This paper has examined the short-run and long-run relationships between economic growth, energy consumption, foreign direct investment, trade openness, financial development, corruption, urban population and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in three developing countries of ASEAN, i.e., Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines (ASEAN-3), with data from 1970 to 2017. Special emphasis has been given to the level of corruption in these three countries as several recent media releases have reported that many firms have been conducting unlawful activities by importing large amounts of waste from developed countries and these wastes, including plastic waste, have been burnt in open spaces and have caused higher releases of carbon emissions. Long-run elasticity results have proven that the higher level of corruption in these three ASEAN countries has caused more environmental pollution. Meanwhile, other tested variables have shown mixed findings across the three tested countries. Improvement of institutional quality is urgently needed for ASEAN-3 countries by adopting more transparent laws and the imposition of heavier penalties on corrupt officials and even on the entrepreneurs who have engaged in unlawful business activities that have caused higher environmental pollution.

The main purpose of zakat fund is to help the poor and the needy. Financial aids from zakat institutions provide opportunities for these asnaf to uplift themselves to higher socioeconomic levels. However, the non-recipients of zakat fund (NRZF) are excluded from these opportunities. Denied access to zakat fund has significant impact on the wellbeing of the nonrecipients. This paper sought to study whether NRZF are really not qualified to receive the fund, or is it due to ineffectiveness in zakat management in the process selecting the recipients? Determinants that influence NRZF are also of interest in this study. The study will utilize an organizational performance indicator proposed by Zakat Research Institute of Malaysia(IKaZ).

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Studies into the relation between subjective perceptions of individuals and objective economic conditions have usually resulted in ambiguous empirical findings. Whilst most studies perceive subjective welfare as being operationalized by indicators of happiness or life satisfaction, this study narrow the approach to an economic domain of subjective , that is perceptions of poverty. Malaysia government is very committed in supporting and implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Having reduced absolute poverty to less than one per cent, Malaysia is now focusing on uplifting the quality of life of the bottom 40 per cent of households (B40). Nevertheless, the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the COVID-19 outbreaks have affected the financial 'immunity' of households, traders, and employers to survive this critical period. This made many feels poorer. Poverty rates in the country have been found to increase as many Malaysians easily fall into poverty after losing their jobs or having their pay cut due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Recently, economist adding the subjective poverty approach in understanding the poor. Poor people have their own understanding and interpretation of their social certainty, and this is often different to an outsider’s perspective. The paper aims to uncover subjective poverty as perceived lasting socioeconomic insecurity among the low-income household. Keywords: Low income household; Subjective poverty; Socioeconomic insecurity