At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the public were still unaware of the disease and its transmission, and information on susceptibility and severity was not well understood. During this time, stigma of COVID-19 patients... more
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the public were still unaware of the disease and its transmission, and information on susceptibility and severity was not well understood. During this time, stigma of COVID-19 patients had led to some people dying in their homes because they did not want to be seen seeking treatment and getting stigmatized in the process. The study examined stigma-marking of COVID-19 patients in Facebook and Twitter messages written by youth in Malaysia. A total of 100 messages were collected from the posts of young people in Twitter (n = 66) and Facebook (n = 34) from March 2020 to April 2021 during the early phase of the pandemic. The social media postings, mostly written in Malay, were analyzed for stigma-markers. The results showed that COVID-19 stigma words were mostly related to health (57%), ethnicity (29%), social class (13%), and work (1%). The frequencies of the types of stigma-marker in Facebook comments and tweets are similar. COVID-19 p...
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The study examined rhetorical appeals in Mahathir Mohamad’s speeches delivered during his come back as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia. The specific aspects investigated were: (1) the extent to which the logos, pathos and ethos... more
The study examined rhetorical appeals in Mahathir Mohamad’s speeches delivered during his come back as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia. The specific aspects investigated were: (1) the extent to which the logos, pathos and ethos appeals were used; (2) the use of the active and passive voice in attribution of responsibility; and (3) the use of personal pronouns in the appeals. Six of Mahathir Mohamad’s political speeches in Malay language delivered in 2018-2020 with a word-count of 13,000 words were analysed using Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs. The results show that Mahathir Mohamad relied on logos (56.17%) and pathos (39.63%) but not ethos (4.20%). Mahathir Mohamad came across as a political leader who relied on argumentation and the positioning of himself as a spokesperson for the ruling coalition and the government, reflected in “kita” (we-inclusive) accounting for 50.26% of personal pronouns used. However, in the context of a distressing situation, he resorted to the pathos...
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In Malaysia, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual dan Transgender (LGBT) face moral sanctions and legal challenges because it is prohibited by Islam and not condoned by major religions. A search using Google Trends show that there was a spike of... more
In Malaysia, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual dan Transgender (LGBT) face moral sanctions and legal challenges because it is prohibited by Islam and not condoned by major religions. A search using Google Trends show that there was a spike of interest on “LGBT in Malaysia” in 2009 and 2019, but there has been sustained interest since 2014. The present study examined framing of LGBT in four online newspapers in Malaysia. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the percentage of episodic and thematic framing in the newspapers, and to compare the topics that are reported in LGBT news. LGBT seems to be backgrounded in newspaper coverage by Astro Awani, Free Malaysia Today, Malaysiakini and The Star Online because only 60 articles published in 2019 were related to LGBT. The analysis showed that 81.67% of the articles were episodic frames and 18.33% were thematic frames. Malaysiakini had relatively more thematic articles while Astro Awani had the lowest percentage of thematic articles...
This research uses Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Group Identity Measure (MEIM) to study in-group ethnic identification and other-group orientation among 364 tertiary students (Polytechnic, 292; University, 72) from four ethnic groups in... more
This research uses Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Group Identity Measure (MEIM) to study in-group ethnic identification and other-group orientation among 364 tertiary students (Polytechnic, 292; University, 72) from four ethnic groups in Malaysia: Malay, Indian, Chinese, and Indigenous. The MEIM measures the four components of ethnic identity—affirmation/ belonging, ethnic behavior, out-group orientation, and ethnic identity achievement, the last of which comprise exploration of, and commitment to, ethnic identity. The respondents had the highest score on affirmation/ belonging, which is moderately associated with ethnic identity achievement. Other-group orientation had the lowest score but was still marginally positive. There were no significant differences in the strength of the ethnic identity components, as well as in the exploration and commitment constructs of ethnic identity achievement. However, the mean scores indicated that the Malay and Chinese respondents were inclined tow...
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Reporting verbs are important in news articles on controversial events or issues because of the need to present one’s position on the topic or at least indicate the attitudes of the sources cited in the articles. The The study... more
Reporting verbs are important in news articles on controversial events or issues because of the need to present one’s position on the topic or at least indicate the attitudes of the sources cited in the articles. The The study investigated the usage of reporting verbs in MH370 and MH17 airplane catastrophe in Malaysian English online newspapers. The aspects analysed were the reporting verbs for speaker stance and writer stance. A total of 80 news articles on MH370 and MH17 airplane catastrophes taken from two online English-language Malaysian newspapers, New Straits Time and The Star, were analysed using Thomson and Ye’s (1991) framework on reporting verbs. The analysis identified 931 instances of RVs: 764 instances for speaker stance, and 167 instances for writer stance. On the speaker stance, about 90% of the articles on MH370 and MH17 were reported positively, and the various sources of information were stated clearly. Negative and neutral speaker stances were infrequent. As fo...
Research Interests: Linguistics and Newspaper
The issue of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) among undergraduate students in Malaysia continues to be debated, given the lack of such skills among fresh graduates and the industry’s demand for job-ready and skillful workers. While... more
The issue of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) among undergraduate students in Malaysia continues to be debated, given the lack of such skills among fresh graduates and the industry’s demand for job-ready and skillful workers. While there have been many studies examining HOTS among undergraduate students in the country, more needs to be known about the teaching strategies used during tertiary instruction that could enhance those skills. This article discusses findings from a study that investigated undergraduate students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the teaching strategies that could enhance HOTS in the tertiary instruction context. A self-reported survey was used to gather the views of 120 undergraduate students and 20 lecturers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The findings show that the types of teaching strategies that students and lecturers perceived to enhance HOTS include lectures, discussions, problem-based learning, case-based scenarios, and demonstrations. Interestingl...
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The study examined the ethnic identity and other-group orientation of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia. The data were collected from 504 Chinese respondents (252 students, 252 parents) using Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Identity Measure. The... more
The study examined the ethnic identity and other-group orientation of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia. The data were collected from 504 Chinese respondents (252 students, 252 parents) using Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Identity Measure. The results showed that the parents had a stronger ethnic identity than their children. For both groups, the mean scores for affirmation and belonging were the highest among the four ethnic identity components, and the ethnic identity achievement mean scores were the lowest. The results indicate that the Foochow Chinese respondents had a foreclosed identity, whereby they have made a commitment to their ethnicity without extensive exploration of the meaning of belonging to their ethnic group. Gender and socio-economic background have significant effects on strength of ethnic identity, but Chinese-medium education is not linked to ethnic identity. The findings suggest that the Chinese are moderating their ethnic identity, but their positive other-group orie...
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The Sarawak Language Technology (SaL T) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak. and vice versa. As part of... more
The Sarawak Language Technology (SaL T) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak. and vice versa. As part of the larger project. a study was conducted to examine the difficulties encountered by the Melanau native speakers who were engaged to translate English texts to Melanau to provide the source data for the development of the English-Melanau translation software. A total of 20 Melanau translators were involved in the translation of a corpus of 1098 English sentences approximating 10,534 words (Including repeated words such as aku, kamu, dia). The translators were educated in English and Bahasa Melayu, and they had jobs ranging from government officers, teachers and students. They did not have degrees in translation but were chosen because of their familiarity with Melanau, English and/or Bahasa Melayu. The Interviews with the Melanau translators indicated...
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Among the agents of cultural socialisation, parents play an important role in identity formation. Positive aspects of the cultural socialisation in terms of cultural heritage and pride are often studied, but the negative aspects are... more
Among the agents of cultural socialisation, parents play an important role in identity formation. Positive aspects of the cultural socialisation in terms of cultural heritage and pride are often studied, but the negative aspects are relatively unexplored by researchers. 'This study examined Ihe parents' role in cultural socialisation of ethnic groups in Malaysia. The specific aspects studied were cultural socialisation, preparation for bias, and promotion mistrust. A survey was conducted among 272 students in a university. The results showed that the students reported relatively higher frequency of socially acceptable aspects of cultural socialisation than "negative aspects". The reported frequency of cultural socialisation into pluralism is relatively higher, in that the parents had talked to them about pride in their cultural heritage and appreciation of other ethnic groups up to two times that )'ear. This is expect.ed because "unity in diversity" i...
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In modern democracy, political participation of citizens has liberating outcomes because it is a political system based on representative government. However, there is a widespread political apathy among youths. The study examined the... more
In modern democracy, political participation of citizens has liberating outcomes because it is a political system based on representative government. However, there is a widespread political apathy among youths. The study examined the influence of ethnicity and family background in shaping the efficacy and dominance in political conversations of university students. Survey data from 257 students in a Malaysian university were analysed. In the study, the students reported moderate efficacy and dominance in political conversations, of about 60 percent. The results showed that male students have higher efficacy and openness in political conversations than female students. The results also indicated differences by ethnic group in that the Malay and Sarawak and Sabah Indigenous students reported higher levels of efficacy and dominance in political conversations than other ethnic groups. Having family members who are actively involved in politics seem to have some impact on the dominance ...
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Gen Y behaviours in the workplace have been much written about based on observations and studies in Western settings but little is known about Gen Y in Asian work contexts, particularly in the context of employee retention and turnover.... more
Gen Y behaviours in the workplace have been much written about based on observations and studies in Western settings but little is known about Gen Y in Asian work contexts, particularly in the context of employee retention and turnover. This study examined Malaysian polytechnic graduates’ work behaviours and attitudes towards job retention and career advancement. Through a questionnaire survey of 195 polytechnic graduates, the study showed that the polytechnic graduates are a homogeneous group. There were no significant differences in the work behaviours and attitudes of female and male polytechnic graduates. No significant differences were found for ethnic groups. They frequently sought guidance and feedback on their work, needed project deadline extensions, worked in groups, and expected positive comments on their work performance. The results showed that monetary incentives is the main motivating factor for them to stay at their current job, work hard and not change jobs. A colle...
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Researchers who studied breast cancer awareness have recommended educational programmes but a major gap in knowledge is whether health promotion materials on breast cancer capture the attention of the audience and educate them on the... more
Researchers who studied breast cancer awareness have recommended educational programmes but a major gap in knowledge is whether health promotion materials on breast cancer capture the attention of the audience and educate them on the disease. This case study examined women’s receptivity towards breast cancer leaflets produced by Ministry of Health Malaysia based on the Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) Framework. Five breast cancer brochures were presented to 10 female participants to gauge their receptivity towards the leaflets. The leaflets were analysed for the application of message design principles, notably colour, graphics and typographical features as well as the message content based on RPA constructs. The participants were more receptive towards breast cancer leaflets with susceptibility and self-efficacy messages compared to leaflets with only recommended actions for self-protective behaviour. However, for these behavioural change messages to reach the audience, the message ...
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Purpose – Research has shown that university students, particularly non-native speakers of English, encounter difficulties with various academic text-types and often lack the ability to organise the information in a structure considered... more
Purpose – Research has shown that university students, particularly non-native speakers of English, encounter difficulties with various academic text-types and often lack the ability to organise the information in a structure considered effective by the discourse community or to use the significant language features of the text-type effectively to achieve the intended purpose. The study examined the persuasiveness of argument texts written by proficient and less-proficient undergraduates in a Malaysian university. The aspects examined were the organisational structure of the text and the language features significant for fulfilling the persuasive purpose of the text. Method – Forty argument texts were analysed: 22 written by undergraduates who were more profi cient in English, and 18 by less proficient undergraduates. The analysis focused on the organization of the content of the argument text as well as selected language features, namely, connectors, modal verbs and passive voice...
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The study examined the ethnic socialisation by comparing the influences of the family and school on the development of ethnic identity. The participants were 397 Malaysians of Chinese descent with Malay, Chinese and English educational... more
The study examined the ethnic socialisation by comparing the influences of the family and school on the development of ethnic identity. The participants were 397 Malaysians of Chinese descent with Malay, Chinese and English educational backgrounds. Familial ethnic socialisation was moderate and similar for the three groups. They were similar in the resolution and affirmation dimensions of their ethnic identity. The role of Chinese-medium school in ethnic socialisation is evident in the greater exploration of ethnicity by the Chinese-educated participants. This group also valued Chinese-medium education and the Chinese language, Chinese name and Chinese festivals as markers of Chinese identity. However, the other two groups did not believe in marking their Chinese identity. Considering that ethnicised identity is a given in Malaysia, the findings suggest that the Chinese who did not have Chinese educational background may be migrating from Chinese ethnicity to notion of the Malaysian...
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The study examined the use of communication strategies in monologues and dialogues by Malaysian healthcare trainees with limited English proficiency during communication strategy training. The training focused on the use of circumlocution... more
The study examined the use of communication strategies in monologues and dialogues by Malaysian healthcare trainees with limited English proficiency during communication strategy training. The training focused on the use of circumlocution in individual presentation, appeal for assistance in role-play, offering assistance and lexical repetition in group discussion, stress (tonicity) in responding to questions after a presentation, and filled pauses in interviews. The speech of eight participants in the five speaking tasks were recorded and transcribed. The analysis of the 6,137-word transcript showed that monologues called into use more communication strategies than dialogues which are jointly negotiated. The participants used pauses and lexical repetition as communication strategies most often, which, in fact, is predictable considering their language proficiency. Most of the pauses were pauses filled with sounds like umm and uhh rather than fillers taught during the strategy traini...
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The study examined the communication strategies used by healthcare trainees in oral presentations. The specific objectives of the study were to: (1) determine the frequency in which various communication strategies were used; and (2)... more
The study examined the communication strategies used by healthcare trainees in oral presentations. The specific objectives of the study were to: (1) determine the frequency in which various communication strategies were used; and (2) compare communication strategies used by the healthcare trainees in monologues and dialogues during the oral presentations. The trainees were final year diploma students in healthcare. Their project Presentation and the Question-and-Answer session of 11 healthcare trainees were recorded and transcribed for analysis. The results showed that language switching is the main communication strategy relied upon to clarify jargon, clarify issues and emphasise key points during the oral presentation. The monologue has a higher frequency of language switching but the chunks of switching are smaller, as compared to the dialogues which have fewer instances of language switching because the chunks are larger. The findings indicate that when language proficiency is l...
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Research Interests: Psychology, Communication, Health Communication, Health Care, Computer Mediated Communication, and 15 moreHealth, Medicine, Emotions, Self Help Groups, Humans, Face to Face, Female, Male, Gender Difference, Psychological Intervention, Neoplasms, Internet, professional patient relations, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and Medical and Health Sciences
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The Sarawak Language Technology (SaLT) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak, and vice versa. As part of the... more
The Sarawak Language Technology (SaLT) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak, and vice versa. As part of the larger project, a study was conducted to examine the difficulties encountered by the Melanau native speakers who were engaged to translate English texts to Melanau to provide the source data for the development of the English-Melanau translation software. A total of 20 ...
Abstract: The study aims to examine code-switching in Malay drama series shown on Malaysian television to find out the influence of global English and the reflection of the local Malaysian identity in the code-switching phenomenon. The... more
Abstract: The study aims to examine code-switching in Malay drama series shown on Malaysian television to find out the influence of global English and the reflection of the local Malaysian identity in the code-switching phenomenon. The aspects focused on are:(1) the nature of English words used in Malay drama series; and (2) the reflection of Malaysian local identity in the code-switching to English. A range of Malay drama series in several television channels are analysed to study the features and functions of English words incorporated ...
This study examined the functions of code-switching in teacher classroom discourse using informant reports and direct observations to find out whether teachers were aware of their use and purposes of code-switching. The participants of... more
This study examined the functions of code-switching in teacher classroom discourse using informant reports and direct observations to find out whether teachers were aware of their use and purposes of code-switching. The participants of the study were 18 teachers teaching Forms 1 and 2 in three Malaysian secondary schools. Non-participant observations were carried out and the lessons were audiotaped. Semi-structured interviews were subsequently conducted to obtain the teachers' reports of their code-switching ...
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Abstract: In the past, information and advice on courses and destinations of higher education were primarily sought from social contacts. However, with the availability of a myriad of options in higher education nowadays, the services of... more
Abstract: In the past, information and advice on courses and destinations of higher education were primarily sought from social contacts. However, with the availability of a myriad of options in higher education nowadays, the services of educational consultants have become relevant. The case study examined the language used in educational consultations. The specific aspects examined were the main languages used for educational consultations, whether the language used for the educational consultation varied with the type of ...
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Background To have better prognostic outcomes and minimize deaths due to nasopharyngeal cancer, it is vital to understand factors that motivate the public to undertake cancer preventive measures. The study investigated determinants of... more
Background To have better prognostic outcomes and minimize deaths due to nasopharyngeal cancer, it is vital to understand factors that motivate the public to undertake cancer preventive measures. The study investigated determinants of intention to adopt measures to reduce nasopharyngeal cancer risk using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted on Malaysians (n = 515) using a questionnaire on attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, knowledge of nasopharyngeal cancer, past nasopharyngeal cancer preventive behavior, and intention to adopt preventive measures. The attitudes construct encompassed perceptions of susceptibility, severity, benefits and barriers. Hierarchical regression of mediation effect under structural equation model approach was used to test the theory. The model was re-estimated using the two-stage least square approach by instrumental approach. Next the Maximum Likelihood Estimation-Structural Equation Modeling w...
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The content structuring of creative arts thesis is still evolving and has been mainly based on the social science thesis structure. However, the diversity of creative works encompassing music compositions, novels, art works, dance, and... more
The content structuring of creative arts thesis is still evolving and has been mainly based on the social science thesis structure. However, the diversity of creative works encompassing music compositions, novels, art works, dance, and painting makes it difficult for the thesis to fit into the conventional content structure. There is also the description of intellectual property and the final product validation which are distinctly different components of creative arts research which need to be documented. In addition, the impetus for the creative arts research may not arise from a gap of knowledge in the field but from ergonomical problems of certain products or designs. The present study examined how the introduction section is written in creative arts thesis. Eleven creative arts theses written by undergraduate and postgraduate students in two Malaysian universities were analysed to identify the impetus or entry point for the research. The results indicate that the research probl...
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The study examined millennials’ perceptions of gendered language features in Facebook communication. A total of 60 millennials were presented with samples of Facebook messages and asked to guess the gender of the writer, and to give... more
The study examined millennials’ perceptions of gendered language features in Facebook communication. A total of 60 millennials were presented with samples of Facebook messages and asked to guess the gender of the writer, and to give reasons for identifying the writer as female or male. The results showed that the participants correctly guessed the gender of 71.43% out of 14 Facebook commenters. The main markers of male language features are harsh language, straightforward and shorter comment length, certain topics of discussions, word choice, and social role. The harsh language refers to rough, animal references, and cursing. Male word choice is inclined towards negativity. On the other hand, the main markers of female language features are giving advice, longer comments, presence of emotions, supportiveness, soft spokenness, word choice and feminine topics of discussion. Female word choice is reflected in use of words like “whatever”, certain modifications of spellings and use of s...
Currently the indigenous languages used as the medium of instruction in public schools in Malaysia are Iban in Sarawak, KadazanDusun in Sabah, and Semai in West Malaysia. While the medium of instruction in kindergartens is not as strictly... more
Currently the indigenous languages used as the medium of instruction in public schools in Malaysia are Iban in Sarawak, KadazanDusun in Sabah, and Semai in West Malaysia. While the medium of instruction in kindergartens is not as strictly regulated as the medium of instruction in public schools, the demand for kindergartens using indigenous languages need to be high enough for the programme to be sustainable. There are presently some Bidayuh playschools and preschools established by the Dayak Bidayuh National Association in Sarawak. The study examined attitudes towards Bidayuh as a medium of instruction for kindergartens among the Bidayuh community in Sarawak, Malaysia. Questionnaire data were obtained from 61 Bidayuh who originated from the Kuching and Kota Samarahan districts. Results showed mixed responses to the prospect of setting up kindergartens using Bidayuh as the medium of instruction but a majority were in support. The participants believed that Bidayuh language kindergar...
The Kejaman are a small indigenous group living in the interior of Belaga, along the Balui River, in the Kapit Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. The study examined the role of social network on the language ability of the Kejaman speakers... more
The Kejaman are a small indigenous group living in the interior of Belaga, along the Balui River, in the Kapit Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. The study examined the role of social network on the language ability of the Kejaman speakers from Belaga, Sarawak, Malaysia. Using questionnaires, data were collected from 123 participants from three generations of the Kejaman speakers from two longhouses (Rumah Kejaman Neh Long Litten and Rumah Kejaman Ba Segaham) in Belaga, Sarawak. The study employed Milroy's (1987) framework for social network analysis. The results for language ability showed a marked difference between the older generation and the younger generation. The first and second generations were able to interact fluently and spontaneously using their mother tongue. The second generation was more versatile in terms of language ability as they were fluent speakers of many languages. The ability to use the Kejaman language declined significantly among the third generation. In t...
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The study examines the influence of the ethnic background on the parents’ role in the ethnic socialization of youths in Malaysia. A survey of 894 youths, who were aged 18–40 years, and who were from Malay, Chinese, Indigenous, and Indian... more
The study examines the influence of the ethnic background on the parents’ role in the ethnic socialization of youths in Malaysia. A survey of 894 youths, who were aged 18–40 years, and who were from Malay, Chinese, Indigenous, and Indian ethnic backgrounds, was conducted. The questionnaire results show moderate levels of ethnic affiliation and parental socialization. The influence of other people in the ethnic socialization, namely, relatives other than the parents, as well as friends and other adults (teachers, neighbors, and people of the same religion), was limited. The parents of the youths were engaged in more positive ethnic socialization than negative ethnic socialization. The participants’ parents talked to them about cultural pluralism and cultural pride from once to several times a year, but the Indian participants reported frequencies of more than once per month. Conversations that prepared the participants for bias and that promoted mistrust occurred one to two times a y...
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The study examined the subjective ethnolinguistic vitality of an Iban community in Sarawak, Malaysia based on their language use and attitudes. A survey of 200 respondents in the Song district was conducted. To determine the objective... more
The study examined the subjective ethnolinguistic vitality of an Iban community in Sarawak, Malaysia based on their language use and attitudes. A survey of 200 respondents in the Song district was conducted. To determine the objective ethnolinguistic vitality, a structural analysis was performed on their sociolinguistic backgrounds. The results show the Iban language dominates in family, friendship, transactions, religious, employment, and education domains. The language use patterns show functional differentiation into the Iban language as the “low language” and Malay as the “high language”. The respondents have positive attitudes towards the Iban language. The dimensions of language attitudes that are strongly positive are use of the Iban language, Iban identity, and intergenerational transmission of the Iban language. The marginally positive dimensions are instrumental use of the Iban language, social status of Iban speakers, and prestige value of the Iban language. Inferential s...
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This article examines the construction of diverse identities in contemporary Malaysian literature. Using one literary text, “Neighbours” by Karim Raslan (1996), the analysis shows that the characters, particularly the ancillary male... more
This article examines the construction of diverse identities in contemporary Malaysian literature. Using one literary text, “Neighbours” by Karim Raslan (1996), the analysis shows that the characters, particularly the ancillary male character, Kassim, possesses diverse identities with ethnic identity being foregrounded over other forms of identity that are based on age, social class, gender and sexuality. However, these other forms of identity exert influence over the realization of the characters’ ethnic identity, thereby reinforcing the idea that social identities do not exist in isolation, but interact with each other in the process of identity formation and expression. This article also discusses the dilemmas and challenges that local writers face in constructing the identities of their characters and their own identities in the process, as well as the implications of using the writers’ works to discuss issues related to identity in the literature classroom.
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Various factors, notably health beliefs, knowledge of the disease and demographic characteristics have been found to influence public receptivity to disease risk information and their likelihood to perform actions to reduce risk. Research... more
Various factors, notably health beliefs, knowledge of the disease and demographic characteristics have been found to influence public receptivity to disease risk information and their likelihood to perform actions to reduce risk. Research has shown that receptivity to disease risk messages is influenced by the framing of the messages. The health risk messages can be framed to appeal to logic, emotion or credibility of information source – referred to as the rhetorical appeals of logos, pathos and ethos respectively. This study examined the framing of disease risk messages in airport banners to identify persuasive strategies used by the Ministry of Health Malaysia to elicit health preventive behaviour. The banners with disease risk messages for Zika, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, Ebola Virus Disease, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus Disease were analysed to find out how appeals to logos, pathos and ethos were used to induce fear of susceptibility to the diseases and t...
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The study investigated the intergenerational transmission of the Hakka language in Sarawak, an East Malaysian state located on Borneo Island. The specific aspects studied were the language for family communication and attitudes towards... more
The study investigated the intergenerational transmission of the Hakka language in Sarawak, an East Malaysian state located on Borneo Island. The specific aspects studied were the language for family communication and attitudes towards Hakka. For language choice patterns across generations, the case study involved two Hakka families spanning five to six generations (totalling 94 and 54 family members) and data were collected through interviews. For attitudes towards Hakka vis-a-vis Mandarin, the matched guise technique was employed. The language choice results showed that Hakka was the only language for family communication in the first three to four generations, starting from the patriarch who migrated from China to Sarawak. In both families, the generation presently in their thirties and forties no longer use Hakka for communication with their spouse and children, although they can speak Hakka. The main factor causing the shift away from Hakka in these families is mixed marriages ...
Research Interests: Sociology, China, Language shift, Mandarin Chinese, Ethnic Group, and 3 morePreference, Residence, and Spouse
The study investigated the use of Mandarin and Chinese dialects, and attitudes towards these languages among the Foochow living in Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia. The study involved 408 Foochow respondents (204 children, 204 parents). As most of... more
The study investigated the use of Mandarin and Chinese dialects, and attitudes towards these languages among the Foochow living in Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia. The study involved 408 Foochow respondents (204 children, 204 parents). As most of the respondents’ close friends, neighbours and colleagues were Foochow, and Chinese in general, Foochow and Mandarin were the two main languages used, but English, Malay and Iban were sometimes used with people from other ethnic groups. More parents felt at ease speaking Foochow in all situations but more children felt that it is nothing special to speak their dialect. The most cherished and emotionally expressive language for the parents was Foochow but for their children, it was Mandarin. More parents were aware of cultural associations and activities than their children. They believed that the use of Chinese dialects will decrease in future and intergenerational transmission of the dialect is important. Yet they were still looking to cultural as...
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The study examined the ethnic identity of young Malaysian adolescents living in Sarawak from the aspects of their identification with their own ethnic group and their tolerance of ethnic diversity. The ethnic groups focused on were the... more
The study examined the ethnic identity of young Malaysian adolescents living in Sarawak from the aspects of their identification with their own ethnic group and their tolerance of ethnic diversity. The ethnic groups focused on were the Malay, Chinese and Indigenous groups of Sarawak. The development of ethnic identity of the adolescents was measured by means of Phinney’s (1992) multigroup ethnic identity measure. The data for the study were obtained from 1181 participants aged 13 to 17 in three urban and three rural localities in Sarawak. The results showed positive ethnic identity development for the group of adolescents under study, with frequent reports of affective behaviour towards their own ethnic group. However, this was not backed by up an equally strong display of ethnic behaviour such as using the ethnic language, practicing the life style of the ethnic group and interaction with members of the same ethnic group. A comparison by ethnic group revealed that the Indigenous pa...
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Employability of graduates is a concern in many countries, including Malaysia, and the high unemployment rate among graduates is often attributed to their lack of English proficiency and communication skills. These two distinctive... more
Employability of graduates is a concern in many countries, including Malaysia, and the high unemployment rate among graduates is often attributed to their lack of English proficiency and communication skills. These two distinctive elements are often collated, and it is important to find out which is more important to employers. The study examined the employers’ views on the importance of English proficiency and communication skill for graduates to be employed in the Malaysian private sector. The data were from semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 employers in the private sector who were in the position to recruit staff. The 21,433-word interview transcripts were analyzed. The results revealed that employers in the Malaysian private sector view language proficiency and communication skills as separate qualities. The employers are willing to consider employing candidates with average English proficiency if they have good communication skills, except for jobs which require more...