Developing a profile of religions in Malaysia for inter-faith discourses

Malaysians need more than historical explanation to substantiate the reasons for their coexistence and understanding of each other. This paper is to share part of our research endeavor in gathering and managing data on religions in Malaysia through an academic research. Using a combination of approaches; we try to go beyond the phenomenological approach in developing a profile of religions in Malaysia. We have identified two major categories as the criteria for the profile; the permanent and the dynamic. The permanent pertains to; God as the Creator, the universe and creation, the relationship between the creator and the creation, the concept of good and evil and the destiny of the universe. The dynamic pertains to the philosophy, concept, notion, and methods and approaches for understanding the permanent. This paper therefore advocates the profile as potential standard for embarking into inter-faith discourses among religions in Malaysia

Towards a good governance of pluralistic society in Malaysia: a study on the prospects and challenges for a successful Inter-Religious Dialogue (IRD)

The existence of various races, ethnic groups, and religions in Malaysia, maps the pluralistic condition of her society. Such co-existences however have exposed Malaysians to potential conflicts. In reality, conflicts did occur due to lack of understanding on each other’s religion. To reduce the conflicts, Inter-religious dialogue (IRD) has been propagated as an alternative in bridging religions in Malaysia. The issues at hands are; being a Muslim-majority state, what are needed by the Malaysian government to ensure the success of dialogue? Are Malaysians ready for such engagement? What are the prospects and challenges for a successful IRD in the Malaysian context? This paper therefore, aims to present a research findings pertaining to IRD. The findings are deemed necessary for mobilizing a good governance of pluralistic society in Malaysia

The quest for objectivity: religious pluralism and religious plurality in Malaysia

There have been many definitions to religious pluralism and religious plurality topped them. In many instances the two terms have been regarded as synonymous and used inter-changeably. This paperwork tries to provide an objective comparison between the two terms grounded on textual and contextual evidences. In depth interviews with several religious leaders in Malaysia have been conducted to further examine the intensity dan the details of the use of the two terms. The comparison is important to shed some light on the conflict arising from the word religious pluralism. In addition, it is hoped that the comparison would bring some clarifications on the origin of religious pluralism and the pregnant meanings it has for the sake of objectivity

Melaksanakan keterangkuman sosial melalui perundingan dan mediasi dalam penyelesaian perselisihan komuniti: ke arah pembentukan masyarakat Madani

Perpaduan sewajarnya menjadi keutamaan nasional berdasarkan latar-belakang sejarah dan perkembangan masyarakat berbilang kaum dan agama di negara ini. Namun, antara yang masih menjadi isu kepada perpaduan di Malaysia ialah pertikaian yang melibatkan kaum dan agama. Pihak berkuasa mengkategorikannya sebagai isu sensitif yang boleh melibatkan Akta Hasutan. Oleh kerana itu, pendekatan yang biasa diambil untuk menguruskan isu kaum dan agama adalah melalui perundangan. Mengambil kira hal tersebut, pembentangan ini bertujuan mencadangkan kaedah yang lebih konstruktif dalam menguruskan pertikaian kecil yang melibatkan kaum dan agama. Kaedah ini dicadangkan berdasarkan pengalaman di lapangan melakukan intervensi melatih pemimpin komuniti menguasai teknik perundingan dan mediasi yang boleh membantu mereka menguruskan pertikaian kecil yang berlaku dalam komuniti. Melalui teknik perundingan dan mediasi, pemimpin komuniti dilatih untuk menjadi orang tengah yang tidak berkepentingan bagi membantu pihak yang berselisih untuk mengetahui keperluan masing-masing dan cuba memenuhinya. Dalam proses ini, mereka akan dibimbing untuk berbincang secara rasional demi mencapai keputusan menang-menang. Kesimpulannya, skil perundingan dan mediasi ini perlu bagi memperkasakan pemimpin komuniti dan menjadikan ahli komuniti lebih mandiri dalam menyelesaikan masalah harian mereka. Skil tersebut adalah antara kemahiran yang perlu dibangunkan bagi memelihara kelangsungan dan keterangkuman sosial masyarakat madani berbilang kaum dan agama di negara ini

Critical success factors (CSFS) of the pre-adoption and pre-implementation plan of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system

The success of Customer Relationship management (CRM) is not an easy thing to be achieved.The understanding of the main factors that could contribute in the success of CRM initiatives will make the difference toward successful CRM systems adoption and implementation.An extensive review of the literature was conducted in order to highlight the main success factors that if the organization be aware of and dealt with properly will achieve success and will gain the intended benefits of their CRM initiative or program.This paper revealed that top management support, managing organizational and cultural change, CRM understanding, organizational readiness, and users’ involvement are among the most important CRM systems success factors.In addition, this paper proposed plan of six success factors to be as a pre-adoption and pre-implementation plan for the successful adoption and implementation of CRM systems

Dari kepelbagaian agama kepada pluralisme agama: sejarah perkembangan

Dua sebab utama yang berkait-rapat mencetuskan falsafah pluralisme agama ialah faham ekslusivisme Barat Kristian (Western Christian) dan pengaruh “Pencerahan” (Enlightenment) terhadap disiplin pengkajian agama (religious studies). Menggunakan pendekatan sejarah, kertas kerja ini tidak bersifat deskriptif semata-mata. Sebaliknya ia menilai dengan kritis kewibawaan falsafah pluralisme agama berpandukan sejarah, asal-usul dan latar belakang tercetus dan berkembangnya falsafah ini semenjak akhir kurun yang ke20