For hundreds of years, vaccines have been a critical tool in the prevention of viral diseases. Vaccination programmes have gained prominence as one of the primary strategies for combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, COVID-19 vaccination programmes have frequently been viewed negatively by many. This is evident by the fact that vaccine hesitancy continues to grow at an unprecedented rate which is much facilitated by the rapid growth of communication and information technology. Despite the fact that vaccines and vaccinations are considered medical products, the difficulties they present are socio-legal in nature. The study examines four major factors that contribute to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Malaysia namely compulsory vaccination and adverse event following vaccination (AEFI), information disclosure, misleading religious beliefs and sentiments, and misinformation and disinformation. It should be noted that, the identification and discussion of the factors mentioned above are vital as the failure of any future vaccination campaigns resulting from vaccine hesitancy would pose a huge threat to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Goals (UNSDG), especially in respect of good health and sustainable economic growth. Therefore, for the purpose of this research, the paper adopts qualitative research approach to achieve its objectives. The paper recommends that the Malaysian vaccination legal framework be strengthened.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Metaverse is the post-reality world, where a persistent and perpetual environment converges digital virtuality with physical reality. The seamless user communication in dynamic and real-time interactions with digital artefacts has posed a new regulatory dilemma. With the recent introduction of Facebook's metaverse, the question of the readiness and adequacy of the existing Malaysian laws to address legal challenges may be imposed by Facebook's metaverse starting come into light. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to highlight possible challenges that the metaverse may bring. This research recommends several suggestions to remedy the hazards that might arise from the metaverse in future. Therefore, to achieve the research aim, this research assumes a doctrinal research approach in articulating its findings, primarily through textual analysis of several related legislations and available secondary sources such as academic manuscripts, textbooks, online resources, and other relevant sources.

Kesan penularan COVID-19 memperlihatkan peningkatan penyebaran berita palsu dan maklumat salah yang berleluasa. Ramai pakar bersependapat bahawa fenomena ini disebabkan oleh limpahan maklumat ataupun dipanggil sebagai infodemik. Fenomena infodemik ini telah serba sedikit memberi kesan negatif terhadap usaha pihak berwajib di seluruh dunia untuk menangani ancaman pandemik. Dalam pada itu, walaupun wujudnya ekosistem penyemakan fakta di Malaysia, namun perkara ini dilihat gagal untuk menangani masalah infodemik dengan berkesan. Penguatkuasaan undang-undang sedia ada juga dilihat sebagai instrumen yang tidak demokratik dan drakonian oleh pengkritik. Hal yang lebih membimbangkan, instrumen perundangan tradisional dilihat semakin lapuk ditelan zaman dan semakin jauh ditinggalkan dengan kelajuan perkembangan teknologi. Oleh yang demikian, satu pendekatan baharu yang lebih segar diperlukan bagi mengawal infodemik. Sehubungan dengan itu, objektif utama makalah ini adalah untuk menilai semula keberkesanan ekosistem penyemakan fakta dan undang-undang berkaitan dengan pengawalan infodemik sedia ada. Makalah ini juga mengusulkan kaedah baharu termasuklah menggunakan teknologi bagi tujuan mengawal selia infodemik pada masa hadapan. Makalah ini turut melihat pendekatan beberapa negara luar dalam usaha menangani cabaran infodemik. Oleh itu, bagi memenuhi objektif yang dinyatakan diatas, makalah ini akan menggunakan kaedah kajian kualitatif untuk memformulasi dapatannya, terutamanya melalui kaedah analisis tekstual terhadap perundangan yang berkaitan dan juga terhadap sumber sekunder, seperti manuskrip akademik, buku teks, sumber dalam talian dan juga sumber lain yang bersesuaian.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.