In the Malaysian education system, attention is highly paid on reading words. Visual images are often treated as "decoration", or are dismissed altogether (Kress & Leeuwen, 1996). Many local researchers (Saedah 1990, Bahiyah et. al. 2008 have only analysed written texts to see how social practices deemed negative such as gender biasness are reflected in the words (lexical items) and linguistic structures. Currently, no systematic research has been undertaken in Malaysia to analyse visual images in English language school textbooks to study how visual images can reflect gender biasness. This research project addresses gender biasness found in visual images in school textbooks, i.e., the treatment of one gender over the other especially of women and girls. The project adopts three widely used approaches for analyzing visual images; content, socio semiotic and ethno-methodology analyses. This paper will however highlight its preliminary analysis focusing on image analysis based on participation, gender and representational meanings. Its aim is to identify the types of images and the representation of gender biasness and stereotyping found in the textbook. The preliminary findings should expose the sexism and gender biasness in the visual images of a sampled textbook; i.e. an English school textbook that is abound with visual images that sometimes, more so than written texts, can articulate more forcefully social and cultural meanings.

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Malaysia is currently one of the largest producers and exporters of palm oil in the world. Despite the strength and vast potential of our palm oil industry, engaging the youth in this industry is a challenging task as most perceive the industry and agriculture unattractive as a career, without realising the importance of the sector in their everyday lives. Furthermore, the development of sectors such as ecommerce, digital technology and real estate is a compounding factor behind the decline of interest among the younger FELDA generation. The present study is designed to examine the attitudes and motivation of young FELDA generation towards the palm oil industry. A simple random sampling technique was adopted to select 50 working respondents from the age of 22-40 at 4 FELDA settlements. Questionnaire was distributed for primary data collection, where a four-point Likert scale was used to examine differences in attitudes and motivation towards 64 statements regarding aspects ranging from working conditions to promotion opportunities. The findings point to an overall positive attitude towards all aspects of the industry. The highest mean is revealed in the area of social status, with the majority feeling respected and proud to be a part of the palm oil community. In general, the majority of the respondents display positive attitude and motivation towards the palm oil industry. Based on the findings we would recommend trainings to empower FELDA youths to take advantage of the expanding industry and to claim their space in the palm oil sector.

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