Vol. 17 No. 2(I) (2025)

This study investigates the role of Kloth Circularity Malaysia, a social enterprise, in advancing environmental sustainability through fabric recycling and upcycling initiatives. The issue of increasing textile waste and its improper disposal, including illegal dumping and ineffective recycling systems, presents a significant environmental challenge in Malaysia. The research addresses the problem of limited community engagement and the lack of sustainable textile waste management practices. A qualitative case study approach was adopted, using secondary data collected between 2018 and 2021, which identified 12 upcycling initiatives in Malaysia and focused on in-depth interviews with Kloth Circularity’s co-founders and marketing executive as a current active social enterprise. The findings reveal that Kloth Circularity’s success is rooted in its multistakeholder collaborations, community education, and inclusive business models that promote circular economy principles. The discussion emphasizes the importance of public participation, awareness, and industry cooperation in transforming textile waste into value-added products. It concludes that upcycling is a viable solution for textile waste management and recommends expanding educational programs, policy support, and innovative sustainability strategies to enhance environmental outcomes in Malaysia.

Workforces are strengthened to share their knowledge to increase inspiration and improvement. However, people may hide their knowledge from view to pursue personal benefits. Knowledge hiding behavior has been identified as an important challenge in organizational settings, collaboration, innovation, and reducing performance. This paper contributes to a comprehensive review of the literature on hidden knowledge in the workplace, focusing on antecedents and consequences by conducting a comprehensive literature review. The study involves reviewing research articles gathered from the university's electronic databases of Scopus and Science Direct. By assessing findings from previous studies, the predictors and implications of knowledge-hiding behavior will be identified. A narrow focus on specific contexts, an overemphasis on individual factors, and a neglect of external influence. By indicating the antecedents, the importance of understanding the motivation behind knowledge hiding and its effect can be highlighted for future research direction.

The Batik Tuah & Teja program is a creative effort that aims to engage university students in preserving Malaysia's intangible cultural heritage through batik-making while also developing entrepreneurial skills. The program combines traditional arts with business education to achieve the dual goals of cultural protection and youth empowerment. In conjunction with local artisans and industry experts, students were introduced to hands-on batik techniques like batik pelangi, as well as design and colouring workshops. An entrepreneurship module based on the Business Model Canvas (BMC) and mobile sales events provided practical experience with business development and marketing. This initiative aims to address the dual need for cultural preservation and youth empowerment by equipping students with knowledge of batik's historical significance and its potential in the modern entrepreneurial ecosystem. To analyze the program's impact, semistructured interviews were performed with 40 participants' group leaders. The findings demonstrated that students had increased cultural awareness and respect for batik, as well as increased confidence in their business ability. The findings suggest that Batik Tuah & Teja effectively integrates cultural education with entrepreneurial development, offering a scalable model for youth-focused heritage preservation. Future implementations may benefit from expanded partnerships and the inclusion of digital tools to broaden impact. This study highlights the program's success in bridging tradition with innovation, supporting sustainable cultural engagement among the younger generation.

Bamboo, a renewable and culturally significant material in both countries, Japan and Malaysia, presents vast potential for sustainable product design. As both Japan and Malaysia face the challenges of growing elderly populations, there is a need for products that promote independence, mobility, and a high quality of life for older adults. The study focuses on merging traditional bamboo craftsmanship with modern ergonomic needs, targeting key areas such as comfort, safety, and usability for aging populations. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the development of innovative bamboo-based products designed to enhance the well-being of the elderly, drawing on cultural and material synergies between Japan and Malaysia. The study has emphasized cross-cultural review on the bamboo-based industry in both countries, as well as presenting innovative bamboo-based products for the elderly. This research will provide practical solutions that address the global aging challenge and serve as a model for how traditional materials can be reimagined to meet contemporary societal needs, contributing to both the academic discourse on sustainable design and real-world applications for elderly care products. This study is significant to be aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 9 (promotes inclusive and sustainable industrialization, fostering innovation, and building resilient infrastructure) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). By utilizing bamboo-based products, the research not only supports environmental sustainability but also fosters cultural exchange and innovation.

The ethical behavior of employees is critical to organizational success, yet fostering such behavior presents persistent challenges in today's dynamic workplace. Predictable factors such as cultural diversity, technological advancements, and evolving societal expectations highlight the pressing need for robust strategies to promote ethical conduct. Due to that, this paper investigates generational differences in shaping employees’ ethical behavior for sustainable organizations through a comprehensive meta-analysis. Using university electronic databases (Scopus) as a search lens to locate related articles, a meta-analytical technique is employed to analyze and synthesize available literature. The following themes of ethical behavior and generational differences were used to assess selected studies. Inclusion criteria focused on studies published within the past 10 years, ensuring relevance to recent organizational contexts. By systematically analyzing and synthesizing the literature, this paper provides actionable insights for researchers and practitioners aiming to address challenges of generational differences in shaping employees’ ethical behavior. The findings highlight the distinct ethical values held by each generation and underscore the importance of fostering a cohesive ethical principle within organizations. A significant gap in the findings is the limited exploration of how generational ethical perspectives evolve, particularly in remote work settings, digital workplaces, and gig economies. Additionally, the practical effectiveness of ethical leadership and CSR initiatives in bridging generational ethical gaps remains underexplored. Future research should examine ethical behavior practices of non-traditional workspaces, assess effective leadership strategies and policy interventions, and adopt international approaches to enhance generalizability and inform culturally inclusive ethical policies.

When searching for quality childcare, the best childcare reviews can provide invaluable insights for parents in selecting childcare for their children. These reviews can highlight parents' experiences in using childcare and also shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of childcare centers. The study’s purpose was to determine the impact of customer reviews on perceived risk, with technology innovation as a mediator. The study used a quantitative approach in data collection and 385 questionnaires were distributed to working mothers across four zones in Peninsular Malaysia. The research instrument used was a questionnaire consisting of 15 questions for the variable CR (Customer Review), 5 questions for TI (Technology Innovation), and 6 questions for PR (Perceived Risk). The collected data were processed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). According to the analysis results, customer review was revealed to negatively and significantly affect perceived risk (β = -0.083, p = 0.030), but positively affect technology innovation (β = 0.419, p < 0.000). Also, technology innovation was revealed to have a significant mediating effect on customer review and perceived risk (β = -0.294, p = 0.000), which shows that customer review can be more effective in lowering perceived risk when integrated with technology innovation. Therefore, the contribution of technology innovation as a mediator can lower perceived risks in monitoring unregistered childcare centers. Future studies could explore other mediating and moderating variables, such as government regulation or parental experience with childcare centers.

Medical tourism has become an increasingly important component of Malaysia’s healthcare and economic landscape, with Penang standing out as a leading destination in this sector. This paper explores the main drivers behind Penang’s success, including its advanced healthcare facilities, cost-effectiveness, and strategic location. The analysis reveals Penang’s strong competitive positioning, as it attracts almost half of Malaysia’s medical tourists and contributes significantly to the state's revenue. Nevertheless, the sector faces mounting challenges such as rising competition in the region, shifting patient expectations, and the impacts of the post-pandemic environment. Addressing these issues will require sustained efforts in infrastructure upgrades, innovative marketing, and regulatory enhancements. This conceptual paper introduces a framework that links state development performance, private healthcare services, and infrastructure investment to support the continued growth of Penang’s medical tourism. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration between public and private stakeholders to ensure Penang remains globally competitive in this evolving industry.

Financial stress is an unescapable global issue impacting millions, exacerbated by economic uncertainty, growing living costs, and income inequality. This stress affects individuals' mental and physical health, lowers productivity, and hinders societal progress. This study aims to determine a map of research in financial stress. The study was steered from 592 published documents from 1945 until 2024 interrelated to financial stress, have were included after several cleaning processes undertaken by the researchers. A bibliometric analysis was performed by absolute counts using Bibliometric BiblioShiny and Vos-viewer software. The results depicted that there is a continuous increase in the number of publications, especially for the period 2014 - 2024, which represents 83.17% of publications from the earliest published paper in 1945. Most of the sources extracted from the Scopus Database were written in English language representing 581 total publications, while the other 11 publications were written in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Czech, German and Italian. Amongst the top highly cited documents were published in the Journal of Financial Stability, Journal of Psychology and Aging, and Journal of Applied Mathematical Modelling. On the other hand, among the top countries contributing to financial stress publications are the United States, China and Australia. Finally, from the bibliometrics results, this study provides an overview of global citation trends on financial stress. This study also attempts to determine the development of financial stress research, which can provide ground information to the researchers to attain an inclusive understanding of this field and can be a reference for the application of financial stress visualization approaches.

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a neurological condition affecting individuals' perception and reaction to sensory stimuli. For children with special needs, SPD significantly hinders their ability to engage in traditional educational settings. This paper underscores the importance of understanding SPD in the context of developing inclusive classrooms tailored to meet their unique sensory and educational needs. The initial sections delineate SPD's definition, symptoms, and prevalence, integrating relevant literature from the past decade to provide a comprehensive overview. Key aspects of creating sensory-friendly classrooms are explored, emphasising modifications such as adjustable lighting, reduced noise levels, and the incorporation of sensory tools, aimed at fostering focus, alleviating sensory overload, and improving educational outcomes. This paper is vital for guiding scholarly pursuit in underexplored areas related to inclusive education, presenting an exhaustive literature review that identifies significant contributions, trends, and gaps. By addressing these gaps, future research can enhance understanding and support for children with SPD in educational contexts. The study concludes by advocating for the significance of sensory-friendly classrooms, which bolster academic achievement, emotional regulation, and social inclusion among children with special needs. Recommendations include incorporating SPD training into teacher education programs, applying evidence-based adjustments in classroom settings, fostering parental collaboration in interventions, and leveraging technology to promote sensory-friendly education. By prioritising sensory processing needs, educators can ensure equitable access to learning opportunities for all students, culminating in calls for further research and policy initiatives to enrich inclusive educational practices.

Inclusive education, which aims to provide equal learning opportunities for all students regardless of their abilities or disabilities, has gained considerable attention globally. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of literature on inclusive education, providing a comprehensive overview of research trends, influential publications, key authors, and collaborative networks within this domain. Using a comprehensive database search, the study analyses scholarly articles published in the Scopus database, employing bibliometric techniques such as citation analysis, co-authorship networks, and keyword co-occurrence mapping. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using data from prominent academic databases. This study utilizes bibliometric tools to examine scholarly discourse on inclusive education, identifying key themes, influential authors, and global research collaborations. Publications were analyzed based on metrics such as the number of publications, citation counts, authorship patterns, and geographical distribution. The findings reveal the evolution of research on inclusive education, highlighting significant shifts in focus areas, emerging themes, and the geographical distribution of research contributions. The analysis revealed a steady increase in publications on inclusive education over the past two decades, with a notable surge in the last five years. Influential authors and seminal works were highlighted, along with leading journals and institutions contributing to this field. The study also identified emerging trends and under-researched areas that warrant further exploration. This study used the Scopus database, specifically using biblioMagika®2.9. Therefore, the articles related to inclusive education in other databases were not included. This study is essential because it can help researchers focus their time on exploring topics that have not been thoroughly investigated.