1.0  Introduction

Poverty has been one of the biggest challenges faced by our nation in decades. Ever since its formation in 1963, Malaysia had made great effort in alleviating poverty by transforming itself into a high-middle income nation. This can be proven by looking at the nation’s respectable economy growth regardless the challenging external factors Malaysia is able to reduce the rate of poverty every year. At the outset of The New Economic Policy in the 1970s with the aim of eradicating poverty and restructure society by the elimination of race with economic function, the NEP has been successful to an extent in reducing evidence of poverty but also been endemic with deficiencies and abuses. Therefore, new aspect of economic policy has been continuously been introduced. The Shared Prosperity Vision became the main thrust on a fair economic distribution as well as equal participation across all level of incomes, society, and regions to overcome inequality.

According to the Department of Statistic Malaysia (DOSM) report, inequality exist when there is a difference in the ability of the households to seize income opportunities. It is further explained by Stiglitz whereby inequality weakens the aggregate demand of individuals in the lower groups where these individuals concentrated all of their incomes to fulfil their basic necessities. Correspondingly, inequality of income leads to poverty. Poverty is defined as a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources to meet the basic needs standard of living. As such, the income level from employment is so low that basic human needs cannot be met (Chen, J., 2020).

Despite the above challenges and drawback, evidently Malaysia’s poverty reduction is very impressive but there remains a small figures vulnerable group of people in the country experiencing poverty for some geographical and socio-economic reasons. Regardless years of efforts to eradicate this state of misery, it is with us still, and no doubt it will remain for sometimes to come. Comprehending why and where it exists and how it can be alleviated is a major effort of most development institutions. This case study tackles a small part of this enormous problem; it proposes a practical, manageable and cost-effective of poverty impact assessment. It presents an approach to gathering minimal, but strategic, quantitative information over time on the status of poor people in Kampung Bako who is hopefully will have their lives notably improved by specific project interventions. This information will help in determining where, why and how to spend money and human resources in poverty-reduction efforts.

1.1  Poverty in Malaysia

The issue of poverty is very common across the world. Different nation is unique with their own culture and backgrounds; hence, every community cater to different factor that cause poverty. According to Saiti, Salad and Bulut (2019), four important elements is crucial as the pre-requisites of a successful poverty alleviation strategy. The elements are:

1. Identification of the poor and their characteristic
2. Understanding of the cause and factor that cause their poverty
3. Designing specific policies with the objective of improving the living conditions of the poor
4. Effective and cost-efficient implementation of the policies and involvement of the relevant institutions should be able to complement the direction of

Generally, causes of poverty is classified by three perspectives according Li, Su, and Liu, (2016) in which the first theoretical perspective describes poverty in terms of the individuals to be liable for their own poverty. As such, the problems of the poor people for example is the lack of abilities, effort or thrift. Secondly, from the perspective of poverty caused by unfavorable economic, political, cultural and social forces; such as exploitation by the capitalist and deficiency of social opportunities. This external factor directly affects the rate of poverty in a country. The third perspective views poverty is caused by unforeseen circumstances like illness, epidemic, or misfortunes in which poor people have little or no control (Smith, 1989).

It is evident the causes of poverty are numerous. In Malaysia, the factor of segregation in terms of ethnicity and geographical area has resulted into separated economic functions. For example, the Malays are mostly involved in subsistence agriculture and fishing and live in the rural areas while the Chinese conquered the modern and commerce sector of the economy. The Indians on the other hands are mainly laborer in rubber plantations. This unique economic function has led to income inequality among the ethnic groups. According to the Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey Report 2019, Bumiputera hold the highest poverty rate, 7.8% as compared to 1.4% among the Chinese community and 4.8% in the Indian community. In addition, poverty rate is also classified into rural area and urban area. In 2019, the rural poverty is stated at 12.4% as compared in the urban area which recorded as 3.8%. This shows that income inequality among ethnicity and geographical area plays as the key elements towards a fair economic distribution to ensure economic prosperity of the country. Hence, a number of measurements has been taken by the government in order to combat the poverty issue, so it is in line with poverty alleviation policies, poverty elimination strategies in which expectantly will able to reduce the poverty rate. This lead to the research questions for this study:

1.2  Research Questions

The study aims to answer these questions:

1. Who are the poor households and their characteristics?
2. What is the social and economic needs of the poor households in Kampung Bako?
3. What are the approach and policies to take to improve the socio-economic condition of the households thus get them out of poverty?

Objectives of the study

Specifically, this study aims to:

1. To obtain basic socio-economic information of selected poor households in Kampung Bako
2. To investigate factors contributing to poverty among the selected poor households
3. To suggest approach and policies of poverty alleviation in Kampung Bako

Comprehending why and where poverty exists and how it can be alleviated is a major effort of development institutions. This case study presents an approach to gathering minimal, but strategic, quantitative information over time on the status of poor people in village areas who, it is hoped, will have their lives notably improved by specific project interventions. This information will help in determining where, why and how to spend money and human resources in poverty-reduction efforts.

2.0 Methodology

 In this study the area covered comprised of 3 villages in Bako area namely Kampung Bako Lot, Bako Hulu and Bako Hilir. These villages are located close to one another, their socio- economic background is similar. However, the size of population in the villages are different depending on the size of the area. Located by the river of Sungai Bako, the journey to Bako village takes around 35 minutes of 37 kilometers car ride from Kuching town. This fishing village holds many promising eco-tourism opportunities as Bako National Park served as tourists attraction with beautiful flora and fauna as well as mesmerizing beach view. Despite the promising eco- tourism prospects, some of the people in the village are still workings as traditional fisherman, fish monger, selling sea products such as belacan, bubok (dried prawn) and owner of small businesses as their source of income. According to the head of the village, Puan Hajah Janibah binti Haji Hazmi, the total population of the villagers is estimated 3000 people and 500 houses, with the majority of Malay ethnics and minority of other races such as Chinese, Iban and Bidayuh.

A baseline study is basically a collection of data about the current socio-economic situation in the community that we want to work in before the project starts. It is a detailed description of the status quo. To take sample in this study, nonprobability sampling technique is used. This technique involves selecting a specific household on the basis of personal judgment or convenience, and the probability of any particular member of the village population being chosen is unknown. The researcher used this technique because it was convenient to obtain a number of completed questionnaires quickly and economically. In addition, the researcher selects the sample based on her personal judgement on appropriate characteristic of sample member, which is the poor house conditions and family size.

Moreover, the case study also involved semi-structured interview. Before a study in Kampung Bako is conducted, a structured question is first provided. A semi-structured interview is a method of spontaneous interview of selected respondents based on research needs. Once the researcher gets the data from the village guide (Khairul Nizam Bin Naha, kampung Bako representative) in a structured interview, to ensure the accuracy of the data, the method of this type carried out. Although it is spontaneous, but the questions asked were constructed earlier.

The data collected by interviewing the head of household of the 10 selected households. The researcher had collected the data within 3 days using the questionnaire designed by Yayasan Kemajuan Insan (YAKIN). Besides that, sample was taken by using nonprobability sampling technique whereby samples chosen by referral from initial respondent.

3.0 Result of the study

Based on the date gathered, below is the result obtained:

Table 1: Respondent’s demographic profile

 Table 1 represent the demographic profile of responding 10 households based on their gender, the number of male respondents (20%) is lower than the female respondents (80%). This is because most of the respondents are among the single mothers who are categorized as the poor family. The demographic profile of the respondents is further classified by their status, age, occupation, education, household size, and income range. From Table 1, it shows that majority of the respondents are single mother (60%) followed by married (20%), single (10%) and divorcee (10%). In terms of age, most of the respondents are among the 40-50 years old (30%) and 61-70 years old (30%). Majority of the respondents are self-employed (40%) followed by working at companies (30%), as a housewife (20%) and not working (10%). The self-employed respondents are commonly work as a fisherman, hawkers, and some of them make and sell food from home.

In terms of education, most of the respondents received education at primary school level (40%), followed by secondary school and not receive education at 30% respectively. None of the respondents receive higher education.

Regarding the household size, most of the households consists of 7-8 people in a house (40%), 30% of them living with 3-4 people in a house, 20% living with 1-2 people and 10% have 5-6 people in their home.

In addition, the monthly income of all the respondents are below Malaysia’s new Poverty Line Income (PLI) 2019 which is declared at RM2,208 per month (DOSM, 2019). The monthly income from the questionnaire structured is totaled by sum of wages, revenue from self-made, aid from family members as well as the monthly government aid. This shows that all of the households are poor with majority of them (40%) have the range income of RM1001-RM1500 per month followed by 30% earned at the range of RM500-RM1000, 20% income range of RM100-500 and lastly only 10% earned RM1500-RM2000 per month.

Next, cross tabulation is conducted to show data tables that present the results of the entire group of respondents as well as results from sub-groups of survey respondents. Cross tabulations enable the researcher to examine relationships within the data that might not be readily apparent when analyzing total survey responses:

Table 2: Age-Income crosstabulation

Table 2 present the cross-tabulation of Age with Income. Of the 4 respondents who earned RM1000-RM1500, 25% of them is at the age of 40s-50s. This corresponds with 33.3% of respondent who earned RM500-RM1000, and 50% of 40-50 years old respondent earned RM100- Rm500. Focusing on the number of the highest income earner of RM2000 or less reveals only a group of respondents who is at the age of 51-60 years old. The respondent is employed with a shipping company as a technician.

Table 3: Gender-Income crosstabulation

 Table 3 present the cross-tabulation of Gender with Income. Of the 4 respondents who earned RM1000-RM1500, 75% of them are female. This corresponds with 100% of respondent who earned RM501-1000 and 100% of respondent who earned RM100-500 above. Focusing on the number of the highest income earner of RM2000 and above reveals only a group of respondents who is the male who works as a technician at a private company. Thorough modification on the study procedures on the number of respondents according to gender needs to be taken into consideration in order to get more male respondents.

Table 4: Marital status-Income crosstabulation

 Table 4 present the cross-tabulation of Status with Income. Of the 4 respondents who earned RM1000-RM1500, 50% of them are single mother. This corresponds with 100% of respondent who earned RM501-1000 and 50% of respondent who earned RM100-500. Focusing on the number of the highest income earner of RM2000 and above reveals only a group of respondents who is married. It shows that marital status is the main social factor that contribute to poverty as a single parent can only earned RM100-RM1500 per month compared to married household who manage to earn RM1001-RM1600 per month.

Table 5: Occupation-Income crosstabulation

Table 5 present the cross-tabulation of Occupation with Income. Of the 4 respondents who earned RM1000-RM1500, 25% of them are self-employed. This corresponds with 66.7% of respondent who earned RM501-1000 and 50% of respondent who earned RM100-500. Focusing on the number of the highest income earner of RM2000 and above reveals only one group of respondents who is employed at company. It shows that the source of income of the respondents whom are self-employed benefited from activities such as catching fish, selling food from home and other local products.

Table 6: Household size-Income crosstabulation

Table 6 present the cross-tabulation of Household size with Income. Of the 4 respondents who earned RM1000-RM1500, 50% of them live with 7-8 people in a house. This corresponds with 66.7%% of respondent who earned RM501-1000. Focusing on the number of the highest income earner of RM2000 above live with 3-4 people.

4.0  Discussion

 This case study is  basically meant to determine the characteristic of the 10 selected households and to determine the factors or determinants contributing to their poor conditions. Poverty is a social construction as The World Bank would defines poverty as:

“a pronounced deprivation of well-being related to lack of material income or consumption, low levels of education and health, vulnerability and exposure to risk, lack of opportunity to be heard and powerlessness”.

Based on the definition above, the case study shows that the 10 selected households in kampung Bako especially among the single parent is vulnerable to poverty. In identifying the vulnerability to poverty of the households, the researcher has conducted questionnaire to get the data of monthly income of the selected respondent. Most of the selected households are self- employed they work as a fisherman, hawkers, prepared and sell food from home and other local products. For the single parent household, most of them have the difficulties to work because they have small children at home and the lack of public transportation make it hard for them to travel from one place to another. Thus, they can only make and selling food from their home. In addition, the uncertain daily earning among the household who works as fishermen are due to natural factors as well as the limited gears for fishing for this small fisherman may make them vulnerable to poverty and hard to get out of the poverty ring. The average monthly income of fishing households is between RM900-RM1000 depends on fish season while the household who work as casual worker earned minimum salary of RM1200. From this job their income is low that their basic human needs cannot be met. Most of the households although had received government aid; one- off payment under Bantuan Prihatin 2020, monthly financial assistance schemes from the welfare department to help the poor families and the elders that not helping them to be out of poverty. In addition, high unemployment among the villagers contributes to the poverty. The location of the village to town (where there is more job opportunities) takes about 40 minutes by car became a barrier for them. For instance, a single mother with three kids is unable to work far from home as she has to take care of the children.

Secondly, the low level of education of the respondent and their children makes difficulties in finding other jobs. Most of them were only able to complete a high school respondent’s education is high school graduate and they have no other technical training. The low education

level leaves them no choice to find a better job and trap being a traditional fisherman and casual workers. Moreover, one important finding the researcher found out that most of household have at least one child or school going age are not schooling. This for certain reasons such as loss of interest to learn, have issues with their parents, and no transportation to go to school. The children are also in an environment where it is uncomfortable to study; the house is too cramped hence it affects their interest to receive education. Transportation wise, the children rely on public bus to go to school. They need to cross the river by boat (sampan, a traditional boat) and wait for the public bus at the terminal. As the bus interval time is not so often, most of the students must wait for more than 30 minutes for the next trip to be available. This adds toward children drop out at the end of secondary school. Hence, it can be said that the common factor that contribute to poverty in this case study is the education achievement of the household and local job opportunities in which most of them are unable to get better job as their education is barely minimum.

Thirdly, non-durable products especially fresh fish and prawns should be marketed immediately. This creates a high dependence of the fishermen on the traders or collectors of the catch so this trader or collector can be charged below the market price. This is because the fishermen do not have cold storage (refrigerator) used to accommodate the fish to be lasting. Therefore, the fish should be sold as soon as it landed. In some cases, the fisherman will marinate the fish and dry it to avoid loss. However, this is depended on the weather. If the fishes do not dry in two or three days, the fishes will be rotten and cause another loss. The dependence on natural factors like weather confirms how vulnerable the condition of their work and it contributes to the difficulty to get out of the poverty ring. In addition, at certain times during the fish season, the surplus of catch can be utilized if they have facilities for it such as Cold Storage. However, to avoid losses, they are willing to sell the fishes at very low prices to the trader who have the facilities to store and sell the fish at Bako fish market. This resulted in fishermen do not having a surplus of production although sometimes they have abundant production. For them if their catches are all sold during the day, they are grateful and ready to work for another day.

Henceforth, from the result obtained in the baseline study, strategies suggested to alleviate poverty are:

1. To increase the income and productivity of the poor, expansion of their capital and efficient capital utilization as such the provision of better facilities such as cold storage and proper stall to sell their products
2. To provide training and facilities to the fisherman
3. To provide vocational trainings for the single mothers to increase their income
4. Guide the families to market their products in order to increase their income
5. To increase employment opportunities, training, education, financial and technical skills must be provided to increase the chances of opportunity of employment and facilitate the transition of moving into the modern sector of the economy
6. To promote vocational training for the children who refuses to go to school
7. To provide free school bus for the children to go to school with more efficient schedule
8. To provide more productive public transportation schedule for the villagers to work at town

Among the 10 household, I would like to suggest for YAKIN to follow on these 7 household:

5.0  Limitation and conclusion

After conducting the case study on selected poor household in Kampung Bako, the researcher has found weakness in the questionnaire. The constructed questionnaire was not comprehensible in terms of the respondent’s daily income, their daily expenses and savings, and the place they bought food. These questions are vital to indicate their style of living from day to day and eventually helps understanding their needs better. Hence, the questionnaire could be amended and re-piloted until no further changes were considered necessary. Moreover, in developing country settings, contextual factors and researchers’ biases could play out in the implementation of research surveys. In such situations, sometimes it is feasible to outsource the survey work to professional researchers who may have wider experiences of undertaking large field surveys in the given or similar areas.

In conclusion, this study is important to observe the status quo of household in Kampung Bako to measure the solution in time, capacity and resources. It is necessary to conduct this baseline study to identify the indicator of poverty line at the area and come out with a reliable solution and strategy so that intervention can be made. Above all, an outline for standard end-course reporting by training providers, set-up for the tracer study to collect information related need to be done to enable proper steering of the intervention thus, able to alleviate poverty.

References

Chen, J. (2020, September 4). Poverty. Retrieved from Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/poverty.asp

Gamble. R. Prabhakar. (2005). Assets and Poverty. Theoria: A Journal of Social and political Theory, No 107, Power, Poverty and the Democratic Nation, 1-18.

Li, Y., Su, B., & Liu, Y. (2016). Realizing targeted poverty alleviation in China People’s voices, implementation challenges and policy implications. China Agricultural Economic Review, 8(3), 443–454. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-11-2015-0157

Smith, K. a. (1989). Rags, riches and bootstraps: beliefs about causes of wealth. The Sociological Quarterly, 93-107.

Saiti, B., Salad, A. J., & Bulut, M. (2019). The Role of Cash Waqf in Poverty Reduction: A Multi-country Case Study, 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10907-3_3

World Bank (2002) A Revised Forest Strategy for the World Bank Group. Washington, D.C: World Bank

Zikmund Babin, C. G. (2009). Chapter 1 The Role of Business Tc Rn in. Business Research Methods, 1–674.

Prepared by: Nurul Diyana Binti Zaidi MASA Research Officer

Appendix 2

In depth story of each case

1. JamasiahJamasiah in her 50s, is employed as a cleaner at school. Being a single mother with 4 children under her care. One of her children is married, helping her mother with her baking business. Her mother is hoping that 2 of her daughter can get a stable job instead of working part time at prawn factory. While his only son’s job is affected by the covid-19 he is no longer working at the factory nearby.

2. Nauyah (x)Nauyah (66) is a single mother lives with her one disabled child and grandchildren. Her son who was injured from sweet cane machine lost his fingers and now is unable to continue his drinks business. Nauyah is unable to work anymore as she is very old. She used to sell frozen roti canai ordered by people in the village. Now this family relies on government aid and hoping for work opportunities that suits their conditions to make their lives better.

3. Jamilah (/)
   Jamilah is a 49 years old single mother with 3 children. She is hoping to be able to work in selling food and willing to join workshop and courses such as baking in order to upgrade her skills and quality of her products.

4. Yong
   Yong is a 75 years old single woman who lives alone in her house after her sister died. She received government aid monthly.

5. Nazira (33) (/)
   Two of her children all are still schooling . Received RM300/month from the welfare. She is willing to join cooking and baking courses and very interested in beauty classes. She hopes that she will be able to join these courses/ workshop so that she can start business at home

6. Saudah (/)
   Losing her beloved husband in a tragedy, Saudah (40) is now a widow with six children. Her income RM1000-1200 monthly from selling nasi lemak, kuih-muih and belacan is not sufficient for her family. As her eldest is working at a factory, Toko, she able to help her mother providing food on the table. Saudah’s second daughter is married and still live together under the same roof. Her son in law work at a factory in Demak. Running a family of seven with only her and her daughter earning is no easy task. Her expenditures run over RM1500 monthly. Besides that, having a 2-year-old baby makes her difficult to work far from home.

7. Masli
   Masli Rafaee (64) is a traditional fisherman who used to challenges. Living by the river of Sungai Bako, he faced various obstacles from climate change. On April this year, Masli has faced tragic incident where his son died in a drowning tragedy. Masli and two other fishermen including his son had gone out to sea at Pulau Lakei when suddenly their wooden boat capsized by a storm. Losing his eldest son in the tragedy has changed the family’s livelihood. He is now taking care of his daughter in law (Saudah) and 6 grandchildren who lives next door. Thus, even in his old age, he still has to work with his son pulling additional labor duty such as fixing wooden boat during his free time to support the additional expenses.Masli and his wife has 3 children and 3 grandchildren living under his roof. His second child, a daughter is a disabled. She is not able to work. While his other daughter works at a private company, his youngest son works as a lorry driver at Demak. Masli’s son who is a divorcee has 3 children. They are 14 years old, 12 years old and 10 years old who are school-going.

   While focusing on fishing, his wife helps selling dry fish, belacan, bubok and other seafood products to the market nearby. Despite using the best inputs, he is unable to get good prices at the market. This is because the wholesalers in the nearby market collude together to keep the prices low and thus forcing him to distress sell. When the weather is not suitable for fishing, Masli will repair his wooden boat and fishing equipment. With the current trend, Masli worries this year the expenses of running a family of six might prove to be too much. The same life has served his family for generations very well. He wonders exactly what has changed for his time.

8. Rokayah
   Rokayah Kadri who is in her 40s, is a divorcee from Kampung Bako Hulu. Having 4 children under her care, she works as a hospital laundry staff of a company in Senari. As she is a single mother it becomes very hard for her to run the family with one school-going. Her monthly income is RM1200 is insufficient for her family. According to Rokayah, her husband was affected by the pandemic Covid-19 so he has stop giving alimony for their children for the last 6 months. Despite having an income and monthly aid from her working eldest, the family does not have saving. Her family lives with her sister-in-law, who also has children of 4. Rokayah works only at night shift from 4:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Her transportation to go to work is by van with monthly fees of RM46. Besides that, she also needs to pay rm23 monthly for boat to across Bako river.Rokayah’s first child is a 23-year-old works as a cashier with monthly income of RM1200 while her second son who is a 21-year-old work as fisherman. Her third child who is a 15-year-old girl, is a school dropout. She refuses to go to school because the motorcycle was taken by her father. Her last child is an 8-year-old is still at primary school not far from their house. Rokayah did not receive monthly single mother aids from the government as her children is able to work.

9. Hasanah
   Hasanah (61) is a single mother. She lives with her children, son in law, and grandkids. There are 7 members in the house. Despite having a working son and son in law, Hasanah sometime follows a group of fishermen to go to the sea during peak season. Her income was around RM500-RM1000 monthly. She has received government aid and registered under e-kasih.

10. Nornini
    Striving to improve her life, a single mother of 6, Nornini (50) has been thinking about the future of her and her family. Living at Kampung Bako Tengah, she sells fried banana, desserts such as kuih muih, drinks, and other food from her house as a source of income for the family. With 5 mouths to feed, 4 school-going children and one disabled child among them, Nornini has big hopes toward her children’s education. Her eldest 21 years old son is still studying in Kuala Lumpur taking welding courses. Her daughter, 19, is schooling at a vocational school in Kuching. Her third child (17) is a school dropout, works with her uncle selling fish at the market. Currently she lives with her 3 younger children who are 12, 11, and 9-year-old who are still at primary school. Her 11 year old daughter is a special needs kid receive her education at Sk Panjar Sejingkat which is located about 15km from her house. Therefore, she relies on her kind neighbor to send her kid to school every day. According to Nornini, before her husband passed away she managed to work at the factory to support the family but now she can only sell food from her house because the neighbor sometimes might not be able to pick her daughter from school. In that case, Nornini has to pick up her daughter from school using motorcycle. Nornini is a hard working potential woman who dreams about the growth of her business and the family’s quality of lie. She wants to ensure well education for all her children but in that situation, it seems a challenge to ensure three times meal a day.

11. Nazira
    Nazira is a 33 years old single mother with three children. Her two children are still schooling and she left at home taking care of her 2 year old son. She relies on monthly government aid and is willing to upgrade her skills in cooking and make up. She is hoping to join training as she is still young and would like to give her best in raising her kids.

12. Othman
    Othman is a 40 years old man who works at a private company with monthly salary of RM2000. He has 3 children and one of them is a high school student while the other 2 is married and still live together under the same roof.

23 April 2022

1.0 Congested Parking in Kuching: Causes and Effects

The rise in the number of cars and motorcycles in Kuching had been too significant since its elevation to city status in the 1980’s. this is in tandem with continuously grows especially in terms of basic infrastructure, facilities, and social services. The development of Kuching moves along with economic activities leading to job creation to become the main attraction for the young people from the rural areas to settle down. The economic prosperity has led to more people owning cars and motorcycles which caused frequent traffic jam and shortage of parking lots in certain areas in the city.

Kuching, experienced a significant rise in the number of cars and motorcycles especially when it became a necessary for people to own one because of the distance between their home and working place. Based on the current situation it has caused a serious jam and parking congestion in the city centre. If there is no action to resolve this issue, it will cause more problems such as parking offence or traffic congestion. This study will take an issue regarding limited car parking space and to explain the situation in the city.

The problem of congested carparks in certain areas of the city is getting worst yearly. For some cases, there might be a few car owners would do irresponsible action in order to get their car park and proceed to do personal matter without thinking of the effect from their action.

In view of the many complaints received from car owners in certain areas with regard to congested parking spaces within the city central areas. MASA decided to do a study to investigate the problems faced by the car owners and to identify the causes.

The public transportation services are getting improve especially for bus services. While Uber and Grabcar was introduced to Malaysia in the early of 2010s as another alternative for the citizen. All of these can be used to reduce the use of cars in Kuching. However, it is still not enough to counter the parking space issues in this city as owning a car is still the main choice for Kuching’s citizen.

The problem of parking space in Kuching is heavily crowded until some of the car or motorcycle owner irresponsibly park their vehicle by the road side which it affects the traffic especially during the peak hour. Kuching with certain areas is busy with economic activities such as shopping mall, restaurants, cafe, bank, and etc. Economic activities in this area have attract people to come and visit the area. However, due to parking issue has caused difficulties toward them.

In order to reduce the stress or frustration among the car owners in this city, MASA had to conducted a study to know how serious the problems of congested parking areas. For this purpose, we selected three areas for this study namely; Main Bazaar, Satok and Padungan.

1.1 Objectives of the Study

The objectives for the study are:

• a) To identify which areas or locations within Kuching city where parking spaces are always congested giving rise to parking problem for cars and motorcycles
• b) To determine the factors for parking congestion in Kuching
• c) To propose solutions to reduce congested parking space in Kuching

This study was to find out the problem of congested parking lots and how it affects the traffic. This kind of case study might get less focus in any previous research as it be seen as less impact toward the state and society but it definitely will bring impact toward the car park management if this research manages to come out with proper roots and causes of the parking issue.

This will give us a better understanding on car park issue and at the same time manage to reduce any illegal or reckless parking. The affected driveway also can be controlled if fewer vehicles manage to be park in good manner. In short, this study will make a contribution toward a better parking management and to ensure car owners do not waste time and gas to look for parking lots.

1.2 Research Methodology

1.2.1 Literature Review

A literature review based on the past research findings and available data in order to know the issues and for further research.

1.2.2 Observation

A series of observation was done on several areas to understand situation of congested parking in the city.

1.2.3 Interview

Interview is the final method being used in this research, there are few stakeholders who involved in this interview such as City Council (DBKU), Police Traffic Department, parking warden, business operators and car users.

1.8 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study covers certain parking spaces in Kuching; that are mostly congested with cars and motorcycles. Based on one observation the areas are Main Bazaar, Padungan and Satok commercial centre. Besides that, this study also tried to observe the situation based on certain period which is during the morning, lunch hour and at night.

1.8.1 Main Bazaar

This location has been chosen for this study because it is one of the busiest places in Kuching where many people are coming for many reasons such as shopping, recreation, foods, and spices. The area covers from Electra House to Chinese Temple where many cars were seen during the observation. This place has become important for people because of its entity that serve a lot of things especially for tourism such as souvenir, kek lapis, water fountain and Darul Hana Bridge.

1.8.2 Satok

An observation for this place will be conducted from Satok Bridge until the fly over as this area contains shopping mall, restaurants, workshops, banks, offices, and accessory shops. This place is significant for this study as it attracts lot of people to come and many cars were presence in this area during the observation.

1.8.3 Padungan

Padungan also being chosen in this study because of high crowd were seen during the visit as many cars parked around this area. This place contains café, hardware store, super market, restaurants, hotels, banks, office, nightclub and souvenir shops. An observation toward this place covers from Grand Margherita Hotel to Fire Station that is near to round about.

2.0 Findings

Based on the finding, these locations (Main Bazaar, Satok and Padungan) were busy at certain time especially during business hour from 9.30 am until lunch hour. Improper car parking in this city is causing stress and trouble to other road users when a car park at the side of the road as it become congested and disrupts the traffic flow. The curb parking led to the congested traffic when lot of car owners do the curb parking on the side of the road which becomes a burden and cause a single lane road only which it will disrupt the flow of traffic. The jammed traffic will occur due to that kind of parking especially in somewhere that is narrow street or
downtown (Hossam El-Din I. S. Ahmed 2017).

2.1 Main Bazaar

Based on the feedback from Police Traffic Department, DBKU and other respondents, all of them agreed that congested parking only occurs in the morning at 9.00 am and until lunch hour. The causes of congested parking are due to high number of visitors, less parking space and the attitude of the car owners.The factors that lead to congested parking are people coming in for groceries, breakfast and lunch, shopping mall and other necessary things. The location also becomes tourist attraction which contribute to the parking congestion. However, there are places provided for people to park their car such as Plaza Merdeka shopping centre or Saujana Parking which can reduce the congestion in the area. While parking space in Medan Pelita, according to Puan Azilah Hani from Land Custody and Development, are occupied with
seasonal parking. Based on the observation, Medan Pelita is strategically located in between lot shops, hotels, restaurants and offices.

2.2 Satok

According to all of the respondents, congested parking in this location occurred during business hour especially from between 9.00 am to 4.00 pm. This area also having less parking space that led to parking congestion. Besides that, Satok is a commercial centre where many people coming for their own personal matters such as shopping, breakfast and lunch, groceries, workshop, and to the bank. The car owners attitude also become one of the main factors that led to congestion in the area. For example, they commit to illegal parking such as double park, curb parking, exit lane parking, and yellow line parking. Another issue that occurred was motorcycles parked in the car parking spaces and sometimes two or three motorcycles might take different spot of car parking spaces which cause car drivers could not park in the provided area. This incident
led to illegal parking when the car owners could not park their vehicles.

2.3 Padungan

In the location, the congested area is in Jalan Padungan especially from the Padungan Arch. This area is too narrow and less parking space provided but it is still become one of the most visited places in Kuching due to many restaurants, banks, café, shops, and market. Based on the respondent’s feedback, the congestion only occurred during the day which it started from 7.00 am to 4.00 pm and become worst during the lunch hour.

Lot of people came to this location just for temporarily, however it affects the traffic flow when too many illegal parking happens in the area. Most of the cases area double park, improper parking and parking on the yellow line. The attitude of the car owners is the main contributor to congestion because there are two location that provides parking space; Taman Kereta and The Hills shopping mall but they refuse to park in the provided area due to long distance of walking and to avoid pay for parking. All of the respondents agreed that congested parking only occurred for certain time only.

3.0 Suggestions

1. Give authority to parking attendance to the parking attendance
2. Put more and clearer signages for parking spaces
3. Awareness campaign on proper parking habits
4. Increase police enforcement over offenders as DBKU staff are only empowered to issue compounds on overtime parking and non-display of parking coupons.

4.0 Conclusions

1. The peak time of congested cark parking spaces in all locations occurs during business hours especially at 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.
2. Illegal parking is attributed to the attitude of the people.
3. More parking spaces as suggested will not be possible due to no vacant land around the business premises already established.

Reference

Hossam El-Din I. S. Ahmed. 2017. Car Parking in Urban Areas, Causes and Solutions. 1st International Conference on Towards a Better Quality of Life. 1-13. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3163473.

Julaihi Bin Wahid. 1985. The Physical Redevelopment of Kuching Downtown, Sarawak. Malaysia: An Urban Design Approach. Kansas State University.

Lockard, C. A. 2014. The Early Development Of Kuching, 1820—1857. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 49, No. 2 (230) (1976), pp. 107-126.

Nancy Nais. (2019, November 11). Crowded streets: Vehicles in Kuching projected to increase 41.5 per cent by 2030. DayakDaily. https://dayakdaily.com/crowded-streets-vehicles-in-kuching-projected-to-increase-41-5-per-cent-by-2030/#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20’Urban%20Traffic,afford%20to%20own%20private%20vehicles. 04 September 2020.

Portal Rasmi Pentadbiran Bahagian Kuching. (n.d.) Sejarah Kucing.
https://kuching.sarawak.gov.my/page-0-14-60-Sejarah-Kuching.html. 07 October 2020.

Sarawak Voice. (2018, April 28). Satok maju bersama Abang Jo. Sarawak Voice.
https://sarawakvoice.com/2016/04/28/satok-maju-bersama-abang-jo/. 08 October 2020.

Photo 1: Illegal parking on yellow line at Electra House

Photo 2: Double Park in Main Bazaar

Photo 3: Motorcycles illegally parking on yellow line (Satok)

Photo 4: Obstruction caused by illegal parking in front of CIMB bank Satok

Photo 5: Traffic congestion caused by illegal parking

Photo 6: Curb parking on the exit lane in Padungan

Servant leadership, a term coined and defined by Robert Greenleaf, is an approach to leadership development. He explains that the servant leader is being servant first, which begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. According to him, servant leadership addresses the following questions:

• Do others around the servant leader become wiser, freer, more autonomous, healthier and better able for themselves to become servants?
• Will the least privileged of the society benefit or at least, no further deprived?

Concept and Impact of Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is an approach to leadership that puts serving others – including employees, customers and community, as the number one priority. Servant leadership emphasizes increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting a sense of community, and the sharing of power in decision making. In short, servant leadership focuses on follower needs more than organisational outcomes.

Many world-class organisations have adopted servant-leadership as a guiding philosophy or as a foundation or as a foundation of their mission statement. Among these are TD Industries, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, and the The Men’s Wearhouse. These high-performance organisations teach and practice servant leadership. For individuals, servant leadership offers a means to personal growth – spiritually, professionally, emotionally and intellectually.

Characteristics of Servant Leadership
Are you a servant leader? According to Barbuto & Wheeler, there are 11 characteristics that describe a servant leader, namely:

Calling. Do people believe that you are willing to sacrifice self-interest for the good of the group? Servant leaders have a natural desire to serve others. This notion of having a calling to serve others is deeply rooted and value-based. Servant leaders have a desire to make a difference for other people and will pursue opportunities to impact others’ lives. A servant leader is willing to sacrifice self-interests for the sake of the others.

Listening. Do people believe that you want to hear their ideas and will value them? Servant leaders are excellent listeners. They are receptive and genuinely interested in the views and input of others. People instinctively understand that servant leaders want them to share their ideas and that these ideas will be valued.

Empathy. Do people believe that you will understand what is happening in their lives and how it affects them? Servant leaders can walk in the shoes of others. They understand and emphatize with the situations and problems of others.

Healing. Do people come to you when the chips are down or when something traumatic has happened in theirs lives? The ability to create an environment that encourages emotional mending is crucial for those who want to become great servant leaders. They are good at facilitating the healing process and others gravitate toward them when emotional needs arise.

Awareness. Do others believe you have a strong awareness for what is going on? Servant leaders have a keen sense for what is going on? Servant leaders have a keen sense for what is happening around
them. They are always looking for cues from the environment to inform their opinions and decisions. They know what’s going on and will rarely be fooled by appearances.

Persuasion. Do others follow your requests because they “want to” or because they believe they “have to”? Servant leaders seek to convince others to do things rather than relying on formal authority. They are naturally very persuasive and offer compelling reasons when they make requests. They never force others to do things.

Conceptualization. Do others communicate their ideas and vision for the organisation when you are around? Those who want to be great servant leader must develop an environment that fosters conceptualization.

Foresight. Do others have confidence in your ability to anticipate the future and its consequences? Servant leaders have an uncanny ability to anticipate future events. This is not to say they are psychic or always right, but they are adept at picking up patters in the environment and seeing what the future will bring. They usually anticipate consequences of decisions with great accuracy.

Stewardship. Do others believe you are preparing the organisation to make a positive difference in the world? Servant leaders are often characterized by a strong sense of stewardship. A steward in an organisation is responsible for preparing it for its destiny, usually for the betterment of society. Making a positive difference in the future is characteristic of the stewardship mentality.

Growth. Do people believe that you are committed to helping them develop and grow? Servant leaders have a strong commitment to the growth of people. They believe that all people have something to offer beyond their tangible contributions. Servant leaders work hard to help people in a number of ways – spiritually, professionally, personally.

Building community. Do people feel a strong sense of community in the organisation that you lead? Servant leaders have a strong sense of community spirit and work hard to foster it in an organisation. Those who want to be great servant leaders must develop an environment that fosters conceptualization.

In short, servant leadership is a leadership model which pays attention to the needs of employees and customers and as a result has significant impact on the bottom line of organisations. As a servant leader. The manager engages the hearts and minds of the employees who are the most valuable assets of the organisation.

As a pensioner, I frequent the golf clubs, not only in Kuching but also Miri, Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. I must also admit that I do frequent the kopitiam and eateries within Kuching city to meet up with friends as well as to discuss activities of a few NGOs in which I am involved. During these outings, I often met friends, former civil servants and academicians, who had retired from their respective Government agencies and universities. After exchanging the normal greetings, I normally asked them what they had been doing since retirement. The majority would say they were not doing anything special, except doing some gardening around the house, golfing and other forms of exercise, reading books and sending grandchildren to school. Some lucky ones had their services extended for two to four years in various Government agencies or private sectors; of course, not to forget, many muslim retirees spend more time in the surau and mosques to enhance their knowledge about the religion and thus preparing for the afterlife.

Recently, I was playing golf with a man in his early sixties with an engineering qualification from an Autralian University. He had just retired from an international oil and gas company, and before that was with Petronas in Miri and Bintulu. I also had coffee with two senior Professors who had just retired from a local University. All the three of them had nothing specific to do, and are willing to contribute something useful to the State and society, if their services and expertise are needed, even with a small remuneration or none at all. I said to myself, what a waste of all the talents and expertise?

For one thing, I know that most of these retired senior Govt officers and academicians are very well qualified; the academicians, especially have PhD degree from good universities in the UK, USA, Australia New Zealand and of course from local Universities. Most of the Senior Civil servants in the State service have got a Master degree; some of them had attended advanced executive training courses at Harvard University or other institutions of learning overseas or in the country. They had been sponsored by the government or its agencies under the various scholarship and short-termed training programs. Besides that, they had vast experience and knowledge after serving some thirty years or more in various capacities, including as directors, managers, educators and researchers in their fields of specialization. I strongly believe there is a lot of talent and experience out there that should be harnessed to enhance the talent pool and capability of both the public and private agencies in the State as well as national level. Thus the government and private sectors should find ways on how they couldencourage these retired people to contribute to society in their areas of expertise, especially in  policy analysis and impact assessment, research (both in physical and social sciences) and in the area of critical and creative thinking skills.

In developed countries, most of these experienced people are still contributing and productive until they are in their eighties; they are engaged as advisors, policy and financial analysts, research fellows, Adjunct professors, commentators on TV or as volunteers in hospitals or welfare homes. Let take for example, the recently appointed US Cabinet to start with. Most of the members have well passed their 60s, and some are in their 70s. Many of them are former ambassadors, experienced administrators, former Captains of industries and retired army general. The president himself is 78 years old, and so too, is John Kerry, the Climate Change Secretary. The Secretary of the Treasury, formerly with the US Central Bank is 73 years, and the Secretary of Defence, a retired four stars general, is over 65 years old. On top of that, there is the ever-green and articulate Nancy Palosi, The Majority House Leader, and Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical advisor to the President , both of them are 80 years of age; they are still very articulate and contributing to the nation. I believe more than half of the people appointed into the cabinet by President Biden recently are above 65years old, and many had left their previous appointment before they got appointed. Despite their age, They all seem to be highly energetic and enthusiastic about their new appointment. By the way, the majority of winners of the Noble prizes in Science, medicine and economics were well into their sixties and seventies when they were received the awards.

Apart from getting appointed or reappointed into public offices, I also noted that many analysts and commentators appearing on CCN, BBC and AlJazeera TV news are retired people, either from the Diplomatic service, armed forces or big corporation. In most cases, they are employed, most probably on part-time basis, as Research fellows, political or financial analysts by reputable NGOs and think-tanks in the USA or UK. These NGOs recognized the depth of knowledge and experience possessed by these retired people. They are normally being invited by the big international media to give their views on important events happening around the world, especially in countries where they had served. CNA of Singapore is also doing the same, but our TV stations do not seem to be in the habit of doing that yet, unless the pensioners join politics or get reappointed in the government service.

I strongly believe the government and private sector, including NGOs, should harness the wealth of experience and skills available with these recent retirees, many of whom are still in their early or mid sixties. They still have many more fruitful years to contribute to society. One condition is, of course, they are healthy both physically and mentally and still willing to contribute. I am not proposing that they be reappointed full-time in the service or in private corporation, as this may be seen as depriving the younger people of job opportunities. It is supposed that they could be appointed as advisors, Sernior Research Fellows/fellows or analysts to fill up the gap not readily available or to supplement existing talent in the organization in which they are going to be placed. They could be appointed on a part-time basis or on specific assignment basis, and be given a small allowance which could be negotiated. Their terms and condition must be worked out properly for a win-win situation. Some of the tasks that could be assigned to them include undertaking scientific research on specific topics of interest to government agencies, policy review and impact assessment of certain projects, lecturing and mentoring and even to assist in reviewing consultant reports of the numerous studies commissioned and financed by the Government.

To start the ball-rolling, MASA could act as the secretariat for this project. It could start an inventory which would list down the names of the retirees who are interested, their addresses, contact numbers and their areas of expertise. MASA could act as a match-maker between government agencies and corporations, on one hand and the retirees, on the other. Your comments are most welcome.

]]> /motivating-employees-with-praise/ Thu, 10 Nov 2022 01:57:56 +0000 https://masasarawak.com/?p=5407 by: Abdul Rahman Deen

Studies in organisational behavior and management indicate that an employee’s performance is dependent upon his or her ability and motivation, underlining the importance of employee motivation in the success of any organisation. Consequently, the challenge of motivating employees to perform to the best of their anility has been recognized as a manager’s primary task and an integral part of his or her responsibilities.

The root word of motivation is “motive” suggesting that the process of motivating a person to engagein a particular behavior is basically to give the person a good motive or reason to do so. Hence if I motivate my son to study hard by promising him a reward of a trip to Singapore if he achieves excellent result in his examinations, essentially what I have done, is to give him reasons to put in the extra effort and study harder. The challenge then, is for managers to identify and provide appropriate reasons that are important to the individuals concerned.

Research on work-motivation has spawned many theories that have been categorized as reinforcement theories, content theories and process theories. The reinforcement theories postulates that the probability of a particular behavior being repeated or not would depend on the consequences of that behaviour. In other words, the perceived consequence is the reason why the individual either repeats or avoids a particular behaviour in the future.

One very powerful reason that can elicit desired behavior and act as a positive reinforcement that unfortunately managers do not use often enough is PRAISE. Peter Black, a noted journalist and TV critic wrote:

“I am very fond of praise, by which I mean a compliment that the receiver knows is earned. As a lubricant and a stimulant, praise is so undervalued. Is it the ingredient that supplies motivation and power. It is the distilled water that tops up the flat batteries of life, but there is not enough of it about…”

Similarly, General Smuts of the US army once said: “Praise can bring the color of the drabbest of lives, it can make a life worth living and help a man to succeed.” Several bestsellers in the field of management have sold the virtues of praise. Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson’s “ONE MINUTE MANAGER” has the simple message: ‘one minute praising’ can do wonders to uplift the spirit of workers. In another management classic “GUNG HO”, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles discuss the importance of congratulations and cheering each other as a surefire way to boost employee enthusiasm, productivity and performance in an organisation.

In their book “HOW FULL IS YOUR BUCKET”, co-authors Tom Rath and Don Clifton says that there are twenty thousand moments in a given day to make our interactions with others positive emotions.
Consider the following fact presented by Shary Hauer in her article “Have You Said Your Praise Today?”:

The number one reason people leave their jobs: They don’t feel appreciated. Sixty-five percent of employees received no recognition in the work place (this was in USA, it could be much higher here in Malaysia).

Praise is powerful because people have an inherent need to be appreciated. Praise satisfies the higher order needs of ego and self-actualization as identified by Abraham Maslow in his theory on the hierarchy of needs.
The Executive Chairman of a local company believes that showing appreciation and recognizing contribution are the foundation for building a positive human relation with his staff. “If we do not acknowledge the extra effort or special consideration that others have made for us and show our appreciation with a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘terima kasih’ they may have feel that their efforts are taken for granted and will be disappointed. It is the same when they do something well. If we don’t recognize their achievement, they will be disappointed. Every manager must know the significance of saying ‘thank you’ and ‘syabas’. Doing so connect us positively with what they have done and themselves.”

However, do not make the mistake of thinking that any praise is good praise. Indiscriminate use of praise would be counter-productive. Here are some guidelines on using praise:

• Praise with a purpose.
  The purpose of praise is to improve employee morale and productivity, not to get the
  employees to like the manager.
• Target your praise.
  Be very specific. Do not say “Ahmad, you are doing a great job”. Instead, be more focused and
  say “Ahmad, you did a great job in preparing our new work schedule.”
• Be sincere.
  Praise is not flattery – flattery is lying. Praise must be given sincerely and only when it is
  justified. Insincere praise may cause you to lose your credibility.
• Praise in proportion.
  Praising an employee too frequently waters down the praise; on the other hand, praising too
  little is also not effective. Some employees may require more praise than others. The manager
  needs to understand the employee and use discretion is giving praise.
• Don’t praise the employee, praise their works or abilities.
  Instead of saying “you are a brilliant person”, sat “that was a brilliant speech” or “you are a
  very talented speaker.” By doing so, we do not judge the person but his actions.

Providing genuine and sincere praise is not difficult and does not cost much. All levels of managers can give it and all levels of employees seek it. However, do not assume that praise alone is enough. Excellent performance over time deserves more than just compliments. Praise loses its value if that is all that the employees ever get. Meaningful goals, supportive leadership, challenging and interesting job assignments, equitable pay, bonuses and other form of rewards to recognize and appreciate superior performance are also necessary.

For a country benefit from globalisation, it has to be internationally competitive, that is, it has to be able to compete with others in order to penetrate into other’s domestic economics, investment or market. There are three main areas of competition arising from globalisation: investment, technological development and market penetration.

Investment

Malaysia’s economic growth had largely been propelled by foreign direct investment (FDI). However, of late, FDI in Malaysia had declined as many foreign investors from countries such as the United States of America and Europe have turned to China, Vietnam and others. To attract more FDIs to the country, there is a need to look at the factors that influence international of foreign investment in Malaysia. Among them are:

• Labour cost – Malaysia is a medium wage country. However, wages are rising at a faster rate compared to its neighbouring nations such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Thus, Malaysia can no longer just bank on low wage as competitive advantage. Instead, it has to improve its labour productivity in order to attract more FDIs to the country.
• Infrastructure – Malaysia has a well-developed infrastructure which is an attraction to foreign investors. However, it has less developed infostructure. Thus, Malaysia needs to develop both its infrastructure and infostructure in order to make it a more attractive destination for foreign investors.
• Political and social environment – Political stability and a conducive social environment are important factors that enhance foreign investment. Malaysia is a country where there is racial harmony. This has helped to some extent to attract FDIs to Malaysia. However, Malaysia needs to continue to nurture a tackling the problems of the increasing number of foreign labours in the country and the rising number of social problems such as crime.
• Diverse cultures/multiracial society – The racial harmony among the three major ethnic groups in the country, namely Malays, Chinese and Indians, provides an assurance of peace in the country which eventually will encourage foreign investment. However, Malaysia needs to continue harnessing the richness of her culture and use it as an advantage in attracting more FDIs to the country.
• Malaysian government has been emphasizing the importance of education, especially the learning of English as it is an international medium of communication. The ability to converse well in English is extremely vital as it is an attraction for foreign investors to invest in our country.
• Social, health and recreational amenities – the government is concerned with the social needs of the foreign investors in Malaysia. For instance, the government provides international schools for the children of the expatriate families. However, better health and recreational amenities need to be provided to cater for the needs of these foreign investors.

Technological development

Technology has been found to be an important determinant of competitiveness. Many of the advanced countries today such as Japan, USA and the European nations built their competitive advantage based on technological development. The use of technology also has been found to be able to reduce if not eliminate the traditional barriers of time, space and form. Thus, it is important for Malaysia to enhance her technological development. However, the life span of technology is short. This calls for the need to update our technology. The presence of adequate infrastructure, for instance the educational infrastructure and qualified human capital such as scientists and engineers, are important to enhance technological development. In addition, Malaysia needs to develop its indigenous technology in order to compete internationally. For instance, it should develop the technology to manufacture products from local agricultural produce which Malaysia has comparative advantage. Joint venture is another aspect that should be considered for technological development.

Market penetration

The local market has limited scope for expansion due to its small population. We must be able to penetrate into the global market. In deciding where to export, we need to conduct research on potential foreign markets. Pricing and product quality have been the two major considerations for firms in marketing products. Generally, in making purchasing decisions, price rather than the quality is the main concern among consumers in developing countries due to their lower purchasing power. In developed countries, the opposite is true.

There is a trend for countries in a region to cooperate and form a common market. This trend towards regional collaboration and regional unity is to broaden the market. For instance, the creation of ASEAN + 3 is to create a bigger regional market. In Malaysia, the government promotes the marketing of its products, in particular the agriculture products through the creation of “Kitchen Malaysia” – a good initiative to help in establishing restaurants all over the world to promote Malaysian food.

In international trade, free trade is an idealised market model whereby trade of goods and services between countries flow unhindered by government -imposed prices. The history of free trade is a history of international trade focusing in the developments of open market. The free trade theorists offered trade as the reason why certain cultures prospered economically. However, trade barriers have restricted the development of free trade among countries in the world.

In fact, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established to promote international trade through the reduction of trade barriers and provide a platform for countries to negotiate trade issues. Despite the efforts of the WTO to develop trade among nations, international trade today is hampered by a myriad of trade barriers. International trade is dominated by the superpowers, namely United States of America, the United Kingdom, Japan and the fast-rising China. Developing countries such Malaysia have to strategically compete with the bigger powers.

In conclusion, the future global trading environment is becoming more complicated and competitive. This calls for ongoing efforts to upgrade products and services, and to inculcate a high technological and knowledge society. In particular, Malaysia needs to focus on R&D in product development for higher value-added product, and identify our strength and weaknesses as it is better to compete on strength and not on weaknesses. For Malaysia to meet the challenges of globalisation and be internationally competitive it must develop its own niche products, focus continuously on human capital development, be visionary, improve productivity and enhance product quality, improve the government’s service delivery system, enhance innovation and creativity among domestic enterprises,improve the scientific technology infrastructure, and enhance value-added creations.

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