Purpose-This paper explores the HR challenges faced by hotel managers in Langkawi due to the implementation of the Minimum Wage Order (MWO). Design/ methodology/ approach-This study collected qualitative data from twenty managers from nineteen hotels of various sizes and level of service including budget and boutique resorts on Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Semi structured interview is used to ask the question "What are the challenges faced by hotel managers due to the implementation of the MWO?" Findings-The challenges faced by the managers are: low employee productivity levels, many employees with a salary below the minimum wage rate, difficulty paying staff due to low revenue and issues related to the service charge. Research limitations/ implications-This study provides an initial qualitative exploration of an important current legal development impacting hotel managers in Malaysia. It provides some initial findings from Langkawi but the findings may not represent the attitudes of hotel managers in other parts of Malaysia. Practical implications-This study contributes to HR management literature by providing insight to challenges faced by four to five star hotel managers in a developing country. To the managers, the MWO guideline is a serious challenge as some of their employees are not productive enough to be paid at the minimum wage rate. To address increasing labour cost some have turned to the employment of foreign workers while others have increased their casual employee numbers. These insights may serve to guide policy makers and hotel managers in other developing countries that are planning to introduce a MWO. Social implications-For the MWO to be effective, it is crucial for the government to develop effective guidelines for its implementation, and for employees amongst the Langkawi community to increase their level of productivity. Originality/ value-The Malaysian MWO policy was introduced in 2012. The policy affects employees' remuneration and provides a challenge in implementation for the Malaysian hotel industry especially in Langkawi. While many studies on MWO implementation focus on unemployment this study provides the managers' perspective on the challenges faced due to the implementation of this policy and identifies reasons why the unemployment rate for local workers may increase after an MWO.

Today's competitive global environment has led governments around the world to seek new ways to finance projects, build infrastructure and deliver services. Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is increasingly being used as a tool to bring together the strengths of both sectors, public and private to facilitate the delivery of projects and services. However, the new PFI Scheme introduced by the Government of Malaysia through the Ninth Malaysia-Plan in the delivery of public infrastructure is subject to criticisms, in particular when the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was used as a main source of project financing. The study presented in this paper investigates the acceptability of PFI in Malaysia, taking into consideration factors contributing to success, negative factors, and key differences between PFI and the traditional forms of procurement. Empirical research was undertaken based on a questionnaire survey to public and private sectors in Malaysia. In total 60, valid responses were received, constituting a response rate of 45 per cent. The results were analysed by means of various statistical methods. The study disclosed that 97 percent (public) strongly disagree that EPF was the main source of project financing in implementing PFI projects in Malaysia.

The main features incorporated in the Schemes of Arrangement (SOA) in Malaysia under the Companies Act 2016 were designed over more than a century ago. For the first time, the company law framework has embraced corporate rescue laws with the introduction of two tailor-made corporate rescue mechanisms, Corporate Voluntary Arrangement and Judicial Management. This paper argues that the SOA, notwithstanding the presence of the corporate rescue mechanisms, may still be employed to achieve the objective of advancing corporate rescue for financially distressed private companies in Malaysia.

The change of government after the 14th Malaysian general election is followed by some changes in government policies and practices. Hence, business practices including those in the service industry are also affected. Among the issues raised in the Dewan Rakyat is regarding the employment of foreign labour. While the news has broadcasted information regarding efforts to reduce the number of foreign workers in Malaysia under the new government, scholarly article regarding the matter remains scarce. This paper tracks the current policies on foreign workers and their enforcement effort. Findings from secondary data reveal that there are some changes in policies that regulate foreign workers’ employment, and there is stricter enforcement of the regulations. While the local employees can rest assured that there will be fewer competition for jobs, it is also crucial for them to improve their attitude and increase their productivity.

Academics employed in either public or private university in Malaysia may be subject to different contract of service and scheme of employment. Due to this variance, academics receive different employment benefits. Such variation can also create differences and imbalance between universities in the context of workloads assigned to academics in both types of universities. Thus, objective of this article is to analyze employment benefits (pecuniary and non-pecuniary) of academics in Malaysian universities and their satisfaction with the employment benefits that they receive. This article employs a mixed method approach i.e. qualitative and quantitative. For quantitative approach, a survey was conducted among academic staffs in Malaysian public and private universities. Qualitative approach by way of interviews were conducted among management of selected universities. The results show that all academic staff in public and private universities in Malaysia received pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits. For public universities these benefits are mostly standardized. However, pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits for academics in private universities are different from public universities and between themselves. The job specification which involves teaching, supervision, research, consultation and administrative works as found in the KPIs of all academics are not similar. It is recommended that to strike a balance between benefits (pecuniary and non-pecuniary) and workloads received by academics, the workloads of academics should be designed to have a particular focus on specification of work such as research and supervision, teaching and administration tracks. Therefore, this article suggests that the relevant authorities consider a new remuneration scheme and benefits based on tracks and yearly staff performance achievement for academics in Malaysia.