A model of the process of women’s entry into business ownership: A study among Malay businesswomen in Malaysia

More women from western and developed countries enter business ownership and more women in Asia, particularly in Malaysia, are also becoming self-employed despite many tangible and intangible obstacles.In the f ace of these barriers, they still demonstrate a strong determination to succeed.In view of this, this paper will attempt to present a theoretical model of the economic and social factors associated with Malay businesswomen in the rural environment. Insights into the influence of socio-economic factors on entrepreneurship is based on a study of 31 Malay rural businesswomen from the District of Pendang, Kedah.This study has shown that a combination of individual needs and experience are not the only reasons why women start their own business ventures. In each case, other events and external factors have catapulted the women into business ownership.Hence this paper has set out theoretical and methodological implications that contribute to our knowledge about the theory of the origins of entrepreneurship among rural businesswomen

Malaysian indirect tax administration system: an analysis of efficiency and taxpayers' perceptions

This study examines the level of efficiency of the indirect taxes administration system. The level of efficiency was analysed through the trends of the cost-revenue ratio; and revenue detected-collected ratio. Further investigation was carried out to see whether the Malaysian indirect tax system has all the characteristics of a good tax system as perceived by the taxpayers based on the tenets proposed by the Institute Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). The result of the study revealed that the Malaysian Customs Department has been collecting less indirect taxes revenue each year as compared to the costs incurred in the process of acquiring the revenue. An anaysis on the ratio of total arrears to total revenue collected also indicated that uncollected indirect tax revenues is on the increasing trend.Is shows that the rate of increase in the amount of overdue taxes is more than the amount of revenue collected each year.It was also revealed that on the average,only 60% of the revenue loss detected could be recovered for the period 1995 to 2001. The trend of collection has been rather stable even though the revenue detected has increased. Regarding the characteristics of a good tax system,based on the respondents surveyed, there are mixed responses for each characteristic as perceived by the taxpayers. The findings revealed that there is an existence of a good legislation under the tax system and the tax system is constant and regularly reviewed.However, they had disagreed that the present system is certain and simple; proper consultation has been made before any new legislation is issued; and that the overall system is fair. From all the characteristics suggested, the taxpayers ranked "statutory" as the highest and "proper consultation" as the lowest

Adoption of e-voting system in Nigeria: A prospect for poverty alleviation

This study examines the factors that influences the idea of E-voting System (EVS) from the viewpoint of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerian citizen and the potentials of the Card Reader (CR) and Permanent Voters Card (PVC) to alleviate poverty in Nigeria. The study adopts the content analysis approach, using survey literature to generate relevant information on the justifications for adopting Card Reader Machine in the 2015 election as a preliminary experiment for the e-voting system in Nigeria.The result shows that the introduction of CR and PVC has minimized election frauds in the 2015 general election, hence, indicating the chances for adopting e-voting technology in the subsequent elections.The study also revealed that since non-performing leaders were voted out during the election, it is an indication that the incumbent leaders and prospective candidates would be committed to desirable programs to alleviate poverty. Undue interference with INEC activities and malfunction of CR machines are common challenges encountered during the 2015 general elections.The study therefore, recommend an intensive practical training for the ad-hoc personnel, and enactment of laws with severe penalties to allow INEC discharge its duties as an independent institution to curtail unnecessary intrusion

Malaysian Government Initiative of Information Communication Technology to Disabled People

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is important to measure the development of the nation and the people. Malaysia as a democratic nation has to deliver equal services to the people without any boundaries and discrimination. Nowadays, knowledge of Information Communication Technology is crucial and become one of the measurement tools to maximize work and task. Failure to catch up ICT movement will cause digital divide, which is the phenomenon of gap exists between people who have access to ICT and who did not have access. This paper aims to determine the government initiative in terms of policy, law and regulations, infrastructure, support organization and training, whether it is appropriate or inappropriate with the needs of disabled people

Disabled People are Left Behind the Information Age: Are the Gap Getting Bigger?

Rapid progress of Information Communication Technology (ICT) will accelerate the distribution of information from government to the people; however the monopoly of technology ICT services will lead to inequality of information distribution in between of normal people and disabled people. Embrace with the inequality of ICT distribution directly make the group of disabled people left behind at the information age, or the situation also known as digital divide. Hence, this article attempts to identify and examine the issues facing by disabled people in order to catch up the fast diffusion of ICT

The dynamics of resource conflict: Lessons from Nigeria and Malaysia

Since the emergence of environmental resource conflict on the international political discourse in the early 1980s, there has been growing concern that, resource conflicts in developing countries is likely to exacerbate conflicts originating in strenuous struggles over scarce resources due to population increase. The apparent manifestation of conflicts in the oil rich Niger Delta region in Southern Nigeria and Farmer-herder conflicts in Northern Nigeria to the lingering forest logging controversy in Malaysia is an upsurge of the coming resource “crisis” in these countries. The focus of this paper is to discuss issues on management of resource conflicts in developing countries like Nigeria and Malaysia. The paper suggests that, there is the need for commitment from the states and all stakeholders through institutionalization of proactive conflict resolution and peace building strategies, instead of resolution through the grave yards. Discussions are based on secondary data with examples from recent experiences from farmer-herder conflict, and Niger Delta crisis in Nigeria, and forest logging in Malaysia

‘Entrepreneurial traits’ and behaviours among Malay rural businesswomen from the district of Pendang, Kedah, Malaysia

The study of the characteristics of entrepreneurs has already been the subject of a considerable amount of research, much of which focused on how these individuals differ from non-entrepreneurs, particularly with regard to personal characteristics. One study found hard work, ambition, courage and individuality to be characteristics associated with the spirit of entrepreneurship. In the 1960s, McClelland theorised that the psychological and social impetus for entrepreneurship must be embodied in the ‘need for achievement factor’, or the N-achievement factor. Successful entrepreneurs possess certain characteristics which may be unique to their own profession. Hence, this paper is an attempt to address questions and issues arising from the study with a view to determining the nature and characteristics of Malay rural businesswomen in their economic, social and cultural environment. The study was of 31 Malay rural businesswomen from the district of rural Pendang, Kedah who were selected on the basis of a set of criteria. Firstly, the study hopes to establish the characteristics and behaviours of these businesswomen which have emerged from an analysis of data and interview narratives, in understanding how the women themselves view their personal characteristics and how this relates to their involvement in entrepreneurship and how they feel about themselves. Secondly, an exploration of the personal characteristics of the respondents was made in this study. Here the respondents describe their own personal characteristics and how they are related to their decisions to set up a business venture. The data revealed that these Malay businesswomen have distinct characteristics that influence their entrepreneurial practices, behaviours and actions

A preliminary study of rural women entrepreneurs: Characteristics and business success factors

This paper aims to identify a demo-socio-economic profile of rural women entrepreneurs and investigate the elements of how cultural values, Islamic values, social and environment, individual beliefs, and opportunities/infrastructure have influence on the successful of rural business women.In this preliminary study, a total of 36 respondents in northern area of Kedah were interviewed.This study found most of the entrepreneurs are married and have some previous working experience.The result shows that almost 80 per cent of respondents believe in religion, work hard, and always thankful to God. They highlighted the importance of exposure to entrepreneurships since childhood, and keeping good manners as the most important factors in influencing the success of the business.In terms of Islamic practice, a total of 80.6 per cent agreed that the business must be ‘halal’ and trustworthy is a must in each transaction involved.This study further discovers that the biggest challenge is to balance the time between family and business

Democratic Government and Rural Development in Taraba State North-East Nigeria: A Pilot Study Report

This paper examined democratic government and rural development in Taraba State Nigeria using small sample of 36 respondents to report the pilot study results. The methodology adopted was survey research design; in which questionnaire were administered randomly on students of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria-Nigeria. The reliability of the instruments were analyzed using SPSS V20. The results confirmed the reliability of all the instruments adopted for the study. It concludes that, the benchmark of 0.60 adopted from literatures confirmed the reliability of all the items of the constructs and therefore be maintained for the main study. Keywords: Democratic government, rural development, Taraba State-Nigeria, Pilot study repor