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This paper argues that the film Gema Dari Menara produced in 1968 reflects Brunei’s attempt towards constructing a Brunei Malayness as a national identity. During the early twentieth century, the colonial powers particularly in the Peninsula, tried to help establish a sense of unity among the Malays. Although it was not clear whether this was entirely successful, it is possible that the presence of colonial powers had some influence towards fuelling Malays to be more proactive in their own identity construction. After the British began to leave Brunei, the nation-state can be perceived to have intensified its efforts in creating a national identity as a way to unify its people, including the preservation and reconstruction of its Malayness. A close analysis of the characters in the film will reveal portrayals of ideals of Malayness and how Islamic values penetrate Malayness in the Bruneian context. The main character Azman is arguably the epitome of ideal Malayness, as his behaviour, his way of thinking as well as the way he dresses complement what Brunei aspires to for its people, whereas his younger siblings’ partying and wild behaviour are a cautionary tale. These findings will hopefully provide insights for further studies on the impact of the British administration on the Brunei Malay culture or identity formation in Brunei as a postcolonial state.

Local cultures under the nation-states have evolved and produced new concepts. Migrations and cultural interactions have also influenced the language. Thus, different conceptualisations of migration have developed in the “Malay World.” Language is not only a product of ecological and geographical environment, but it is also a result of human mobilisations and cultural intercourses. The differences caused by various Malay World conceptualisations are also related to different interactions, histories and social realities. In the “Malay World,” Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia are threatened by English hegemony. At this juncture, demonstrating these interrelationships helps one to understand local cultural intercourses between culture and social reality.

This paper implements the critical discourse analysis, notably, the dialectical–relational approach to different conceptualisations in the “Malay World.” Thus, it aims to discuss the reasons behind the usage of migration-related terms in Indonesia and Malaysia. How migration terms mainly shape social forms, process and circulate in the social world is argued in this paper. The authors target to investigate the local meaning sets for migration concepts and explore self-reflectivity in and critique of the usage of established images between Bahasa Indonesia and Malay concepts, using a Critical Discourse Analysis framework. The discussion section attempts to analyse and explain dialectical relations between social norms and social elements.

Trade diasporas, culture and identities of immigrants, cultural richness and multi-ethnicity have continuously diversified the conceptualisations. These concepts also indicate cultural dominations and exclusions. Thus, the migration dynamics in Southeast Asia might be understood by scrutinising these boundaries and patterns. This study showed that migration conceptualisations in the Malay world are substantially locally determined. Local wisdom and cultural codifications prevail in the migration context. A deeper understanding of the local context is essential in evaluating the international refugee protection mechanisms in these countries as neither Indonesia nor Malaysia are parties to the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Definitions of various types of migration are referred to in multiple terminologies throughout the Nusantara. While in Bahasa Melayu, migrant refers to pendatang, nomadic refers to nomad; refugee refers to pelarian, to migrate refers to berhijrah; in Bahasa Indonesia, migrant refers to migran, nomadic or nomad refers pengembara, refugee refers to pengungsi and migrate, or migration refers migrasi. At the same time, in the Nusantara, many communities define themselves according to their geographical features, such as Orang Sungai, Orang Laut or Orang Kuala. In this context, defining leads to a significant impact on shaping the discourses and approaches.

Definitions determine the borders, flexibilities, plausibility and flows of terms. Critical Discourse Analysis especially placed emphasis on languages and their impacts on social reality. According to Critical Discourse Analysis, terms and their genealogies, transformations and limits are vital in order to comprehend social facts and truth. To understand the change and continuity of migration flow in Southeast Asia, scrutinising the migration-related terms is crucial. This study aims to examine those main terms, their connection with other words, and their transformation in the Malay world sociologically. This as such will shed more light on the social changes regarding genealogical relationships and their usage in daily life within the Critical Discourse Analysis.

This study aims to fulfil the gap between authentic concepts of migration literature in Nusantara. Although Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia have a strong connection and interaction, migration definitions in these languages are separated from each other. Cultural and social elements greatly influence migration-connected terms in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia. Without this understanding and the absence of local context, any assessment of their refugee protection systems may be incomplete. This study deals with different cultural nuances and refinements and their migration conceptualisations and histories are based on the ground of their social realities.

This study aimed to develop the construct validity for the Malay version of the Paffenbarger physical activity questionnaire (PPAQ) by adapting the original questionnaire to suit the local context.

The PPAQ was adopted and translated into the Malay language and modified to reach good content agreement among a panel of experts. A total of 65 participants aged 22–55 years old, fluent and literate in the Malay language were selected. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate construct validity. Reliability of this adapted instrument was analyzed according to types of variables.

The panel of experts reached a consensus that the final four items chosen in the adapted Malay version of PPAQ were valid and supported by a good content validity index (CVI). In total, two domains consonant with the operational domain definition were identified by PCA. Based on scores from intensity and duration of exercise, the study further divided the group into who were physically active and those who chose the unstructured physical activity. Relative reliability after a 14-day interval demonstrated moderate strength of agreement with an acceptable range of measurement error.

PPAQ has been used worldwide but was less familiar in the local context. The Malay-four item PPAQ will provide the locally validated version of physical activity questionnaire. In addition, the authors have improved the original PPAQ by dividing the question items into two distinct domains which will effectively identify those who are physically active and those who are involved in unplanned exercise. Nevertheless, further research is recommended in bigger and heterogeneous samples along with a number of reliability tests.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to assess internal structure of the four-item version of PPAQ. This analysis successfully identified two components with eigenvalue more than one in the Malay four-item PPAQ. Based on this, the authors were able to separate pool of population into two groups, which are physically active and unplanned exercise (involved in unstructured exercise). The ability of the validated questionnaire to divide the population into various intensities of physical activity is a novel one, which may be useful in many public health studies where high intensity of physical activity; hence, greater energy expenditure is associated with increased longevity, better health benefit and improved cognitive function.

In addition, the second domain “unplanned exercise” was successfully grouped together. Implication of the unplanned exercise component is to identify pool of population with active lifestyle awareness and choose the unstructured exercise instead of vigorous and formal exercising. Even though the amount of intensity and duration of incidental exercise does not reach recommended public health recommendation, it has been proven that preferred healthier lifestyle is positively associated with better cognition in later life.

The adapted Malay version of PPAQ has sound psychometric properties and could assist in differentiating groups of population based on their physical activity.

This paper aims to investigate how Bruneian secondary school students employ code-switching in peer interactions. The functions of students' code-switching were analysed using Reyes' (2004) and Appel and Muysken's (2005) typologies.

The data collected are based on audio-recorded group discussions designed to elicit students’ code-switched utterances.

The results indicate that the students used 11 functions of code-switching: referential, discourse marker, clarification, expressive, quotation imitation, turn accommodation, insistence, emphasis, question shift, situation shift and poetic.

As the study only focusses on a specific secondary school, results from this school will not represent secondary school students in Brunei.

This paper hopes to provide insight into how students' code-switching can be seen in a positive light. Moreover, understanding how students use code-switching in the classroom is essential for successful knowledge transfer and for cultivating competent bilinguals, which is what the country's education system aims for.

This article explores the concept of ‘linguistic landscape’ (Landry & Bourhis, 1997) and applies it to the Tutong Town Centre, which was depicted briefly in the film Gema Dari Menara (1968). Due to the cursory and grainy depiction on screen, a study of the present linguistic landscape of the town featured in the film is far more practical than a detailed comparison of the linguistic landscape of Tutong town then and now. In essence the film has provided a geographical scope for linguistic/ semiotic analysis presented in this paper. The study of signs ‘in a given geographical location’ (Ben Rafael et al, 2006: 14), using the distributive count approach, lends itself to a greater understanding of the ethnolinguistic vitality and sociolinguistic interactions of the language groups living in what can be described as a multilingual and multiracial small town. Such evidence of language use in the public sphere results from an interplay of various factors within the town’s societal context, that could be related to Scollon & Scollons’ (2003:2) idea of ‘the social meaning of material placement of sign and discourses'. This study challenges the notion of ethnic languages’ 'disappearance' from public sphere, and instead raises questions about their ‘initiation’ into public use. The study also concludes that the supposed multilinguality of the Tutong Town population is not represented in the linguistic landscape.

The purpose of this paper was to establish the psychometric properties of the Asian Family Characteristics Scale (AFCS) in the Thai population.

The 30-item AFCS originally developed in the Malay language was translated into Thai. Thai (n = 384) and Malay (n = 500) participants in Study 1 responded to the AFCS in their respective languages. The data were subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis with a measurement invariance test. In Study 2, Thai participants (n = 495) filled out the AFCS and Chulalongkorn Family Index, International Personality Item Pool-NEO, Self-Compassion Scale, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Satisfaction with Life Scale.

Study 1 showed that the measurement model of the Thai AFCS fit the data from the Thai population. The measurement invariance test confirmed that the structure and meaning of the AFCS are equivalent across the Thai and Malay samples. Study 2 demonstrated the AFCS's convergent validity by showing that the AFCS score had a positive correlation with the Chulalongkorn Family Inventory, self-compassion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, satisfaction with life and a negative correlation with neuroticism, depression, anxiety and stress. The AFCS's discriminant validity was supported by nonsignificant correlations with extraversion and openness to experience.

This paper is an attempt to develop a family characteristic measure specifically for the Asian population. The results provide empirical evidence for measurement invariance and validity of the scale in another Asian language, enhancing its cross-cultural generalizability.

This paper examines the national solidarity in Brunei Darussalam during the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequential impact on younger generations. Utilising Emile Durkheim's solidarity theories, I examine how young people's social media use builds on state discourse in the pandemic. I contend that a shift towards an organic society is visible through a social cohesion that is based on differentiated roles. I argue that the citizenry plays a vital role in the forward momentum toward Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0, which illustrates that solidarity cannot be forged as a top-down directive. By prompting economic and creative divisions of labour, the local use of social media in a public health crisis has shown the government a new way to foster solidarity. Significant implications for youth as future leaders of the nation are discussed.

Gema Dari Menara (1968) was intended as a mode of da’wah (the propagation of Islamic teachings) in response to the situation faced by the local community in Brunei at that time. Following its status as a medium of disseminating the Islamic values, the film embodies Islamic teachings that guide Bruneian Muslims to fully embrace Islam. This current study aims to unravel the meaning of the Islamic value of Amar Ma’ruf Nahi Mungkar (enjoining good and forbidding wrong) that is strongly depicted in the film and perceived as the enlightening Islamic value from the film. Therefore, this study examines the extent of the manifestation of Amar Ma’ruf Nahi Mungkar in the film. It is found that the portrayal of da’wahism using Amar Ma’ruf Nahi Mungkar is imbued in education, social interaction, clothing, and one’s upbringing which is the most influential factor. By applying the Islamic requisites, the scenario and sentiments in the film also encourage the audience to ponder upon the cause and effect of the characters’ actions and deeds.

The British East India Company (EIC) made connections between the Malay Archipelago and Bengal and established a penal settlement at Bencoolen, followed by the Straits Settlements for the Indian convicts. The convicts from different parts of South Asia today were generally described as “Indian”, such generalisation often hides the identity of specific convicts from South Asia. Among the Indian convicts, the Bengalis were transported to Bencoolen and the Straits Settlements. However, the generic term has made it difficult to reconstruct the history of Bengali convicts’ experiences and pathos. Therefore, this paper attempts to “rediscover” the afterlife of transportation of Bengali felons in the Malay Peninsula.

By examining a range of archival records and current scholarships, this article shows the inclusivity, diversity and accessibility of convict labourers with mainstream society. This study will open up a new avenue of convict histories and subaltern studies on Asia.

The Bengali convicts in the Straits Settlements, one of the oldest migrant sections, have largely been ignored in historical literature. Though the Bengalis, among other South Asian convicts, constituted a significant portion, they were categorised under the generic term “Indian” (Rai, 2014). Their manual labour was invaluable for the colonial economy and the development of the Straits Settlements.

Researcher faced difficulties to get the descendant of Bengali convicts.

This article is a research paper based on mostly archival records; therefore, it is an original contribution to the existing knowledge on the convict history.

This study is to establish the validity and reliability of Malay version of Post-traumatic Check List-5 (MPCL-5) among the fire and rescue officers in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

A cross-sectional study was conducted, which involved 100 firefighters from the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Construct validity, internal consistency, and concurrent validity were performed and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Concurrent validity was tested with validated Malay version of Trauma Screen Questionnaire (TSQ-M).

Overall internal consistency reliability was a 0.960 and individual construct Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.827 to 0.926. The model, which consists of four constructs with 20 items, demonstrated the presence of acceptable loading factors. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) are 0.81, 0.65, 0.31 and 0.95 respectively at an optimum cut-off score of 35.

The Post Traumatic Check List 5 (PCL-5) is the latest tool based on DSM-5 developed recently and still having limited studies on the psychometric properties of the tool in local population and the findings produced are comparable with the results from validation from previous studies. The study limitations are population samples used are considering the minimum numbers of sample for each item for factor analysis and the concurrent validation was tested with the TSQ-M instead of the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5).

The study suggested that MPCL-5 is acceptable to be used to measure post-traumatic stress disorder in local populations.

There are limited known validation studies for PCL-5 in local populations and this is the first study done among fire and rescue officers in Malaysia. The results are comparable with findings from previous studies and therefore MPCL-5 are valid and reliable for PTSD screening.