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Anti-Politics Behaviour among Young Malaysian Chinese
Get PDFObjective: The study investigated the anti-politics behaviour of Chinese youth in Malaysia. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 Chinese participants aged 18 to 40 in Malaysia. They were from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The interview questions included frequency of reading newspapers, and having political conversations with friends, parents and educators. They were also asked about their interest in political speeches, and political involvement. Thematic analysis was conducted for the 85,000-word interview transcript.Results: The interview results revealed that the participants read newspaper articles and social media postings to confirm their pre-existing opinions on political issues. All the participants read Chinese newspapers because they were Chinese-educated, but only three participants were politically informed. The agents of political socialisation were their parents rather than peers and educators. Only one-third of the young Chinese participants read political news, and engaged in political conversations. They were likely to vote, hope for change, and believe that politics is a force for food. On the other hand, two-thirds of the participants were not interested in politics. The anti-politics behaviour was due to the politicians’ negative behaviour and observations of dirty tactics in politics. Most of the participants exhibited non-participation without democracy, and there were few participants in the political participation category, whether negative evaluation or positive evaluation.Conclusion: The study indicates that information black-out contributed to apathy of Chinese youth towards political participation and the disengagement may limit Chinese representation in the political structures of Malaysia in the future.Keywords:Anti-democratic value; anti-politics; non-participatory; youth; ethnic Chinese; Malaysia
Pekeliling Pentadbiran Bil. 6 Tahun 2025: Pemakluman Kenaikan Pangkat Staf Kumpulan Akademik, Staf Pentadbiran Kumpulan Pengurusan dan Profesional, dan Kumpulan Pelaksana
Get PDFScrolling to Believe: Evaluating the Link between Perceived Credibility of Social Media as a Source of Political Information and the Political Attitudes of Young Adults in Malaysia
Get PDFThis study examines the dynamic interplay of the perceived credibility of social media as a source of political information and political attitudes among young adults in Malaysia, in the wake of the Undi-18 electoral policy. Conducted through a structured survey of 221 respondents aged 19 to 30, the respondents’ levels of perceived credibility of social media, their levels of political efficacy, and their levels of political cynicism were quantitatively measured. From the analysis, it was found that the respondents exhibited a moderate level of trust in social media as a source of political information, suggesting a cautious approach to its use. However, the more social media is perceived as a credible source of political information, the higher the likelihood of respondents having high political efficacy. The perceived credibility of social media was found to have a negative correlation with political cynicism, suggesting that young adults place greater trust in the reliability of social media as a source of political information, they are less likely to experience feelings of distrust and apathy toward politics. The study also found that political efficacy was inversely correlated with political cynicism, indicating that enhancing political efficacy among the young adults could diminish their cynical attitudes towards politics. Enhancing the regulations and coordination of social media platforms to ensure the dissemination of accurate and balanced political information can therefore foster greater trust in these platforms, strengthen users’ sense of political efficacy, and ultimately, reduce levels of political cynicism
Exploring the Linguistic Landscape of Kuching Waterfront to Enhance Arab Tourist Experience: Opportunities and Challenges
Get PDFThis study investigates the potential of Arabic as a tourism language in Kuching Waterfront, Sarawak, Malaysia. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research examined the current
linguistic landscape, including signage, advertisements, and tourist information materials. Findings revealed a significant lack of Arabic language presence, including limited Arabic�language information, insufficient Arabic-speaking staff, and an absence of dedicated Arabic�language tourism packages. A total of 149 valid responses were analysed and the results indicated that language visibility and language comprehensibility play a significant role on
tourist satisfaction. This study emphasizes the need for strategic initiatives to integrate Arabic into the tourism sector, such as developing Arabic-language tourism packages, providing language training, raising community awareness, and enhancing the visibility of Arabic language in the tourism landscape. By addressing these issues, Kuching Waterfront can effectively attract Arabic-speaking tourists and enhance its competitiveness in the global tourism market
An improved hybrid method combined with a cloud-based supervisory control to facilitate smooth coordination under low-inertia grids
No full textOver recent years, a transformation driven by the adoption of smart grid technologies has posed significant challenges to the traditional power grid. While this evolution promises greater efficiency, sustainability, and transparency for utility providers and consumers, it also introduces new complexities. Conventionally, inertia provided by synchronous generators plays a significant role in maintaining power grid stability by resisting large frequency deviations arising from sudden changes in generation or demand. With the increasing penetration of inverter-based resources such as solar and energy storage systems, the grid’s overall inertia can significantly be impacted. Despite various research on smart grid integration technologies, there is still a lack of rigorous studies focusing on grid performance during low inertia. For this reason, the paper proposed an optimized hybrid generalized droop method combined with a cloud-based supervisory control using the Internet of Things (IoT) to facilitate smooth transitions and maintain system stability. The presented approach synthesizes the traditional droop control and the generalized cloud-based algorithm to address challenges related to dynamic load variations and intermittent renewable energy sources. The framework has been validated on interconnected Simulink models running in a real-time cloud platform with data collected from local systems, interfaced in a closed-loop test environment. The proposed algorithm demonstrates outstanding performance in maintaining system stability under various operating conditions. Specifically, it limits frequency deviations to 0.01 %, significantly outperforming the traditional droop control algorithm, which exhibits deviations of 0.8 %. Similarly, voltage fluctuations are effectively minimized to 0.02 %, ensuring a stable operating voltage around 240 V. Furthermore, integrated with IoT-based control, the optimized hybrid generalized droop method mitigates transient instabilities, as evidenced by a 29 % reduction in voltage overshoot during fault clearance. These results highlight the effectiveness of the presented control strategy in enhancing microgrid resilience, particularly under high renewable energy penetration
Synthesis of Coumarin–Triazene–Alkoxyphenyl Derivatives and In Silico Simulation for Potential Antimicrobial Activity
Get PDFThe use of antibiotics is causing rapid growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This can result in
significant challenges for controlling pathogenic diseases in the future. The search for new potential
antimicrobial compounds is critical, and natural-based scaffolds such as coumarin offer promising lead
compounds for the development of new antibacterial compounds through structural hybridization. This study
aims to synthesize coumarin–triazene–alkoxyphenyl hybrids 4a–4c bearing a long alkoxy chain and evaluate
their antimicrobial potential via docking simulation. The synthesis started with the preparation of alkoxyanilines
2a–2c and cyanocoumarin 3 as precursors under microwave irradiation, resulting in a better yield (68–82 and
61%, respectively) in a few minutes. Diazo coupling reaction of 2a–2c and 3 produced coumarin–triazene
hybrids 4a–4c with 47–63% yield. In silico simulation showed that compound 4a had a binding affinity
(–6.7 kcal/mol) toward bacterial DNA gyrase similar to clorobiocin as reference compound, which indicates its
potential to influence and inhibit the activity of the bacterial enzyme. These preliminary findings could establish
a useful basis for discovering new antimicrobial compounds through derivatization or modification of the
coumarin scaffol
COVID-19 and Psychopathologies in Children-A Single Session Intervention Plan to Promote Mental Health during Crises Management : A Systematic Review
No full textBackground: The world has experienced numerous natural and man-made disasters throughout history. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, children and adolescents have reported significant psychopathologies in response to traumatic experiences. We aimed to investigate the surge of internalizing and externalizing psychopathologies during COVID-19 and to assess the efficacy of single-session therapies used to treat mental health issues during this period.
Methods: Overall, 270 articles were retrieved across both phases of the study, with 250 articles identified in
Phase I and 20 in Phase II. Following the PRISMA flowchart guidelines, approximately 30 studies were selected to meet the objective of Phase I, while 10 studies were chosen to address the objective of Phase II. The articles were retrieved from various databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Ovid, CENTRAL, JSTOR, NCBI, and Science Direct. Only articles published between 2019 and 2022 were included in the study.
Results: The findings of first phase of study indicated a surge in internalizing psychopathologies (such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and somatic problems) and externalizing psychopathologies (including conduct/oppositional disorders, sleep disturbances, suicidal ideation, ADHD, and substance abuse) over the past
four years. Additionally, according to the findings of the second phase of the study, single-session therapies
were found to be effective in mitigating symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Conclusion: The study's findings are discussed in the context of counseling adolescents, highlighting the importance of addressing mental health issues in this demographic
Optimising Methylene Blue Removal Using Sago Effluent Activated Carbon : A Response Surface Methodology Study
No full textEliminating effluent-containing dyes into the environment urges for eco-friendly and practical solutions. In this work, sago effluent biomass (SEB) and sago effluent
activated carbon (SEAC) were developed as inexpensive and efficient adsorbents. The SEAC was pyrolysed and chemically activated using sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The
characterisation and physicochemical properties of SEB and SEAC were analysed. The efficiency of SEB and SEAC for methylene blue (MB) removal was studied at varying
initial solution concentrations (2-10 mg/L) and contact times (0-30 min). SEAC exhibits a large pore opening (11.17 μm) compared with SEB (0.21 μm). The total surface area
was also increased from 8.04 m2/g (SEB) to 78.863 m2/g in SEAC. Response surface methodology (RSM) analysis showed SEAC at an initial concentration of 10 mg/L and
a contact period of 60 min has obtained a maximum removal effectiveness of 92.69% for MB at pH 6. The adsorption of SEB and SEAC both best fit the Langmuir model. SEB had
an R² value of 0.9919, while SEAC had an R² value of 0.9225 and an adsorption capacity of 0.9013 mg/g. Sludge-activated carbon derived from sago effluent is an effective adsorbent for removing MB from aqueous environments. Overall, the high surface area and porous structure make it a sustainable solution for mitigating pollution from sago processing industries
Isolation, characterization, and application of a novel Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteriophage from retail shrimp in Sarawak, Malaysia
No full textShrimp farming, a highly profitable sector in global aquaculture, has seen remarkable growth in recent years.
This increasing demand and the expansion of farming operations, including in Sarawak, Malaysia, highlight the
sector’s potential. However, the industry faces significant challenges, particularly the prevalence of vibriosis, a
bacterial infection caused by Vibrio species. Contamination of food products has also increased the risk of
vibriosis in humans. The widespread use of antibiotics to combat this disease has led to the rapid emergence of
antimicrobial resistance (AMR) bacteria. This study specifically focuses on the isolation and characterization of
phage EniLVP02, a novel bacteriophage with the potential to combat V. parahaemolyticus infections. EniLVP02
was successfully isolated from shrimp purchased at a retail market and exhibited strong lytic activity against
V. parahaemolyticus strains. Structural analysis categorized EniLVP02 within the Straboviridae family, belonging
to the class Caudoviricetes. The phage displayed a narrow host range and lytic nature only towards
V. parahaemolyticus strains isolated from the Telaga Air shrimp farm. Phage EniLVP02 exhibited long latent
period of 120 min and large burst size of 144 phages per infected cells. Stability studies revealed EniLVP02’s
resilience across various pH (pH 4.0–9.0) and temperature (28 ◦C–65 ◦C) conditions, particularly at physiological
temperatures. Comparative genome analyses indicated its distinct evolutionary relationship and low homology
with other Vibriophages, suggesting its novelty. EniLVP02 demonstrated significant potential in biofilm prevention and destruction, with absorbance (OD600 nm) reduction from 0.592 ± 0.055 to 0.204± 0.016 and from
0.843± 0.003 to 0.174± 0.026 respectively. Moreover, in the treatment of V. parahaemolyticus-contaminated
shrimp meat, EniLVP02 effectively inhibit bacterial concentrations by 75.2 % at room temperature and 16.2 % at
4 ◦C after 24 h. Genomic sequencing revealed low similarity between EniLVP02 with other phages, suggesting its
novelty. Importantly, the absence of lysogeny-related, antibiotic resistance, and virulence genes in its genome
supports EniLVP02’s safety for therapeutic use. This study underscores the importance of exploring phages from
retail food products for therapeutic applications and highlights the promising attributes of phage EniLVP02 in
combating V. parahaemolyticus infections in aquaculture. Further investigations on its compatibility with other
phages and application in diverse food matrices are warranted to assess its full potential
Vaccination of Children According to Islam
Get PDFVaccines are an effective means of controlling the spread of infectious diseases, especially among children. Many diseases do not yet have medications that can cure or treat them. The use of vaccines to prevent disease is a method that has been used for years, and the technology for creating these vaccines has become more sophisticated in recent times