Tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia is home to a highly diverse flora and fauna. The biodiversity and sustainability of the forest are highly potential to mitigate climate change and its adverse consequences. Although Malaysia is committed to preserve the forest in recognition of the important services, the threat against the forest of degradation and even deforestation for demand of other prevailing interests remain. Bio banking scheme has been one of market-oriented mechanisms which have been suggested to fund towards ensuring the sustainability of the biodiversity in Malaysia. By examining the experience of biobank for forest or environmental conservation, this paper considers issues and challenges in the creation of such biobank in Peninsular Malaysia as proposed in a study. For this, it considers two existing schemes of biobanking, one is implemented in the New South Wales, Australia, and the other is in Sabah, Malaysia, the Malua Biobank. The main features of these two schemes are examined and the issues faced are considered in the context of the Peninsular Malaysia. Creation of such biobank is significant to promote for further efforts in finding alternatives in forest conservation.

The Orang Asli group forms a minority community in Peninsular Malaysia, whose livelihood mostly depends on their land and the surrounding area. Dispute over customary land rights of Orang Asli has been continual in Malaysia although Malaysian Courts, in several cases, have upheld the Common Law rights of Orang Asli to their customary lands. This poses a challenge to some Orang Asli communities and State Governments. Based on focus group discussion, profiling survey, and library research methods, this paper analyses the land rights of Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia, by placing focus on Orang Asli in Kampung Parit Gong, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. The findings indicate that the Kampung Parit Gong Orang Asli community has been strictly adhering to the customs of ‘Adat Perpatih’ since yesteryears, and that they highly value the land, both through usage of land and by inheritance. Several important concerns were raised by the Orang Asli in Kampung Parit Gong, particularly on the security over their rights on the said customary land and the guarantee of their future generations’ socio-economic well-being. Having said that, this paper proposes several legal and administrative measures to not only address the uprising issues, but also to ascertain that the rights of Orang Asli residing in Peninsular Malaysia are safeguarded.

The formation of quality work culture in the organization will only be achieved if employees practice comprehensive and positive work ethic and integrity. In order to improve the level of ethics and integrity, the focus should be on overall improvement in the organization not only at the grassroots but all up to the top level. Comprehensive involvement of all parties will significantly improve the integrity of the organization. Recognizing the importance of integrity as the core of quality staff development and higher organizational performance, this study is expected to help the public sector organization plan strategies to achieve a higher level of ethics and integrity. The corporate Integrity Assessment Questionnaire (CIAQ) was used to measure the implementation of the integrity system in a public sector organization. The questionnaires were distributed to 850 employees at the agency via e-survey. It was found that the level of ethics and integrity of the agency is at 74%. “Vision and goals” dimension shows the highest score which shows that the organization has given attention to ethics and integrity through its approach to ethics and integrity in the organization, including, its formal articulation of the underlying philosophy about ethical and moral conduct embedded by the organization. The lowest score of the “disciplinary action and reward” dimension indicates that the public sector organization needs to relook policies and guidelines for discipline and reward so that it is in line with best practice. Thus, the public sector organization needs to provide rewards and incentives to encourage ethical conduct and implement strict disciplinary action to punish unethical work conduct improve in terms of ethical communication, work culture, infrastructure, training and ethics education, discipline, and reward.

Fulfilling communal rights to customary lands has still become an unresolved polemic. As a country adhering to Pancasila ideology, all laws and regulations should embody in Pancasila, including regulation on Agrarian Reform. This research aimed to figure out the reduction of values found in the 2nd principle of Pancasila against the Presidential Regulation Number 86 Year 2018 concerning Agrarian Reform in the context of fulfilling communal rights of indigenous peoples to customary lands. The research used a normative-juridical method with both statutory and analytical approaches. This research specifically examined and analyzed the reduction of values in the second principles of Pancasila toward the regulation of agrarian reform in Indonesia. The data sources were in the form of secondary data to obtain objective research results including primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials obtained through documents and literatures. The collected data were then qualitatively analyzed and presented in the forms of narrative text. By implementing the second principle of Pancasila, the communal rights to customary lands are fulfilled in Agrarian Reform and become the basis to strengthen the position of indigenous peoples in national legal system.

Respect and recognition of the rights of the indigenous peoples are acknowledged as indispensable for sustainable and equitable conservation of protected areas. Corresponding to this, in Malaysia, significant changes have also been seen in the relevant laws and policy statements in the last few years, providing for greater recognition of the needs and rights of the indigenous peoples in the management of the protected areas. This paper provides an overview of the Malaysian laws and policies on protected areas affecting the rights of Malaysia’s indigenous peoples, the Orang Asli, with a focus on the recent changes in the relevant laws and policy statement. However, without adequate legal support and recognition as landowners, the effort to meaningfully include the indigenous peoples in the management of the protected areas may be hampered. A concrete legal change needs to take place, specifically through legislation to formally recognize and acknowledge the rights of the Orang Asli communities to their customary land. This may lead to a change of perspective towards the Orang Asli as landowners and pave a new foundation for creating new relationships to create a genuine partnership and meaningful involvement of the communities in the management of the protected areas.

COVID-19 pandemic is not only a significant threat to public health. It also has a serious economic impact on people’s livelihood including indigenous peoples or Orang Asli communities in Peninsular Malaysia even though they are living far away in rural areas, such as in protected areas. This paper aims to share our observation on an Orang Asli community in Kampung Peta, which is located at the entrance of Endau Rompin National Park, Johor, Malaysia. The research is based on a preliminary observation and casual conversation with the villagers in a recent visit. From our short visit to the village in March 2020, we found that even before the Restricted Movement Order (RMO) was implemented, the pandemic has impacted the livelihood of Kampung Peta people whose income are also dependent on tourism activities in the national park. With the effect of Covid-19 expected to last for years to come, it is important to ensure the policy development addresses the minority community groups who live in the rural area including the national park.

This paper highlights the impact of selected judicial decisions on the claims to land rights by the indigenous peoples in Malaysia. A judicial impact study is important because court decisions can alter the status of law that controls social and political behaviour and/or elicit responses from other political actors, thus influencing policy and political outcomes. The Malaysian Courts have played a significant role in developing law that acknowledges indigenous customary rights in Malaysia. For example, the case of Nor Anak Nyawai and Others v Borneo Pulp Plantation Sdn Bhd [2001] 6 MLJ 241 not only clarified the legal position of native customary rights but also had a profound impact in the Malaysian legal system. The judgment had aided in the reoccupation of the Iban’s territories. Sagong bin Tasi & Ors v. Kerajaan Negeri Selangor [2002] 2 CLJ 591 recognised that indigenous customary land rights were of equal legal status to full ownership or title to the land in Peninsular Malaysia. By applying doctrinal legal research, the three cases selected are, first, the landmark case of Director of Forest, Sarawak & Anor v. TR Sandah Tabau & Ors and Other Appeals [2017] 2 MLRA 91 which led to the amendment of the Sarawak Land Code 1958. The second and third cases are claims by the Orang Asli in Pos Dakoh and Pos Belatim against the government of Kelantan and in which consent judgments were entered. This study would be significant in emphasizing the impact of judicial decisions and the need for courts to ensure that the decision is carried out as well. Regardless of the courts’ findings, the government’s implementation of such decisions is still insufficient. Nonetheless, certain indigenous groups have re-occupied their territory without the state’s consent. As a result, the court decisions have provided people with a significant motivation to physically reclaim their land.

Akta Akses kepada Sumber Biologi dan Perkongsian Faedah 2017 (ABS 2017) yang digubal untuk melaksanakan Konvensyen Kepelbagaian Biologi dan protokol yang berkaitan, menghendaki elemen keizinan termaklum awal (KTA) oleh masyarakat peribumi sebagai prasyarat bagi capaian terhadap sumber biologi dan pengetahuan tradisi yang berkaitan dengan sumber yang terdapat di tanah masyarakat tersebut. Masyarakat peribumi yang dimaksudkan di bawah ABS 2017 ialah masyarakat orang asli di Semenanjung Malaysia dan anak negeri atau peribumi di Sabah dan Sarawak seperti yang ditakrifkan oleh peruntukan yang berkaitan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Akta ABS 2017 yang diwartakan pada 18 Disember 2020 ini penting kerana menjadi undang-undang pertama yang memperuntukkan keperluan persetujuan masyarakat peribumidan masyarakat tempatan. Makalah ini mengkaji peruntukan dan prosedur yang ditetapkan oleh ABS 2017 untuk mendapatkan KTA dan isu yang boleh menjejaskan objektifnya. Penyelidikan dalam makalah ini berasaskan penyelidikan doktrin. Makalah ini mencadangkan bahawa kekurangan pengiktirafan yang mencukupi terhadap tanah masyarakat peribumi, khususnya orang asli di Semenanjung Malaysia, boleh menghalang matlamat yang ingin dicapai oleh undang-undang berkenaan. Makalah ini menekankan bahawa usaha bersepadu mesti diambil bukan sahaja pada peringkat kerajaan persekutuan, tetapi juga pihak berkuasa negeri, untuk melindungi hak masyarakat peribumi sebagai sebahagian daripada inisiatif untuk mencapai pembangunan lestari.

The aim of this article is to provide a general overview of the issues underlying Malaysians' reluctance to work in the 3D sectors. It accomplishes this by highlighting key factors that contribute to this issue thereby finding the possible and practical solutions. In realising these objectives, the authors rely on qualitative library research which involves analysis of primary and secondary resources. As the result, this article suggests practical solutions that focus on the enhancement of human rights compliance by employers to attract more Malaysian workers. A better working condition may contribute towards the reduction of high dependency on foreign workers in the future.

Two national parks in Malaysia have been recognized by the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World?s Cultural and Natural Heritage as the world heritage sites; the Gunung Mulu National Park and Kinabalu Park. None of the forest in Peninsular Malaysia has achieved that status but four have made it through the nomination list. The Malaysian government?s recent initiative was to list three reserved areas, namely the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), the Royal Belum National Park and the Gombak Selangor Quartz Ridge. The nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage Site is indeed a good move in protecting the Malaysian forest. Even though there is no direct mention of 'forest' stated under the Convention, it tacitly indicates the importance of the conservation of natural forest habitat for flora and fauna and a heritage for humankind. An outstanding forest site shall be conferred a world heritage status when it possesses at least one of the criteria of an Outstanding Universal Value or OUV. Ten criteria are listed as OUV in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention and it is divided as a cultural or natural heritage. This paper explores on the OUV of Malaysian forests, either included in or nominated to the World Heritage List. It describes the different OUV opted by different forest and that exemplifies the diversity and uniqueness of Malaysian forest.

Potensi pariwisata yang berlimpah menjadikan Nusa Tenggara Barat menjadi daerah tujuan wisatawan baik mancanegara maupun domestik. Potensi daerah Lombok yang berlimpah dengan objek wisata alam, maupun laut. Untuk mendukung perkembangan wisata yang ada di Lombok perlu dilakukan pembenahan lingkungan sekitar daerah pariwisata sehingga menciptakan daerah pariwisata yang nyaman bagi wisatawan. FH UMMat bersama FSU USIM melakukan pengabdian kolaborasi Internasional dengan melakukan aksi penanaman bibit pohon di Desa Batu Putih Kecamatan Sekotong. Pengabdian ini dilaksanakan disekitar objek wisata di Desa Batu Putih Kecamatan Sekotong dengan melibatkan dosen-dosen FH UMMat dan FSU USIM. Hasil dari kegiatan pengabdian ini, masyarakat diharapkan lahirnya kesadarannya akan pentingnya memelihara dan menjaga lingkungan serta melestarikan lingkungan dengan menjaga dan melindungi kelestarian lingkungan agar terciptanya lingkungan yang nyaman dan menghasilkan lingkungan yang asri di daerah pariwisata. Dengan demikian akan melahirkan lingkungan yang terjaga dengan oksigen yang baik serta ikut serta dalam menjaga dan melestarikan hutan yang ada.

Pendidikan merupakan faktor utama dalam pembentukan pribadi manusia untuk meningkatkan kualitas hidup yang lebih baik, dengan sistem pendidikan yang baik diharapkan muncul generasi penerus bangsa dan negara yang berkualitas dan mampu membentuk dan mengadakan perubahan ke arah yang lebih baik untuk diri sendiri, keluarga, masyarakat, bangsa dan negara. Jadi intinya, pendidikan dapat merubah manusia ke arah yang lebih baik. Kids Of Asahan, merupakan program sosial yang berada di pulau Gili Asahan Desa Batu Putih Kecamatan Sekotong. Kids Of Asahan memiliki aktivitas sosial berupa memberikan bimbingan belajar gratis kepada anak – anak di Gili Asahan. Kids Of Asahan juga memilikiperpustakaan (TBM) yang dapat dinikmati oleh setiap warga di Gili Asahan tersebut. Melihat kondisi tersebut, FH UMMat melakukan kolaborasi PKM internasional bersama FSU USIM mendonasikan buku dan sosialisasi Gerakan Gemar Membaca. Kegiatan ini juga mendapat bantuan donasi buku dari Mitra FH UMMat antara lain LBH Apik NTB dan Lembaga Perlindungan Anak (LPA) NTB.

Solid waste is one of the major environmental problems that is gaining attention in most countries in the world. The increase in solid waste generation as the world is facing the Covid-19 Pandemic has posed new challenges for many countries including Malaysia in solid waste management. Failure to manage solid waste in facing this pandemic will inevitably cause catastrophe and adverse effects on public safety and health as well as the environment. Every household can produce hazardous solid waste such as contaminated face masks or other household solid wastes during the pandemic that must be managed carefully and effectively. Among the challenges in solid waste management at the time of pandemic is the increase in the amount of mixed waste including infectious waste due to the low level of waste separation at source and the increase in the amount of plastic waste. In this regard, the existing laws related to solid waste management in Malaysia need to be streamlined so that solid waste management can be made more effective while minimizing the risk of pollution and threats to public health. From another angle, the Shariah has emphasized on the importance and responsibility of preserving and managing the environment, including aspects of solid waste management in order to safeguard human life and prevent damage. The methods of literature review and interviews have been employed in this article to discuss household solid waste management during the Covid-19 pandemic from the Malaysian legal perspective and related Shariah principles. This discussion is important in order to raise public awareness and improve solid waste management in time of pandemic

Malaysia is one of the countries in the world which currently possesses a very significant number of biological diversities in its terrestrial and marine zones. To protect and safeguard these biological diversities, including wildlife, Malaysia has established a network of protected areas in its national development plan. These protected areas are managed by different federal and state authorities. There are many laws which are enacted by the federal and the states which aims to protect and safeguard the wildlife at these protected areas for conservation. The power to enact the relevant laws is conferred to the federal and respective states by the Malaysian Federal Constitution. However, there are various issues impacting the conservation efforts. This paper argues that a constitutional safeguard is necessary as a greater measure to protect the environment including wildlife in the protected area. A constitutional measure provides greater protection status than other legislative provisions.

Sustainable solid waste management contributes to three important aspects of sustainable development, namely, the environment, and economics, and social well-being. Electronic waste (also known as e-waste) is a type of household hazardous waste that will contribute to environmental pollution if it is managed unsustainably, as its disposal in landfills will contribute toxic substances to the landfill leachate, which subsequently could adversely affect the environment. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the sustainable household e-waste management in Malaysia from a legal perspective by employing library research methodology. The lack of a legislation in respect of household e-waste management is identified as one of the challenges, which has caused difficulty in managing household e-waste. Hence, there is a need to improve the existing legal framework to enhance the sustainable management of household e-waste in Malaysia.

Tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat merupakan salah satu ciri utama dalam pewarisan harta mengikut adat perpatih yang memberikan amanah kepada kaum perempuan untuk mewarisi tanah adat. Namun, timbul persoalan tentang tahap pengamalan masyarakat terhadap undang-undang ini pada hari ini dan isu-isu yang timbul sepanjang perlaksanaan undang-undang tersebut. Justeru, objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti tahap amalan masyarakat di Negeri Sembilan terhadap tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat serta isu-isu yang berkaitan dengannya. Kajian kuantitatif ini menggunakan kaedah survei yang melibatkan 525 orang sampel berdasarkan teknik prosedur pensampelan rawak mudah. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa tahap amalan masyarakat di Negeri Sembilan terhadap tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat masih lagi tinggi. Namun, terdapat beberapa isu yang timbul di sepanjang perlaksanaan undang-undang ini. Masalah yang timbul berpunca sama ada di pihak pejabat tanah mahupun pengamal tanah adat itu sendiri. Implikasi kajian ini ialah dapat meningkatkan kesedaran masyarakat terhadap tahap amalan dan isu-isu yang timbul berkaitan tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat. Kajian lanjutan boleh dilakukan untuk mengenal pasti kaedah yang terbaik untuk menangani masalah-masalah yang timbul agar amalan tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat boleh dilaksanakan dalam suasana yang lebih harmoni.

Tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat merupakan salah satu ciri utama dalam pewarisan harta mengikut adat perpatih yang memberikan amanah kepada kaum perempuan untuk mewarisi tanah adat. Namun, timbul persoalan tentang tahap pengamalan masyarakat terhadap undang-undang ini pada hari ini dan isu-isu yang timbul sepanjang perlaksanaan undang-undang tersebut. Justeru, objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti tahap amalan masyarakat di Negeri Sembilan terhadap tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat serta isu-isu yang berkaitan dengannya. Kajian kuantitatif ini menggunakan kaedah survei yang melibatkan 525 orang sampel berdasarkan teknik prosedur pensampelan rawak mudah. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa tahap amalan masyarakat di Negeri Sembilan terhadap tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat masih lagi tinggi. Namun, terdapat beberapa isu yang timbul di sepanjang perlaksanaan undang-undang ini. Masalah yang timbul berpunca sama ada di pihak pejabat tanah mahupun pengamal tanah adat itu sendiri. Implikasi kajian ini ialah dapat meningkatkan kesedaran masyarakat terhadap tahap amalan dan isu-isu yang timbul berkaitan tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat. Kajian lanjutan boleh dilakukan untuk mengenal pasti kaedah yang terbaik untuk menangani masalah-masalah yang timbul agar amalan tanah adat dan undang-undang tanah adat boleh dilaksanakan dalam suasana yang lebih harmoni.

Hak terhadap pegangan tanah yang selamat diterima sebagai salah satu petunjuk pembangunan lestari seperti yang dinyatakan dalam Agenda 2030 Matlamat Pembangunan Lestari. Bagi masyarakat minoriti orang asal khususnya, hak pegangan tanah yang selamat merupakan perkara asas bagi mengekalkan jati diri dan kehidupan mereka. Artikel ini menghuraikan hasil kajian kes tanah adat masyarakat orang asli di Negeri Sembilan, iaitu di Langkap, Kuala Pilah, Parit Gong di Jelebu dan Bukit Kepong di Port Dickson. Kajian ini berasaskan kerangka prinsip common law sebagai asas pengiktirafan tanah adat masyarakat asal di negara ini. Kajian kes menunjukkan bahawa masyarakat orang asli Temuan melihat tanah dan kawasan yang mereka tinggal, bertani dan sebagainya sebagai satu “kawasan” ataupun “wilayah” yang dimiliki oleh komuniti mereka yang dipelihara berasaskan adat perpatih bagi kesejahteraan komuniti pada masa ini serta generasi yang akan datang. Di dalam wilayah tersebut, terdapat kawasan di sekitar penempatan dan pertanian yang penting sebagai kawasan rayau yang berfungsi sebagai zon penyangga (buffer zone) kepada ahli yang memerlukan. Masyarakat orang asli mempunyai “sistem perundangan” mereka sendiri yang diatur oleh adat dan sistem komuniti yang tersusun dengan konsep wilayah tersendiri. Hasil kajian ini penting bagi memberikan pengetahuan dan kefahaman masyarakat di negara ini terhadap komuniti orang asli serta amalan mereka yang mungkin mampu membuka jalan ke arah perubahan dasar dan undang-undang yang memberikan perlindungan yang lebih baik kepada mereka selaras dengan matlamat pembangunan lestari.

Procedural law courses are important components in legal education in all law schools in Malaysia. The courses include civil procedure, criminal procedure, evidence as well as a more specific courses such as bankruptcy and winding-up proceedings. They are taught as compulsory courses in upper years of law bachelor degree in which students have already completed substantive areas of law. In schools that include Syariah law (Islamic law) as part of their curriculum, Syariah procedural courses both for criminal and civil proceedings are also taught. Similar to many other professional courses, a contemporary development suggests that teaching and learning professional skills require special approach different from traditional method of lecture and tutorial which centres on lecture-based instruction in classroom. This may address critics against local law graduates implying the needs to improve skills essential in legal professions including those that aimed to be instilled in procedural law courses. This paper explores the best practice in teaching procedural law courses by review of the existing literature relevant to the subject matter; and using a finding from a focus group discussion involving selected law teachers from different law schools in Malaysia. This is significant to contribute towards improvement of teaching and learning of the procedural law courses in law schools. Furthermore, studies on the aspects of teaching and learning procedural law courses have been rather limited especially in Malaysia.

In the last few years, there have been some changes in the approach of teaching procedural law courses in the law programme in Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). An empirical study of students from USIM law programme from classes of different techniques used by different teachers was set out to investigate the best method and approach particularly in teaching and learning procedural law courses. This paper provides the perspectives of the students on generally two different methods of teaching and learning of the procedural subjects. Students who attended classes with traditional approach viewed that the procedural subjects are complex and very detailed. On the other hand, students who entered classes which incorporate practical trainings such as drafting pleadings, letters and legal opinions experienced exciting learning environment despite complexity of procedural subjects. The study reveals that the students expects dealing with real documents and hands on exercises in learning procedural subjects. This study is significant to encourage teachers in USIM law programme to adopt the approach which has potential to inculcate the necessary skill for the law students.