Marine plastic debris is a common issue faced by the entire international community, with some countries finding it exceptionally difficult to address and combat the issue, including Indonesia and Malaysia. The two neighboring countries are ranked as the largest contributors of plastic waste in the ocean. Unmanaged plastic waste that will ultimately end up in waters and seas has become a major issue that Indonesia and Malaysia must deal with, and a firm legal approach holds a key role for both countries in solving the issue. This paper is devoted to normatively analyzing the various legal approaches that are/can be used by Indonesia and Malaysia, and to identify the problems related to such approaches. This article applies normative legal research, in which various legal instruments and other secondary legal materials are descriptively analyzed to unravel the legal issues. The main findings reveal that laws and regulations, as well as public policies that serve as a legal basis and approaches to deal with plastic waste governance in Indonesia and Malaysia, still possess some weaknesses, including the absence of distinctive provisions specifically aimed at dealing with plastic waste, the lower legal binding power of some instruments due to their soft-law nature, and the application of rather ineffective approaches. One important initial step towards actually exerting the legal approaches in governing plastic waste in both countries is to strengthen the governing structure and legal culture surrounding the management of plastic waste. Finally, this paper encourages the establishment of a bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia that will allow both countries to formulate a more legally binding framework for tackling the issues of marine waste in general and marine plastic debris in particular.

The ever-increasing domestic consumption of plastic products and materials has forced Indonesia to propel forward the means and approaches in dealing with their disposals. Despite the presence of numerous legal instruments serving as basis justifying actions to deal with plastic waste, Indonesia is still nowhere near success in tackling the issue of mismanagement. This article is devoted to normatively analyze various legal approaches used to govern plastic waste management Indonesia, and to unravel issues related to such approaches. It is carried out using normative-legal research methods in which various legal instruments and other secondary legal materials are analyzed descriptively to point out the emerging legal issues. The main findings reveal that laws and regulations as well as public policies that serve as legal basis and approach to deal with plastic waste governance in Indonesia still possess some weaknesses. Further examinations suggest the needs for improvement in some legal aspects from which some new perspectives could then be shaped to envisage future actions.

Background: Women entrepreneurs, especially those from the rural areas, often struggle to develop balance between business decisions and their well-being. Objective: To examine the relationship between rural women entrepreneurs’ competence and their quality of life. Methods: A questionnaire survey measuring life competencies and the quality of life was carried out on a group of 152 women entrepreneurs from rural Perak using the purposive sampling technique. The main research method was quantitative using survey design. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis using frequency, mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient were used to assess the relationship between entrepreneurial competence and quality of life. Results: Findings showed that rural women entrepreneurs have a higher level of life competencies and achieved a good quality of life. There is a strong relationship between their life competencies and quality of life and similarly, between rural women entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial skills and spiritual skills and their quality of life. Implication: The applicability of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Spencer and Spencer’s theory is highly proven by the evidence of a relationship between life competencies and rural women entrepreneur’s quality of life. These findings have implications for enhancing the efficiency of rural women entrepreneurs through the implementation of competency development programs.

Entrepreneurship education holds great value for all students of science, technology, mission work, social work, healthcare, and education. It also serves as a great incubator for the types of creative, innovative ideas of our students and the global needs in the 21st century where combining entrepreneurship syllabus and exposure of the fourth industrial revolution is essential. This study explores the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) as an opportunity to change models of innovation-driven entrepreneurship for the better, and create an environment that makes entrepreneurship more inclusive, while maximizing the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s benefits to the society and minimizing the risks that come with it. The role of Malaysian government in enhancing entrepreneurial education must therefore recognize the fourth industrial evolution and its impacts that must be compatible with Malaysia’s industry policy. Promotion of entrepreneurial experimentation within an appropriate entrepreneurial education ecosystem will provide entrepreneurs with smart government support that invests in entrepreneurial skills in Malaysia. This article assesses (i) fourth industrial revolution impact on entrepreneurial education; (ii) new expectations arising from impacts of fourth industrial evolution in Malaysia: method in teaching and learning; (iii) government’s role in supporting entrepreneurship education and finally (iv) entrepreneurial education reforms in Malaysia.

As a major global producer of palm oil products, Malaysia is familiar with criticisms of its palm oil cultivation, poor agricultural practices and decisions during the planting process. Loss of biodiversity and deforestation resulting from unsustainable palm oil practices are perceived as major setbacks for the environment in Malaysia. However, at the same time as Malaysia stands committed to the palm oil industry and its contribution to job growth and poverty reduction, the relevant stakeholders are creating strategies for sustainable production. Together with relevant environmental laws to prevent and control impacts from climate change, loss of biodiversity and deforestation, environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures to limit environmental impacts are also being applied. Many legal and non-legal measures to ensure sustainable palm oil production practices have been continuously debated, created or implemented over the past decades. These include certification schemes, penalties for environmental offenses, imposing environmental taxes or incentives as corrective and rehabilitative tools, and contributions to an Environmental Fund, as provided in the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) 1974. Furthermore, any new initiatives must ensure that palm oil cultivation practices adhere to and embrace the principles envisaged in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO), in order to achieve SDGs 2030.