Academic literature on the topic 'Community leadership Malaysia Kelantan'

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been identified as an early concept that provides a platform for corporations and community relationship. It is also being discussed that through CSR initiatives corporations would be able to assist in community development efforts. However, to achieve this objective, CSR strategies were required to be implemented according to the needs for community development. This paper will discuss how corporate and community relations through CSR strategies are being implemented for this purpose. The research was conducted on a qualitative case study on a CSR contract farming project by a multinational corporation towards the local farmers' community in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, Malaysia. A total of 45 farmers who were involved in the project were interviewed. Verbatim data were analyzed to develop themes that could help to provide an understanding of the implementation strategy based on the perspective of the farmers as the recipients of the project. This study has identified the roles played by each of the parties involved based on 38 basic themes emerged from the analysis. These basic themes have been clustered into seven main themes (MT), namely MT1 - Strong Farmers Relationships, MT2 - Support by LFA, MT3 - Positive Attitude of Farmers, MT4 - Farmers Initiative, MT5 - Guaranteed Markets by Corporations, MT6 - Leadership of LFA and MT7 - Learning Process. These themes indicated that the implementation of the CSR project by the corporations was executed in collaboration with the relevant development agency that is the Local Farmers Association (LFA) with the farmer's active involvement. This project is seen to be executed as Public-Private Partnership approach and has assisted the local farmers' community to develop components of community development through the development of skills, attitudes and opportunities for the larger market.

Objective: In 2014, Malaysia suffered a severe flood disaster and many people lost their home and belongings. Despite regular flooding in this area, the status of community disaster resilience (CDR) is unknown. This paper thus aims to assess the association between demographic characteristics and community disaster resilience factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was completed using the Conjoint Community Resiliency Assessment Measure (CCRAM28) questionnaire six months after the flood event occurred. All selected respondents who met the inclusion criteria were recruited, and IBM SPSS software was used to undertake descriptive and inferential analysis. Results: A total of 386 respondents completed the questionnaires. Respondents were mostly female (57%); married (83.9%); with children under 17 years old (58.8%); from villages or rural area (97.2%); living in basic housing (95.6%); of average income; Muslim (97.5%); educated to primary or secondary level (81.1%); and not involved with any community organizations (95.1%), including volunteering, emergency teams, or military service. The mean age was 49 years, and length of time living in the area ranged from 1 to 85 years. CDR scores ranged between medium (2.34- 3.66) and high (3.67- 5.00). An analysis of the results showed that only gender (p = 0.003) and education (p = 0.001) were significantly related to CDR level. Positive and strong correlations were seen between resilience factors, however, particularly leadership (p = 0.001), collective efficacy (p = 0.001); preparedness (p = 0.001); place attachment (p = 0.001); and social trust (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The study provides a timely insight into the impact of demographic characteristics and resilience factors in Kelantan, developing the knowledge base needed to create comprehensive, improved community-relevant strategies for the future. This assessment enables top-down initiatives to better understand resilience levels, and this could act as tool to enable the government to prepare communities for future disasters or emergency events.

Small Changes, a community organization in Malaysia (www.smallchangesmy.org), was founded in 2011 to raise funds and provide support for underprivileged individuals in the community. With an interesting tagline of Cultivating Volunteerism, Empowering Generations this community organizations has raised hundreds of thousands and has attracted tens of Malaysian students from local and overseas universities. The team consists of an enthusiastic group of young Malaysians who believe that it is possible to create big differences in the community with small changes. I had the pleasure of meeting the team in one of their social event in Kuala Lumpur. What you are going to read is the responses provided by the Vice President of Strategic Planning Unit, Mr. Muhammad Affan Othman, who kindly consented to an E-mail interview.The interviewVN[1]: Perhaps we could start with a short introduction of Small Changes. Could you please tell our readers about your organization and its objective?MAO[2]: Small Changes started from an idea coined by our founders in which they aspire to create social awareness by making one small change at a time. For example, they started helping flood victims in flood prone locations in Malaysia such as in Kelantan and reaching out orphanage by offering them some help in terms of financial aid. As the organization grows, they started diving into more projects that have diverse aims such as tackling education inequality, which is translated into our Seeds of Deeds initiative, which has been done annually since 2014. However, since 2016, Small Changes has decided to shift gears and start to focus on becoming an organization that offers a platform for volunteering for youths and at the same time empowering both its volunteers and its beneficiaries. These will be made possible through our projects that allow Malaysian youths to participate and become empowered as they are actively participating in a nation building effort. Through these projects, volunteers could experience a change of perspective in their worldview since most of them tend to come from a pool of people that do have a well-off background. They can see the disparities that do exist within Malaysia’s realities when they actively participate in our projects.VN: What made you think of establishing Small Changes? What makes it special?MAO: Small Changes is an organization that was established with the aim of spreading consciousness among youths and empowering them in Malaysia. We often hear complaints about structural problems that exist in our society. Problems such as why we fail to speak English properly, low self-esteem among teenagers, and how we are always backwards as compared to other individuals in the first world countries. Small Changes capitalizes in its pool of volunteers where we try to incorporate volunteers from different backgrounds such as some who are studying abroad and some who are studying in local institutions. The ones who obtain their education abroad help share their exposure; for example, utilizing strategic tools that they are exposed to abroad which could help solve certain social problems that exist in Malaysia. Our volunteers who are studying locally could share the current issues that are deeply rooted in Malaysia and they, too, help to engage in discussions with officers from governmental institutions as a way to have constructive dialogues.VN: Do you have any interesting stories from your experiences with training underprivileged (if we should call them so) children?MAO: The underprivileged students from schools that Small Changes have reached out to so far have a problem of low self-esteem and they have a tendency to internalize their problems on their own. Conflicts and dilemmas are natural aspects of living except for we deal with them with various methods. To some, they are easy to handle, but more often than not, people do not know how to deal with their conflicts. The students that we have met, I would argue, do not have the proper skill in handling their dilemma. They have to meet the expectations set by their caregivers but at the same time they do not have the resources to meet these expectations. Sometimes, just engaging a normal conversation with them is enough to know that they are struggling. What Small Changes is doing is to make our volunteers aware that everyone needs help and a person of privilege should always be mindful that the privilege that one has should be shared. On the other end of this spectrum, we are also helping the students see that they do have an important role in the society.VN: These days most academicians and researchers in the area of education are obsessed with gaps in research. Has your experience revealed any interesting areas for impactful research?MAO: I would suggest that researchers should study the effectiveness of non-governmental organization initiatives in aiding areas such as education, students’ performance after joining such initiatives, and myth about the Y generation (since most of them are doing more good than bad i.e. becoming volunteers, etc.).VN: Apart from gaps in research, do you see any gaps in educational practice that call for action?MAO: We do feel that teachers in general should be more open to the help that Malaysian students may have to offer. We do understand that there will be skepticism, but as an organization that takes pride in creating social awareness, we aspire to be held accountable in the initiatives that we implement. For example, the seeds of deeds camps are led by facilitators who have prior experience in working with youngsters and have had extensive volunteering experience. From the pool of experienced facilitators that we have, we make sure that our volunteers are trained by them with useful tips especially when dealing with high school students.VN: How can our readers (mostly academicians) join Small Changes in case they have ideas or would like to volunteer to help?MAO: As a non-governmental organization, we welcome everyone, especially university students as we want them to be exposed to certain realities that are not obvious to them. Not only that, our organization encourages people to volunteer, which means that people are forgoing their own self-interest putting others first. This is an effective mechanism in creating better human capital, as they are equipped with positive values that could help make a greater change in Malaysia.As for academicians, we welcome any form of collaborations, particularly in the area of programme content development and impact measurements. We believe research-based inputs will further refine the impact desired to our beneficiaries, solidify the aims and purposes of foundation of the organization.VN: What are some of the future directions of Small Changes?MAO: Small Changes plans to diversify in its efforts of creating more volunteering opportunities so that more people can do good and create change for the better. There is also the opportunity for the volunteers to be part of Small Changes’ committee. That is definitely what we hope to see where our volunteers would be interested in holding leadership roles within the organization and continue to spread our values.We also aim at planning more critical projects. Small Changes aspire to invest long term planning to advance community that acts as the beneficiaries. We aim to generate a sustainable model to empower community as a whole rather than children-focused motivational camp. Following long term planning of project, we do include impact measurement mechanism to obtain real quantifiable measures on the impact of our project, to refine the lacking and reiterate on the best steps to take.VN: Do you have any final words for IJELS readers?MAO: To make huge changes in a short time span may be exasperating. The reason may be we humans are inherently good and just; however, we are not taught the proper way to make effective changes. Since we uphold to the notion of “Small Changes, Big Differences”, we understand that indeed making change bit by bit can really create an instantaneous effect. Teaching a 17-year-old to speak up in a three-day-camp is challenging but to see the results, only if we were to be patient enough, is indeed a fulfilling feeling that no one ever told us about.[1] Vahid Nimehchisalem[2] Muhammad Affan Othman

Politics plays a major role in every aspect of the government development plan. Kelantan is an interesting case in understanding the different political leadership involved in the implementation process. This study reports how politics influenced the development of rural transport accessibility in Kuala Krai, Kelantan. In-depth interviews were conducted among 33 respondents; 13 policymakers from the federal, state and local level and 20 villagers covering all the three sub-districts in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, Malaysia. The findings were presented based on the emerging themes emerged from the analysis. The findings confirmed that politics is the primary mover in formulating and implementing any transport accessibility plan in the study area. The findings also provided ultimate insights for policymakers at multiple decision-making level involved in formulating and implementing for an accessible rural transport system for the rural communities.

The study seeks to examine the brief history of political Islam in Malaysia with a focus on Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). The emergence of PAS in the early 1950s marks the beginning of the involvement of Islamic Movements in politics as a platform for the revivalism of Islam in the region. In addition, the role of PAS leaderships also briefly discussed with a great emphasis on the leadership of PAS political maestro, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz bin Nik Mat. His piety in Islam is translated into his political thought which are influential during his involvement in politics. Tuan Guru’s upbringing and his education background had biggest influence towards his worldview on politics. This study described his contribution on Islam and in Malaysian politics, especially his grand idea on the establishment of Islamic state in Kelantan. The idea of ideal Islamic model of a state was established in Kelantan. It is in line with his perspective of how a society should operate and the functions of government in micro-managing the society. As a conclusion, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz plays an important role within PAS and to the establishment of the model of Islamic State in Kelantan.

Flood is a routine disaster encountered by the people in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. However, there were no specific studies that observed the elements of community resilience by which a strategy can be drawn up to help disaster victims. With this in mind, this study was conducted to explain the reality of community resilience in the context of community capitals. A total of 361 heads of household (HoH) from three states of Malaysia, namely Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan were selected as research subjects by using the purposive sampling method. Data were analyzed by means of the descriptive and inferential statistics (MANOVA and ANOVA). The analysis reveals three main findings: i) The level of community resilience among respondents is mostly moderate for three dimensions of community resilience; ii) the differentiation of community resilience according to different community capitals; and iii) the differentiation of community resilience based on different states (Roy’s Largest Root = 0.04, F (4.516) = 3.00, p <0.004), with respondents from Kelantan showing the highest result in dimensions of recovery (df = 2, 80.846, P = .037 <.05). This paper provides three key recommendations based on the findings: i) the need to enhance the existing capacity of community capitals; ii) to emancipate ‘social routines’; and iii) to encompass the other community capitals for the future research.Keywords: Community resilience, community capital, flood disaster, social routine, capacity building.Cite as: Amir Zal, W.A. (2018). Ketahanan komuniti mangsa bencana banjir di Pantai Timur Semenanjung Malaysia dalam konteks modal komuniti [Community resilience among flood victims in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the context of community capitals]. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 3(2),41-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol3iss2pp41-53 ABSTRAKBencana banjir merupakan bencana rutin yang dihadapi oleh masyarakat di Pantai Timur Semenanjung Malaysia. Namun demikian, tidak ada kajian khusus yang meneliti elemen ketahanan komuniti yang mana melaluinya boleh dirangka strategi untuk membantu mangsa bencana tersebut. Berasaskan permasalahan tersebut, makalah memberi tumpuan untuk menjelaskan realiti ketahanan komuniti dalam konteks modal komuniti. Kajian telah dilaksanakan di tiga buah negeri, iaitu negeri Pahang, Terengganu dan Kelantan. Seramai 361 ketua isi rumah (KIR) telah dilibatkan sebagai subjek kajian yang dipilih dengan menggunakan pensampelan bertujuan. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan statistik deskriptif dan inferens (MANOVA dan ANOVA). Hasil kajian menunjukkan tiga penemuan utama, iaitu: i) tahap ketahanan komuniti responden kebanyakannya adalah pada tahap sederhana bagi tiga dimensi ketahanan komuniti berbeza; ii) berbezanya ketahanan komuniti mengikut modal komuniti yang berbeza; dan iii) berbezanya ketahanan komuniti dari negeri yang berbeza (Roy’s Largest Root= 0.04, F(4.516)= 3.00, p<0.004), yang mana responden negeri Kelantan paling tinggi dalam dimensi pemulihan (df= 2, 80.846, P= .037< .05). Makalah ini memberikan tiga cadangan utama berasaskan hasil kajian tersebut, iaitu: i) ditingkatkan kapasiti modal komuniti sedia ada; ii) memurnikan ‘rutin sosial’; dan iii) melibatkan lain-lain modal komuniti untuk kajian di masa hadapan.Kata kunci: Ketahanan komuniti, modal komuniti, bencana banjir, rutin sosial, peningkatan kapasiti.

The application of Islamic rules in Aceh and Kelantan is also related to the political power. There is a significant difference about political treatment on the application of Islamic law in Aceh and Kelantan. In Aceh, the central government (Indonesia) thinks that it is needed to apply jinâyah law in Aceh as a strategy to solve conflicts. This political rule has been applied in the republic of Indonesia since the leadership of Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarno Putri to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The main factor that influences the Indonesian political government rule is the central conflict with the Acehnese in the leadership of Soeharto presidential to the Helsinski Agreement 2005. Some vertical conflicts happened between the central government and the Acehnese were solved by giving special autonomy in applying the Islamic rules. Not only family law and economic law which are given autonomy to be applied in Aceh, but also the autonomy to apply jinâyah Law. In Kelantan, Federal government (Malaysia) did not have political wish to apply Jinayah Law in Kelantan since the leadership of Mahathir Muhammad, Abdullah Badawi to Najib Razak. Moreover the federal government made the issue of the application of jinâyah law as the political commodity to get the political sympathy from the people, who are the partner of non Moslem voters in the national ranks and some Moslem voters who are not affiliated with PAS. This political needs factor is kept by the Federal Government to respond the Kelantan’s government wish to apply Islamic rules.Copyright (c) 2015 by Al-Ihkam. All right reserved DOI : 10.19105/al-ihkam.v10i1.588

Background: Lately, smoking among adolescents is increasing despite various campaigns to address it being carried out. Previously, this habit was common among men, however, nowadays, smoking has become a habit for women as well. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and its associated factors that influence smoking behavior among women inmates in Kelantan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among women inmates from Pengkalan Chepa Women’s Prison, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. A total of 274 respondents were needed to answer a self-administered questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Multiple Logistic Regression. Results: A total of 183 participants were smokers. Women who were single and divorced had a lower chance of being influenced to smoke compared to married women. Parents with smoking habits were more associated with children who smoked compared to parents who did not smoke. A participant with secondary level education had higher odds of smoking compared to a participant with primary level education. Smoking peers significantly influenced their friends and, therefore, peer practice was a main factor influencing smoking among women inmates. Conclusion: The prevalence of smoking among women inmates in Kelantan was found to be quite high. Religion (majority (90.5%) of women in the study were Muslims; it would be inappropriate to draw conclusion that religion is an influencing factor), marital status, parents’ practice, peer practice and education significantly influenced women inmates to smoke.

This article contributes to ongoing debates about soft skills among students. In 2017, the unemployment rate in Malaysia was at 3.42 percent as compared to 2.85 percent in 2014. Education system must aim towards employability and ensure quality in education to reduce the percentage of unemployment. Thus, this study aims to investigate the development of soft skills among students through co-curriculum activities in UiTM Cawangan Kelantan. The sample were 113 students from UiTM Cawangan Kelantan. Questionnaires adapted from previous research to measure the communication skill, problem solving skill, team building skill, leadership skill and soft development of soft skills among students through co-curriculum activities. SEM-PLS 3.0 were employed in this study. The findings revealed only team building skill has significant influence on developments of soft skills among students through co-curriculum activities. However, the study indicates that communication skill, problem solving skill and leadership skill are not significant towards development of soft skills among students through cocurriculum activities.

Kelantan is a state that is often impacted by the yearly monsoonal floods resulting in the displacement of a large number of households as well as damages to crops, livestock and properties. The flood is a yearly occurrence that necessitates the community to prevent loss of lives and extensive property damage; however, previous studies have found that communities are unprepared to face flood disasters, especially in flood-prone areas. Thus this study aims to determine the relationship between attitude towards flood preparedness and the level of flood preparedness of households in Pasir Mas, Kelantan. A total of 220 respondents from 10 villages were selected with the assistance of the District Office to ensure the selection of villages with experience of flood or is flood-prone. Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the level of attitude and flood preparedness. Results from the analysis found that the attitude and preparedness level was moderate. Therefore, it is suggested that the community’s attitude and preparedness level can be further enhanced with the assistance of the responding agencies and local authorities to empower a more resilient community.

With its origin dating back to as early as the 500 BC, the ukkil forms part of a centuries-old woodcarving art and tradition of the Suluk, one of the many indigenous ethnic groups of Nusantara (Southeast Asia). Suluk ukkil bears striking resemblance to the Malay ukir, both featuring similar patterns and motifs. The ukkil is often used to decorate jewellery, boats, houses, grave markers, and mosques. It is also used to decorate the hilts and sheaths of bladed weapons such as the barung. The barung refers to the thick, leaf-shaped sword of the Suluk. A barung with beautifully carved hilt and sheath, especially those using expensive wood, is considered high value and usually reserved for Suluk aristocrats. This book narrates the expressions, motifs and meanings behind ukkil carved on the barung. It is based on the results of a two-year field research conducted in different districts of Sabah. It presents data gathered through various interviews with owners, elders, and subject-matter experts. It also presents data from direct observations of heirloom barung that are still found in the hands of a few Suluk and individuals from other indigenous ethnic groups. It presents new insights from analysis made using the Theory of Iconology, a framework of analyzing art popularized by German art historian Erwin Panofsky. The predominant themes of ukkil found on ancient barung in Sabah are Islamic; zoomorphic such as birds, lizards, snakes, and squids; plantomorphic such as vines, flowers, and leaves; and cultural such as those depicting local myths, culture, values and traditions of the Suluk. Each of these images and themes represent realities that shaped the daily lives of the Suluk from the past until today, including the wind, the ocean waves and sea currents, all of which are essential for travel and navigation. They also depict concepts, beliefs and practices important to the Suluk such as freedom, livelihood, aristocracy, harmony within the community, leadership, spirituality, and Islamic principles. The Suluk are a sea-faring people who have a deep relationship with their immediate environment, especially the sea. Suluk carvers draw inspiration from nature, the environment around them, their local culture, their religious practices, and their own values and ideals in life. Both the ukkil and the barung are an embodiment of their rich past, their livelihood, creativity, their faith, their principles and their values in life. Sadly, the practice of ukkil-carving is fast declining nowadays, with only very few practitioners left and so few individuals interested in learning about it. The barung too, where the ukkil is often carved on, is no longer being produced in large numbers. As the ukkil, like all forms of art, constitute an integral part of a nation’s culture and identity, it is important for it to be understood, preserved, and protected. This book provides fresh knowledge and insights that will help the Suluk and other indigenous tribes of Malaysia and Nusantara in the understanding and preservation of the ukkil as an essential aspect of their country’s or their region’s culture and heritage. This book offers historical background that will help explain the identity of the Suluk as a culturally and artistically advanced people with deep interconnection with other indigenous ethnic groups in Malaysia and the rest of Nusantara as early as the pre-colonial period. Knowledge about the ukkil can help people connect and correct their thoughts about the Suluk while at the same time promote cultural awareness and diversity among Malaysians and other people in Southeast Asia. This book will hopefully pave the way for more research to be done on the arts and culture, not just of the Suluk but also of other indigenous ethnic groups in the region as well. That knowledge will serve as a medium for keeping harmony and cultural links among each and every Malaysian and Nusantaran.

Community-Based Tourism (CBT) is an approach to tourism presumed to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially involved on SDG1-No Poverty and SDG11-Sustainable Cities and Communities. In rural communities, homestays are essential CBT component that have made many contributions to the local economy and quality of life. The Malaysia Homestay Programme (MHP) has received special attention from the government due to its potential to enhance local communities’ livelihoods and economic sustainability. This study assesses factors that measure the successful performance of communitybased tourism on the MHP. Homestay programmes are a form of community tourism, in which the host (operator) provides family-friendly stay facilities for rent to tourists, thus generating additional income for the family. Based on the previous studies, the homestay operators faced the following external challenges such as village landscape, inefficient networking, lack of cooperation and commitment from homestay operators, exploitation of external parties, as well as ineffective promotional and marketing activities. These challenges must be resolved effectively to sustain the MHPs forward momentum. Essentially, the experiences of hosts (homestay operators) in dealing with the above mentioned challenges should be sought and empirically documented for future policy-making activities by the development agencies and the society. The national economy is bound to progress with escalating arrivals of tourists if effective strategies are devised by the stakeholders in resolving the problems faced by the homestay operators. Prior studies have listed the critical factors that dictated the success or failure of CBT programmes from the stance of CBT managers and experts. Nonetheless, insights from the local community pertaining to the success of CBT have been largely ignored despite their significance. A case study approach was adopted in this research paper with a qualitative methodology. Data was collected from 17 key informants in 11 MHPs. A structured and in-depth interview was the primary data collection technique, used together with photos, note-taking, and sound recordings. From the interview analysis, 12 criteria were identified as most of the respondents had mentioned those criteria as success factors for MHPs. The findings also revealed 7 very important dimensions for MHP to receive high numbers of visitors which are: effective marketing and promotional strategies, maintained facilities and utilities, uniqueness and quality products/packages design, community engagement and support, collaboration and networking, leadership, and recognition, as well as previous awards. The new dimensions on homestay development identified in this study are recognition and previous awards, entrepreneurship and uniqueness of product and package design. The study outcomes signify that most of the respondents claimed that the MHP success is dictated by the quantity of tourists. This is because; the volume of tourists generates additional income to those involved in the MHP. However, there are other dimensions that should be weighed in by homestay operators to ensure that their homestays can succeed and survive for a longer period and can be contribute to SDG1 and SDG11.