马来西亚的教育发展与改革

马来西亚的教育发展与改革李韧竹一、马来西亚教育的发展按历史发展的顺序，可以把马来西亚教育大致分为三个发展时期，即土著教育时期、殖民教育时期和民族教育时期。土著势力到达马来群岛之前，马来亚教育基本处于非正规状态，父子相传是教育的基本形式，“古兰经”、宗...

应用写作园地的一朵奇葩——评《马来西亚华文应用文》

应用文在现代生活中起着日益重要的作用。《马来西亚华文应用文》是一本理论联系实际、体例完备、例文规范、客观实用、指导性强的华文写作教材。

马来西亚:2021年回顾与2022年展望

2021年的马来西亚仍然笼罩在疫情蔓延和国内政治动荡中,持续的政治局势不稳定引发了全国紧急状态和自1969年以来的首次暂停国会议会。随着王室对国民联盟政府总理的不满和执政联盟内部的分裂,马来西亚经历了自2018年以来的第3次政府轮替,长期占主导地位的马来族群政党巫统再度上台执政。在私人消费与投资、服务业、制造业和宽松的货币政策刺激下,2021年,马来西亚宏观经济有所复苏。伊斯迈尔政府在对外政策上重启希望联盟时期的“框架”并继续巩固与主要大国的关系。

马来西亚族群教育政策的逻辑主线——基于《教育大蓝图》的分析

21世纪以来,由于经济、教育、政治等多方面压力堆积在一起,促使马来西亚政府决定全面改革教育系统以缓和社会矛盾,增进族群和谐。《教育大蓝图》作为现行最重要的教育规划政策便担负起了这个重任。近年来,学界有观点认为20世纪90年代后,马来西亚族群教育政策呈现多元化特征。事实上,尽管把族群和谐列为核心目标之一,《教育大蓝图》仍引起了马来西亚华人社团的质疑与反对。运用四模式理论分析,发现从教育管理制度、教育财政制度到教育法律规范和教育公平权利等方面,马来西亚华文教育都处在一个相对不利的,被忽视的位置,而《教育大蓝图》并没有彻底改变这种现状,反而延续了“相对多元化”教育政策的底层逻辑。对于马来西亚华人来说,留足华文教育的生存空间是实现族群和谐的前提。

新媒体融合下海外华侨日报网的新闻报道现状探究——以《马来西亚华侨日报》中文网为例

《马来西亚华侨日报》创办于1936年3月1日,至今已有82年的办报历史,是马来西亚沙巴州历史最悠久的华文报纸之一。本文试通过对《马来西亚华侨日报》中文网站首页进行一个月的追踪和观察,了解和分析《马来西亚华侨日报》中文网站首页新闻报道的特点,为中国对外传播策略研究提供一定的帮助。

马来西亚 了却前世的乡愁

出国前,以为马国乃一小国家,最多到此一游.后来才发现,自己的想法大错而特错.真没想到,这一趟,竟像了结了自己一辈子的乡愁.

《马来西亚的淡水鱼》邮票

为了宣传和保护马来西亚珍贵的水产资源淡水鱼，并引起人们对其生态环境的重视，去年7月31日马来西亚邮政机构特别发行了一套别开生面的《马来西亚的淡水鱼》邮票。10枚邮票各由同种面值的2枚上下连体票组成，其下部票图各为一种马来西亚的淡水鱼，上部票图则相应绘出该种淡水鱼自然生态环境中的一种水生植物，

马来西亚:一个国度的暖

一个人的修养,有时并不体现在冰冷冷的各种礼节上,而是体现在温暖心灵的瞬间里。一个国家、一个城市的形象,也并不体现在高楼大厦、霓虹灯影里,而是体现在浓浓的人情中……

马来西亚华社研究中心创办《马来西亚华人研究学刊》

《马来西亚华人研究学刊》创刊号于今年8月出版，该刊由马来西亚华社研究中心主办，游若金博士担任主编。

气象诗情录——《王一桃诗世界》读后

一古人焚香沐浴,危坐南窗,排尽俗务,神游诗宇,纵览灿烂人生,期可永年矣.虎年孟春,霏霏细雨,展读《王一桃诗世界》,蓦然回复壮丽青春.我乃天下之至愚至卑,今乘王一桃的诗船,远航寰宇,一赏天下之至真、至善、至美,乐何如之!

Hand Foot and Mouth Disease Due to Enterovirus 71 in Malaysia

Hand foot and mouth disease is a febrile sickness complex characterized by cutaneous eruption (exanthem) on the palms and soles with simultaneous occurrence of muco-cutanous vesiculo-ulcerative lesions (enanthem) affecting the mouth. The illness is caused by a number of enteroviruses with coxsackievirus A16 and enterovirus 71 as the main causative agents. Human enterovirus 71 (EV71) belongs to the species Human enterovirus A under the genus Enterovirus within the family Picornaviridae. EV71 has been associated with an array of clinical diseases including hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD), aseptic meningitis, encephalitis and poliomyelitis-like acute flaccid paralysis. A large outbreak of HFMD due to highly neurovirulent EV71 emerged in Malaysia in 1997, and caused 41 deaths amongst young children. In late 2000, a recurrence of an outbreak of HFMD occurred in Malaysia with 8 fatalities in peninsular Malaysia. Outbreak of HFMD due to EV71 recurred in 2003 with an unknown number of cases and mortalities. A similar outbreak of HFMD with 2 recorded deaths in young children occurred in peninsular Malaysia in late 2005 and this was followed by a larger outbreak in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo) with 6 reported fatalities in the early part of 2006. The current on-going outbreak of HFMD started in peninsular Malaysia in epidemiological week 12 of 2010. As with other HFMD outbreaks in Malaysia, both EV71 and CA16 were the main aetiological viruses isolated. In similarity with the HFMD outbreak in 2005, the isolation of CA16 preceded the appearance of EV71. Based on the VP1 gene nucleotide sequences, 4 sub-genogroups of EV71 (C1, C2, B3 and B4) co-circulated and caused the outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease in peninsular Malaysia in 1997. Two sub-genogroups (C1 and B4) were noted to cause the outbreak in 2000 in both peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. EV71 of sub-genogroup B5 with smaller contribution from sub-genogroup C1 caused the outbreak in 2003. In the 2005 outbreak, besides the EV71 strains of sub-genogroup C1, EV71 strains belonging to sub-genogroup B5 were isolated but formed a cluster which was distinct from the EV71 strains from the sub-genogroup B5 isolated in 2003. The four EV71 strains isolated from clinical specimens of patients with hand, foot and mouth disease in the Sarawak outbreak in early 2006 also belonged to sub-genogroup B5. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 gene suggests that the EV71 strains causing the outbreak in Sarawak could have originated from peninsular Malaysia. Epidemiological and molecular data since 1997 show the recurrence of HFMD due to EV71 in Malaysia every 2 to 4 years. In each of the past outbreaks, more than one sub-genogroup of the virus co-circulate.

Survival analysis of cholangiocarcinoma:A 10-year experience in Malaysia

AIM:To investigate the clinical features and survival of patients treated for cholangiocarcinoma in our institution and to analyze the factors affecting their survival.METHODS:This retrospective cohort study assessed patients diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma between January 1997 and December 2007 at the University Malaya Medical Centre in Malaysia.The clinical data and associated outcomes were collected using a structured proforma.RESULTS:Of the 69 patients diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma,38 (55%) were male;mean patient age was 61 years.Twelve patients (17%) had intrahepatic,38 (55%) had perihilar and 19 (28%) had distal tumors.Only 12 patients underwent curative surgery,including seven R0 resections.Only one patient died within 30 d after surgery.The overall median survival was 4 mo,whereas the median survival of R0 resected patients was 16 mo.The overall 1-,2-and 3-year cumulative survival rates were 67%,17% and 17%,respectively.Survival rates were significantly associated with curative resection (P=0.002),intrahepatic tumor (P=0.003),negative margin status (P=0.013),early tumor stage (P=0.016),higher tumor differentiation (P=0.032) and absence of jaundice (P=0.038).Multivariate analysis showed that tumor location was a significant independent predictor of patient survival.CONCLUSION:Curative,margin-negative resection of early stage,well-differentiated intrahepatic tumors is associated with improved patient survival.

Characterization of clarithromycin resistance in Malaysian isolates of Helicobacter pylori

AIM： To characterize the types of mutations present in the 23S rRNA genes of Malaysian isolates of clarithromycin-resistant Helicobacter pylori （H pylorl~. METHODS： Clarithromycin susceptibility of H pylori isolates was determined by E test. Analyses for point mutations in the domain V of 23S rRNA genes in clarithromycin-resistant and -sensitive strains were performed by sequence analysis of amplified polymerase chain reaction products. Restriction fragment length polymorphism was performed using Bsa I and MboI enzymes to detect restriction sites that correspond to the mutations in the clarithromycin- resistant strains. RESULTS： Of 187 isolates from 120 patients, four were resistant to clarithromycin, while 183 were sensitive. The MIC of the resistant strains ranged from 1.5 to 24 pg/mL. Two isolates had an A2142G mutation and another two had A2143G mutations. A T2182C mutation was detected in two out of four clarithromycin-resistant isolates and in 13 of 14 clarithromycin-sensitive isolates. Restriction enzyme analyses with Bsa I and Mbo I were able to detect the mutations. CONCLUSION： Clarithromycin resistance is an uncommon occurrence among Malaysian isolates of Hpylori strains and the mutations A2142G and A2143G detected were associated with low-level resistance.

Germline mutation analysis of MLH1 and MSH2 in Malaysian Lynch syndrome patients

AIM: To investigate the protein expression profi le of mismatch repair (MMR) genes in suspected cases of Lynch syndrome and to characterize the associated germline mutations. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis of tumor samples was performed to determine the protein expression profile of MMR protein. Germline mutation screening was carried out on peripheral blood samples. The entire exon regions of MLH1 and MSH2 geneswere amplifi ed by polymerase chain reaction, screened by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) and analyzed by DNA sequencing to characterize the germline mutations. RESULTS: Three out of 34 tissue samples (8.8%) and four out of 34 tissue samples (11.8%) showed loss of nuclear staining by immunohistochemistry, indicating the absence of MLH1 and MSH2 protein expression in carcinoma cells, respectively. dHPLC analysis followed by DNA sequencing showed these samples to have germline mutations of MSH2 gene. However, no deleterious mutations were identifi ed in any of the 19 exons or coding regions of MLH1 gene, but we were able to identify MLH1 promoter polymorphism, -93G > A (rs1800734), in 21 out of 34 patients (61.8%). We identified one novel mutation, transversion mutation c.2005G > C, which resulted in a missense mutation (Gly669Arg), a transversion mutation in exon 1, c.142G > T, which resulted in a nonsense mutation (Glu48Stop) and splice-site mutation, c.2006-6T > C, which was adjacent to exon 13 of MSH2 gene. CONCLUSION: Germline mutations were identified in four Malaysian Lynch syndrome patients. Immunohistochemical analysis of tumor tissue proved to be a good pre-screening test before proceeding to germline mutation analysis of DNA MMR genes.

Rome Ⅲ survey of irritable bowel syndrome among ethnic Malays

AIM:To survey irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) using Rome Ⅲ criteria among Malays from the north-eastern region of Peninsular Malaysia.METHODS:A previously validated Malay language Rome Ⅲ IBS diagnostic questionnaire was used in the current study.A prospective sample of 232 Malay subjects(80% power) was initially screened.Using a stratified random sampling strategy,a total of 221 Malay subjects(112 subjects in a "full time job" and 109 subjects in "no full time job") were recruited.Subjects were visitors(friends and relatives) within the hospital compound and were representative of the local community.Red flags and psychosocial alarm symptoms were also assessed in the current study using previously translated and validated questionnaires.Subjects with IBS were sub-typed into constipation-predominant,diarrhea-predominant,mixed type and un-subtyped.Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to test for association between socioeconomic factors and presence of red flags and psychosocial alarm features among the Malays with IBS.RESULTS:IBS was present in 10.9%(24/221),red flags in 22.2%(49/221) and psychosocial alarm features in 9.0%(20/221).Red flags were more commonly reported in subjects with IBS(83.3%) than psychosocial alarm features(20.8%,P < 0.001).Subjects with IBS were older(mean age 41.4 years vs 36.9 years,P = 0.08),but no difference in gender was noted(P = 0.4).Using univariable analysis,IBS was significantly associated with a tertiary education,high individual income above RM1000,married status,exsmoker and the presence of red flags(all P < 0.05).In multiple logistic regression analysis,only the presence of red flags was significantly associated with IBS(odds ratio:0.02,95%CI:0.004-0.1,P < 0.001).The commonest IBS sub-type was mixed type(58.3%),followed by constipation-predominant(20.8%),diarrheapredominant(16.7%) and un-subtyped(4.2%).Four of 13 Malay females(30.8%) with IBS also had menstrual pain.Most subjects with IBS had at least one red flag(70.8%),12.5% had two red flags and 16.7% with no red flags.The commonest red flag was a bowel habit change in subjects > 50 years old and this was reported by 16.7% of subjects with IBS.CONCLUSION:Using the Rome Ⅲ criteria,IBS was common among ethnic Malays from the north-eastern region of Peninsular Malaysia.

Depth distribution and ecological preferences of periphytic algae in Kenyir Lake,the largest tropical reservoir of Malaysia

We studied the depth distribution of periphyton,growing on inundated dead trees in Kenyir Lake,Malaysia in June 1995.The algal floral composition and structure manifested changes down the depth gradient in terms of species richness,abundance,diversity and cell density.In regression analysis,all these algal attributes were negatively correlated with the depth gradients at P<0.05.In terms of species richness,the bacillariophytes showed dominance over the cyanophytes and chlorophytes;whereas with respect to standing crop,the cyanophytes showed dominance over the bacillariophytes and chlorophytes.The chlorophyll a was higher at the mid and bottom-depths than the surface-depth in both the downstream and upstream sites,which showed that vertical productivity or biomass accumulation was greater in low light irradiance.The product-moment correlation analysis showed that conductivity,turbidity,dissolved oxygen,reactive phosphate and ammonium-nitrogen were highly correlated with the algal assemblage data.However,photosynthetic active radiation(PAR) showed poor correlation with the community data.These observations have cast some light on the autoecological characteristics,habitat preferences and environmental responses of tropical periphytic communities.

Risk modification of colorectal cancer susceptibility by interleukin-8-251T>A polymorphism in Malaysians

AIM: To investigate the allele and genotype frequencies and associated risk of interleukin (IL)-8-251T>A polymorphism on colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility risk. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples of 255 normal controls and 255 clinically and histopathologically confirmed CRC patients were genotyped for IL-8-251T>A polymorphism employing allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. The relative association of variant allele and genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk was determined by calculating the odds ratios (ORs). Corresponding χ 2 tests on the CRC patients and controls were carried out and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined using Fisher's exact test. The allele frequencies and its risk association were calculated using FAMHAP, haplotype association analysis software. RESULTS: On comparing the frequencies of genotypesof patients and controls, the homozygous variant AA was significantly higher in CRC patients (P = 0.002) compared to controls. Investigation on the association of the polymorphic genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk, showed that the homozygous variant IL-8 -251AA had a significantly increased risk with OR 3.600 (95% CI: 1.550-8.481, P = 0.001). In the case of allele frequencies, variant allele A of IL-8 -251 showed a significantly increased risk of CRC predisposition with OR 1.32 (95% CI: 1.03-1.69,P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Variant allele and genotype of IL-8 (-251 T>A) was significantly associated with CRC susceptibility risk and could be considered as a high-risk variant for CRC predisposition.

Geochemistry of Tertiary sandstones from southwest Sarawak,Malaysia: implications for provenance and tectonic setting

Tertiary sandstones collected from southwest Sarawak, Malaysia, were analyzed to decipher their provenance, weathering, and tectonic setting. The studied sandstones have a sublitharenite composition and are dominantly composed quartz with little mica and feldspar, and a small amount of volcanic fragments. These sand- stones were generally derived from quartz-rich recycled orogenic sources. They have relatively high SiO2 content with low Na20, CaO, MnO, and MgO contents. Values of Chemical Index of Alteration （CIA） of these rock samples vary from 71 to 93, with an average of 81, implying intense chemical alteration during weathering. A felsic igneous source is suggested by a low concentration of TiO2 com- pared to CIA, enrichment of Light Rare Earth Elements, depletion of Heavy Rare Earth Elements, and negative Eu anomalies. A felsic origin is further supported by a Eu/Eu＊ range of 0.65-0.85 and high Th/Sc, La/Sc, La/Co, and Th/ Co ratios. This work presents the first reported geochemical data of Tertiary sandstones of the Sarawak Basin. These data led us to conclude that the sandstones were dislodged from recycled orogenic sources and deposited in a slowly subsiding rifted basin in a passive continental tectonic setting.

Annual Reports of Non-profit Organizations （NPOs）： An Analysis

Non-profit organizations （NPOs） in Malaysia are not subjected to statutory requirement to follow the accounting standards when preparing their annual reports. This study analyzed the annual reports of 100 NPOs registered with the Registry of Society （ROS） under the charity and religious categories. The objectives of this study are： （1） to determine the current state of reporting practices by NPOs; and （2） to describe the contents of a set of annual reports and the financial statement presentation of NPOs. This study found that there were variations in reporting practices among the charity and religious categories of NPOs. On average, the results show that NPOs do not focus on the disclosing information required by the ROS, the governing body of NPOs. This indicates that the regulators need to strongly practice enforcement to strengthen the compliance of the annual reports submission. Overall, the findings of this study provide useful information to regulators as a basis for preparing and presenting NPOs＇ annual report framework in the future.