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Is needle exchange programme still relevant in the advent of Methadone maintanence Therapy?
No full textAims: This study aims to determine the prevalence of relapse in those receiving MMT and study
the harmful practices done during the relapses with their perceived causes.
Background: Substance abuse is both a social and public health problem with a substantial
burden to society. Opioid dependence, with an estimated prevalence of 16.5 million worldwide,
carries a high cost to society by resulting in unemployment, crimes and family disruption; not to
mention transmission of diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C. In Malaysia, there is an estimated
234 000 heroine abusers.Harm reduction practices, namely Methadone Maintenance Therapy
(MMT) and needle exchange programme has been in Malaysia since 2005. For MMT, relapse
during treatment remains an issue that hinders successful outcome of reducing transmission of
blood-borne infections.
Methods: This is a mixed-method cross-sectional study done from June-July 2016. All MMT
clients in primary care therapy centres in Kuala Nerus district, Terengganu, Malaysia who
fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria and consented were included. A semi-structured
questionnaire was filled via face-to-face interview and reference to the case records was done.
122 questionnaires were assessed. Ethical clearance was obtained from National Medical
Research Ethics Committee (Ref 5-2307-27817).
Results: Response rate was 90.2%. All respondents were males of Malay race. Mean age was
36.2. Mean duration in MMT was 1.4 years. Current relapse, defined as any episode of intake of
heroine for the past one month after a period of abstinence was 34.4%. Of those relapsed,
majority (78.6%) had Hepatitis C, 19.0% had HIV. Majority (97.6%) deny sharing needles during
relapse. All attributed this due to ease of accessibility of needle exchange programme, and ability
to withstand the urge for injection until getting a clean needle due to taking methadone. 50.8% still shared needle-washing containers despite non-sharing needles, all unaware that this may
spread infections. Those who shared needles had both HIV and hepatitis C, could not get any
needle despite exchange programme nearby.
Conclusion: Relapse in opioid addiction remains high in those receiving MMT. Education to
avoid harmful injecting practices is important even in this group. To achieve aim of harm
reduction, MMT and needle exchange programme need to go hand to minimize the transmission
of blood-borne diseases during opioid re-injecting behaviour
Women's right versus rights of women: A textual glance through the qur'anic mirror
No full textDiscussions concerning women and rights are always ever-green debates that have attracted the
global attention, from intellectual to the novice, religion and non-religion. It has gained so much popularity,
so much so that there are several organizations, governmental and non-governmental, claiming to champion
the cause from various facets of life. The religious authorities have also not failed in treating and addressing
the pros and cons of issues related to women and rights, and, in some other times, gender equality related
causes. While the religiously engaged intellectuals are treating women and rights through the religious
textual mirrors, the so-called champions of women’s right are approaching same through the purely
conventional background. Islam as a religion has an already stipulated guides to all-in-all of this, through the
glorious book, al-Qur’an. This paper is aimed at clarifying the conception and misconception between the
two phrases ‘Women’s right’ and ‘Rights of Women’ from the perspective of the Qur’an. The paper projects
that the two phrases look similar in conception, but are distinct in context, because it is one thing to ‘have
rights’ and quite another to ‘claim rights’. Do women have rights naturally stipulated to them or not? If
affirmed, why fighting over what is naturally already theirs, and if it is in negation, why claiming what they
are not destined to? The main method the paper employs here is basically textual analysis and elaboration of
verses related to women and rights, as well as the review of previous scholastic writings found related. The
paper posits that for women to enjoy their full empowerment there has to be detailed and comprehensive
understanding of what is ‘women’s right’ and the ‘rights of women’. If this is done, the whole issue could be
laid to rest
Universalism v cultural relativism of international law: Legality of whaling
No full textUniversalism and cultural relativism in international has been debated by the scholar for decades. The supporter of the universalism hold that human rights are universal in nature and shall apply to every human being. Whereas, from the cultural relativists opinion that the law or the moral principles are dependent on culture, so no law or moral can be made to apply to all cultures. With regard to the legality of whaling, the whale hunting has been practiced by the thousands of years ago for meat, bones and oil. As for today there is a few countries which still practice the whaling as part of their culture like Japan, Iceland, Faroe Island and Norway. The question is how far the cultural relativism legalise the killing of endangered species; and can the nongovernmental organisation take action, by their own hand, in suppressing the whaling. This paper will look in the matter using traditional research method that mainly based on the library search. The data will be gathered from the legal documents such as international conventions, statutes, reported cases, legal journals, articles and relevant text books. By examining the relevant laws and provisions, further discussion on how the conflict of universalism and cultural relativism affect the legality of the whaling
The proviso to section 340 (3) of the national land code 1965: A study
No full textThe aims of the Torrens system are to provide for simplicity, certainty of title and registration
of titles and interest. In other words, under the Torrens system, section 340 (1) of the National
Land Code (NLC) only gives the indefeasibility upon the persons who deal with a person
who actually registered on the register. Indefeasibility under the NLC 1965 is not absolute
and there are exceptions provided in section 340(2) of NLC ie fraud, misrepresentation,
forgery, insufficient or void instrument and unlawful acquisition. Under section 340(3)(a) or
(b) of NLC, the person who title has been challenged, if he had created a subsequent
registered transfer or interest on the land, the new owner still does not possess indefeasibility.
The title or interest still defeasible. Then, if the new owner will have to prove that he had
acted bona fide for valuable consideration for the title, then he will be protected by the
proviso to section 340(3) of NLC. The proviso to section 340(3) applies only to the
subsequent transferee and not the first transferee. The purpose of this article is to identify the
criteria used by the courts in classifying that person as bona fide purchaser, the position and
the remedy of the bona fide purchaser in land matters. The methodology used in this study is
a library based research which includes document analysis, such as the decided cases, book
and articles. This study also discusses some suggestions for improvement and outcome to
ensure the interests and rights of the parties involved
Bebanan tugas dan prestasi guru bahasa inggeris: Satu kajian literatur
No full textKajian kualitatif ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji tahap prestasi guru Bahasa Inggeris dalam mengajar murid-murid Literasi dan Numerasi (LINUS) di sekolah rendah di Pantai Timur. Prestasi mereka menjadi satu isu menarik untuk dibincangkan kerana ia juga menyumbang kepada faktor penentu kepada pencapaian murid dalam program LINUS di sekolah. Prestasi guru Bahasa Inggeris juga telah memberi kesan secara tidak langsung kepada pencapaian murid dalam literasi awal. Isu bebanan kerja guru juga telah menyumbang kepada kemerosotan prestasi kerja guru di sekolah. Pada akhir tahun 2017, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM) telah memperkenalkan satu program baru yang dikenali sebagai Rangka Kerja Rujukan Bahasa untuk Bahasa (CEFR) bagi pelajar tahun 1 dan 2 tahun di sekolah rendah. CEFR secara tidak langsung memberikan bebanan baharu kepada guru-guru Bahasa Inggeris khasnya. Hal ini kerana pada permulaan pengenalan program ini, guru masih tidak kompeten dalam melaksanakan program dan murid juga sukar untuk menguasai kemahiran yang diperlukan. Mereka juga sukar memahami sukatan baharu yang disediakan dan ia menyumbang kepada kemerosotan prestasi guru dalam pengajaran. Untuk mencapai matlamat, kajian ini menggunakan teknik analisis dokumen iaitu melalui kajian literatur. Berdasarkan hasil analisis data, kajian ini mendapati bahawa guru menghadapi pelbagai kesulitan dalam melaksanakan program-program baru dan menghadapi murid bermasalah pada waktu yang sama. Oleh itu, mereka memerlukan masa untuk menyesuaikan diri dengan alat bantu pengajaran yang dibekalkan dan memerlukan kesediaan mental dan fizikal yang mencukupi bagi mencapai objektif pembelajaran yang dikehendaki. Di samping itu, guru yang tidak mahir juga menghadapi tekanan kerja dan seterusnya menjadi punca prestasi kerja mereka semakin menurun
Whistleblowing practice in the public sector and internal audit effectiveness
No full textThe practice of whistleblowing has received increased worldwide attention since the collapse
of Enron and Worldcom. In Malaysia, the Whistleblowing Protection Act (WPA) was introduced in
2010 by the government as one of the internal control mechanisms to mitigate issues of corruption, lack
of integrity, malpractices and fraud, among others, in both the public and private sectors. Despite the
introduction of this Act, the implementation of whistleblowing practice in the public sector is still at an
early stage. This paper reviews the literature on internal audit in the public sector and examines the
factors associated with audit effectiveness in mitigating the incidents of fraud. The reviews result in a
proposal to suggest that the effectiveness of public sector internal audit is affected by the proficiency of
auditors, the independence of internal auditors and the quality of internal audit. This study also
proposes that the whistleblowing practice moderates the relationships between the factors and the
internal audit effectiveness. This conceptual paper employs the institutional theory and the theory of
justice in predicting the expected relationships. This paper contributes to the internal audit field by
providing an integrated conceptual framework regarding internal audit effectiveness and the role of
whistleblowing practice. The outcome of the proposed research is expected to provide new insights to
regulators, policy makers, auditors and the public on the role of whistleblowing in increasing internal
audit effectiveness, particularly in the public sector
“One-size fit all” risk-based regulations for low-risk small-scale construction projects
No full textConstruction industry is the backbone of other industries. It provides spill over
effects not only to related sectors linked to it, such as construction machinery and
materials, but also to other industries, such as tourism, electrical and electronics,
healthcare and others. Due to its complexity, construction industry in Malaysia is
guided by plethora of laws, regulations and process, and being monitored by
different ministries and local authorities. One of the key process in construction
industry is the dealing with construction permits (DCP). Different scale of
development with different level of risk undergo same process, controlled by local
authorities. Some of the best practices shared by the World Bank for DCP is riskbased application and inspection, whereby approval can be grant faster without
jeopardizing public safety and legal requirements. The article will share the
relevancy of applying risk-based regulations from the perspective of City Hall of
Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), as the capital city monitored by the World Bank it Ease of
Doing Business Report. The article will draws from primary and secondary data.
Necessary information will be derived from relevant government websites,
publications from international organization
Masih relevankah perbincangan tentang “sastera islam” dalam konteks sastera melayu?
No full textFenomena “Sastera Islam” muncul sekitar tahun 1970an yang mempunyai kaitan
rapat dengan gerakan dakwah di Malaysia. Fenomena ini membuatkan ramai
kalangan penggiat sastera Melayu memperhebatkan penghasilan karya kreatif yang
bertunjangkan “Sastera Islam”. Hasilnya, keislaman karya diperagakan dengan
pemanfaatan ayat-ayat al-Quran dan al-Hadis, penggunaan perkataan bahasa Arab,
latar tempat Timur Tengah, kisah sejarah Islam, kaligrafi Arab pada kulit karya
sastera dan lain-lain. Ini rata-rata diterima sebagai “Sastera Islam” atau “Sastera
Berunsur Islam”, malah ia diperakui sendiri secara jelas oleh penulis sebagai karya
“Sastera Islam”. Persoalannya adakah perkara ini hanya berlaku sekitar tahun
1970an atau ia masih berlaku hingga kini. Oleh itu, kertas kerja akan merungkai
perkara ini dengan melihat dua perkara yang dikaitkan dengan petunjuk identiti
keislaman (identity maker) dalam karya sastera iaitu pemanfaatan ayat-ayat al-Quran
dan penggunaan perkataan Arab. Dengan bersandarkan kepada beberapa kitab tafsir
dan kamus bahasa Arab sebagai sumber rujukan, kertas kerja ini mengenal pasti dan
seterusnya menyanggah penggunaan ayat-ayat al-Quran dan perkataan Arab dalam
novel, serta menolak usaha penulis novel yang menyalurkan perkara salah kepada
pembaca semata-mata ingin mewajarkan penggunaan label “Sastera Islam”. Hal ini
membawa kepada kesimpulan bahawa perbincangan mengenai “Sastera Islam”
masih relevan malah menjadi satu kemestian selagi wujudnya usaha penulis
menghasilkan karya yang diklasifikasikan sebagai karya “Sastera Islam” ataupun
difahami oleh pembaca sebagai karya dalam kategori tersebut
