All Research

Farah Ajlaa Julaihi · Asmah Alia Mohamad Bohari · Mohd Azrai Azman · Kuryati Kipli · Sharifah Rahama Amirul ·Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities ·2022

Many countries are witnessing a rise in the ageing population, which has become a global phenomenon that all nations must address. As the population of greying people is expected to increase in Malaysia, the demand for senior citizen accommodation is predicted to have experienced a major rise by 2030. However, although studies related to retirement villages (RV) are highly important to understand how to provide a better ambience for the elderly, research on the development of retirement villages in Malaysia is yet to gather pace fully. Thus, this paper aims to explore the potential of the retirement village in Malaysia by focusing on the push factors for the elderly to move to retirement villages in the local Malaysian context. The outcome of this paper presents the initial findings derived from a literature review and pilot survey. Eight potential push factors were identified after questions were posed to potential respondents through a pilot survey questionnaire. The research revealed that the main potential reason why the elderly relocate to retirement villages was related to social factors, with the elderly preferring better access to healthcare and support due to their unique requirements. The findings of this study are relevant to Chapter 11, as underlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call on all governments to offer access to a secure, green environment for everyone, especially the elderly. Theoretically, this research provides the first findings on the elements that encourage the elderly to relocate to an RV when they retire in Malaysia.

Noor Zahirah Mohd Sidek · Bhuk Kiranantawat · Martusorn Khaengkhan ·Economies ·2022

In the present paper, we show how uncertainty emanating from fluctuations in economic uncertainty, news-based uncertainty, and geopolitical risks affect the number of containers exported from Thailand via Penang Port, Malaysia. Our sample extends from January 2009 to May 2020 from three main entry points in the Northern Peninsular Malaysia–Thailand Border: Padang Besar, Surat Thani, and Bukit Kayu Hitam. Two modes of transportation of containers are mainly used for export purposes, namely, road and rai. This study examines the nonlinear effect of uncertainty on trade by employing a two-regime Markov regime-switching approach. The empirical results show that, overall, uncertainty significantly affects the movement of containers in the high-uncertainty regime. Therefore, small ports must continue to diversify their client base to cushion the impact of fluctuations in global trade due to uncertainty

AHMAD FAHMI SHEIKH HASSAN · ADI FAZULI MAMAT · YUSUF KARBHARI · MUSLIM HAR SANI MOHAMAD ·International Journal of Economics and Management ·2018 ·JEL: M42; M41;G34

This study examines the effectiveness of an Audit Committee (AC) operating in a large government statutory body in an emerging economy, namely the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM). This study is timely, as previous studies focussing on AC effectiveness in relation to the public sector are sparse. Data collection was through in-depth interviews with key individuals involved in the IRBM governance process, including AC members, senior management and external auditors. The study finds existence of a weak AC governance function that inadequately oversees financial reporting and internal control systems. We find the independence of AC members questionable, as a communication gap exists between AC members and the external auditor. In particular, the study highlights that top management should ensure that its AC fulfils its assigned role and that urgent attention is given to issues on composition, appointment and diligence of its AC members. We conclude that the IRBM should consider improving independence by appointing an external independent AC member(s) from either the big four or an influential industry expert to provide the necessary input and expertise to ensure that public confidence continues.

Asma Rashidah Idris · Muzafar Shah Habibullah · Badariah Haji Din ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2018

The “old-age security” and “complete substitutability” hypotheses suggest that fnancial market can affect individuals’ decision to have less or more children. It has been recognised in the literature that at low level of fnancial development, children are considered an asset and a form of investment that could provide returns and security during old age. However, at higher level of fnancial development, individuals have more access to the fnancial market that can provide funds and fnancing during old age and as a result the demand for children is less. Furthermore, increase in female labour participation rate in the fnancial industry as well as in other economic sectors will also induce demand for fewer children. In Malaysia, the development of banks as well as the non-banking fnancial institutions has broadened credit accessibility to households and it could affects household’s decisions over the number of children they should have. Thus, the present paper empirically investigates the long-run relationship between fertility rate, fnancial development, income and household consumption in Malaysia for the period 1975 to 2013. In this study we employed the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) modelling approach for the testing of cointegration. Our results suggest that fnancial development and household consumption expenditure are negatively related to fertility rate, while fertility rate portrays a non-linear long-run relationship with income, thus exhibiting an inverted U-shaped curve with income in Malaysia.

Hylmee Matahir · Chor Foon Tang ·Institutions and Economies ·2018 ·JEL: C33; C51; Z30

This study explores critically major determinants of inbound educational tourism demand in Malaysia between 2002 and 2014 by employing dynamic panel system Generalised Method of Moment (GMM). The study found academic reputation as the main driving factor of educational tourism followed by economic capacity of country of origin and the quality of higher education. The findings of this study provide some insights for the policymakers to plan their promotional strategies to attract a greater number of international students to Malaysia to pursue their higher education.

Evan Lau · Alvina Lee Syn-Yee ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2018

As with most of the world economy, the 2008/09 global financial crisis has brought massive impacts on Southeast Asian economies. The debt/GDP ratios in most economies rose significantly, thus putting the spotlight again on fiscal sustainability. This article aims to distinguish the reaction of the primary balance/GDP to changes in the debt/GDP to assess the fiscal sustainability of Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. In investigating how the respective governments react to the accumulation of debt, the article estimates the fiscal reaction function, initiated by Bohn (1998), using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Vector Autoregression (VAR). The empirical analysis reveals that, based on past behaviour, fiscal policy in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines remains sustainable.

Y. Amjad · N.A.M Naseem · W.N.W. Azman-Saini · Tajul Ariffin Masron · K. Kriskkumar ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2018

Export has been considered as main contributor to economic growth in which also known as export-led growth (ELG) hypothesis. The purpose of this study is to identify the export-led growth nexus in Malaysia. Specifically, this study focuses on disaggregated level of exports such as export of goods and manufactured sectors. By using ARDL co-integration technique for data that covers from 1980 to 2015, the result discovers that exports have positive impact on economic growth, particularly at disaggregated levels of exports namely exports of goods and export of manufactured sectors. This further supports the validation of the export-led growth hypothesis, especially in small, open and dynamic economy like Malaysia. From policy point of view, Malaysia policy makers should give special focus to search for better catalyst of exports promotion strategy to continuously and effectively promote long-term economic growth.

May Jin Theong · Ahmad Farid Osman · Su Fei Yap ·Institutions and Economies ·2018 ·JEL: E20; E32; E37; E44; E51; G21

Malaysia has one of the highest household debts relative to gross domestic product in the Asia region. High indebted households have negative net worth and prone to default even during mild shocks. In most economies including Malaysia, household loan default is dominated by mortgages. In Malaysia, however, credit card debt default rate has been growing faster than mortgage default rate. Thus, this paper analyses how combined global and domestic macroeconomic factors impact on credit card nonperforming loan (NPLs) in Malaysia. Estimates from the Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) model highlights that in the long run, credit card NPLs are procyclical as strong domestic real output reduces credit card default. The study shows positive global crude oil price shocks reduces the credit card NPLs while a stressed global financial market condition has a reverse effect on credit card NPLs. Further, consumer price index negatively relates to credit card NPLs while monetary policy affects NPLs whereby a cut back of the overnight policy rate reduces credit card debt default.

Neshaleni S. Paramanantham · Irene Wei Kiong Ting · Qian Long Kweh ·Institutions and Economies ·2018 ·JEL: G31; G32; G34

This study examines the impact of ownership concentration on debt structure. Based on marketcapitalisation, we obtained financial and governance data from Top 100 public listed companies in Malaysia for the period 2011-2015. Ordinary least squares and fixed-effect panel models were employed for examining data. The regression results showed that ownership held by the top five shareholders significantly and negatively affected long term debt and total debt ratios. The results remain qualitatively similar in both estimations using the ordinary least squares and fixed-effect panel models. In summary,this study offers some insights into how concentrated ownership influence corporate debt structure.

Sotheeswari Somasundram · Murali Sambasivan · Ratneswary Rasiah · Tee Pei-Leng ·Institutions and Economies ·2018 ·JEL: 053; R11; C43; J130; 018

The urban community in Malaysia is facing rapid urbanisation and have been the beneficiary of urban development policies. The key purpose of these policies has been to enhance and improve the well-being of the urban community. However, given the diverse nature of urban planning, literature has highlighted the possibility of a mismatch between policy directions and the outcomes desired by society. The aim of this study is therefore, to determine whether urban policy measures currently implemented in Malaysia are in sync with the needs of society. This study applied the relative importance index (RII) method tounderstand the challenges faced by urban residents in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malacca and Penang. The results revealed five challenges which are of concern to the urban community: prevalence of crime, rising cost of living, lack of employment opportunities, air pollutionandtraffic congestion. The findings indicate Government policies are addressing these concerns. However, for a more effective outcome, the study recommends designing urban policies in consultation with civil society.

Nurul Hizetie Mohamed Nor · Anuar Nawawi · Ahmad Saiful Azlin Puteh Salin ·Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities ·2018

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between audit characteristics and firm investment efficiency level. Audit characteristics have been characterized using audit committee (AC) independence and external auditor choice. Top 200 Malaysian listed companies based on market capitalization were selected as a sample. Binomial logistic regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses for 3 years, that is, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The statistical results show no relationship between AC independence and investment inefficiency, while auditor choice was shown to be positively significant only in 1 year of the study, but was not significant in the other 2 years of study. The results provide further confirmation of the role of corporate governance in enhancing the investment performance of the company. This study provides an indicator to shareholders and investors that a company with strong governance structure will likely make better investment decision. Managers under strong governance are prevented from taking an aggressive investment risk approach that may result in overinvestment. In addition, the company will carefully plan to have an adequate capital so that a good opportunity investment will not being passed due to insufficient financing that will result underinvestment. This study is original, as it focuses on the direct relationship between corporate governance mechanism and firm investment efficiency level that is scarce in the literature, with a special focus on emerging markets in the process of developing their best governance practices.

Norlida Hanim Mohd Salleh · Suhaya Samad ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2018

The Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) is fundamentally established for the purpose of addressing the poverty problem caused by the absence of agricultural land to generate income. Now, through the plan the main problem has been solved. In fact, in order to increase farmer income, various efforts have been made. Various forms of involvement are involved by settlers, including the involvement of the FELDA community in the homestay program. Participation in the homestay program not only addresses the problem of the lack of provision of accommodation services in remote tourism areas but can generate additional income to the community as well as bringing some additional impact. This study aims to analyze the impact of the community that is involved in the program. The impacts are in four (4) aspects, which are the economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects. This study is based on fieldwork with the aid of questionnaire as a study instrument. A total of 161 respondents were involved in this interview at several homestay locations throughout Peninsular Malaysia. Sample selection is randomly stratified. Mean analysis is used for the purpose of assessing the impact obtained besides assisted by one-way ANOVA test and Post Hoc Turkey HSD test. The findings show that the homestay program has a positive impact on the businessman in terms of economic, social, cultural and environmental impact. Compared to the economic impact, the higher the Semenchu Homestay, Mata Ayer and Sg. As compared to other homestays, while in terms of cultural impact, homestay Mata Ayer, Semenchu and Jengka homestay over other homestays. In terms of environmental impact, the benefits enjoyed by Homestay Sg. Klah is the highest. For social impact, this study found no significant difference between all homestay studies. Since the involvement in the homestay program can have significant impact on entrepreneurs, encouragement and assistance from the government and the FELDA are required. Homestay operators can also make high-impact homestays such as Homestay Semencu, Mata Ayer, Jengka and Sg. Klah as a model for developing their homestay.

Kwee-Heng Lee · Raja Noriza Raja Ariffin · Nik Rosnah Wan Abdullah ·Institutions and Economies ·2018 ·JEL: I 15; I 18; I 19

The emergence of proprietary private hospitals in the 1980s has led to a rise in cost of health care services, variation in care and increase in adverse events. These have contributed to societal concerns prompting the authorities to enforce Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) that regulates all private hospitals nationwide in2006. Employing a case study approach, this paper discusses some salient themes on the impact of Act 586 on 15 purposively selected private hospitals in the Klang Valley in terms of achieving the national objectives of accessibility, equity and quality care. This study reveals several interrelated themes such as of policy, power, governance, compliance, and quality of care in achieving the national objective. Findings point to high investment of the state in private hospitals. Although a private hospital is stipulated to be a physician-led institution, in reality the majority of these hospitals are owned by government-linked corporations. Many private hospitals face major challenges in terms of compliance with the new regulations meant to improve patient safety and quality of care. However, full compliance to the regulations remains an insurmountable challenge as the private providers are influential. Faced with political constraints, asymmetric information and inadequate human resources, the regulatory authority seems hampered in its enforcement capacity.

Qian Long Kweh · Norazlin Ahmad · Irene Wei Kiong Ting · Cheng Zhang · Hasahudin Hassan ·Institutions and Economies ·2019 ·JEL: G34; L21

This study investigates the influences of board gender diversity and board independence on firm performance. Ordinary least squares, two-stage least squares and generalised method of moments are employed to test the relationships among board gender diversity, board independence, and firm performance in firms listed on Bursa Malaysia between 2010 and 2015. The regression results indicate that female directors and independent directors significantly and negatively affect firm performance, respectively. However, the interaction term of board gender diversity and board independence is statistically insignificant. Overall, managers must consider that board gender diversity and board independence may not have an interactive effect on improving the performance of their firms.

Muralitharan Paramasua · Evelyn S. Devadason · Pardis Moslemzadeh Tehrani ·Institutions and Economies ·2019 ·JEL: H70; P48; P45

Environmental regulation is a key driver for the growth of environmental goods and services (EGS), while trade facilitates the diffusion of these goods and services. There has been no shortage of initiatives to develop the EGS sector in Malaysia.However, some policy (non-market) failures are already observed in the governance of this sector. This paper identifies the inadequacies in the regulatory framework (environmental institutions and laws) for creating an enabling environment for the EGS sector. The paper also reviews the trade direction for EGS and delineates concerns related to the sectoral approach of policy making for the sector. The findings from the documentary analyses suggest that the laws and policies related to the EGS are fragmented as they come under the purview of different agencies. As a result of this regulatory incoherence, the coordination and enforcement are weak leading to low uptake of EGS. The absence of a national policy for EGS also obscures the trade direction for this sector. The policy priority and generous support accorded to the renewable energy segment, more specifically, are also a concern given the limited and uncertain role that this segment is expected to play in global energy use.