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This study examines the performance of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component political parties (i.e. PKR, PAS and DAP) in the 2011 Sarawak state elections. The 2011 Sarawak state elections was held in April 2011 and it was a tense battle between the ruling BN and the new comer opposition Pakatan Rakyat. The study is based on the assumption that there is a linkage between PR’s campaign strategies and election manifesto and the voters’ preference. Therefore, the study investigates the linkage between campaign strategies and manifesto of Pakatan Rakyat and its performance in the 2011 Sarawak State elections. It uses Martin Harrop and William L. Miller’s theory of competitive elections as a framework for analysis. This study uses qualitative method of research for analysis of data. The data were collected from the primary sources such as formal and informal interviews, party manifestos, newspapers, documents from the Election Commission (EC) and secondary sources such as books and scholarly articles. The study argues that the opposition for the first time collectively campaigned as a single opposition coalition under the name of Pakatan Rakyat. PR’s campaign strategies were quite sound and practical as it divided its campaign strategies into traditional and non-traditional campaign strategies. Besides that PR proposed several strategies which can be labeled as a new type of approach. The study found that even though PR did not get the two-thirds majority in the State Legislative Assembly, it succeeded to capture more seats; pointing to the fact that there is a shift of support from the incumbent BN government towards the opposition PR. However, the study also found that the main factor contributing to PR’s inability to capture more seats was its inability to reach an understanding with the local opposition political party: Sarawak National Party (SNAP). The study therefore, among others, recommends that PR should work out a strategy to integrate some important local political parties such as SNAP if it wants to control Sarawak state legislative assembly.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder that represents abnormality development of brain and its function. Few studies had seen the impact of early detection and intervention, and how it gives positive effect for the children to improve their life as good as other normal children. There are three major impairments of the autistic children namely: social interaction with others, communication and fine motor movements. A simple case of fine motor movements could be finger tapping, imitating other action and also managing their fingers towards objects. Many psychologists and psychiatrists diagnosed these autistic children as early as three years old. In Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies, finding shows the brain region such as prefrontal cortex (especially in the pre-motor cortex), occipital and etc, did involve in motor impairment in autistic children. Thus, it is possible to differentiate between normal and autistic children using motor imitation skills but all these process require the psychologists, psychiatrist or expert to monitor and make decision on their observations. However, fMRI is an expensive process and could not be automated and be used for masses. In this research, it aims to look at motor imitation skills for autistic children using electroencephalogram (EEG) approach. Preliminary result has shown great potential in identifying motor imitation skills impairment in autistic children. EEG device will be used to capture the brain signals, and two methods for analysis such as Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE). The Mutilayer Perceptron (MLP) will be adopted as the classifier. Although the MLP was used as classifier the end results shows great potential of using the EEG model approach based on the 2D affective space model (ASM) for early detection of motor imitation skills development disorder among autistic children.

This study is devoted to investigate the phase diagrams of 3-state Potts model with competing binary, ternary and quaternary interactions on Cayley tree. The 3-state Potts model was classified as the simplest quantum field-theory after Ising model and was an easily defined class of statistical mechanic model. The aim of this study is to analyze the phase diagrams of 3-state Potts model with competing interactions on Cayley tree of order 2 and 3. At vanishing temperature T, the phase diagrams are fully determined for all values of competing binary interactions J 1 , ternary interactions J t and quaternary interactions J q. The results show that there have significant change~ in the phase diagrams for the case of nonzero ]q. Lastly, we analyze in detail the set of modulated phases, with the phase being indicated by many different types of commensurate and incommensurate phases by plotting the wavevectors versus temperature. The Lyapunov exponent is computed to verify the stability of the large period phase in the narrow-interval modulated phase.

The ongoing difference of opinions on ilahiyyah (divinity) has become a source of confusion among common people leading towards division in the Muslim community. Despite vast discussion on ilahiyyah (divinity), little is known about the methodologies of ʻAbd al-Wahhab al-Shaʻrani on its issues. This study provides an understanding of al-Shaʻrani’s synthesis of the methodologies of ahl al-fikr (people of cognitive knowledge) and ahl al-kashf (people of unveiling knowledge) on ilahiyyah (divinity). This study used two methods of assessment, namely data collection and data analysis. Through the method of documentation in the method of data collection, this study examines to two selected al-Shaʻrani’s work entitled al-Yawaqit wa al-Jawahir fi Bayan ʻAqa’id al-Akabir and al-Qawaʻid al-Kashfiyyah al-Muwaddihah li Maʻani al-Sifat al-Ilahiyyah. The study concludes that Al-Shaʻrani developed a more effective approach to understand ambiguous Qur’anic verses (mutashabihat). Al-Shaʻrani uses both methodologies with priority given to the usage of knowledge by presence (al-ʻilm al-huduri).

This present research is an attempt to explicate Abdullah bin Nuh’s critique on development of modern ideologies particularly in Indonesia after its independence. The development of modern ideologies particularly materialism, Marxism, and communism have become a matter of alarming since the early 20th century in Muslim world through colonization and imperialism. Indonesia as the one of the world’s largest Muslim population in the world did not miss on globalization of modern ideologies. Basically, Indonesia based on the Eastern and Islamic values, but after Western colonization, colonizers began to apply their ideologies in Indonesia through imperialism. As the result, clash has occurred between local ideologies and western ideologies through high tension in the forming of basic principle of state and governance system. Abdullah bin Nuh was one of the Indonesian scholars who are concerned with the affairs of Muslim in general and Indonesian Muslim in particular his responds and critiques to modern ideologies. This study attempts at examining Abdullah bin Nuh’s views in materialism, Marxism, and communism and his critiques of those modern ideologies. The approach of this study is based on textual analysis, using descriptive and analytical methods from various works of the subject under study. It seeks to discover several aspects of Abdullah bin Nuh’s thought of modern ideologies as well as Islamic thought such as the in coherent relationship of materialism and Marxism, Marxism and communism, with Islamic worldview and perspective. This study concludes that Abdullah bin Nuh devoted his live to counter modern ideologies which were developed in Indonesia with presenting the understanding of those ideologies and its detrimental to social live in Indonesia. He also asserted Marxism and communism are misled ideology based on materialism which have difference culture and values with Eastern Muslim countries particularly Indonesia. His noble struggle was successful for he end up with the foundation of Islamic Research Institute as the centre of Occidentalism studies.

This study focuses on two novels entitled "The Bamboo Stalk" by Saud Al-Sanousi and "Interlock" by Abdullah Hussein's . This study discusses the framework of social issues and artistic composition materialized in these novels. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate their creative abilities in composing the two novels, as well as to disclose the similarities and variations between them in terms of social issues and artistic structures. Analysis and comparison are the two approaches that the researcher employs. The researcher includes the novelists' biographies at the beginning of the study. This study also compares the two novels' social issues and artistic frameworks, identifying the manifestations of artistic innovation in each, before revealing their parallels and variances in terms of vision and formation between the two novels: Arabic and Malaysian. The researcher concluded that the two novels uncover common social issues highlighted by the novelists, including their dialogue of rural features, the journey to find a job, the preservation of religious rituals, symptoms of drug abuse, family disintegration, and concern for descendants. The cost of life, social cooperation, belief in witchcraft, and the issue of marriage were among the themes that they differed on. The two novels were comparable in their artistic structures in the utilisation of some artistic techniques, including the title metaphor and the fluency of the language, while the two diverged to varying degrees in the employment of certain other techniques.

Recently, there has been a development of modern ballistic armor due to the creation of high performance composite materials based on aramid fibers with better weight reduction, higher strength and toughness. The use of metal for many critical applications has dramatically decreased since the new composite materials such as aramids provide excellent protection against handgun level threats. However, aramid fibers (Kevlars) are very difficult to machine by conventional machining techniques which cause various forms of material damage such as delamination and fiber pullout that normally occur during the machining of composite materials. The processes also result to high tool wear rates and poor surface roughness which ultimately may cause costly secondary rework as well as part rejection. As the use of these composite ballistic materials is anticipated to be increasing in large volume, the processing costs will be an important factor in order to provide cost-effective components and to gain competitive advantages over other materials. In this thesis, abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining of a representative ballistic material namely Kevlar-reinforced phenolic, an aramid fibers and a product of Du Pont was used to conduct the machining experiments in order to determine the viability of the machining process for manufacturing protective components with the above materials. Design of experiments (DOE) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to measure systematically the various parametric combinations of pressure, standoff distance, traverse rate and abrasive flow rate on the kerf taper and the changes of surface roughness as a function of cutting depth for the Kevlar composite specimens. Stylus profilometry was used to measure the surface roughness and a visual inspection including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted. It was found that a smoother surface is obtained at the mid region along the depth of the specimens compared to that at the region of jet entry and jet exit. It was also observed that a higher jet pressure and a low traverse rate produces a smoother surface. Width of the kerf both at the jet entry and the jet exit was found to have a decreasing tendency with increase in traverse rate. Mathematical models were formulated to predict the surface roughness and kerf taper in terms of the selected cutting parameters mentioned earlier for the Kevlar composite to the cutting depths of 9.2mm. The cut surface of this material using a band saw machine was compared with that of the water jet in terms of surface roughness and damages incurred.

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Islamic reformism has been the prime concern of Muslim scholars and intellectuals since the 18th century C.E. and as a means to arrest the mushrooming and all around decay in their societies. In northern Nigeria, Muslims are plunged into backwardness because of the colonial legacy and the rising of un-Islamic practices (bida` or innovations) that have been instrumental in instigating serious problems in the region as well as the entire country. Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi was a great reformer who stood firm to salvage the society from further religious decline during his time. He believed that the cause for the Muslims` decline in the area was their departure from practising the pristine Islam as laid down in the Qur`an and the authentic Sunnah. In his quest for a solution, Sheikh Gumi articulated a reformative drive, which contravened the long-aged traditions of northern Nigeria. Thus, this study examines the reformist ideas of Sheikh Gumi and the degree of their influence on the society. The study employs an analytical research method and is based on a collection of primary sources, particularly Sheikh Gumi`s masterpiece al-Aqidah al-Sahihah bi Muwafaqat al-Shariah (The Correct Belief in Line with the Shariah) and some of his other major writings. The roots or main features of Gumi`s thought, as well as his contributions to Islamic reformism in northern Nigeria, particularly in the educational, judicial and political fields, are highlighted.

Researchers have been investigating various factors for differences in academic achievement among students besides the emphasis on cognitive intelligence. In fact, it has been found that academic achievement is not determined by cognitive intelligence alone. Among the factors that are thought to contribute to students’ success and academic achievement is thinking style. It stems from the belief that people have similar patterns in governing themselves just like society does. Studies have shown that people have different thinking styles – legislative, executive, and judicial style which do affect the way they prefer to do their tasks. Legislative style is considered as creative thinking, executive style is viewed as following instruction, and judicial style is represented as critical thinking. It has been found that students from Islamic private schools in southern Thailand, in general, do not perform well in public examinations. Hence, this study investigated the thinking styles of three categories of students and their relationship to academic achievement. Three groups of academic achievers among students from 3 selected Islamic private schools in Nakhonsrithammarat – in upper southern Thailand were identified as the sample. It comprised 158 grade ten students and the three groups were classified into low achievers (N=36), average achievers (N=102), and high achievers (N=20) based on the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET) score. The sample was obtained using stratified random sampling for low and average achievers while purposive sampling was used for high achievers. The descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and Sternberg’s interpretation of the MSG scores were used in analyzing the data. The results reveal that the executive style was the predominant thinking style exhibited by all groups of academic achievers. Additionally, the judiciary style was the prevailing thinking style displayed by male students while the executive style was the most noticeable style presented by female students. Furthermore, only the legislative thinking style was found to be an indicator towards students’ levels of academic achievement. However, it was a weak one.

The study analyzes academic stress and strain among the undergraduate students of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUMM). It aims at investigating the effect of religious orientation on level of stress and experience of strain among those students. The sample consists of 218 bachelor's students studying in different departments of this university. The sample was cornposed of around 75% of Malay students and 25% of non-Malay. In terms of gender, it was 55% female and 45% male. Data were collected from the stressful situations questionnaire (SSQ) and role strain measures. Frequency analysis was used to examine the level of stress. strain, and religious orientation in the students. The results indicated that all the students in general experienced stress and strain and they also used religious orientation as coping mechanism, but they differed in degree of stress, strain, and religious experience. A series of analyses were done to examine the relationship between criterion and predictor variables, such as gender and nationality. With regard to gender differences, the results indicated that there was a significant difference in the perception of male and female toward stress and religious orientation, but they are not different in their level of strain. Female students reported more stress and they tended to use more religious orientation than do male students. Moreover, there appeared no significant main difference in the perception of Malay and non-Malay students toward stress, but it did appear Strain and religious orientation. Malay students were found to experience more strain and they made more frequent use of religious orientation than did non-Malay students. This analysis also indicated that religious orientation has nothing to do with stress and strain level. That is whether the students were religious or they did experience stress and strain.

This study explored the use of WhatsApp, a well-known smartphone application, among IIUM undergraduate students, and examined the relationships between its use and two dependent measures, i.e., students` perceived academic performance and learning gains. A convenience sample of 116 IIUM undergraduates completed an 18-item self-developed questionnaire measuring WhatsApp use, perceived academic performance, and learning gains on a 5-point response category ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. The results revealed that a majority of the respondents used WhatsApp for about two hours daily, mostly for chatting (85%) and communicating with classmates (81%). Some prevalent academic uses of WhatsApp were discussing assignments (89%), discussing course content (70%), and exchanging learning ideas (66%). While the given academic uses of WhatsApp were widespread among the undergraduates, only moderate numbers perceived learning gains and improved academic achievement resulting from their use of the application. The figures suggest the usefulness of WhatsApp for connecting learners and lecturers, but less so for meaningful academic learning. Consistent with the descriptive results, a moderate positive relationship was found between undergraduates` academic use of WhatsApp and learning gains (r = .428), as well as with their perceived academic performance (r = .412). The results highlight the role that WhatsApp might play to improve the interaction and communication between students and faculty, in addition to facilitating the learning of simple, not too complex educational content.

This study intended to explore thorough discernments of educational leaders on the function of innovative leadership style in vitally contributing to the implementation of hybrid learning at the university level aiming to understand the role of educational leaders in reference to adopting innovative leadership style for the execution of the matter. The recent pandemic had forced drastic change in reshaping the approaches and designs in the setting of formal education which demands the implementation of hybrid learning to be executed comprehensively in order to accommodate the situation. Through a qualitative research design the targeted informants consisted of head of departments selected from various kulliyyahs in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) using purposive sampling technique. The data collection method used was in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data gathered from the interviews were transcribed using thematic analysis and themes were extracted to answer all of the research questions. Findings had shown relevant support for the mentioned leadership style towards the effectiveness of hybrid learning, and had highlighted the challenges faced in abruptly implementing hybrid learning, and interesting suggestions for considerations.

The environmental setting in relation to reading habit causes a deficiency of reading persuasion among Malaysians. The mobile library facility provided by the government has not been fully utilized by the public, which induces the concept to stop operating. The insufficiency of organized reading programmes and activities lead to the reduction of reading interest among Malaysian citizens are the problems encountered by the Malaysian government in inculcating the culture of reading in the country. This research examines the acceptance of the mobile reading kiosk concept, where it supports the public to use their time to read. Self-completed questionnaire surveys were conducted among park visitors of Taman Tasik Titiwangsa aged below 35 years old with a sample of 350 respondents. Three findings have been identified. Firstly, reading preferences influence the reading enthusiasm of the respondents. Reading preferences have a significant relationship with the age and gender of respondents with more than 50% of respondents agreeing on reading at home and time spent on reading. Secondly, the park setting environment gives prompt impact on the reading enthusiasm of the respondents. The environmental setting is encouraged to be used, as it can promote and increase the reading enthusiasm of the public. Lastly, the mobile reading kiosk concept is still relevant and can still be implemented in leisurely manner and cozier environment. The provided facilities, and safe and pleasant environment for reading will attract readers among the park visitors to spend their time reading there. This concept may help inspire and cultivate the interest in reading among members of the community. Further study on exploring other environmental settings, such as the beach and neighbourhood park, can be done to expand research in the habit of reading. The knowledge acquired through this research can contribute to a better understanding of reading habits among Malaysians.

The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of transplanting the European Union Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes to Malaysia. This study begins with the hypothesis that access to justice for online consumers in Malaysia is not adequate to effectively protect such consumers. The study employs various methods of research, beginning with field-based legal research by conducting interviews with the National Consumer Complaints Centre and the Tribunal for Consumer Claims, the two main avenues in Malaysia dealing with dispute resolution for consumers. A trend study was also conducted using secondary data to determine the value of the e-commerce market to Malaysia. Finally, the content analysis method was employed to analyse the hypothetical effects of implementing the EU Regulation in Malaysia. It was found that Malaysia is falling behind in providing effective redress to its online consumers, where the claims lodged for online transactions were found to be only 0.13% of the total claims lodged in 2011 and only 0.79% of the total claims lodged in 2013. Analysis of secondary data suggests that these numbers should be at 1% of the total claims lodged and should grow higher in the near future. A study of the e-commerce market in Malaysia for Business-to-Consumer online transactions shows that it is a small market that is growing at a rapid pace, becoming three times as large in the past three years, which demands the attention of the authorities to put in place mechanisms to ensure consumer access to justice. To rectify this situation, a legal transplant of the European Union Regulation on Online Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes to Malaysia is considered. Analysis shows that it could be partially transplanted with certain modifications due to the differing circumstances of both jurisdictions. However, the majority of the legislation can be kept intact due to the global nature of online transactions. Suggested modifications were proposed with the aim to allow the partial adoption of the legislation including a proposed procedure that Malaysian consumers would go through if they need to file a claim through the proposed Online Dispute Resolution platform. This study is the first to consider a legal transplant to Malaysia in the field of Online Dispute Resolution. It adds further value to the body of knowledge by presenting concrete data on the access to justice for online consumers in Malaysia.

This research discusses the issue of accessibility, connectivity and usability in the facilities used by persons with disabilities (PwDs) in Malaysian shopping malls and the significance of the latest Malaysian Standards (MS 1184:2014), the Universal Design and Accessibility in the Built Environment-Code of Practice in evaluating shopping malls. The study identifies whether the provided facilities accord with the latest Malaysian standards (MS 1184:2014). The sampled shopping malls comprised Ikea in Damansara, Suria Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) in Kuala Lumpur and Alamanda in Putrajaya. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with the visually impaired, hearing impaired person, and wheelchair and crutches users to determine their perception on the level of accessibility of these buildings. Access audit and site observations were also carried out to assess the buildings’ accessibility, connectivity, mobility and reachability. The results show that Suria KLCC scored 80.35% for compliance with the design requirements, followed by Ikea with 74.11%, and Alamanda with 70.58%. It is hoped that the research can benefit people from all walks of life as well as generate more ideas to improve the accessibility of shopping malls for the PwDs.

Zakat empowerment scheme is a disbursement method of facilitating engagement of zakat beneficiaries in gainful economic activities through funding of skill acquisition and provision of relevant tools or machine. Unfortunately, the use of this method fell into disuse due to a long period of departure of Muslims from pristine tenets of zakat as a result of colonization of Muslim lands. As a way out of ravaging poverty, Pakistan revived this method in 2001 and it is being experimented by two other countries in Southeast Asia. Zakat is a multidimensional tool, therefore, this study, a synthesis of literature on zakat, stakeholders’ theory, concepts and dimensions of accountability and empowerment as well as management and task controls aimed at identifying the stakeholders of the new Zakat disbursement strategy and understanding its control mechanisms and the influence of the stakeholders on these controls. The methodology of a Cross-sectional field study was adopted to study the empowerment schemes in the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) and Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) due to paucity of adopters of the scheme. Despite this limitation, the study was able to identify and categorize stakeholders of empowerment schemes in the two institutions; understand the control mechanisms of the scheme and the influence of stakeholders on the scheme. The findings of this study should give a positive impact on the management of zakat beneficiaries by the institutions. Again, being the first attempt to study accountability practices in Zakat institution using the stakeholders’ theory, the study has opened a new dimension to the study of Zakat as a social institution and, in a way, added to the body of accounting knowledge.

For years, people have been working on methods to produce efficient energy scavengers. Among the established ones are solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric generators and many more. These macro scale energy scavenging technologies have successfully grown in meeting the world's energy demand. However, to operate low powered electronic devices; especially when being placed in a remote area, micro scale energy scavenging comes into the light. The most promising method is via vibration energy scavenging which converts mechanical energy (from vibration) to electrical energy by the effect of coupling between mechanical variables and electric or magnetic fields. As the voltage generated greatly depends on the geometry and size of the piezoelectric material, there is a need to define an optimum shape and configuration of the piezoelectric energy scavenging system (PESS). In this research, the focus is on unimorph piezoelectric energy scavenging. Mathematical modelling, based on Euler- Bernoulli beam theory is derived as well. MATLAB and COMSOL Multi physics softwares are used to study the influence of several parameters, such as mass, length and shape in generating output voltage due to base excitations for low frequency range (0-500 Hz). From simulation results, triangular beam generates 200% more voltage compared to rectangular beam. Thus, triangular comb-shaped piezoelectric energy scavenging system is chosen the best design to derive energy for a broadband vibration. Employing comb-shaped configuration increases the number of modes in a given frequency bandwidth. In this study, two natural frequencies lie in the aforementioned frequency range, as opposed to only one natural frequency for single beam structure. In addition, by having the said geometry, the generated voltage can be maximized to serve as a voltage supply for remote sensing applications.

Islamic schools in Malaysia are reported in newspapers as having financial difficulties and poor infrastructure. Despite these problems, the demand for the establishment of Islamic schools and their sustainability continues to grow. This study aims to find out the ways in which Islamic schools in Malaysia practise or discharge accountability that assist the Islamic schools to be sustainable or to continue to be in demand and develop further. This study attempts to understand the traces of Islamic schools’ accountability and the accountability practices of Islamic schools. Data were collected by conducting interviews, document reviews, and participants’ observation. Through the actor-network theory (ANT) perspective, the study finds that Islamic schools’ accountability network is formed by the relationships and interactions between multiple actors that constitute the Islamic schools’ accountability network. The actors traced into the network of Islamic schools’ accountability include Islamic schools, State Islamic Religious Department (SIRD), Ministry of Education (MoE), the Muslim community, school management party, school principals, parents, students, teachers, and accounting tools such as, budgeting and financial reporting, and several other accountability mechanisms. Islamic schools’ accountability is discharged through various mechanisms identified from the network. As a result, there are many forms of accountability in the network which are upwards accountability, downwards accountability, holistic accountability, and personal accountability. Accountability mechanisms used by Islamic schools include financial management practice, reporting and information disclosure, performance evaluation, the participation of parents, social auditing through informal accountability, and self-regulation which depends on the leadership style of the school principals. Islamic schools can sustain despite having financial difficulties due to the continuing financial support from parents and the Muslim community. It is found that personal accountability is the most permeating form of accountability in the Islamic schools’ accountability network. The internal value that underpins the personal accountability is the Islamic value which is expressed by the actions of the actors in the network in ensuring the Islamic schools’ sustainability. This study also finds that the accounting tool as an accountability mechanism can trigger personal accountability.