Shafiin Shukor

Drug abuse can be defined as the use of drugs in a manner that deviates from medical prescription. The negative effects of drug addiction are well known globally, and millions are estimated to suffer from drug use disorders and require treatment services. In Malaysia, recent studies have shown that the great majority of drug users are young adolescents. This trend has now spread to schools and has caused a significant rise in cases of drug abuse annually. Unfortunately, to date, there are no recent data regarding the prevalence of drug and substance abuse amongst school-going adolescents in Malaysia. This study aims to assess the rising prevalence of drug abuse among school-going adolescents in Malaysia through a nationwide representative survey. A total of 3,382 secondary school students participated in this study. They were selected from hotspot areas in Malaysia using a multistage stratified cluster sampling technique. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews, assisted by school counsellors. The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was utilized to measure the frequency of drug use according to type, and the adolescents’ involvement in drug abuse and drug-related behavior. Descriptive analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences to determine the prevalence of drug abuse among the students. The prevalence of current drug abuse among the adolescent students was found to be 3.9 % for those who had used drugs in the past 30 days. Meanwhile, lifetime use was found to be 9.6%. The most popular drugs used were kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), followed by hallucinogens and cannabis. Most drug users were male students, and the average onset age of drug use was 16. Special attention and urgent action from relevant agencies are thus needed to address this critical issue in the country.

Social businesses provide market-based mechanisms to address social challenges, particularly in developing economies where entrepreneurship is promoted as a tool for poverty alleviation. Type II social businesses operate by optimising available resources to enable marginalised individuals to run micro-scale enterprises that fulfil their socially defined needs. This study examines how internal resources at the individual level namely entrepreneurial competencies, digital technology application, attitudes, religiosity, and capital availability influence the performance of Type II social businesses through organisational-level internal resources that are appropriate to micro-scale enterprises, specifically Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation (IEO) and entrepreneurial behaviours (EB). Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study conceptualises IEO and EB as organisational mechanisms through which individual-level resources are transformed into financial and non-financial performance outcomes within the context of Type II social businesses. Data were collected through surveys from participants in one of the zakat-based entrepreneurship programmes in Malaysia and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that IEO and EB significantly enhance non-financial performance, while financial performance is only weakly influenced. Entrepreneurial competencies indirectly affect non-financial outcomes through IEO, whereas religiosity shapes non-financial performance through EB. These results highlight that marginalised entrepreneurs leverage individual-level intangible resources through simple yet effective organisational practices to achieve meaningful socio-economic outcomes, prioritising non-financial indicators such as self-esteem and self-actualisation over financial gains. This study contributes to the social entrepreneurship literature by extending the RBV to account for multi-level internal resources in marginalised micro-enterprise and poverty alleviation contexts.

This study will analyze the correlation between Directors and Officers Liability insurance (D&O insurance) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance among the listed companies under FTSE4 Good Bursa Malaysia Index. It is aimed at evaluating how D&O insurance promotes sustainability of corporate practices through improving governance systems or, on the contrary, results in moral hazard and opportunistic actions. Through the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis, the study relies on the annual report and ESG ratings on the financial year 2021 to assess how D&O insurance affects the ESG performance. The results show a high positive correlation, which means that the D&O insurance can help to reinforce corporate governance through responsible decision-making and sustainable business strategies. Nevertheless, the research also contains the possibility of risks, since the D&O insurance may create complacency in corporate executives, which may jeopardize the long-term ESG goals. The insight can be added to the existing body of knowledge regarding corporate governance and sustainability since it offers empirical data on the dual impact of D&O insurance in the Malaysian corporate environment. The originality of the study is in the fact that the novel monitoring and opportunistic hypotheses of the insurance are addressed in the framework of ESG, which proves to be highly beneficial in the context of businesses, investors, and policymakers. Knowing the subtle connection between D&O insurance and ESG performance, stakeholders will be able to come up with more constructive governance models that would maximize sustainable benefits and reduce the occurrence of unintended consequences.

This study examines the impact of push and pull factors on international student loyalty in Malaysian higher education, focusing on the mediating role of student satisfaction. Push factors include limited higher education opportunities in students' home countries, economic challenges, and political instability. Meanwhile, pull factors such as education quality, affordable living costs, institutional reputation, and cultural diversity play a significant role in attracting students to Malaysia. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach, this study analyzes data from 512 international students enrolled in public higher education institutions in Malaysia. The findings reveal that pull factors have a significant direct effect on student satisfaction and loyalty. Conversely, push factors do not show a significant effect on satisfaction or loyalty. Additionally, student satisfaction serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between pull factors and student loyalty, indicating that campus experience and support services play a crucial role in shaping international students’ loyalty. These findings emphasize that the attractiveness of institutions and the Malaysian educational environment play a crucial role in ensuring international students' satisfaction and loyalty. This study contributes to providing insights for policymakers to strengthen Malaysia’s competitiveness as a global education destination.

This study investigates whether enterprise risk management (ERM) functions as a mediating mechanism through which audit committee effectiveness (ACE) and internal audit (reflected by its arrangement and expenses) influence financial reporting lag (FRL). This study also tests (a) the nonlinearity of the ERM–FRL relationship and (b) the heterogeneity in the FRL that affects the relationship. The analysis is grounded in agency theory and the resource-based view and draws on 2,352 firm-year observations of companies listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2012 to 2015. The study employs panel static models to account for unobserved heterogeneity across firms alongside threshold regression and quantile regression methodologies. This approach captures nonlinear and distributional effects in the relationship between the variables. The findings indicate that investment in internal audit is essential to enhancing ERM effectiveness, which subsequently contributes to reducing FRL. Additionally, the results show that ERM mediates the relationship between ACE and FRL particularly at low levels of ERM effectiveness and when FRL is not excessively prolonged. The study highlights the importance of ERM in preparing financial reports, thus emphasising its role in ensuring a short FRL for timely decision-making by shareholders. It contributes to the financial reporting literature by offering novel insights into the nonlinear and heterogeneous effects of ERM on reporting timeliness.

This study explored the pressing issue of drug and substance abuse (DSA) among adolescents in drug hotspots in Malaysia. The Malaysian Anti-drug Agency (AADK) has identified 155 hotspot areas across Malaysia, of which 78 were randomly selected as the study sites. These areas were identified as having extreme drug-related activities such as drug trafficking and drug-related crimes. According to the literature, several factors influence adolescents to be involved in DSA. Therefore, understanding the risk factors in the context of Malaysian school-going adolescents is of utmost importance. The study examined, in particular, a wide range of potential predictors, including socioeconomic factors, peer influence, family dynamics, educational experiences, drug access, and community characteristics. Adolescents in the hotspot areas were selected by means of a cross-sectional survey design with a cluster sampling method. The sample comprised 3382 school-going adolescents, and the data were collected through face-to-face interviews. The logit model method with STATA software was used to analyse the data. The findings of the study revealed that school-going adolescents with disciplinary issues face a two-fold increase in the risk of becoming current drug users compared to their peers. Further, those exhibiting externalising behaviours, such as aggression and rule-breaking, also face greater odds of becoming involved in DSA. Drug pushers were identified as the most significant risk factor, with adolescents exposed to them being 46 times more likely to become current drug users. The factors of friends and family also contribute significantly to adolescent drug involvement. However, adolescents with academic-related issues may be less involved if they have the protective factor of better coping skills. These findings will contribute to efforts to mitigate drug addiction and drug-related activities, particularly in high-risk communities, as well as help policymakers and healthcare professionals develop targeted interventions and generally promote the well-being of adolescents.

This study aims to investigate the effects of government assistance programs on the well-being of urban low-income households during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Malaysians’ well-being, affecting a variety of factors such as income, health, and standard of living. To address the repercussions of the pandemic, the government has implemented diverse economic stimulus packages. Household well-being is assessed using four indicators: income, health, cost of living, and social relations. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in six regions of Malaysia. Data from 706 respondents was analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The main findings reveal that government assistance programs enhance household well-being by reducing the cost of living, increasing income, improving health, and fostering social interactions. Specifically, among the four focused aspects, the programs have the most significant impact on improving the health of low-income households. These programs have the least effect on enhancing well-being through the reduction of the cost of living. Consequently, these findings provide valuable information to policymakers in understanding the effectiveness of government assistance programs during the crisis period. This nationwide evidence-based analysis will contribute additional insights to the formulation of future assistance programs aimed at improving the well-being of low-income households.

Good agricultural practice (GAP) helps increase productivity by producing fresh fruit bunches (FFBs), and selling FFBs will increase Independent Smallholders’ (ISH) income. However, although GAP promotes increased productivity, the effectiveness of GAP in delivering the well-being of the ISH in oil palm production areas remains to be determined. To that end, this study (i) measures the smallholder’s well-being index, (ii) compares the well-being index by states in Malaysia, and (iii) maps the relationship between GAP implementation, productivity, and well-being. The study selected respondents using purposive sampling (PS). PS identifies and selects individuals with Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification and knowledge and experience of GAP. As a result, the research interviewed 564 ISHs with MSPO certification from 162 Sustainable Palm Oil Clusters (SPOC). The study used Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and the Structural Equation Model (SEM) framework to achieve the objectives. The study found that the average ISH well-being index was 0.62, and ISHs in Sabah had the highest well-being, with 0.73 compared to other states. The study also found that GAP influences productivity and is positively and significantly related to well-being. Therefore, it indicates to ISHs and the government the importance of GAP implementation to increase ISHs’ productivity and well-being.