Social well-being is a multidimensional construct reflecting the quality of life experienced by individuals and families across economic, housing, educational, health, safety and community dimensions. Although Malaysia has formulated the Family Well-Being Index (FWBI) to track these dimensions on the national level, limited research has examined on how the framework can be localized in the semi-rural settings. This paper uses the FWBI domains to examine the social well-being within the Central Terengganu Development Authority (KETENGAH) region, a predominantly semi-rural development region. Data were collected through a household survey supplemented by focus group discussions and interviews. To investigate the relationship between socio-economic characteristics and well-being scores, the mixed-methods methodology was used: descriptive statistics (the profiling of respondents), Relative Importance Index (RII) to compare satisfaction across indicators and correlation analysis to assess the relationship. The findings identified lower satisfaction in several economic and infrastructural areas, particularly income adequacy, environmental services, transportation, and digital connectivity. Spearman’s rho analysis further identified statistically significant but generally weak-to-moderate associations between selected socioeconomic characteristics and well-being indicators. The findings demonstrate that national well-being frameworks should be adjusted to local settings and offer policy-relevant implications to enhance social well-being in semi-rural Malaysia.
The rapid adoption of Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) has transformed workplace planning and office design, requiring organisations to develop work environments that better support evolving employee needs. Although the banking sector has increasingly embraced hybrid and flexible working models, limited research has examined the integration of FWAs features within urban banking offices. This study investigates the implementation of FWAs features in commercial banking offices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to identify workplace characteristics associated with employee satisfaction and inform future workplace planning strategies. A quantitative approach was adopted using a structured questionnaire survey administered to 250 employees working in commercial bank headquarters located in Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate employees' perceived satisfaction and expectations, followed by gap analysis to identify discrepancies between current workplace provision and employee expectations. Pearson correlation analysis was subsequently conducted to examine the relationships between FWAs features and employee satisfaction, followed by multiple linear regression analysis to identify the unique predictive contribution of individual FWAs features. The findings indicate that although FWAs features are moderately available, employees consistently reported higher expectations than their current workplace experiences. Substantial expectation–experience gaps were identified across all six FWAs features, particularly in smart workplace technologies, wellness spaces, collaboration zones, and privacy and focus areas. Furthermore, all FWAs features demonstrated significant positive relationships with employee satisfaction, while multiple regression analysis showed that Smart Tools and Technology Support, Flexible Workstations, Privacy and Focus Areas, and Remote Work Support were significant positive predictors of employee satisfaction. This study contributes to workplace planning and office design literature by providing empirical evidence on the FWAs features associated with and significantly predicting employee satisfaction in the Malaysian banking sector. The findings offer practical guidance for office designers, facilities managers, HR departments and banking organisations in developing more flexible, employee-centred, and hybrid work supportive office environments through closer alignment between physical workplace design and FWA policies.
Smart system and participatory process become buzz words in disaster risk management highlighting the importance of those concepts in reducing the impact of disasters effectively. Surabaya, like other cities, put a lot of effort to implement them in their administrative process especially in flood risk management. Apparently, the integration between smart system and participatory process in flood risk management need further improvements. 10 problems typologies have been formulated based on the discussion within 12 key stakeholders from government, private sectors, media, academia and community groups. Based on MICMAC analysis, the problems are structured resulting the improvement of policy direction became the key driver problem that can influent to all others problem. The policy direction becomes the umbrella to establish a proper smart and participatory system in flood risk management. 6 others are relay variables that can change other problem partially. Those relay variables are more on the technical problem on how the system applied such as data availability and human resource capacity. While excluded variables are perceived as latent social enablers. Those variables are significant once the system has been established. Without solving the excluded variables, the value of smart-participative management can be jeopardized.
The idea of community attachment towards a particular place can be viewed from the perspective of social values. In this case, it plays an important role for heritage conservation and urban resilience. Tunjungan, a city center area in Surabaya, Indonesia, has been categorized as a conservation area containing many significant historical buildings such as Siola, Majapahit Hotel, Locaahands Cafe, and Tanjung Anom Corridor. These buildings have not only been categorized as having historical, architectural, and artistic significance but also contain a high social value which stands for a tie to the people in the area and identity of the city. This study aims at understanding how social value operates within the framework of urban resilience, and more specifically in the context of the impacts of globalization and urban pressure. To better understand stakeholders’ emotional connections to specific buildings, this study employed a qualitative intersubjective approach through spatial walkthroughs, focus group discussions (FGDs), and in-depth interviews. Johnston’s framework was applied to map community emotional attachment and identify social value characteristics along Jalan Tunjungan. The findings indicate that buildings with strong historical narratives and ties to personal and collective experiences generate higher emotional attachment. Collective memory, routine activities, spatial experiences, and adaptive building functions collectively shape social values in this historic corridor, reinforcing community engagement and attachment. The study concludes that integrating social value into conservation and management strategies is essential for preserving the unique character and resilience of historic areas like Tunjungan, ensuring their sustainability for future generations.
Institutional real estate investment decisions in emerging economies remain underexplored, particularly among government-linked entities that must balance commercial returns with broader national development mandates. Although Malaysia government-linked investment companies (GLICs) are among the country’s dominant institutional investors in the commercial real estate market, the challenges influencing their real estate investment decisions remain insufficiently understood. This study examines the challenges that influence real estate investment decisions among Malaysian GLICs. A qualitative study design was adopted, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants directly involved in real estate investment decision-making. Thematic analysis identified challenges across two broad dimensions, namely internal and external. Internal challenges include organisational and structural constraints, behavioural biases such as herding and home bias, and social and sustainable challenges, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pressure and ambitious development. External challenges comprise political and geopolitical risk, macroeconomic challenges, real estate market constraints, and regulatory and legal requirements. These findings reveal a dual mandate tension between achieving risk-adjusted returns and fulfilling socio-political obligations. This study contributes to the limited literature on institutional real estate investment challenges in emerging economies and offers practical implications for fund managers, policymakers, and regulators seeking to enhance institutional real estate investment practices in Malaysia.
