Sustainable tourism emphasises responsible utilisation of economic, socio-cultural and environmental resources for tourism development. Extant literature in sustainable tourism leans towards subjective and qualitative description in explaining the dynamic nature of the trans-disciplinary indicators of sustainability. However, few mechanisms have been proposed or developed to quantify the indicators measuring sustainable tourism in an indigenous ethnic context. The current study measures 61 sustainable indigenous tourism indicators of the Mah Meri ethnic group that comprise three constructs, namely, community resources, community development and sustainable tourism. Simple random sampling was employed for data elicitation and a weighted average score using R software as the basis of analysis was used to produce a sustainable indigenous tourism barometer (SITB). The study identifies 11 sustainability dimensions from the initial three main constructs that are treated as the relationship aspects in this study. Based on the Sustainable Indigenous Tourism Barometer (SITB), community participation, empowerment, economic and socio-cultural sustainability are found to be the main influencing dimensions of sustainability of the Mah Meri ethnic group. However, natural resources, financial resources and environmental sustainability indicated weaker relationships in explaining sustainability of the Mah Meri ethnic group. Based on the SITB, the results demonstrate that the Mah Meri ethnic group are a “potential sustainable” tourism stakeholder.

ICT development has become the development pulse of the global nation. Malaysia, as a developing nation, has invested heavily in ICT development across the country to ensure no one is left behind. The policymakers have also claimed a positive result in closing the digital gap among their people. In this study, Van Dijk’s theory of digital divide is explored on the four dimensions of digital divide (motivation, physical, skill, and usage) among the native people in Sabah. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted among 21 key informants from seven different ethnic groups to identify the issues of ICT development in their community. The findings showed that the existence of a digital gap between the rural and the urban area community caused the community to be saddled with the connection to telecommunication service, including landline and internet. Despite lacking, the native community were receptive and willing to adopt the ICT positively for their daily activities. While the theory of digital divide observes that the physical access divide is narrowing in most developed nations, this study shows that is not the case for developing countries, such as Malaysia. The inequality in digital access is prevalent among the natives in Sabah, which could result in the opportunity to participate in important democratic decision-making.

Disaster Communication in Managing Vulnerabilities

We live in a world where hatred and conflicts divide individuals, society, and countries. Although all faith systems and school curriculums emphasize some degree of peaceful co-existence, love, and compassion, the real-world situation is indeed abysmal. How can a naturalistic and altruistic logic of bioethics enhance divine and human-centric values in enabling social cohesion? As such, this paper proposes the integration of bioethics and value-based education principles into the education curriculum to help mitigate social conflicts and promote harmony in society. By employing conceptual and theoretical reviews, the paper attempts to shed light on how these principles can help to mitigate hatred and conflicts in society. Further, through matrix analysis, the study shows the relationships between the four main bioethics principles, respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice, and the values expounded in value-based education. The study finds that by integrating bioethics principles into value-based education, learners are able to internalize the values of social cohesion and tolerance, and reflect these values in their learning experiences. Bioethics principles amplify the expressions of values promoted in value-based education, and this, in turn, motivates the learners to change from social conflict behaviors to social cohesion aptitude while dealing with others in society. Social cohesion enables individuals and groups to develop social bonds and societal peace ownership.