This paper discusses several issues and challenges that confront the future of Malaysia’s historic cities in the new millennium, particularly in the light of rapid growth of new townships, depopulation of historic inner city areas, intensive development pressures as well as changing lifestyles and consumption patterns among city inhabitants and tourists. All these challenges are likely to pose a significant impact on the sustainability of the historic cities in the new millennium. Some historic cities in the country have taken several initiatives to formulate appropriate policy measures and strategies incorporating existing legislations and design guidelines to control and manage future urban issues and problems. The management of visitors and the involvement of the local community in heritage cities are two important aspects also discussed in this paper.  Authors: Badaruddin Mohamed, A. Ghafar Ahmad & Nurwati Badarulzaman.

The article discusses the child care services in Malaysia. The health programs in Malaysia have resulted in the steady decline of prenatal, infant and toddler mortality. It cites the types of institutions that provide early childhood development programs in Malaysia. It mentions the efforts of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and the Ministry of Education to develop policies to address inadequacies in early childhood programs.

Author: Musalmah Johan. Publication: MIERScan, 27 November 2006.

Abstract: Since the introduction of the New Economic Policy 1971-1990 (NEP), Malaysia has achieved outstanding progress in poverty eradication. During this period the poverty incidence has dropped from 52.4 percent in 1970 to 15 percent in 1990. This index remains in a declining trend with the latest figures showing a drop from 8.5 percent in 1999 to 5.7 percent in 2004.

In societies with ethnically diverse populations, the persistence of ethnicity, often associated with economic, political and social inequalities between ethnic groups, continues to cause concern among scholars and practitioners. In some of these societies like the U.S., India, and Malaysia - affirmative action programs have been instituted as a means to redress these inequalities and with the aim of promoting national integration. While historical and political conditions surrounding these programs differ between societies, it is fruitful to draw some general ideas from individual case studies which would provide material for later comparative studies. This paper attempts to do that by analyzing the affirmative action programs in Malaysia. It traces the emergence of the idea and practice of affirmative action, how these have changed over time, successes and failures of programs and effects they have on issues of equality and integration.

In this study, I provide an understanding of the stereotyped selfish mentality and communicative behaviors of Chinese Malaysians from the perspective of the natives. The stereotype is held by the Chinese and non-Chinese in Malaysia and is based on contemporary national public discourse and the Chinese Malaysians' mundane conversations. In describing the popular stereotype of selfishness, I discuss a culture-specific keyword-kiasu--that highlights the "Chineseness" of the Chinese Malaysians, which might explain their mentality and communicative behaviors. I also propose three influences in Malaysia that promote the stereotype of the selfish Chinese Malaysian: (a) the Chinese Malaysians' comparative economic strength, (b) the Malaysian education system's competitiveness, and (c) the Chinese Malaysians' redefinition of their identity to lie between the traditional Chinese from mainland China and the modern Westernized Chinese.