The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the exogenous variables (administrative support, career placement & employability, academic staff support, institutional factors, and information systems) as service delivery quality dimensions with satisfaction and moderating variable (academic and social integration) between endogenous variables (satisfaction and retention) among undergraduate students from Malaysian private higher education institutions. In order to accomplish the objectives proposed with hypotheses, a model reflecting the relationship between service delivery quality dimensions and satisfaction moderated by academic and social integration towards retention is applied. This empirical study focused on probability-stratified random sampling with a final sample size of 309 students. This study achieved statistically significant positive results by emphasizing academic and social integration as a moderating variable to achieve student retention by linking Perceived Performance Theory and Tinto’s Interactionist Theory from satisfaction to retention. Evaluation of the structural model on the coefficient of determination for the model’s predictive accuracy in this study produced an R² = 0.85 for satisfaction, suggesting nearly 85% of the variance in endogenous latent construct satisfaction is explained by all the service delivery quality dimensions linked to it. As for retention produced R² = 0.74, suggesting nearly 74% of the variance in endogenous latent construct retention is explained by all the service delivery quality dimensions linked together with satisfaction and academic and social integration as moderator. The model has a substantial effect with 0.76 in the Goodness-of-Fit index, indicating that the model has better explaining power.

The urgency of adapting urban areas to the increasing impacts of climate change has prompted the scientific community to seek new approaches in partnership with public entities and civil society organizations. In Malaysia, Penang Island has developed a nature-based urban climate adaptation program (PNBCAP) seeking to increase urban resilience, reduce urban heat and flooding, strengthening social resilience, and build institutional capacity. The project includes a strong knowledge transfer component focused on encouraging other cities in the country to develop and implement adaptation policies, projects, and initiatives. This research develops a model adopting the most efficient processes to accelerate the transfer of knowledge to promote urban adaptation based on the PNBCAP. The methodology is developed based on a review of literature focused on innovation systems and change theories. The integration of success strategies in adaptation contributes to informing the creation of solutions around the alliance of local, state, and national government agencies, scientific institutions, and civil society organizations, in a new framework designated the Malaysian Adaptation Sharing Hub (MASH). MASH is structured in 3-steps and will function as an accelerator for the implementation of urban climate adaptation policies, with the target of creating 2 new adaptation-related policies to be adopted annually by each city member, based on knowledge gathered in the PNBCAP. It is concluded that, to speed up urban adaptation, it is necessary to reinforce and promote the sharing of knowledge resulting from or associated with pilot projects.

The initiation of tapering, sparked by heightened inflation in the United States, reverberates across global markets, with notable implications for Indonesia. This study delved into the nuanced impact of tapering on Sharia-compliant stocks in both Indonesia and Malaysia. The rationale behind selecting Sharia stocks for analysis lies in their composition, featuring companies boasting low debt-to-asset and equity ratios, thereby positing robust resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve’s implementation of tapering. Employing a time series dataset with a weekly sampling period spanning from January to September 2022, the analysis adopted the Error Correction Model (ECM) within a multiple regression framework to circumvent potential spurious regression pitfalls. The results of this study indicate that the impact of tapering off policy in Indonesia has a positive impact in the short term and long term, while in Malaysia it tends to be insignificant in the short term and has a positive impact from the US 10-year bond yield variable and a negative impact from US 1-Year Treasury Bills. This result is interesting because it differs from the general theory. The causal factors include the agility of the Indonesian central bank in maintaining the benchmark interest rate spread with the Fed, the economic stability of both countries, and the increasing trend of coal, with Indonesia being one of the largest producers of the commodity. Investors, in navigating these intricate dynamics, may find strategic insights derived from this research invaluable for shaping their investment decisions. while government policymakers may use them as a reference for shaping policies related to Sharia stock investments, including the incorporation of artificial intelligence.

The subjective well-being (SWB) concept specific to the elderly Orang Asli is still vague, with limited research. Understanding SWB can give a holistic picture of elderly Orang Asli’s well-being status because SWB considers individual evaluations and perspectives based on life experiences in various dimensions relevant to the elderly Orang Asli’s culture, language, belief system, and lifestyle. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the concept of SWB of elderly Orang Seletar. An exploratory case study research design is implemented in this qualitative study. 15 informants who participated in an in-depth interview session in Kampung Bakar Batu Perling, Johor Bahru, and aged 50 years old and above. Based on the findings of the study, there were seven major themes in discussing the concept of SWB which are (i) sufficiency; (ii) comfort; (iii) satisfaction; (iv) preference/favorite; (v) happiness; (vi) tranquillity and (vii) awareness. The finding of the study shows that there were eight domains of SWB of elderly Orang Asli Seletar which are (i) physical health; (ii) mental health; (iii) family and community; (iv) sea and nature; (v) culture preservation; (vi) basic needs; (vii) education; and (viii) spiritual. In conclusion, SWB should be the core element to determine the development of elderly Orang Seletar to ensure their thrive. From mainstream society’s eye, elderly Orang Seletar’s lives may be seen as inadequate and modest. However, it is different from what is felt by them.

This study aims to identify the impact of inheritance literacy, inheritance socialization, inheritance stress, and peer influence on the inheritance behaviors among FELDA communities in Malaysia. Inheritance literacy pertains to individuals’ comprehension of wealth transfer and estate planning, while peer influencer evaluates friends’ impact on inheritance attitudes; inheritance socialization explores family interactions’ role in shaping inheritance attitudes, and inheritance stress measures emotional strain in inheritance matters, with inheritance behaviors encompassing asset management and wealth transfer decisions for future generations by individuals and families. Understanding inheritance behaviors is crucial, as it helps individuals depict their inheritance knowledge and attitudes toward FELDA inheritance better, fostering a more favorable inheritance attitude. Through self-administered survey questionnaires, data related to FELDA communities are obtained using convenience sampling from 413 respondents. This study applies Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to test the research hypotheses. The present study’s outcome confirms that two determinants, which are inheritance literacy and inheritance socialization significantly influence the inheritance behavior of FELDA communities. However, inheritance stress and peer influence determinants have statistically insignificant influence inheritance behavior. This study’s theoretical framework enriches the discussions on wealth management and financial behavior by refining and expanding upon existing financial behavior theories to incorporate inheritance-specific behaviors. The present study is exclusive in its effort to ascertain the relative importance of both inheritance behavior and the FELDA communities. This paper will assist the government, inheritance service providers, and policymakers in offering innovative economic schemes and designing policies that may enhance the inheritance behavior wellbeing of FELDA communities. This article also provides a roadmap to guide future research in this area.

The emission trading scheme (ETS) is arguably one of the most effective approaches for encouraging industries to transition to a low-carbon economy and, as a result, assisting nations in meeting their goals under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to mitigate the challenge of climate change. ETS is gaining popularity as more governments throughout the world contemplate implementing it, particularly in developing countries. Much of the existing research has concentrated on debates concerning ETS operations in developed nations. This study is to give a discourse of the success criteria for ETS implementation that have been identified in the literature and then cross-referenced in the context of Malaysia. For this, the research used an integrated approach of scoping review of existing literature and in-depth interviews with Malaysian stakeholders. Using Narassimhan et al. (2018)’s ETS assessment framework, the scoping review identified five major attributes that lead to successful ETS implementation in a global context that are environmental effectiveness, economic efficiency, market management, stakeholder engagement, and revenue management. In-depth interviews with several groups of discovered stakeholder engagement as an essential attribute that would play a critical role in advancing ETS implementation in Malaysia. The study concludes by proposing a complete strategy based on empirical information and first-hand narratives, providing useful insights for politicians, industry players, and environmental activists. The recommendation is especially important as Malaysia strives to improve its commitment to sustainable and responsible development in light of the challenges posed by climate change.