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

Medical tourism has experienced substantial growth in recent years, with Malaysia emerging as one of the premier destinations for Indonesian medical tourists, owing to its accessible and high-quality healthcare services. This medical tourism sector in Malaysia has evolved into an integral component of the broader tourism industry, significantly contributing to economic development, and enhancing the nation’s global profile as a reputable healthcare destination. This study examines the factors influencing the selection of Malaysia as a preferred destination for medical services. It explicitly addresses geographical location, quality of healthcare services, medical expenses, and overall medical performance. Healthcare facilities in regions characterized by robust infrastructure, accessibility and superior service quality tend to attract more medical tourists. Additionally, providing high-caliber healthcare services attracts international patients and enhances the overall perception of the healthcare system within the host country. Medical care costs represent another significant factor in Malaysia's appeal to patients seeking treatment. The affordability of medical procedures plays a vital role in enticing medical tourists, as it directly influences their decisions to seek treatment abroad. Adherence to high standards of medical care attracts international patients and fosters trust and loyalty, which are essential for the sustainability of medical tourism. The intricate interrelationship among geographical location, service quality, medical costs, and healthcare performance is critical in attracting medical tourists. Each element enhances the destination's allure, influencing patients' decisions to pursue medical services internationally.

Parental decision-making in selecting childcare services is crucial to ensuring children’s safety and well-being. However, many parents face difficulty accessing reliable information, often relying on unverified sources such as social media and personal recommendations. This study explores parental experiences in choosing childcare, focusing on challenges, risks, and consequences. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted, using semi-structured interviews with parents whose children experienced neglect or abuse at childcare centres. Thematic analysis, supported by NVivo software, revealed three key findings. First, many parents rely heavily on informal sources like Facebook, which often lack credible reviews or verification. This reliance increases the risk of selecting unsafe childcare. Second, affordability and proximity significantly influence decisions. Financial pressures and work commitments often compel parents to choose unregistered providers despite known safety concerns. Convenience and cost were prioritised over regulatory status in many cases. Third, children exposed to unsafe childcare environments exhibited concerning physical and behavioural changes, including fear, withdrawal, speech delays, bruises, and recurring illness. Some suffered lasting trauma, negatively affecting emotional and social development. Parents often hesitated to report abuse, especially when dealing with unregistered centres, due to legal ambiguity and lack of evidence. This study highlights the urgent need for a centralised digital platform offering verified reviews, ratings, and registration status to aid parents in making informed decisions. Enhancing transparency can significantly reduce risks associated with unregulated childcare. Future research should examine the role of government oversight and parental awareness in strengthening childcare selection practices.

This study examines how young workers in rural and urban Sabah, Malaysia, base their retirement choices on psychological and behavioral aspects. Numerous factors, including individual beliefs, societal conditions, and environmental settings, influence retirement, a significant life transition. While everyone should make retirement plans, workers in rural and urban areas differ from one another. Rural workers typically have lower financial literacy and less access to financial services, whereas urban workers usually enjoy greater financial education and services. To better understand the variables and challenges influencing retirement behavior in these diverse settings, this research will examine theories of aging, such as the theory of planned behavior (TPB), continuity theory, and disengagement theory. T his study evaluates how current policies affect young workers' retirement planning and identifies the main factors influencing retirement savings behavior. The research will take a quantitative approach, analyze the data using the PLS-SEM model, and test validity and reliability against common method bias in two steps. The results emphasize the necessity of specialized policy interventions to guarantee the well-being and financial stability of young workers in Sabah's rural and urban settings about the need for focused financial literacy programs and retirement planning initiatives catered to Sabah, Malaysia's rural and urban areas, by offering insightful information about the behavioral and psychological factors influencing young workers' retirement decisions.

Housing policies are crucial in shaping accessibility, affordability, and social stability. This study critically examines housing policy frameworks in Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom to identify actionable insights to enhance Malaysia’s housing landscape. The study draws on government reports, policy documents, and international academic literature using a qualitative research design based on secondary data. A comparative methodology highlights the successes of Singapore’s comprehensive policies, including affordability-driven strategies and ethnic integration, alongside the challenges faced by the UK’s fragmented and market-driven housing approach. Key findings reveal that Singapore’s policies, underpinned by centralized governance and proactive planning, have achieved high homeownership rates, inclusivity, and economic resilience. Conversely, the UK’s housing policies illustrate the detrimental effects of inadequate regulation, insufficient investment in social housing, and over-reliance on private markets, contributing to housing unaffordability and social disparities. Malaysia’s current housing policies, while showing promise through initiatives like subsidies and loan guarantees, remain constrained by issues such as affordability gaps, project delays, and market volatility. The study proposes policy recommendations for Malaysia, including expanding financial assistance programs, adopting a Build-Then-Sell system, aligning house prices with median income levels, and fostering social cohesion through community-centric policies. Furthermore, strengthening governance structures, enhancing land use strategies, and addressing market inefficiencies are emphasized to create a sustainable and inclusive housing framework. This research highlights the importance of adapting successful international models while avoiding their pitfalls, providing a roadmap for Malaysia’s housing policies to ensure affordability, equity, and resilience.

The rise of digital payment systems has significantly reshaped financial transactions across Southeast Asia, with Malaysia emerging as a key player in this transformation. This study examines how specific features of digital payment platforms—such as convenience, perceived security, and rewards programs-alongside demographic factors, influence consumer spending behavior. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the research focuses not just on adoption but on postadoption behaviors among Malaysian users. A structured survey of 500 active digital payment users was conducted, and the data were analyzed using regression and ANOVA techniques. Interestingly, the results challenge common assumptions in both academia and industry. Although participants expressed generally positive views about the convenience and security of digital payments, none of these factors-including rewards or demographics, were found to predict their spending behavior significantly. These findings suggest that once consumers become accustomed to digital payments, their usage patterns may be shaped more by habit, emotional response, or lifestyle fit than by the platform features themselves. This insight opens up new conversations around how digital finance should be designed, marketed, and studied going forward. The study concludes by calling for more nuanced, behaviorally grounded models and practical strategies that go beyond technical efficiency.

The rise in adolescent vaping, fueled by appealing flavors, targeted marketing, and a lack of awareness about health risks, is a growing public health concern. This study explores how mitigating vaping risks is linked to public awareness and adverse events like EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury). Using a systematic review of literature from 2015 to 2025 via Scopus AI, the study found that public awareness campaigns significantly increase perceived risks and reduce vaping initiation among youth. Tailored programs, such as school-based initiatives and digital media campaigns, effectively foster informed decision-making. Despite these successes, challenges persist, including disparities in access to information and the rapidly evolving vaping market. Theoretical insights align with health behavior models, while practical recommendations emphasize combining education, regulation, and community outreach. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to assess long-term health effects and explore technologies for disseminating accurate information. These findings provide a foundation for comprehensive strategies to mitigate vaping risks and protect public health.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) programs in fostering entrepreneurship among retailers and wholesalers, so-called Agropreneurs, within the Rural Transformation Center (RTC) in Kelantan, Malaysia. Initiated as part of the Rural Transformation Initiative and aligned with the National Blue Ocean Strategy 4, these programs aim to enhance the entrepreneurial capabilities of rural residents through comprehensive training and support systems. The study underscores the need for continuous support and tailored programs that address the specific barriers faced by women in agriculture, aligning with previous research advocating for gender-focused interventions in agricultural development. Utilizing quantitative methods, data were gathered from structured questionnaires distributed to 75 retailers and 8 wholesalers, with analyses conducted using IBM SPSS version 22. Findings reveal a significant improvement in various managerial, financial, and marketing competencies among participants, with average capability scores increasing across all categories. Retailers, in particular, showed marked enhancements in financial management and marketing strategies, reflecting high levels of satisfaction with RTC services and their impact on local employment and business visibility. In contrast, wholesalers exhibited relatively modest improvements, albeit still indicating positive trends in their entrepreneurial activities. The study underscores the critical role of structured support mechanisms in promoting sustainable economic development and entrepreneurship in rural settings, emphasizing ongoing investment in community-driven solutions for equitable resource distribution and inclusive growth. These results contribute to the growing body of literature highlighting the importance of initiatives that empower local communities and foster economic resilience in rural areas.