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UNIMAS Open Access Repository
Managed by Perpustakaan Tun Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
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Recent Submissions
Indigenous Popular Music and Identity: The Case of Sarawak, Malaysia
(Asia-Pacific International University, Muak Lek, Thailand, 2026-03-23) Ting Su Hie; Collin Jerome; Connie Lim Keh Nie; Faculty of Education, Language and Communication
Aim/Purpose: The study investigated the views of Sarawak indigenous participants and other
Sarawakians on whether Sarawak indigenous popular music can construct an indigenous and regional
identity. The specific objectives of the study were to compare: (a) their level of familiarity with and
knowledge about Sarawak indigenous popular music, (b) their attitudes towards Sarawak indigenous
popular music, and (c) their practices in listening to Sarawak indigenous popular music.
Introduction/Background: Most studies of Sarawak indigenous songs have focused on “Biar Bekikis
Bulu Betis” and did not investigate the perceptions of indigenous and non-indigenous participants
separately to understand whether indigenous pop songs can evoke a shared sense of belonging to
Sarawak. As there is a lack of Sarawak-specific related research in Malaysia, the present study is
timely and crucial in understanding whether the pop songs of an indigenous group can represent
state identity due to living in a shared geographical space, Sarawak, with the indigenous groups.
Methodology: The descriptive study involved 109 participants comprising 41.28% (or 45) Sarawak
Indigenous and 58.72% (or 64) other Sarawakians. The term “Sarawakian” refers to Malaysian citizens
born in Sarawak. The online questionnaire link was given to participants who fulfilled the selection
criteria: (a) Malaysians who are Sarawakians but may be living elsewhere at some point in their lives;
and (b) Participants who are aged 18 and above, so parental consent is not required for participating
in the study, but there is no age limit. In this study, “Sarawak indigenous” refers to Iban, Bidayuh,
Melanau, and Orang Ulu, while “Other Sarawakians” refers to Malay, Chinese, Indian, and others
living in Sarawak. There were more female participants, and there was a spread of age groups. Most
participants had lived in Sarawak for almost their whole lives, but some came back to live in Sarawak
after having lived somewhere else.
An 18-item questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to Sarawak indigenous
popular music was made, comprised of demographic information (five items), knowledge on Sarawak
indigenous music (eight items), attitudes towards Sarawak indigenous music (three items), and
practices relating to Sarawak indigenous music (two items). The Quizmaker link (https://take.quizmaker.com/QE9RYUHGO) was shared with contacts who were asked to share the link with others.
The data comprising the initial 112 responses were filtered, and three incomplete responses were
deleted, leaving 109 for the analysis of means and percentages.
Findings: Firstly, a larger percentage (48.44%) of Sarawak indigenous participants were more familiar
with and could correctly identify Sarawakian indigenous popular music more readily than other
Sarawakian participants (42.82%), as was expected. Secondly, for knowledge of indigenous songs,
surprisingly, the non-Sarawak indigenous participants had slightly better knowledge about the history
of Sarawak indigenous popular music than the Sarawak indigenous participants. Thirdly, the Sarawak
indigenous participants and other Sarawakians were similar in their belief that it is the beat/rhythm
that carries the Sarawakian identity (55.05%). The indigenous language played a role in eliciting the
feeling of being Sarawakian, but only to 24.77% of the participants. Very few participants (13.76%)
thought that the lyrics about the everyday life of Sarawakians made them feel the most Sarawakian.
The content did not seem to be important in a song, as listeners may not pay full attention to the
content of the song. Fourthly, listening to indigenous music was more of a habit for Sarawak
indigenous participants, with 42.23% of Sarawak indigenous participants listening to it compared to
36.61% for other Sarawakian participants.
Contribution/Impact on Society: The study contributes new knowledge by confirming that Sarawak
indigenous music embodies the Sarawakian identity for people who live in Sarawak, regardless of
whether they are indigenous or not.
Recommendations: The results have social implications, as they identify a key to an inclusive
community centered around Sarawak indigenous popular songs, because the songs can make those
who are not of Sarawak indigenous origin feel connected to the land of Sarawak. In addition, a
questionnaire that is in the form of a fun quiz can be used for cultural tourism.
Research Limitation: First, the sample size was not balanced for indigenous (n=45) and nonindigenous (n=64) participants. Second, the music samples were only from the Iban, Bidayuh, Kenyah,
and Melanau ethnic groups. Third, the data in this study are not adequate to hypothesize or theorize
why non-lexical rhythm gives more emotional connection than lyrics in this specific context.
Future Research: Having a larger number of indigenous participants from different groups in future
studies would provide a better comparison of knowledge, attitudes, and practices across indigenous
groups of different population sizes. Future studies could employ an experimental design that
systematically varies musical elements (e.g., rhythm-only, melody-only, lyrics-only, and combined
versions) and measure emotional responsesthrough self-reported ratings. It would also be interesting
to study which combinations of musical features (rhythmic structure, language, instrumentation,
performer identity) are most salient in marking a song as both indigenous and Sarawakian. Interviews
could be employed so that participants could explain how they interpret rhythm and lyrics, providing
deeper insight into the mechanisms behind emotional engagement. In addition, researchers could
investigate whether popular songs in the national language can evoke a nationalistic spirit among
citizens, taking into consideration their language backgrounds. Future studies should investigate the
appeal of indigenous music so that singers, song composers, and record labels could use the findings
to widen their listener bases, giving indigenous singers a better career in the music industry.
Twelve Years of Corruption Perception Index: A Tale of Malaysia and Indonesia
(AMH international, 2026-03-30) Nor Aishah Mohd Ali; Rozaiha Ab Majid; Siti Aisyah Basri; Bayu Tri Cahya; Mohd Waliuddin Mohd Razali; Faculty of Economics and Business
Corruption remains a major challenge to governance, public trust, and institutional legitimacy in
Southeast Asia. This study compares trends in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in Malaysia and
Indonesia from 2012 to 2024 using annual data published by Transparency International. It examines how
changes in CPI scores and rankings corresponded with major political transitions, institutional reforms, and
anti-corruption developments in both countries. Through a qualitative approach, this study interprets CPI
trends alongside key political and governance events identified through content analysis. The findings show
that Malaysia recorded higher CPI scores than Indonesia throughout the period, although its performance
remained unstable post 2020 amid political turnover and governance uncertainty. In Indonesia, CPI data
observed pre-2020 were not sustained, with subsequent declines coinciding with reforms widely seen as
weakening the autonomy of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). These patterns imply that
improvements in corruption perception are difficult to sustain without institutional continuity, credible
enforcement, and political commitment to reform. By comparing two neighboring democracies with different
reform paths, this study contributes to the broader debate on corruption, governance, and political
accountability and offers policy-relevant insights to strengthen anti-corruption institutions in both countries.
Functional Motor Competence and Student Engagement in Wushu Short Weapons Courses: The Mediating Role of Coach Instructional Support
(Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (HRMARS), 2026-03-28) Lee Jun Choi; Kong Jianting; Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development
This study investigates the relationship between functional motor competence, coach
instructional support, and students’ learning interest and engagement in Wushu short
weapons courses in higher education institutions. Using a quantitative cross-sectional
research design, data were collected from 400 university students enrolled in Wushu training
programs. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationships
among the study constructs. The results indicate that functional motor competence
significantly predicts students’ learning interest and engagement in Wushu training. In
addition, coach instructional support was found to have a significant positive effect on
learning engagement and partially mediates the relationship between motor competence and
student engagement. These findings suggest that students with stronger motor competence
and those who experience supportive instructional environments are more likely to
demonstrate higher levels of motivation and active participation in martial arts learning. The
study highlights the importance of integrating motor skill development with supportive
coaching strategies to enhance student engagement and motivation in martial arts education
within higher learning institutions.
eSaku: An Interactive Mobile App for University Students to Manage Expenses
(2026-01-21) Jonathan Sidi; Lau Sue Nee; Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology
Saku is an interactive mobile application designed to help university students manage their finances more effectively. The development process follows the Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology, which emphasizes iterative design and user feedback to create a functional and user-friendly product. Data for the app's design and features were gathered through surveys conducted among university students to ensure that it meets their specific financial management needs. The aim of eSaku is to provide students with a comprehensive tool that enables them to track their expenses, plan budgets, set financial goals, and monitor their spending habits. The app includes key features such as income and expense tracking, semester-based budgeting, goal setting for savings, and payment reminders for academic-related expenses. Users can categorize financial records and analyze their spending through visual charts, while its intuitive interface allows easy navigation across various financial tasks. By focusing on the essential financial management needs of university students, eSaku aims to help students understand their financial habits, make informed decisions, and achieve their financial goals through a simple and efficient mobile platform.
The energy-growth nexus in Malaysia: Does energy security matter?
(Elsevier Inc., 2026) Dzul Hadzwan Husaini; Hooi Hooi Lean; Faculty of Economics and Business; Hooi Hooi Lean; Jin Hooi Chan
Insecure energy supplies, along with variations in other factor costs, have an impact on total production costs and eventually lead to a cost disadvantage among producers. This, in turn, greatly affects the trajectory of national economic growth. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of energy security in driving economic growth in Malaysia. The study employs an annual time series data of Malaysia from 1980 to 2018. The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag approach has been employed to compute the long-run estimation. The results show that energy security has a positive relationship with economic growth. It should be noted that the magnitude and sign of the signal varies across all dimensions. This study recommends establishing an advanced renewable energy system with a larger generation scale and more widespread transmission and distribution. This will improve energy security by reducing dependence on both imported energy and unsustainable energy sources.