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This article aims to provide a case study of rural tourism in the island of Labuan, Malaysia from the broadcasting and business perspectives. It explores the collective social responsibilities of the local stakeholders and the related local authorities.

The study uses a mixed mode of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and a framework of the five dimensions of sustainable rural tourism and corporate social responsibility to explain how radio broadcasting and the business communities' initiatives are socially responsible towards tourism.

The research reveals that locals and stakeholders receive sufficient information from the media, especially Labuanfm, but stakeholders could be more responsible and efficient in channeling the required information for the continued sustenance of rural homestay tourism as a viable economic activity.

The study recommends that stakeholders offer additional commitment as formal assistance for homestay entrepreneurs is not a healthy option in the face of competitive development of modern hotel accommodation.

For the first time, an evaluation of stakeholders' CSR has been undertaken. This study should raise government awareness of Labuan's rural livelihood and the need for a communication strategy that disseminates an actionable communication plan.

Modernisation is characterized by industrial development. The Serasa Industrial Park (SIP) is an industrial estate in Serasa sub-district, close to the Brunei Darussalam's only deep-water port. Given the link between industrial development and environmental degradation, as well as the general lack of environmental monitoring in Brunei, the paper questions whether environmental management (EM) is adequate to protect the area from further industrialisation. The purpose of this paper is to answer this question using SIP as a proxy because it is a well-established industrial site that should be more amenable to EM. This study involves two surveys of 20 firms and an interview with the environmental agency to gain a better understanding on the national policy and strategy. The paper found that, while the current state of EM is structurally weak, it is adequate for the SIP under current conditions. To protect the environment and increase industrialisation in the area, EM structures must be incorporated into existing regulatory frameworks.

To stimulate the financial sector further, the Malaysian government has established an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) on the island of Labuan. The setting‐up of the IOFC provides new challenges for the enforcement community. Recent financial scandals involving offshore financial centres have highlighted the need to protect the IOFC from crimes and financial abuses and at the same time to ensure confidentiality is adhered to. In the paper, the Malaysian Offshore Banking Act 1990 is examined. The Offshore Banking Act, under certain conditions, allows a public officer to gain access to banking information. Stringent entry requirements are applied to banks and businesses but the bottom line is that bankers are expected to exercise responsible banking and a high standard of prudence.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the choice criteria for Islamic home financing in Malaysian Islamic banks. Most importantly, this study considers establishing a specific rank of choice criteria for Islamic home financing. Moreover, these choice criteria will also be ranked according to the selected demographic elements such as gender, marital status and age range.

This study uses a quantitative study similar to what was employed by previous researchers. The study presents primary data collected by self‐administered questionnaires involving a sample of 150 Malaysian bank customers in Labuan, Malaysia. Of these, 141 questionnaires were returned with a response rate equivalent to 94 per cent. The Islamic home financing choice criteria as perceived by the Malaysian bank customers are analysed using frequencies, independent samples t‐test and ANOVA.

The results suggest that “Shariah principle”, “lower monthly payment”, “transparency practice”, “interest‐free practice” and “100 per cent financing” are the first five decision criteria considered as being very important. The least preferred criteria, among others, are “recommendation”, “longer financing period”, “product range” and “branch location”. Results also suggested that a small number of significant differences are apparent in the importance of choice criteria with respect to gender, marital status and age range.

The study contains three limitations. The first limitation was based on the sample area for the study which is confined to Labuan, Malaysia. Second, this study restricted the use of factor analysis since the data did not allow for aggregation. Third, this study was also unable to perform ANOVA for religion differences as the sample consisted largely of Muslims.

The results are primarily beneficial to academics and practitioners in Malaysia by offering an insight into choice criteria for Islamic home financing. This study provides new results about different kinds of customer types and their preferences with regards to Islamic home financing selection. As such, Islamic bank managers can learn and plan to offer attractive schemes for the Islamic home financing market that meet Malaysian bank customers' needs. For the researcher, this study contributes to existing body of knowledge by providing an investigation of choice criteria in the Islamic home financing. Indeed, this study is considered an “eye‐opener” for Islamic home financing choice criteria which has limited previous studies. Originality/value –This study introduces the choice criteria for Islamic financing among Malaysian bank customers. The study offers an insight into Islamic home financing choice criteria in Malaysia which has limited previously been investigated.

The Build‐Operate‐Transfer (BOT) model of development of privatized infrastructure projects is implemented through the award of a concession to a private sector consortium which will finance, build and operate the facility. In a competitive BOT tender, the selection of the successful consortium does not depend on the lowest tolls offered by the tenderer. Rather, it is dependent on the ability of the promoter to provide the most competitive package of distinctive winning elements in its proposal during the final negotiations. The promoter must fully understand the government's needs and concerns and be able to address them through the right package of the winning elements. In this paper, these elements are developed from sub‐factors of the critical success factors of technical solution advantage, financial package differentiation and differentiation in guarantees.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of countering the dangers posed by money laundering activities and the measures taken to date by the Malaysian authorities in this respect.

The paper achieves this by looking at the current money laundering trends in Malaysia, followed by a detailed account of the initiatives taken by the Malaysian authorities to curb such activities. These proactive initiatives range from the enactment and implementation of the Anti‐Money Laundering (AML) Act 2001, the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Malaysia and the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter‐Terrorism which work with international enforcement agencies, to the requirement of suspicious transaction reporting amongst professional accountants and lawyers and more.

Malaysia continues to make a broad and sustained effort to combat money laundering and terrorist financing flows within its borders.

The practical implication of this paper is to stress the importance of keeping abreast with the increased challenges posed by money laundering, especially via the internet and the vital need for the banking and financial sector to invest heavily in transaction monitoring devices/software and training in AML detection, in order to tackle the menace.

This paper makes for a useful read for practitioners, academics, policymakers and students alike.

Corruption can take many forms. One of the most alarming aspects of corruption has been the impact of money laundering on financial markets. The amount of money laundered in the Asian region is estimated at approximately $200 billion, or one-fifth the global total. Some of the Asia-Pacific countries still lack any consistent anti-money laundering legislation. The Asia-Pacific region is also home to five of the six remaining non-cooperative countries and territories on The Financial Action Task Force's 2004 list. In this paper, I present a clinical examination of the impact of money laundering and Off-shore financial centres on Asian Pacific financial markets. I describe the money laundering cycle, tools and techniques utilized in the Asia-Pacific region as well as anti-money laundering measures and regulation.

New measures to prevent financial crime in the offshore banking centres of Latin America and the Caribbean are helping to bring about more effective controls. The author welcomes the present trend towards closer international cooperation and greater vigilance.

World business, multinational company, and world enterprise are all terms being used with more frequency as a significantly larger number of businesses become international both in philosophy and in scope of operations. For a continually growing number of firms, the entire world is considered a marketplace for their products.

The purpose of this paper is to detail the findings of a study to determine the viability of Islamic banking as a niche for the Labuan International Offshore Financial Center (IOFC). Labuan was declared an IOFC by the Malaysian Government in 1990, with the goal of developing it as a financial “supermarket” offering a wide range of offshore financial products specializing in Islamic finance.

The paper employs the mail survey method to ensure the anonymity of the respondents and the whole population of banks are used, which enables the researchers to ignore the problems of bias in the sampling. Data collected from the survey are analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviation, and frequency counts.

The results of the survey indicate that Labuan offshore bankers do not have a clear notion of Islamic banking principles and practices. The results also show that most of the offshore banks do not have officers and staff who are conversant with Islamic banking. Nevertheless, conventional offshore banks are willing to train their officers in Islamic banking skills and participate in future Islamic deals. The findings also indicate that Islamic banking is a viable niche for the Labuan IOFC. However, the results also show that Labuan does not have competitive advantages over Bahrain and London, currently the leading Islamic finance centers in the world.

There are three major limitations of this paper. These limitations are further explained in the conclusion's part.

There are three major implications of these findings. First, the authorities ought to enhance the knowledge and expertise of the conventional offshore bankers by facilitating training in Islamic banking skills. Acquisition of such knowledge and skills would encourage them to participate in future Islamic banking deals. Second, the industry and the authorities responsible for the IOFC have to be both innovative and creative. In order to convince conventional offshore bankers that Islamic banking is a viable alternative to conventional banking the products and services offered must be seen as value added. A creative tax regime should have a substantial impact in terms of increased profit margin or reduced cost on the part of the offshore banks. Third, improving the physical infrastructure and overcoming the geographical location disadvantage of Labuan should become the priority of the authorities overseeing the development of Labuan as an IOFC.

The paper provides fresh results on the viability of Islamic banking operations in Labuan IOFC.