Malaysia has achieved considerable steps in the use of ICT in administration since mid 80s. The vision of the Malaysian e-Government initiative which was formulated and launched in 1997 is to transform the public sector service delivery through the use of IT and multimedia. Since its start, there are eight projects implemented under the e-Government initiative flagship. This paper presents work done in one of these projects: e-Procurement (locally known as e-Perolehan) project. The aim of e-Perolehan project is to facilitate and improve government procurement besides to improve the quality of services provided within the Government-to-Business (G2B) setting. The paper briefly discusses how information and communication technologies were deployed to enhance the online procurement system in Malaysia.
Abstract Objective this study aims to conduct a systematic review on available instruments for measuring older persons’ ability to learn, grow and make decisions and to critically review the measurement properties of the identified instruments. Methods we searched six electronic databases, which include PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, SciELO, ERIC and AgeLine, between January 2000 and April 2022. Reference lists of the included papers were also manually searched. The COSMIN (CONsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments) guidelines were used to evaluate the measurement properties and the quality of evidence for each instrument. Results 13 instruments from 29 studies were included for evaluation of their measurement properties. Of the 13 reviewed, 6 were on the ability to learn, 3 were on the ability to grow and 4 were on the ability to make decisions. The review found no single instrument that measured all three constructs in unidimensional or multidimensional scales. Many of the instruments were found to have sufficient overall rating on content validity, structural validity, internal consistency and cross-cultural validity. The quality of evidence was rated as low due to a limited number of related validation studies. Conclusion a few existing instruments to assess the ability to learn, grow and make decisions of older people can be identified in the literature. Further research is needed in validating them against functional, real-world outcomes.
The age-old wisdom is that "women live longer than men". Gender difference in life expectancy is becoming a worldwide phenomenon both in developed and developing countries. The process of ageing may be viewed from the perspectives of physical, psychological, and social-economic wellbeing. We investigated gender difference in understanding ageing in relation to life expectancy, fears relating to diseases and deteriorating economic status, and perceived old age comfort and their preparedness. Data were obtained from an online survey and in-person interview of 518 respondents aged 40 years and older residing in Malaysia, which was based on a convenience sample collected from May 2015 to January 2016. Data were analysed using chi- squared tests and multinomial logistic regression. There were varying views between men and women when it came to understanding ageing in relation to life expectancy, fears of ageing, deteriorating economic status and their perception of old age comfort. Women were more optimistic about living longer compared to men but feared more the consequences of old age diseases. In spite of displaying less concern about financial preparedness, women were, however, willing to cut down expenses, while men would prefer longer working hours to ensure a comfortable retirement. Keywords: Gender Difference, Life Expectancy, Ageing, Fear, Financial Comfort
The edge of the Information Age, where information has become the cutting edge of global competition, has thrust the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into the fore front of the national socio-economic development. ICT has been recognized as a strategic enabling tool to support the growth of the economy as well as enhance the quality of life of the population. The public sector in Malaysia is going through period of rapid change. The government's leading role in spearheading the surge forward into the information age has compelled the public sector to lead the way. The Government launched the Electronic Government (e-Government) initiative to reinvent itself to lead the country into the Information Age. Implementation of Electronic Procurement (e-Procurement or locally known as e-Perolehan) is regarded as one of the major milestones in government's effort to reduce corruption thus enhancing accountability and transparency of government procurement. There are six procurement modules being implemented since 1999. The aim of the government is to make all the suppliers and federal government agencies become electronic procurement enabled users by the year 2010. This paper looks at some of empirical findings from the survey conducted regarding the government suppliers readiness in adopting and using the e-Procurement system. The general findings show that the suppliers have positive perception about information technology and the use of Internet to do their business transactions; hence they are ready to use the e-Procurement system. Even though there are some positive development of e-Procurement in terms of the acceptance and usage, there are also many problems and challenges faced by both the buyer community i.e. government, and seller community i.e. suppliers. The paper provides some recommendations to improve the current practice to encourage more suppliers to grab the opportunity and benefit fully from the e-Procurement initiative in Malaysia.
With rapid increase in number of older persons, Malaysia is faced with multitude issues of graying population resulting from declining birth rate and rising life expectancy. In 2010 4.7% of the population was above 65 years old and the life expectancy was 71.7 years for males and 75 years for females. The New Economic Model for Malaysia (NEM) 2010 defines inclusiveness, high income and sustainability, as the three prong objective towards a developed nation in 2020. The underlying principle of the inclusiveness objective is to enable every Malaysian to have access to opportunities in order to contribute to the economy and to ensure that essential needs of the people are met. At least ten policy measures were recommended to improve the well being of the bottom 40% of the population, which has been identified as underserved. The question is, to what extent is the existing social safety net policy adequate to support every Malaysian to sustain a decent living? What are the issues and gaps with social safety net for older people? This paper attempts to answer these questions and to examine other related issues. It is divided into three parts: the first parts is an assessment of the existing social safety net in Malaysia; the second part looks at some case studies of NGO’s working with the older people and the final part offers some policy recommendations as a way forward.
The educational performance of children in the three southern border provinces is the lowest in Thailand. This area has been continuously facing unrest, and the COVID‐19 crisis has resulted in increased social inequality in schools. The purposes of this study were to determine the problem behaviors exhibited by preschool children in an early childhood center and investigate the association between those behaviors and their related factors. A total of 140 children, aged 2–4, from three early childhood centers were sampled. The dependent variable of the study was a problem behavior with a binary value. The determinants were the children’s demographic information; their parent’s demographic information; and their behaviors of using a smartphone, watching TV, and spending quality time with the children and parent. The association between outcome and determinants was investigated using multiple logistic regression. The prevalence of problem behavior among preschool children was 44.3%. Three factors were associated with problem behavior: family type, allowing children to use smartphones, and children watching television on average per day. Compared to the overall prevalence, the children in the extended family had a high prevalence of problem behavior (62.5%). The children who were disallowed from using a smartphone demonstrated a high prevalence of problem behavior (79.1%). In contrast, children who watched television for more than 3 hr per day exhibited lower problem behavior (21.6%). The results of this study are beneficial to teachers and parents in monitoring their children’s development. Prompt intervention upon early detection of problems in children fosters their development and facilitates learning to their full potential.
Malaysia was ranked 16th and 10th in mathematics based on the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1999 and 2003, respectively while its neighbor, Singapore, used to be a part of Malaysia until 1965, was ranked first in both years. Hence, it is the aim of this study to investigate what makes Singaporean students better in mathematics performance compared to Malaysian students using TIMSS data. Factors examined in this analysis include characteristics of students, teachers and schools, educational aids and resources as well as students’ attitudes towards mathematics learning. It is hoped that the findings from this study will provide useful inputs to improve mathematics learning among Malaysian students.
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