How Does Risk-based Deposit Insurance Premium Affect Bank Risk Taking? Islamic Bank vis a vis Conventional Bank

Central banks across the world implemented deposit insurance system as a major risk management practice in the post Global Financial Crisis (2007/2008) period. This study provides insights on the efficacy of deposit insurance policy in the Malaysian market where Islamic and conventional banking co-exist. Given that Islamic banking principles inherently limits bank risk taking ability, the study findings clearly identify the pertinent role of risk-based deposit insurance premium on mitigating potential increase bank risk in the post-financial crisis period. Using Malaysian banks data for the period 2002-2010, this study finds that Islamic banks have lower risk appetite than conventional banks. Most importantly, after the introduction of deposit insurance system, insolvency and operational risk increase mainly for conventional banks owing to inadequate premium. This calls for policymakers to carefully consider design features for an effective risk-based DI system that is risk-premium sensitive to ensure financial stability. Other policy implications include that the risk-based deposit insurance premium would prevent regulatory arbitrage, while Shariah compliance principles prevent the Islamic banks from adjusting their risk after the introduction of a deposit insurance system. Worth mentioning is the institution of an early warning mechanism policy as well as formal cooperation in information sharing protocols among policymakers, regulators and deposit insurance organisations to minimise operational risk in banks

Penghakiman Tribunal Antarabangsa untuk Undang-Undang Laut (ITLOS) dalam isu penambakan wilayah di Singapura

Penambakan wilayah adalah satu teknik yang merujuk kepada kerja-kerja pengorekan pasir di sesuatu lokasi, dan pasir itu kemudiannya ditimbus ke lokasi tertentu di pinggir pantai bagi meninggikan aras permukaan dasar laut sehingga menjadi tapak muka bumi yang baru. Di antara negara yang sangat giat melakukan aktiviti penambakan wilayah di rantau Asia Tenggara ialah Singapura. Kajian ini menumpukan analisis prosiding penambakan wilayah Singapura di Tribunal Antarabangsa untuk Undang-Undang Laut (ITLOS) yang melibatkan negara jiran terdekatnya Malaysia. Pengumpulan maklumat primer dilaksanakan secara pemerhatian terus di lapangan dan juga membuat beberapa temubual mendalam. Manakala maklumat sekunder diperolehi melalui kajian kepustakaan. Hasil akhir kajian kumpulan pakar bebas (GOE) telah mengesahkan dakwaan awal kerajaan Malaysia bahawa, kerja-kerja penambakan wilayah Singapura di Tuas dan Pulau Tekong telah menyebabkan beberapa impak negatif seperti pencemaran di perairan laut Malaysia dan menyempitkan laluan perkapalan di Selat Johor. Justeru permohonan provisional measures kerajaan Malaysia sememangnya mempunyai asas kes yang sangat kukuh. Pada 26 April 2005, kedua-dua wakil kerajaan telah menandatangani perjanjian bersama secara rasmi untuk menamatkan pertelingkahan di dalam isu penambakan wilayah ini. Walaubagaimanapun, isu tuntutan kerajaan Malaysia di Titik 20 tidak dibincangkan di dalam prosiding ini, namun kedua-dua pihak bersetuju agar rundingan diplomatik yang berasingan di adakan bagi tujuan tersebut pada masa akan datang

“Realpolitik” hubungan Singapura-Amerika Syarikat dalam konteks penambakan wilayah di Singapura

Penambakan wilayah adalah satu teknik yang merujuk kepada kerja-kerja pengorekan pasir di sesuatu lokasi. Kemudiannya pasir berkenaan ditimbus ke lokasi tertentu di pinggir pantai bagi meninggikan aras permukaan dasar laut sehingga menjadi tapak muka bumi yang baru. Di antara negara yang sangat giat melakukan aktiviti penambakan wilayah di rantau Asia Tenggara ialah Singapura. Ini adalah kerana Singapura mempunyai bidang tanah yang kecil, kawasan pantai yang terhad dan mempunyai populasi penduduk yang semakin meningkat. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk menganalisis hubungan bilateral antara Singapura dengan Amerika Syarikat, dan mengenalpasti kerjasama militarinya yang berkaitan dengan aktiviti penambakan wilayah di Singapura. Pengumpulan data primer dilaksanakan secara pemerhatian terus di lapangan dan melalui beberapa sesi temubual mendalam. Pengumpulan data sekunder diperolehi daripada pelbagai sumber seperti artikel jurnal tersohor, akhbar, laman internet yang dipercayai dan laporan kerajaan. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa langkah yang diambil oleh Singapura untuk menambak wilayah ini bukanlah disebabkan peningkatan populasi penduduknya semata-mata. Tatkala Amerika Syarikat kelihatan agresif melaksanakan strategi pivot to Asia Pacific, Singapura pula sebenarnya mengalu-alukan kehadiran kuasa militari Amerika Syarikat ke rantau ini. Justeru kajian ini menyimpulkan bahawa jaringan kerjasama militari Singapura- Amerika Syarikat adalah signifikan di dalam aktiviti penambakan wilayah Singapura di mana ianya memenuhi kepentingan realpolitik Amerika Syarikat di rantau ini

Species motif extraction using LPBS

This paper presents the use of the ̳Linear-PSO with Binary Search‘ (LPBS) algorithm for discovering motifs, especially species specific motifs.In this study, fragments of mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI/COX1) and genome of COI were collected from the Genbank online database.For the first experiment, the genome of COI was used as a reference set and other DNA sequences were used as a comparison set.All the collected DNA sequences are from the same species.The results show that the LPBS algorithm is able to discover motifs. For the second experiment, all the discovered motifs were used as a reference set and the genome of COI from other species were used as a comparison set.The results show that the LPBS algorithm is able to identify correct motifs for species identification

Extreme programming and its positive affect on software engineering teams

This paper presents an early empirical study on Extreme Programming (XP) practices employing Positive Affect metric.The study was conducted on university students doing development projects to gain an insight understanding of the effect of using agile practices on software engineering (SE) teams.The finding indicates that XP practices do have positive affectivity on the SE teams. This is to be expected because of the existence of the practices such as simple design,pair programming, continuous testing, continuous integration and frequent review (release) that command feedback.This finding helps to provide early empirical evidences on the impact of XP methodology on the positive affectivity of the developers

A study on surface wash and runoff using open system erosion plots

This study on surface wash and runoff using open system erosion plots was carried out in Tekala forest reserve, Hulu Langat, Selangor. Variations in the rates of surface wash and runoff were analysed with reference to soil characteristics of the site and 14 rainfall parameters. The results showed that the rate ofsurface wash ranged from 49.5 g m-2 yr1 to 137 g m-2 yr1 with an average of 85.04 g m-2 yr1 • Suspended sediment constituted approximately 80% of the total sediment transported 1Yy surface wash. The average rate of total surface runoff was 133.8 lm-2 y£l. The results also showed that correlations between surface wash, surface runoff and soil characteristics varied. However, the correlation between surface runoff and surface wash was found to be highly significant with most rainfall parameters. The total amount of rainfall was most suitable rainfall parameter to predict both surface wash and runof

Use Of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch For Lignophenol Production

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) is a by-product in palm oil industry and represents an abundant, inexpensive and renewable resource which has not been utilized satisfactorily. It can be categorized as lignocellulosic material due to its cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content. Due to the reasons, this research was done to evaluate the potential of OPEFB as starting material for lignophenol production by using one step and two-step processes to compare the efficiency of the methods. The best method was further applied for the next experiment to produce lignophenols from different type of OPEFB. The separation of lignin from OPEFB is based on the phase separation reaction system at room temperature (~ 28°C) to produce lignophenol. This process composed of phenol derivative (p-cresol) and concentrated acid (72% sulfuric acid) where lignin is present in organic phase and carbohydrates in aqueous phase after 1 hour of stirring. From the results obtained, the two step process is the best method to produce lignophenol due to competitive yield obtained and less chemicals used compared to one step process. The yield of lignophenol produced by one step and two step processes were 68% and 61%, respectively. Three types of OPEFB have been used, i.e. extractives free OPEFB (LP1), non-extractives free OPEFB (LP2) and OPEFB powder obtained from Sabutek Mill, Perak (LP3). The chemical composition of each OPEFB was determined prior to production of lignophenol by two step process. Basically, the lignin content in LP1 and LP2 were not so much different as compared to LP3 which has lower lignin and cellulose content. There were no difference in yield of lignophenol being produced from LP1 and LP2 which gave 61±1% respectively, whereas LP3 gave 56±1% yield based on lignin content. Lignophenol from LP1 and LP2 also appeared in white pinkish color which is comparable to the previous work. However, lignophenol from LP3 appeared in dark brown color. The sugars hydrolyzed in the phase separation system in terms of percent conversion were 89%, 99% and 97% in LP1, LP2 and LP3, respectively. The lignophenol sample from LP1, LP2 and LP3 were further analyzed and characterized by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV) and thermomechanical analysis (TMA). However, LP3 could not be analyzed due to insolubility in the solvents used. From the results obtained, lignophenol from LP1 and LP2 showed similar results in structure and physical properties. The molecular weight of lignophenols from LP1 and LP2 were 5759 g mol-1 and 5866 g mol-1, respectively. There were no significant difference in the amount of attached cresol between LP1 and LP2 which gave 26±1%. In summary, it can be concluded that OPEFB has a good potential as a starting material in lignophenol production by using two step process. Furthermore, it does not require ethanol/benzene extraction to treat the material

Socio-economic wellbeing: lifestyle and ecological impact of the orang asli batek after flood crisis

Food insecurity occurs whenever people have limited availability of safe and nutritious food or unable to acquire them in socially acceptable ways. This cross-sectional study assessed food insecurity and nutrttional status among 38 Batek women (15-55 years old) after recent massive 'Bah Kuning' in Pos Lebir, Kuala Krai, Kelantan. Respondents were interviewed for socioeconomic and demographic data, as well as information on household food security and dietary intake. They were examined for weight, height and waist and hip circumferences. For analysis of data, descriptive statistics was used. All of the respondents experienced household food insecurtty as assessed using the Radimer/Cornell Hunger and Food Insecurity instrument. In general, all of the food insecure households were living below the poverty line; with most of them had no education; and mothers as housewives. Approximately 36.8% of the respondents were underweight while 10.5% and 5.3% were overweight and obese respectively. Waist hip ratio for majority of the respondents showed that they were less likely to suffer from heart disease and cardiovascular problems. The present study also indicated that among this sample of indigenous women, the relationship between food insecurity and obestty is a complex one, which involves the interaction with other factors. Nevertheless, given that obesity and food insecurity are public health concerns in the developing nations, the association between these two aspects should be further investigated