategies tailored to the Malaysian context

Electronic word of mouth: exploring the consumer perspective

The aim of the paper is to review the phenomena of traditional word of mouth and electronic word of mouth based on consumer behaviour perspective. Customers are increasingly using social media in their purchase decisions. Scholars have shown that positive electronic word of mouth has a significantly positive effect on purchase intention, while negative electronic word of mouth has greater negative impact on purchase intention. This study seeks to examine relevant literature regarding the impact of electronic word of mouth on business and consumers’ behaviour. It is crucial to understand in depth on the impact of electronic word of mouth towards consumption patterns since technology has been widely used in disseminating information

Heritage identity conservation of the woodcarving placement and design composition typologies on Johor Malay houses

Woodcarving is a distinct heritage that can promote the identity of a region. However, current practices of using the design composition and woodcarving placement which do not belong to the local region pose a threat to the identity and authenticity of the original heritage. If such practices continue and the identity of the local heritage is not preserved and recorded, the traditional designs and local identity will eventually be lost. The objective of this paper is to identify the placements of woodcarving and the typology of design compositions of woodcarving which form the identity of the Johor Malay houses. Site visits were conducted to Limas Johor in which the wood carvings of 50 houses were examined, photographed and documented. Interviews were also conducted with the house owners or occupants, and the wood carvers. The samples were analyzed and the results were verified by experts. A total of 10 woodcarving placements and 23 typologies were discovered, drawn and coded. The findings of this research suggest that the typology combination of JT2-P5+KT7 of woodcarving represents the identity of Limas Johor houses. It is hoped that this study can bring recognition to Johor woodcarvings, contribute valuable guides for woodcarvers to apply these typologies into their future works to sustain and cherish the Johor local identity

Understanding women experiences and decision making in choosing birthplace

Understanding consumer behaviour pertaining to healthcare consumption is vital in assessing and improving the service quality. Maternity care is one the largest division that most of the healthcare provider holds within the community of healthcare market and childbirth is most common reported cases. Choosing the ideal birthplace is one of the pivotal decision in childbirth process and the decision made are influences by different attributes. Understanding women’s experiences during the childbirth process provide useful insights on how experiences influence the decision made. Intense competition and lucrative industry required healthcare provider to further understand the consumer need and demand as well focusing more towards customer-centred strategy.Purpose of this article is to discuss and review the relevant literature regarding the childbirth experiences and birthplace choice phenomenon from the lenses of consumer

Predicting muslim consumers’ purchase intention of previously retracted and recertified halal products / Nurul Syuhada Mohd Yunus, Raja Nerina Raja Yusof and Haslinda Hashim.

The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of attitude, subjective norms, brand image and halal knowledge on the purchase intention of previously retracted and recertified Halal products among Muslim consumers. This study used self-administered questionnaires that were distributed using convenience sampling. A total of 200 questionnaires were collected from respondents in Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Perak. The findings of the study revealed that attitude, subjective norms and brand image significantly predict Muslim consumers’ purchase intention of previously retracted and recertified Halal products. However, halal knowledge was found to be insignificant towards purchase intention. The findings are primarily beneficial for the marketers of halal products by offering an insight into the intention of consumers to purchase products that had previously been retracted off their Halal certification

Predicting muslim consumers’ purchase intention of previously retracted and recertified halal products

The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of attitude, subjective norms, brand image and halal knowledge on the purchase intention of previously retracted and recertified Halal products among Muslim consumers. This study used self-administered questionnaires that were distributed using convenience sampling. A total of 200 questionnaires were collected from respondents in Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Perak. The findings of the study revealed that attitude, subjective norms and brand image significantly predict Muslim consumers’ purchase intention of previously retracted and recertified Halal products. However, halal knowledge was found to be insignificant towards purchase intention. The findings are primarily beneficial for the marketers of halal products by offering an insight into the intention of consumers to purchase products that had previously been retracted off their Halal certification

Motifs, placements and influences of woodcarving in Muar traditional Malay houses

Almost every country, race or culture has its own traditional heritage including Malaysia and every state in it. Woodcarving is one of the Malaysian traditional heritage that has been passed through generations and should be preserved and maintained. Unfortunately, it is being forgotten due to the rapid urbanization and led to it getting destroyed and extinct. Nevertheless, there are still many traditional houses in some places which own very interesting woodcarvings that must be studied and analyzed before this heritage is permanently vanished such as in Muar, Johor where it owns an interesting history, thus making it among the earliest inhabited district and rich in woodcarvings. This study aimed to identify motifs and placements of the woodcarvings in traditional Malay houses in the districts of Muar including the influence on it. The research methodologies taken were case studies of existing traditional Malay houses in Muar. Site visits to the chosen houses are carried out where the process of taking data, photography and interviewing the resident as well as additional information from Center of Built Environment in the Malay World (KALAM) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) was then triangulated with the analytic interpretation of local woodcarvers. The results showed the existence of significant motif, placement and very strong influence on the woodcarvings found in these Malay traditional houses in Muar

Halal food supply chain knowledge and purchase intention

This study examines the influence of halal supply chain knowledge on Muslim and non-Muslim consumers’ intention to purchase halal food products. This includes knowledge of halal feed, the halal slaughtering process, halal handling and storage, halal packaging, halal logistics, and halal retail. Convenience sampling was used as the sampling method for the study. Targeted respondents were both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya (Klang Valley) in Malaysia. Based on the suggestion from Roscoe (1975), 360 respondents were targeted for this study. Out of 360 questionnaires distributed, 304 (84 percent) were usable and valid for further analysis. This study focused on knowledge supply chains and further identified that knowledge has a direct influence on consumers’ purchase intention for halal food. Knowledge of halal slaughtering, storage, and packaging, in particular, are among the best predictors of consumers’ purchase intention for halal food. Shaari and Arifin (2010) found that knowledge is a key influence in halal purchase intention. However, in terms of the supply chain, knowledge of the process tends to be focused around people in the industry and not general consumers. Hence, this study investigated how far consumers’ knowledge of halal supply chains affects their purchase intention