Politically Engaged Muslims in Malaysia in the Era of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–2009)

Long regarded as an embodiment of tolerant Islam and peacefully co-existing with modernisation within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, Malaysia unexpectedly aroused much attention as a potential breeding ground for Muslim radicals in the aftermath of catalytic events which pitted the West against the Muslim world. Malaysian Muslims are said to be susceptible to Middle Eastern-originated radicalism, as exemplified in interlocking transnational contacts and agendas sowed between increasingly globalised Muslim networks adept in exploiting latest trappings of modernity. This article urges readers to engage in deeper reflection on the local dynamics of Malaysia's Islamisation process, in order to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of challenges posed by politically engaged Muslims in Malaysia. It is argued that, belying the regime's profession of a progressive Islam known as Islam Hadhari, Malaysia under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Premiership witnessed an abrupt escalation of inter-religious tension which not only threatened to disrupt communal harmony and nation-building, but also posed a security risk. The origins of such instability could arguably be located to the peculiar manner in which politically-laden Islam is applied by the regime, in particular by its home-nurtured Islamic bureaucracy.     

Win–Win? Early experience from local area agreements

Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are a mechanism for delivering improved outcomes for local people, through recasting governance relationships between central government and localities and between local agencies. This paper assesses the effectiveness of LAAs in reforming these critical relationships, drawing on research carried out in 2004–06 into the round one and two negotiations. These early negotiations highlighted the complexity of ‘central–local relations’; a coherent approach across Whitehall was hampered by differences in departmental culture and in the nature of relationships with local delivery agencies, while the new role for Government Offices was ambiguous. Nevertheless the early LAAs represented a major step forward in terms of local–central relations. Within localities, the process of developing LAAs proved challenging and highlighted governance weaknesses; however in the main participants report that partnerships have been greatly strengthened as a result. These early experiences provided rich learning, and policy has developed significantly since the pilots. At the time this research ended there was not yet any conclusive evidence on the balance of costs and benefits. However, over time LAAs have the potential to bring about a transformation in governance relationships and, in turn, the delivery of services to address cross-cutting outcomes.     

Can computer forensic tools be trusted in digital investigations?

This paper investigates whether computer forensic tools (CFTs) can extract complete and credible digital evidence from digital crime scenes in the presence of file system anti-forensic (AF) attacks. The study uses a well-established six stage forensic tool testing methodology based on black-box testing principles to carry out experiments that evaluate four leading CFTs for their potential to combat eleven different file system AF attacks. Results suggest that only a few AF attacks are identified by all the evaluated CFTs, while as most of the attacks considered by the study go unnoticed. These AF attacks exploit basic file system features, can be executed using simple tools, and even attack CFTs to accomplish their task. These results imply that evidences collected by CFTs in digital investigations are not complete and credible in the presence of AF attacks. The study suggests that practitioners and academicians should not absolutely rely on CFTs for evidence extraction from a digital crime scene, highlights the implications of doing so, and makes many recommendations in this regard. The study also points towards immediate and aggressive research efforts that are required in the area of computer forensics to address the pitfalls of CFTs.     

IoT‐enabled services in online food retailing

The present study aims at understanding the application of Internet of Things (IoT) in online food retailing, influencing purchase frequency of ready‐to‐eat food products. The research is empirical in nature in which an internet based consumer survey was conducted to collect 329 valid responses on PAN India basis. This research comprehensively investigated, shortlisted, and finally selected the factors of consumer involvement and decision making using IoT in online food retailing. The binary logistic regression model revealed that the factors relative advantage, best deals, availability and information, consumer satisfaction, and channel efficiency significantly influences the consumer purchase frequency for ready‐to‐eat food products at various stages in online food retailing. The understanding, extrapolation, and proper management of these factors will help online food retail players in implementing IoT enable services effectively in their retail formats to gain consumer confidence.