The Epilogue of #ShahrillsRoadToPhD : Passing My PhD Viva Voce on 20th June 2023 (with Minor Correction) – Sheltered by My Mother’s Prayer.

I passed my PhD viva voce, Alhamdulillah. It took me more than a week to pluck up courage to immortalize the whole experience in this blog. I have to say that the mental exhaustion of being interrogated non-stop for 3 hours straight was a unique experience! Haha!

Like so many other PhD candidates before me, I too will never forget the day of my viva on the fateful 20th June 2023. The Chairman (Prof. Dr. Nizam); The Internal Examiners (Prof. Jusang & Prof. Dr. Akmar) as well as The External Examiner (Prof. Dedy Mulyana) and my Supervisors – Main Supervisor (Dato’ Prof. Dr. Abdul Muati) & Co-Supervisors (Prof. Dr. Moniza Waheed & Prof. Dr. Hamisah Hasan). And the Secretary of the session – Dr. Sharifah Sofea. All of them are top notches in the field! 

On 15th June 2023, the plan was to have mock viva with my supervisors at Pusat Strategi & Perhubungan Korporat UPM at the Canselori building itself as my Main Supervisor, Dato’ Prof. Dr. Abdul Muati is the director. A week prior, I managed to book the slot – thanks to the helpful secretary, Puan Jun. At 2.30 p.m., my other two Co-Supervisors Prof. Madya Dr. Moniza and Prof. Madya Dr. Hamisah came. We waited for Prof Muati who came around 3.00 p.m. as he was from Shah Alam after attending meeting with some State Secretariats (if I am not mistaken) in regards of the upcoming Selangor State Election. Apparently my 88 slides were too many – I was so overwhelmed by the all the information I extracted from my thesis – so in the end, Prof asked me to “trim down” the slides. AND I didn’t get to present or to be in that ‘rapid-fire’ hot spot Question-and-Answer simulation as our discussion was more of layback conversation. Initially, I felt bummed and anxious but later I’ve noticed that during the “conversation”, we did discuss on the possible questions to be asked, etc. So, I guess Supervisors knew better – that differentiate a PhD candidate and supervisors!

The casual “mock viva.”! I was scared because I didn’t get to emulate the simulation as per real viva (being grilled on the spot!). But yeah, the possible questions to be asked were actually casually discussed while we were having the conversation. It was layback but in a way, uniquely fruitful. I guess SVs know best!

No recording or footage is allowed during viva voce. So I took this prior to the session. Nervous!

Circa a month ago, UPM already sent me the zoom link through my email – that my viva vice was going to be conducted on 20th June 2023 at 2.30 p.m. So, I took work leave for two days to prep myself (on the 19th and 20th June). Truthfully, I was feeling a bit lethargic due to the hot weather and tonsilitis. So my thesiscation at Mardhiyyah Hotel in Shah Alam on the weekend, 17th and 18th June (Saturday & Sunday) was all about sleeping, sleeping and sleeping. I didn’t know why I felt so drowsy and sleepy the whole time! Nevertheless once I am back to Batang Kali, I forced myself for the big day:-

• I did several “talk-to-the-camera” videos just to train myself on how to speak spontaneously on my thesis;
• I perused and revised some of the communication textbooks suggested by lecturers such as Katherine Miller’s “Communication Theories: Perspectives, Processes, and Contexts” and Creswell-Poth’s “Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches”

I was definitely feeling nervous especially on the day prior. I was also intimidated when I read experiences and “tips” shared in the Facebook’s Doctorate Support Group. That feeling of thinking that “I am still not good enough” was immense. But after messaging someone who I deeply admire and unabashedly having strong sense of adulation (Haha!), my inner storm was calmed. I was told to have a good rest and sleep well – as this was also once advised by this person’s supervisor – a long time ago. With that, I decided to succumb to my drowsy mind and body – “Tawakallah” – and off to bed early.

I first started to work my Abstract at Kota Bharu’s Perdana Hotel. I have strong affinity to that hotel. I love the Malay Muslim hospitality there. 

On the morning of 20th June, I was still “trimming” my slide presentation. The initially 88 slides were then reduced into 69 slides – and then 59 slides. At this point, I thought I was going to be half-berserk! Reducing the slides was definitely going to cost “lost of information”! But around 12.30 p.m.; I finally had the gut to reduce them significantly into 42 slides. I just told myself – “this needs to be done. Just rumble with it!”. So, at 2.30 p.m.; I entered the Zoom link for my viva voce and found out that:-

• The Chairman was Prof. Madya Dr. Nizam
• The two Internal Examiners were Prof. Jusang Bolong & Prof. Madya Dr. Akmar
• The External Examiner was Prof. Dedy Mulyana from Fakultas Ilmu Komunikasi Universitas Padjadjaran.

Apart from them, Dr. Sharifah Sofia served as the Secretary of the viva voce. And all of my supervisors joined the session – which The Chairman quipped as a “rare scene as usually only one out of the three supervisors attend viva voce and Co-Supervisors don’t really do this!” So, I have to say this meant a lot to me – thank you Prof Muati, Dr. Moniza and Dr. Hamisah for squeezing time amidst hectic schedules! The Chairman, Prof Madya Dr. Nizam who is known for his meticulous and systematic nature began the session by stating that altogether there would be 9 sessions with twice intervals where the candidate (me) and supervisors were to be excluded from the main Zoom platform for the examiners to have private discussions:-

1. The Casual Conversation : Warming-up session where everyone in the panel was to be introduced;
2. Oral Presentation (Slides Presentation) with 15-20 minutes max;
3. Abstract & Chapter 1 (Thesis Introduction, Background, Research Questions, Research Objectives, Significance of Research);
4. Chapter 2 (Literature Reviews)
5. Chapter 3 (Methodology)
6. Chapter 4 (Findings & Discussion)
7. Chapter 5 (Conclusion)
8. Private Discussion of Chairman, Internal and External Examiners
9. The Verdict

Phew, so the bloodbath began! For the whole 3 hours, I couldn’t move my ass as the examiners took turn to ask for clarifications and answers. As I was the focus of the session, it would be unprofessional to “excuse myself to the toilet” or even moved my face away from the screen! So for 3 hours, I weathered the questions back-to-back while glancing over my watch! As gist, these were the comments by all the two Internal Examiners (Prof Jusang Bolong & Prof. Madya Dr. Akmar) and External Examiner (Prof. Dedy Mulyana) :-

For my Abstract & Chapter 1 (Introduction):-

• Abstract should be written only in a single paragraph as per UPM’s template.
• Problem Statement : Integrate the disadvantage of using other theories other than Neo-Aristotelian; And why did I chose only to concentrate on Logos and not Ethos & Pathos?; Why did I this time frame from 2004-2018?
• The wording of Research Objectives by using “To Identify” is very quantitative-based. Avoid using that as rhetorical analysis is interpretive. Therefore, the Research Objectives can be moulded into – “To understand the nature of Mahathir’s inventio” instead of “To identify Mahathir’s application of inventio”;
• Why did Pronuntiatio is decided not to be discussed?
• Since I used Purposive Sampling as my method of data collection, I have to mention it briefly in Chapter 1;
• Include Definition of Keywords in Chapter 1
• Avoid using “will be.” This research has already been conducted and therefore the wording must be in Past Tense.
• Used No.1 and No.2 in the numbering of Research Questions – not the alphabets
• Where are the Introduction subpoints in the Contents list?
• Limitation – should be in Chapter 5 : Add the arguments on why Pronuntiatio is excluded
• Scope and Significance of Research : As a teacher, what is the POV as a teacher? How students are to benefit from this research?

For my Chapter 2 (Literature Reviews):-

• In Page 33 on the section of Published Studies Relevant to the Research : more in-depth of the research – what methods, theories they applied?
• Dispositio and Elocutio : what were the findings of past studies related to these unit of analyses?
• Definition of terminologies should be included in Chapter 1
• Literature review is the comparison and synthesis of the concept – how did you relate that with your research?

For my Chapter 3 (Methodology):-

• Citations are outdated. We need current citations to reflect the relevance of the methodology
• Where is the title “Research Design”?
• Be specific in the preamble that this research is applying Purposive Sampling with System Searching Strategy as refinement (Identification-Screening-Eligibility)
• Audit Trail : elaborate why decided to implement this qualitative approach to increase reliability of data
• Claim the stance vividly. The thesis mentioned that selection of speaker is based on affinity or antipathy. So why Mahathir was chosen? Based on affinity or antipathy? Explain the background reading conducted on materials that are both Pro & Anti Mahathir to neutralize the lens
• Why the criteria of artifacts (subjects) contained “wholly / partially” issues on Malay Hegemony?
• Add another column in the table of Speech Contents – duration of videos, url of videos
• Process of transcribing the videos and way coders validated the contents of videos (highlight the The 5 Phase Coder Training)

For my Chapter 4 (Findings and Discussions):-

• Bold the different elements of unit of analyses (logos Vs dispositio Vs elocutio) if the same speech excerpt containing all these
• Highlight personal stance on the findings prior to Chapter 5
• McCroskey died in 2012. How can the citation was typed as 2015?

For my Chapter 5 (Conclusion, Limitation & Implication):-

• Chapter 5 is your chapter. It is a disappointment that the chapter only consist 20 pages whereas THIS IS YOUR OWN CHAPTER where everything you have garnered as a philosophical doctor should be outpoured in this chapter. The existing content is satisfactory but expected more from you
• Limitation : Extensive and should encompass the significance
• Contribution in Theoretical perspective: make comparison between this classic theory Vs the contemporary theories so that the argument on why this classic theory was chosen is strengthened
• Contribution in Methodological perspective: highlight that you have adopted Audit Trail and Holsti’s Intercoder Reliability to empower the Foss’ Criteria for Adequacy in Rhetorical Criticism in the section of “Reliability and Validity in Rhetorical Criticism.”
• Recommendation : Perhaps any other theories or methods to study the abstracts?
• The thesis margin needs to be PAID ATTENTION!
• References are OK but make sure the citation dates are correct

As you can tell, the session was saturated with a lot of corrections. I have to confess that I was overwhelmed. But the examiners ensured me that they would be sending Dr. Sharifah Sofea’s report on the lists of the correction. So, after the gruesome 3 hours; they isolated me and my supervisors to the Breakout Room. I was so touched that the three of them (Prof Muati, Dr. Moniza and Dr. Hamisah) were still there. So we chit-chatted while waiting for the verdict – Dr. Hamisah was actually about to cook for her Iftar while Prof Muati was attending this important State Secretariat meeting! Jazakallahu khayr!

Working on the presentation slides although I was feeling feverish that moment – at Shah Alam’s Mardhiyyah Hotel and Concorde Hotel. I love these two hotels as they exude the Malay Muslim Hospitality. And the Blue Mosque view – that was a spiritual placebo for me.

Once we were back in common Zoom platform, the Chairman explained that they had achieved consensus and that the title of my research would be slightly modified into: “Mahathir’s Rhetorics During Political Hiatus” – omitting the “A Rhetorical Analysis” since UPM discouraged that practice. And then :-

“Based on the three hours viva vocea and the private discussions we had during intervals – CONGRATULATIONS, DR. SHAHRILL. You’ve passed this viva voce with minor correction.”

The moment I heard the word “Dr. Shahrill”, I wept and cried spontaneously!! It wasn’t the tears of “Yes, I’ve made it!” – it’s more of “Is this real? All the sleepless nights; all the crying alone sessions; all the feeling of being suffocated but no where to turn to”; As if a big rock was finally lifted – the rock I’ve make peace with throughout this journey, patiently shouldering it and no one could see it but me. I was shaking and my tears unabashedly went down. I guess because they know me since my Master’s Degree days – Dr. Akmar, Dr. Moniza and Dr. Hamisah also had that tears watering their eyes. The supervisors were asked to give speeches. But what really touched me was what Dr. Moniza said:-

We have seen Shahrill’s journey. Initially when he started this PhD journey, clearly he didn’t know anything and had no clue about what he was trying to do. He aimed to study Angelina Jolie’s humanitarian speeches but after that changed to Mahathir’s. But we see his progress. Out of a sudden, his writings becomes better. He won the Third Prize in The National 3 Minutes Thesis and he writes in newspapers. We are all so proud of him.”

Alhamdulillah. It was an unforgettable experience. To be grilled 3 hours and then  to receive good news and comments from Supervisors; I was in Cloud 9. But honestly, I know that my journey in this session was eased by my mother’s Doa (she performed Yassin and Taubah Prayer and recited 170 times of Ayatul Kursi) as well as the presence of my supervisors. And I was also lucky to have sets of compassionate Examiners (Internal and External) that are known for their nurturing personas – unlike others who may want to adopt provocative nature. Alhamdulillah, I am thankful for that.

     The preparation for the 2.30 slot – 20th June 2023. My viva voce!

So now, I am still waiting for the full report from FBMK as well as to fill up the three forms GS 16A, GS 25A and GS 17. All I can say is – Alhamdulillah; ALLAH SWT is the Greatest! Alhamdulillah!

My Master’s Degree Convocation @ UPM : Shahrill Ramli, A Master Of Corporate Communication Degree Holder!

The date 22nd October 2016 was a day to be remembered. I had my Master’s Degree Convocation Day at the UPM Great Hall! It was a bittersweet memory for me, I can vouch that. It felt as if yesterday that I wrote my blog entry on the Master’s Degree briefing at The Zaa’ba Hall on 13th February 2014 (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/master-of-mass-communication-episode-3-the-choice-master-of-corporate-communication-mccomm-universiti-putra-malaysia-a-k-a-upm/) and now I have already graduated and is pursuing my 1st semester of Ph.D in Human Communication (Insya ALLAH!). Surreal, feeling!

A shot by Dr. Akmar! Thanks Dr.! Wow, I looked so ROUND from the hindsight! I must control my eating routine! Haha! But oh, well! Malaysia has so many delicious and sumptuous food!

A shot by Kakak from the VIP seating. Vague but precious. Thanks Kakak!

The two years throughout Master’s Degree was not easy. I don’t know if people said that “Master’s Degree is easy” or “easier than Degree”; but for me those were untrue. Doing it part time, driving back and forth to UPM from Serendah & Batang Kali was really tiring as the journey tantamount to 70 km per journey. Nevertheless, I am proud of myself for being bold to follow my heart and to do what I want to do. I have been aspiring to study Communication my whole life and now I did what I always aspired to. When Ayah wanted me to do Science Stream at Form 4, it was a point of “7 years of aimless pursuit”.

Haha! Master Haus! Najmi, Ereen, Kak Bed, I, Bad, and Hilya. LMAO!

(,”).

Miss you guys! Farah Nijida, Lynn, Hilya, Bad, Kas, Kelwin, Najmi, Aan, Kak Bed, Sha and Ereen!

Gonna miss you guys! Thanks so much. A great memory during our 2 years of Master’s Degree. Mat Ley, Najmi, Ajie, Ereen, Hilya, Bad, Kak Bed and Chen Chen.

I always knew that I was inclined towards Humanities (I am good in History and languages) but I was stuck with Chemistry, Physics and Biology and the dreadful Add Maths! I wasn’t a total loser as I did score A2 for Biology, B4 for Chemistry, B3 for Physics and C5 for Add Maths (gasp!) but I know if I was in Arts Stream, I would have nail all As including the Science. But, oh well. Dragged into Penang Matriculation and then into Biological Science (Microbiology) in USM. And FINALLY, Master in Corporate Communication! For in-depth narration, REFER to my past entry at https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2014/09/14/why-do-i-choose-masters-of-corporate-communications-a-microbiology-degree-holder-a-banker-a-teacher-the-barenaked-confessions/.

Najmi, Hilya, Kak Bed, Ereen and Bad from Master Haus! Thanks guys for believing in my strength and helped me in this world of Communication. Learn loads from you guys. Will not forget our IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) endeavours and PR (Public Relation) event. 

I am glad that I actually took initiative to blog about my Master’s Degree endeavors in my blog under the CATEGORY of https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/category/master-of-mass-comm/ . Sometimes, a few people messaged me to inquire about the Master Of Corporate Communication programme in UPM and I am glad that I could help them. I also bumped into a few strangers and received anonymous callers who were interested to know about the programme and the mini research I conducted on Cadbury’s Halal Image (not that my research was academically good; it was more on the technical part on taking subjects, etc). I blogged almost everything during my Master’s Degree programme (2014-2016) :-

• The subjects I took every semesters;
• The presentations I did every semesters;
• The group projects and events I participated;
• My CGPS for every semester and CGPA overall;
• My Mini Research Paper “Malaysian Moslems’ Perceptions Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image (Process & Presentations);
• The death of beloved sister figure coursemate, the late Kak Yati (Noraiyati Omar);
• and many more issues related to mass and human communication from my amateur point of view.

Haha, Bird’s view?

Having friends outside from the school and education cocoons also help me to “breathe again”. After 4 years stuck in the same atmosphere, I need fresh air and new angles to scrutinize. Initially, I did feel the prejudice or apprehensiveness (or maybe it was just a hunch; but usually my guts are sharp!) of my coursemates towards me. An effeminate childlike primary school teacher doing Corporate Communication, no? But I soon proved my worth and I myself learned to acclimatize with them.

On the way into the Great Hall. What a Harry Potter moment for Bad, I and Najmi! Haha!

Above all, my Master’s Degree Convocation was all about meeting back my friends! It was nice to have get-together. We have gone through the ups and downs together. To my Master Haus coursemates, you guys are the best. When no one befriended me, you guys appeared! I always remember that! I told my parents that it would not be practical for them to come as then they would have to go back to Kedah for Rifqi’s schooling. So, Kakak and Abang Zam came. And well I didn’t bask for anyone’s attendance except for this one particular person who has been my rock. But an eleventh hour setback was that there was a duty called to Perak. I was being an emotional childlike and refused to prolong the conversation although I could tell the nervousness in the voice trying to tailor words to convey that news to me. And on the next day, I did receive a congratulatory message from Perak. I guess I should shun my emotional part and be grateful that at least I have someone who is so dear to me. Look at my married friends! They are OK and understand that their spouses couldn’t be on that day due to professional tasks! So, SHAHRILL please THINK! Haha!

 

Priyadarshini and I. Our 2nd runner up Miss India Malaysia and a philantrophist! I like her visions and doing good to the world. She has been to Nepal, Sri Lanka and many more to do volunteering! Amazing!

I, Priya and Rozisham – who happened to be my sister’s colleague! 

Anyway, as I am jotting this at UPM Graduate Wing after my KOM 6117 class (my Ph.D class), I am feeling quite worn-off. This class is good but it makes me feel so dwarved that I realized that I need to READ MORE to enrich myself with all the epistemological, ontological and axiological parts of theories. I need to make habit that reading Communication Books are my “favourite past times” so that I can easily quote scholars to deny any defiance thrown to me and my research. Doing Ph.D while working; that is what I am doing. If I can pull this off, surely it is another credit and feather on my hat because most people do this full time. Insya ALLAH. Always have faith in myself.

I thought it was sentimental for Kakak to put this collage. Initially it was to remind how that our faces are ballooning just within 3 months! Apparently, travelling will shrink you. Well, running chasing the trains with 3 extra baggage, no? Hahaha! During Kakak’s convocation at Leeds and mine at UPM.

Abang Zam, Kakak and Raess Nafiz! (,”)

“Tiada yang mustahil di dunia. Segalanya mampu ditawan. Sejauh manakah kemahuan? Demi ke sana?” – My Master’s Degree anthem “Lebih Indah” by Siti Nurhaliza. Well, for my Ph.D; “Wings” by Delta Goodrem is the anthem!

I had memorable journey of Master in Corporate Communication in UPM. And now I am embarking my Ph.D in Human Communication in UPM as well. Ya ALLAH, I hope I can persevere this. Amin!

The convocation video shared from Kelwin’s Facebook page. Check me out at 2:08. Haha!

4th Semester Final Result : 2 “A”s, 1 “A-” @ GPA 3.975 & Master Of Corporate Communication Final Result @ CGPA 3.938 !

So, this is it. I just get my 4th semester CGPS and it is 3.975! Actually, I am quite disheartened by that. So close to nail 4 flat but unfortunately there was an “A-” that spoiled everything :-

My 4th semester result.

• Intercultural Communication (KOM 5215) : A
• Research Project (Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image) : A
• Seminar on Research Project (Presentation and Q & A session with panelists) : A-

I am quite pissed off by the A- but of course like what Najmi, my coursemate told me; getting A- is quite OK in comparison to the students of previous semester as they generally got B+ and some with B-. I mean, sure it is merely one credit but that “minus” signage makes big difference between nailing 4 flat and vice versa. But oh, well. I am grateful nonetheless. Alhamdulillah.

I got an “A” for my research – “Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image.”

So with this final CGPS up on my sleeve, the accumulative pointer (CGPA) for my whole Master’s Degree programme is finally here. According to SGS UPM Portal, my CGPA is 3.938! I got all As for the subjects except for :-

1. Communication Research Method : A-
2. Theory & Practice of Communication Research (Urghhhh!!!! DREADING!!) : B+
3. Seminar Seminar on Research Project : A-

The whole result for Master’s Degree.

Luckily that I have a blog where I jot everything. Ponder back reading https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/master-of-mass-communication-episode-3-the-choice-master-of-corporate-communication-mccomm-universiti-putra-malaysia-a-k-a-upm/ which I wrote on 13th February 2014 makes me fixated and in awe that it has been 2 years now since I first started the journey.

I certainly have no regret on venturing out from my school cocoon on this. This opportunity to fathom the elements of corporate communication is also a realization of what I actually aspired when I was the AFFIN Bank management trainee in 2007 where we were asked to enlist 3 departments that we wanted to serve after 4 months of training. I knew that my forte was not in the business department but in the communication aspect – but perhaps the management didn’t see my quality at that point of time (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/maal-hijrah-islamic-corporate-banker-sme-contract-financing-childlike-loves-clown-deannas-surprise-birthday-bash-bugging-the-camera-shy/ – HONESTLY, I am quite embarrass when I read what I wrote in 2008. Haha! But I can sense maturity in my thinking now; and that is reflected in my writing; as compared to 8 years ago! LMAO!).

8 years ago.

When I sent my 3 months notice to leave the bank on 14th August 2008 (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/state-of-jubilant-resignation-with-3-months-notice/), the Deputy CEO did offer me a place in AFFIN Islamic Corporate Communication as that was my passion but since I had my mind to enter KPLI, I declined. But fate has its own magic. I am now doing what I have always want and this is it.

Goodness knows!

To tell the truth, I want to further PhD. Yes, it is not exactly like a top secret and I have no qualm on saying that. But given to several factors lately, seems like the path is bleak. Last week I heard that PM wants to “calibrate our 2016 Budget” due to the falling price of oil AND guess what? Today I heard that the JPA scholarship fund is suspended!!! And I actually had tete-a-tete with my supervisor who is also the Dean of faculty, Prof. Dr. Abdul Muati on the Tenaga Akademik Muda UPM. He said UPM does not have any fund to send students abroad as circulation was issued earlier this week. Bummer!!

God I want this. I am OBSESS with this!

Honestly although I am satisfied with my CGPA but I feel that my road to PhD is bleak. But I won’t lose hope. Insya ALLAH. God bless.

So this is it. My Master’s Degree pointer CGPA is 3.938!

P/S : My prayers will always be with the late Noraiyati Omar or affectionately known as Kak Ti. She was my coursemate who died due to dengue at the end of semester 2 (end of 2014) when I went to United Kingdom (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/r-i-p-inalillah-an-ode-of-demise-for-the-late-noraiyati-omar-my-upm-masters-degree-in-corporate-communications-sister/). She was such a hardworking sister figure and always on prompt of whatever that was going on. She was also a go-getter and I always sort of had this healthy competition with her as we were both Kiasu Penangite. She wanted to finish the Master programme earlier hence planned to do express process. She was also in my Kaya Bread Project for Advanced Public Relation (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/the-launching-of-my-advanced-public-relations-kom-5321-project-the-kaya-bread-project-hashtag-thekayabreadproject/).

Inalillah, God Bless Kak Ti. Amin.

My Corporate Communication Academic Writing : “Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image.”

Alhamdulillah! After two semesters of dedicating myself into the Research Paper, finally the mini thesis is completed! It is like giving birth to a baby; except that I didn’t push it out from my va-jay-jay (Haha!). The Project Paper entitled “Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image” is now bind with the dark blue cover emblazoned with the UPM 2015 letters & MY NAME (gasp!) on it! I know this sounds silly but I couldn’t be happier to finally witness my first academic writing is compiled and the visions I had in my mind is now materialized.

With my supervisor, Professor Dr. Abdul Muati @ Zamri b. Ahmad, The Dean of Faculty of Modern Languages & Communication, UPM.

I am always interested in Islamic elements. Therefore I tried to incorporate that into Communication framework. The flow of my ideas are as per these :-

1. Scouting for ideas to incorporate Islamic elements : REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/a-thought-fr-masters-degree-mini-project-islamic-communications-an-uncharted-waters/;
2. Decision to tap on Cadbury’s Halal fiasco in Malaysia 2014 : REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/3d-semester-in-master-of-corporate-communication-programme-upm-the-enthusiastic-spirit-of-klutzy-cadbury/ ;
3. 1st Presentation (Chapter 1-3) on 10th June 2015 : REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/my-research-paper-presentation-chapter-1-3-academic-discussion-on-malaysian-moslems-perception-towards-cadburys-image-repair-its-halal-image-faculty-of-modern-language-commun/;
4. 2nd Presentation (Chapter 4-5) on 9th December 2015 : REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/12/09/my-research-pappepeeeer-presentation-chapter-4-5-bridging-the-knowledge-gaps-of-halal-polemics-in-surburbia-serendah-benoits-image-restoration-theory-malaysian-moslems-perception-towards-ca/ 

My school had this Cocurriculum assembly and all teachers are made mandatory (ergh!) to wear the complete set of uniform. So I donned the Red Crescent uniform I bought during my KPLI days in 2009. But no, I ain’t gonna wear it in UPM! *lol*

Apart from that, I also wrote a few conflicting ideas I have encountered throughout this mini research. I was a bit confused when the other lecturers (the panelists) did not have the same view/vision as per my supervisor. It was quite intimidating but in the end, I put my faith in my supervisor because he is the one who is coaching and mentoring me and with his vast experiences, there ought to be some logic to what he proposed. For example, about NOT HAVING ANY THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK although my research is quantitative. My supervisor simply said it was due to my research as exploratory. When a few of my coursemates presented that during our 1st presentation on 10th June 2015, a lot of them were bombarded with questions and queries – including myself, too.

Sorry, but I can’t help feeling so proud. It’s like J.K. Rowling released her first Harry Potter novel, you know. Haha!

But I became restless. So I searched for days and FINALLY I came across this term called “Descriptive Research” which fits all the criteria which my supervisor had proposed. And then I read that Descriptive could be either in Quantitative or Qualitative BUT no variables are being manipulated (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/my-supervisor-i-against-the-world-questions-on-variables-of-quantitative-research-a-descriptive-research-design/). Of course I was GRILLED by the panelists during the 2nd presentation especially by Prof Edzhar but of course, that were just purely academic discussion. When I reverted the queries to Prof Muati, he said just carried on with the direction of my research. Indeed sometimes, I was quite baffled by his ‘contrarian’ approach (just like Tun Dr. Mahathir’s!) but I soon learned that everything done is due to some reasons. 

My baby (awww!) – “Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image”.

On whole, I hope that this research will be a sort of stepping stone to catapult myself to do PhD. Gosh, I really want to further PhD under a university that can provide scholarship for me and then I will come back and serve them. But of course during this tumultuous economic meltdown, it can be hard to materialize my dream (I get emotional thinking about this!). But Goodness knows – I wonder will I be able to further my PhD by end of this year 2016? Insya ALLAH. God bless. Amin. A song that can be considered as my Master’s Degree anthem is definitely Siti Nurhaliza’s “Lebih Indah” (More Beautiful). The poignant lyrics tell of the struggle to weather the odds even in the times of despair & every time I listen to the song, I get the booze of spirits!

Pelangi
Terlihat tika adanya
Titisan hujan
Begitu resam alam
Perlu ada kepelbagaian
Cabaran dan dugaan
Membuat hidup lebih indah

Di sekelilingmu ada dinding-dinding
Yang menghadangi dan menghalangi
Di sekelilingmu ada laut-laut
Yang menghampari dan merintangi
Jiwa serta raga
Cinta jua cita
Kau harunginya
Kau harunginya

Umpama purnama jingga
Cantiknya di langit senja
Warnanya yang tercipta
Dari debu zarah udara
Mengajar hidup kita
Ragam kan menghasil yang indah

Tiada yang mustahil di dunia
Segalanya mampu ditawan
Sejauh manakah kemahuan
Demi ke sana!

Rayani Air, The 1st Malaysian Shariah-Compliance Airline : An Antidote For Halal Craze? Or A Profitable Market For Capitalist? – Communication Perspective On Corporate Identity & Corporate Image.

The polemic of Halal obviously catches my attention as it affiliates with the traits of Malaysian Moslems – and as I have said earlier in my entries before this, that topic really attracts me (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/a-thought-fr-masters-degree-mini-project-islamic-communications-an-uncharted-waters/) and I really aspire to incorporate it into Communication framework for my PhD possible topics. That was also the reason why I chose knowledge gaps in Halal as my Project Research topic – “Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image” (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/12/09/my-research-pappepeeeer-presentation-chapter-4-5-bridging-the-knowledge-gaps-of-halal-polemics-in-surburbia-serendah-benoits-image-restoration-theory-malaysian-moslems-perception-towards-ca/).

As I mentioned in my Project Research, Malaysian Moslems nowadays are inclined towards Islamic conservatism after the demise of Islam Hadhari, a policy that was introduced during the premiership of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In resonance of this consciousness, Malaysian Moslems are becoming more sensitive aware with Islamic essences and particularly, the issue of Halal. Lately, there have been so many issues regarding Halal arisen – most of them are heatedly debated in the social media (such as Halal and non-Halal trolleys, Cadbury’s Halal); and from the perspective of corporate world :-

• The world’s food label behemoths such as KFC (REFER to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3303687/Father-disgusted-KFC-staff-refused-serve-family-BBQ-Bacon-Boss-Box-meal-not-halal.html) and McDonald’s (although there are disputes of the Halal fallacy but a quote from Habib M’Nasria, Director of Quality Control at McDonald’s International in the Halal Summit 2015 claimed the opposite – REFER to http://www.worldhalalsummit.com/business-forum-session-4-balancing-opportunities-and-risk-in-the-halal-food-and-travel-sector/) are producing Halal products ;
• A Halal mineral water by Lumin Spring International Group Bhd, a Malaysian-based company (REFER to http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2015/11/28/mineral-water-for-halal-market-company-launches-premium-product-sourced-from-china-mountain-spring/) which was heavily ridiculed in social media mostly by non Moslems and some quarter of Moslems.

And today, a new local airline is launched and boasts itself as  the “first Shariah-compliance” airline, namely Rayani Airline. Due to its corporate identity as this “Shariah Compliance” aviation line, Rayani Airline will have all of its flight attendances to don Shariah-compliant attires, Halal foods will be served and no alcoholic drinks and definitely a prayer will be recited as per Saudi Arabia Airline before every flight to commence.

Now, I am writing this by wearing the hat of a neutral Social Scientist. We can see this from three perspectives :-

1. The Moslems ;
2. The Non-Moslems; and
3. The Corporate World

The bravado and gallant entrepreneurship shown by Mr Ravi (CEO) and Dato Karthiyani (main shareholder) as they are realist corporate players! 

The Moslems definitely welcome this airline as an acknowledgement to their Halal needs and for them, supporting any organization professes Islamic-accentuated practices is a MUST. They do not want to be affiliated with “apostasy stigmas” if they reject this. In addition, some of the conservative Moslems associated the MH 370 and MH 17 fiasco as “payback from God” due to the fact that MAS airline flights do serve alcoholic drinks for the Non-Moslem passengers and despite the Malayness body-shaped “kebaya” of the MAS stewardesses, the attire is not conforming to the Shariah-compliance which is that females are to cover their “aurah” and only face and palms to be visible towards strangers. Now, Rayani Air provides this void left by MAS Airlines and Air Asia where the beautiful stewardesses are to do “veil” and to cover their “aurah”. This is very appealing to the conservative Moslems.

On the other hands, the Non Moslems are bewildered, tired & couldn’t understand the Halal craze. They feel Moslems are gullible & easily duped by their Islamic conservatism fanaticism. They wonder why lately the Halal radar is slithering rapidly amongst Malaysians? They are appalled and flabbergasted to see how naive Malaysian Moslems could be – blinded by the “taklid” due to Islam. They have thousands of burning questions – aren’t MAS and Air Asia already serve Halal food? Why do the Malaysian Moslems need to Islamicized everything? Haven’t we give them enough by acknowledging Islam is the official religion; and they need to Islamicize everything?

From the corporate world point of view, there are no emotion involved – purely for profits. Where there is demand, there is opportunity to make money. And Halal market is no puny as it is proved to be lucrative with the large glocal Moslem diaspora. Malaysia has always been on the run to catapult itself as the world’s Halal hub and with the immense rapid growth of our Islamic banking and various Halal hubs constructed, Malaysians understand that Halal is a lucrative business.

To buttress this statement, the initiation of Halal mineral water was made by Datuk Dr Ting Chung Cheng, Lumin International Group Sdn Bhd executive director; and Rayani Air is under the helm of  Mr. Ravi Alagendrran as the CEO (REFER to http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/Dalam_Negeri/20140824/dn_14/Rayani-Air-beroperasi-di-LTAM-Januari-depan) and his wife, Dato’ Karthiyani Govindan as one of the main shareholders (REFER to http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/new-budget-carrier-enters-malaysia) – hence the name RaYANI.

I have to say Rayani Air is a brilliant player in the corporate world. They certainly do their research. Green is the colour of Islam and conservative Moslems certainly attracted to this. Another plus point!

Honestly, I am not against any of this especially Rayani Air. In fact, I admire the bravado and gallant entrepreneurship shown by Mr Ravi and Dato Karthiyani as they are realist corporate players! As an amateur Social Scientist, I am thinking that this is an interesting topic to be decipher on parts of the impression of Malaysian Moslem. And I am sure other established scholars are thinking the same as well. I can see that certain Communication framework can be incorporated into this knowledge gap; perhaps in the dimension of corporate image, corporate identity  or Integrated Marketing Communication (to promote the brand) / Public Relations (to create awareness). On whole, it is all up to you to choose as you have the purchasing power – either as a Moslems or non Moslem Malaysians.

For conservative Moslems, a “tudung” or veiled stewardess is the most plus point. A superficial as it is for the non-Moslems, this image alone can be a magnet for the Moslem market. There will be countless of “Alhamdulillah” hypes in social media when the Moslem public see these stewardesses donning their Hijab as for them the Shariah-compliance attire is “an eye candy to their sights”. So, all the best Rayani Air!

Bangi Sentral, The Champs-Élysées For Malaysian Hijabistas : The Evolution Of Shawls – A Mushrooming Sector In Malaysian Economic Cake?

Yesterday, Kakak asked me to accompany her to Zawara Coffee Shop at Bangi Sentral for a dosage of caffeine. She is a coffee lover and to substitute her crave towards Starbucks (she now shuns that despite her immense crave; due to Palestinian cause), she now resorts to alternative beverages. Anyway, what I wanted to share here was of course something that caught my interest – and it has something to do with Communication, of course.

Unfortunately my cheap handphone could not capture the chique deco of Zawara Coffee Shop. Those were beautiful lantern-like deco. The ambiance emanates sense of marriage between sophistication and Islamic essence.

I have been a nominal observer of the Hijab / Veil / Shawl revolution since my colleagues in school are mostly females. And of course on top of that, my sister is one of the Hijab aficionados, as well (she even badgered me to collect her Radiusite’s shawl at Rawang). I was a bit oblivious and didn’t understand why the Malaysian Moslem females are really obsess with all the Hijab / Veil / Shawl various patterns – for me, they look the same and a bit of money-wasting because come on, it is ridiculous to buy a Hijab costing like more than RM500, right? In addition, I had that personal instinct of “ridiculing” (only in my heart) those Hijab / Veil / Shawl entrepreneurs for “manipulating” the gullible and naive Malaysian Moslem females; – Boy, I was wrong. Yesterday’s visit was an instantaneous eye-opener.

Bangi Sentral – the  Champs-Élysées for the Malaysian Moslem women? Certainly!

I never thought there would be a business park complex full of shops catering for Malaysian Moslem women’s apparels! I always knew that Bandar Baru Bangi is a residential for professional/ white-collared Malaysian Moslems after Shah Alam BUT stepping my first foot-steps at Bangi Sentral was like a waking-up call for me. It is like the Champs-Élysées for the Malaysian Moslem women! I was not familiar with all the lesser-known labels (I only knew Fareeda, Ariani, Aidijuma, Radiusite) but now I know that there are TONNES of labels out there such as Zawara, SugarScarf and many more. With all these outlets mushrooming the business park complex; you can’t help but to use an interpretive dimension linking it to the “power-beyond-the-outlets”. This means that the Malaysian Moslem women are becoming more business-minded and are vigorous to make an impact to the Malaysian economy! Don’t be surprise if the portions in economic cake will be gradually dominated by these ‘underdogs’!

The corridor. 

Perhaps some people may perceive the Hijab / Veil / Shawl industry as SMEs but for me, I think it has the potential to grow and with the purchasing power held by the women, it is expected that this industry will increase year by year! As much as sport tourism being tagged as one of Malaysian potential economical boosters (I learned this from my Theory & Practice of Corporate Communication assignment; which I only nailed B+!! Argh, bummer! Hahaha! REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/the-powerful-liaisons-of-facebook-the-world-of-sports-tourism-kom-5317-boxxtomoi-the-blood-sweat-of-malaysian-muay-thai-championships-organizer/), the Hijab / Veil / Shawl industry should not be underestimated.

We always read in magazines that Malaysian fashionistas always aspire to emulate the fashion renaissance as per the elite hubs as per Milan, Paris or New York – hence the KL Fashion Week, Kuala Lumpur Islamic Fashion Festival, etc – but I think these fashionistas can focus more on the Hijabs and try to solidify the presence of events like KL International Hijab Festival. I know it may sound laughable by some of self-professed fashionistas who may stumble upon this blog (well, there’s always some people who want to portray themselves as fashion police but seriously does not look good at all. Look at Joan River, for Heaven’s sake! LOL!) but hey – if the Western can make the Victoria’s Secret lingerie as ‘top-notch’; you can’t underestimate the Hijab revolution, no? Haha!

Anyway, since I am an ignoramus and oblivious about Hijab industry, Kakak was so excited telling me about Zawara. Honestly, I have never heard of this label (obviously because I don’t wear Hijab! Hahaha!) and when we entered the coffee shop, I was mesmerized by the chic and modern inner deco, emulating the modern Starbucks and Coffee Bean!! Kakak told me that the parent company of course centralizes on the Muslimah apparels and the coffee shop is one of the so-called subsidiaries. Wow, I was fixated by that idea. Amazing! And they had a technology where a mini disc was given to each customers and it will buzz when the ordered beverages or meals are ready; so customers could just go to the counter and collect them! Kakak also told me that most of the Hijab outlets began from humble starting point; to be specific, they started from Instagram. Once they have garnered substantial followers and mouth-to-mouth marketing strategy, they become establish and open shops! Amazing. And the website is quite chic-style, as well. Check it out at http://www.zawara.com/.

From this, we can see that the application of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is heavily applied. I remember that the late Kak Yati, my Master’s Degree coursemate who passed away last December due to dengue did a proposal during our Communication Research Method class entitled – “Relationship Between Celebrity Endorsement & Ariani Hijab”. I was skeptical but when I read that, I gradually understand that this industry has immense potential. I think this industry is very interesting to be studied. I have an interest in topics in regards of Malays or Malaysian Moslems and I always want to incorporate that into Communication framework. I hope I could find a good topic as a proposal for upcoming PhD material. I have browsed through a few researches and of course, there are a few studies conducted on regards of this topic :-

• “Tolerance of Islam: A Study on Fashion among Modern and Professional Malay Women in Malaysia” by Hanisa Hasan et al., 2015 – REFER to http://www.ijssh.org/papers/499-V10018.pdf ;
• “A Comparative Analysis on Hijab Wearing in Malaysian Muslimah Magazines” by Nurzihan Hassim, 2014 – REFER to http://search.taylors.edu.my/journalonline/Vol%206%20Issue%201/Paper%205.pdf.

The late Kak Yati’s proposal – “The Relationship Between Celebrity Endorsement and Ariani Hijab”. From there, I gradually opened my eyes about this industry. I am sorry, I still feel that all the Hijab mostly look the same but I am interested to fathom it from the point of view of Communication.

As an aspirant Social Scientist (Whoa?!), I need to heighten my curiosity. That will serve as the longevity linkage to the passion of wanting to do more research. As my amateur Project Paper for Master’s Degree is finalized, I am now to enter into the framework strategy on how to further my PhD. I need to do it for myself. Not to prove to anyone. It is for me. It is for my own achievement. So, apart from scouting for any opportunities (and yet to discuss with key people), I am also scouting for potential topic to be incorporated into Communication framework. Hopefully I can find a topic that is my forte which is related to Malays or Muslim culture with communication. God bless, amin.

 

Now, even local celebrity opens their own labels to take advantage of the demands from their targeted market – Malaysian Moslem women! Neelofa apparently launched her “Naelofar” Hijab.  Apparently it was reported that she is doing well with the business and I could see a lot of my female colleagues at school are into this as well. You guys can check the sleek and chic website as well as at http://naelofarhijab.com/.

As for the Hijab / Veil / Shawl industry, I can vouch that their eminence is becoming stronger AND it is apparent that Malaysian Moslem women are definitely the cashcows for these entrepreneurs! Sly and smart, I can say. But it is a surplus for the ummah though. The Malaysian Muslim women are rising (now that can open a new discussion of Malaysian Moslem women’s feminism, no? Haha!).

My Research Paper Presentation (Chapter 4 & 5) : Bridging The Knowledge Gaps Of Halal Polemics In Surburbia Serendah @ Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory (Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image).

Alright! Alhamdulillah; finally we are DONE with the dreaded session for this whole Master’s Degree programme (lol, is it too far-fetched?)! I just presented the second half of my Project Research (on Chapter 4 and Chapter 5) in front of Fakulti Bahasa Moden & Komunikasi panelists. Three months ago, my coursemates and I presented our first-half parts (Chapter 1 until Chapter 3) on 10th June 2015 (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/my-research-paper-presentation-chapter-1-3-academic-discussion-on-malaysian-moslems-perception-towards-cadburys-image-repair-its-halal-image-faculty-of-modern-language-commun/).

I am the second presenter. But since Abang Zainal, a PJJ student was to present his proposal, I made way for him and served as the 3rd presenter.

Anyway, it was quite a circus for all of us as we were told to expect that the date of the presentation would be on the 15th week circa 21st December 2015. But suddenly on 2nd December 2015; we were told that we were to present the findings as well as the discussion on the 8th and 9th December 2015!! Yes, the gap was only a week!! Anyway, several appeals were done but proved to no avail and we also had to rush our supervisors (For Didi, Yuan and I, having The Dean of The Faculty proved to be a bit hassle as he is very busy man and we had/have to set appointments with him to ‘squeeze / steal time’). Irregardless, what good we get if we remained sulky and complained about it and did nothing, right? In addition, this is the life of Post Graduates and we have to oblige with eleventh-hour setbacks and be on the alert. Therefore, we succumbed and took this as part and parcel of being a student (again!) and decided to do something about it instead of being pompous brats! Hahaha!

My 43-44 slides for presentation!

Anyway, I am quite lucky as now is school holiday and I can concentrate 100% on my Master’s Degree Project Paper. I think it would be quite topsy-turvy if I were to still be working in Serendah and then going back-and-forth to finish the Project Paper as driving from Serendah to UPM consumes 1 hour (1 hour and half if traffic jams). Not to mention to-and-fro!! Time consuming for me and very tiring! Nevertheless whatever it is, it’s God’s plan. They said that “God works in the most mysterious way”, no?

During Ereen’s presentation. We were quite agog when all the heavyweight lecturers such as my supervisor, The Dean of Faculty (Assoc. Professor Dr. Muati @ Zamri), Head of Communication Department (Dr. Hamisah Zaharah) and Professor Edzhar Tamam joined the ensemble of panelists! Eeeekkkss!! Intimidating and scary, right? But honestly I think they have so much insight to share with us and we are to tap their knowledge from this discussion. One side, we did feel intimidated and eerie; but on the other side we felt bewildered and excited with the technical knowledge that they shared with us. Our journeys are still far but not impossible.

Didi and Najmi were slotted on the first day whereas Bad, Ereen, Yuan and I are on this second day. We were told that the venue of presentation was moved to another venue; from Makmal Pidato (Public Speaking Room) to Bilik Sarjana (Post Graduate Room). It was quite a small place so we were duped by that illusion thinking that this session would be a low-key session and nobody would even bother to join in. Good for us for the lesser crowd! In addition, when Bad as the 1st speaker presented her case, only Dr. Akmar and Dr. Rosya were there. OK, half way through suddenly came my supervisor, The Dean of Faculty, Assoc. Prof. Abdul Muati @ Zamri. Bad continued her presentation calmly albeit a bit shaky at first trying to feign her shock that The Dean entered the room. Haha!

Ereen being quizzed by Head of Communication Department, Dr. Hamisah on Tribun Putra, a intra-circulated newspaper within UPM. At the furthest is Dr. Rosya.

OK, I was supposed to be the 2nd presenter but Abang Zainal who was under Prof Edzhar was slotted to present his first half of the chapter; proposal Chapter 1-3 (we are sort of like his seniors). So, Abang Zainal presented his slides and came Prof Edzhar. So, I was the 3rd presenter. Half way through while feigning confidence (of course we have to fake our confidence! Hahaha!) and presented my data; my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Muati went out. So, I was to defend myself alone during Question and Answer session! Hahaha! During Ereen’s (4th presenter) and Yuan’s (5th presenter) presentation, suddenly the Head of Communication Department, Dr. Hamisah came in! And not to mention quite a number of audience witnessing the session. So altogether – we had 6 panelists and audience cramped in the small room! Hahaha! Intimidating!

Professor Edzhar Tamam was seen quizzing Yoko Yuan on her findings. Yoko did a topic involving public perception (if I am not mistaken) on MAS rebranding – before and after. For the first stage, she also experienced the same dilemma like me – she did quantitative and our Supervisor said there were no variables (IV, DV) because this was exploratory research (same like me!). Nevertheless, Yoko wanted to play safe and did not want to stir panelists’ antagonistic remarks. Therefore, she changed her topic slightly and inserted inferential statistics by doing correlation. I, on the other hand; remained steadfast with what my Supervisor said. 

Anyway; back to my presentation. As per countless of tete-a-tete and discussions with my supervisor, I have presented a bit of my methodology, findings, discussion and conclusion. OK, let me give a brief skeleton of my Project Paper :-

• Title : “Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image.”
• Research Objectives : 1) To determine Malaysian Moslems’ level of awareness towards Cadbury’s image repair and its Halal image ; 2) To determine which sector/ group of Malaysian Moslems’ customer that is mostly influenced by Cadbury’s image repair and its Halal image ; 3) To determine Malaysian Moslems’ perception towards Cadbury’s image repair and its Halal image.
• Literature Review : Used “Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory”.
• Methodology : Non-Probability sampling which was Purposive Sampling.
• Respondents : Pupils and staffs/teachers of SK Serendah, Hulu Selangor.
• Instrument : Questionnaires with 5 sections – adopt and adapt.
• Findings : 1) Malaysian Moslems’ level of awareness is MODERATE; 2) Age is not the factor that influence Malaysian Moslems’ receptiveness towards Cadbury’s image repair and its Halal image due to non-significance in t-test ; 3) Malaysian Moslems’ perception is positive towards Cadbury’s image repair and its Halal image (69.6%).

Yoko and Abang Zainal nervously feigning smiles while waiting for turn. Hahaha!

As you can see, I have aligned my findings with my research objectives. And these are the discussions I’ve extracted from my write-up and presentation. As for the 1st one; why Malaysian Moslems’ level of awareness is moderate :-

1. Islamic conservatism : After the demise of Islamic Hadhari in 2009 (introduced in the premiership of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), various reports show that Islamic conservatism is blossoming in Malaysia as the increasing of moral policing, etc. On top of that, Malaysian Moslems’ refuse to be seen as to compromise with elements of Syubhah (raising ambiguities) as that led to stigma of apostasy ;
2. Situational Threat Spillover : a psychological concept where people with certain stigma tagged upon them will react as per the label put against them. Malaysian Moslems’ are expected to boycott/ shun syubhah products and they tend to react that way spontaneously.

  

After the premiership of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, “Islam Hadhari” died and Islamic conservatism seemed to arisen, beginning late 2009. I actually quoted this from a scholar’s paper entitled “Islamic Conservatism & The Demise of Islam Hadhari in Malaysia” by Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid & Muhammad Takiyuddin Ismail (2014). You guys can read the article here for your own mind enrichment! Click at  http://www.academia.edu/2258796/Islamic_Conservatism_and_The_Demise_of_Islam_Hadhari_in_Malaysia. 

For 2nd finding, age is not the factor that influence Malaysian Moslems’ receptiveness as no significance in mean as well as the p-value; there were two factors proposed for upcoming studies :-

1. Sex : As females love chocolate and various scientific experiments proved that females crave chocolates greater during their menstrual cycles, etc (too long to detail) ;
2. Respondents’ religiosity : Most Moslems are devoted and kowtow to the prohibition of non-Halal food consumption.

Females love chocolate so much!

For 3rd finding, why Malaysian Moslems’ perception towards Cadbury’s image repair and its Halal image is positive (but children demonstrated slightly lower than adults) :-

1. Serendah (the research location) is a hybrid of both traditional and modern lifestyle suburbia (PERODUA headquarters, location for international property development & not far from Rawang, a town in Greater KL) – geographical factor; therefore some professional workers exhibited open-mindedness ;
2. Cadbury’s clean past track record for 40 years in Malaysia & utilization of whole ensemble of Integrated Marketing Communication tools;
3. Assimilation of Westernization / globalization culture into Malaysian Moslems.
4. Kids demonstrated slightly lower positive perception due to Premature cognitive aspect as per Piaget’s Learning Theory (they absorb but they are yet to interpret diligently). Islamophobic events also added the apprehensiveness of children towards westernized products.

PERODUA Headquaters at Sungai Choh, Serendah! One of the factors why Serendah is a hybrid suburbia.

I also prepared slides for Implication and Recommendation but my supervisor asked me to put them on hold and reserve that. I was to only show to panels if they inquired. Nevertheless, they did not asked. OK, now I have already enlisted the skeleton of my research, these were the feedback given to the panelists to me & the answers that I obtained from my supervisor after the presentation :-

1. Where are my Independent and Dependent variables? I claimed to use quantitative but no variables? – As per my presentation 3 months ago and repeated inquiries towards my supervisor, he said there are no variables needed since I am not studying causal relationships (as this was just Descriptive Research; REFER to my blog at https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/my-supervisor-i-against-the-world-questions-on-variables-of-quantitative-research-a-descriptive-research-design/) BUT all the panelists disagree with that, noting that when I use questionnaire, I must have variables which are the elements confined in my questionnaire. I argued this point because I’ve read that “no variables are being manipulated in Descriptive Research” and I am not studying causal relationships; just to DESCRIBE the phenomenon – nonetheless the panelists still adamantly disagree. When I revert this to my supervisor, he said – JUST IGNORE ;
2. I should not put “Malaysian” in my title and “Halal image” as well as “Cadbury’s image” are two different entities? That means I am studying two aspects? – My supervisor said it doesn’t make sense. We have to put Malaysian as to enunciate the respondents’ whereabouts and also to solely put ‘Halal image’ does not make any sense. Hence, – JUST IGNORE ;
3. I have to show each percentage for each of the 36 questions I put in the questionnaire to reflect the receptiveness or the so-called to prove my claims  of  the “positive and negative perceptions”. In short, they wanted me to enlist the respondents’ reactions towards every 36 items in the questionnaire – My supervisor said no point because I already had the whole percentage for each section. Hence, – JUST IGNORE ;
4. I cannot use the word “Positive Perception” in the conclusion because it reflects correlation and I merely dwell in Descriptive Statistics! – My supervisor said this is just a trivial case of terminology. Hence, – JUST IGNORE ;
5. I didn’t have to waste my time finding the receptiveness of Malaysian Moslems’ customers towards the advertisement via Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory (Mortification & Corrective Action) because it is not IN MY RESEARCH OBJECTIVE. I had my reason because that will support my discussion part but one of the panelists refuse to hear – although the advertisement “Cuba Teka Apa Yang Abah Bawa Pulang” uses bolstering instead of mortification and corrective action, Malaysian Moslems still perceive it as effective due to ensemble of integrated marketing communication. The panelists said WASTE OF TIME. My supervisor agreed with me that it is essential in my discussion. Hence he said – CARRY ON.

Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory.

On whole, my supervisor agreed that I am in the right path as per his visions although there were a few comments made by the panelists. So now, all of us have been given 24 days to complete our final write-up. So I guess I want to share my Implication and Recommendation for this research. As for Implication, my supervisor had asked me to see it from 3 angles which are from Theoretical, Practical and Methodological. As for the recommendation, I have suggested that in order to improve the Malaysian Moslems’ moderate level of awareness, Cadbury should use Islamic media channels to reach the wider spectrum of Malaysian Moslems :-

• IKIM.fm – radio channel ;
• or TV stations like Al-Hijrah/ASTRO Oasis ;
• or magazines like Solusi and Anis

For the second Research Objective where sex and respondents’ religiosity could be the factors to influence Malaysian Moslems’ receptiveness, I have suggested that Cadbury does joint venture with :-

1. A handsome debonair Malay actor ; or; renowned Hijabi/shawl labels such as Fareeda, Aidijuma or Ariani to tackle their female Malaysian Moslem customers ; and
2. Cadbury could cooperate with JAKIM to sponsor events such as International or National Al-Quran Recital Competitions to tackle their religious respondents.

Even my female teacher-colleagues are experiencing the veil/shawl revolution. As a male, I observe this though I am not interested. For me, they all look the same. Huhuhu. Sorry. But you know what they said – this industry is a cashcow for the Hijab entrepreneurs!

For the third Objective on why children seemed to demonstrate lesser positive perception in comparison to their adults counterparts, I’ve enlisted :-

• Usage of Westernization element like English Literature and Hollywood film. So happened that Roald Dahl’s “Charlie & Chocolate Factory” is incorporated within Malaysian pupils’ Year 5 syllabus as Literature Component (Hahhaaa, that’s the perks of being a primary school teacher. Check the entry on my lesson on this Literature Component at https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/5th-observation-by-english-sisc-officer-of-hulu-selangor-5-mentari-sk-serendah-2015-the-language-art-fun-with-willy-wonka-stick-marionette-roald-dahls-1964-classic-charlie-the-choco/) and also a film starring Johnny Depp!
• Therefore I suggested Cadbury implemented the same technique like Willy Wonka – inserted golden tickets inside chocolate bars and invite kids who obtained the tickets into their factories! Amazing, isn’t it? Hahaha!

Perhaps Cadbury Malaysia can adapt this for Malaysian Moslems’ children in Serendah by having golden ticket and a visit to factory. Of course since a Descriptive Research (like mine) meant as a precursor for upcoming studies and also to merely describe this phenomenon at the early stage, the result CANNOT be generalized. Hence, it is merely restricted for population in Serendah and Halal polemics on Cadbury.

  

Once a while. It is not everyday that I wear professional attire. A far cry from my usual “selekeh” self with t-shirt, track bottom and flip-flops. That’s just me. My style. And I am kinda proud of that simplicity. No faking whatsoever. Haha!

On whole of course personally, I feel that this session was also a valuable experience because I’ve got feedback from these educators who are well-versed in the research methodologies. I appreciated their constructive feedback especially to Dr. Akmar who genuinely wanted to help me finding solution that could alleviate the curiosity of the panelists. I am quite touched by her approach and that she highlighted what she felt isn’t right and suggested alternatives to me. That was all for the betterment of my research and for the long run, my own knowledge if I really want to pursue PhD in Communication line. After all, these are all professional and academic discussions to improve myself, no? Amin!

The only ‘acceptable’ pose of my picture during the presentation. Thanks Bad for the picture (Hahhaa! Like usual, I badgered my coursemates for the pictures for my own blogging memorabilia). Professor Edzhar was jotting something before he GRILLED me! Hahahaha!

A Master’s Degree Project Paper @ Mini Research : The Hiccups & The Loopholes Vs. Plethora Of Emotion!

OK, I’ve just finished my appointment with my supervisor, Assoc. Prof Dr. Muati along with my other coursemates, Didi and Yoko Yuan – our China coursemate. The thing is that we just received notification from the programme coordinator on 2nd December 2015 that on 8-9th December 2015 (which is next week!), the presentation for Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 will be held! So you can imagine the whole plethora of emotion swirled upon all of us – panic, anxiety, anger, nervous, etc! Such a short notice to all of us – but hey; this is post-degree life. You’ve gotta SUCK ALL OF THE POSSIBLE SHORTCOMINGS! Therefore instead of grumbling and being sulky about it; why not we try to decipher on to overcome the situation, no?

My Project Paper – “Malaysian Moslems’ Perception Towards Cadbury’s Image Repair & Its Halal Image.”

Anyway, you know me. I jot almost everything. Well, more like my notebook to immortalize whatever happens in my life and also to remind me what’s important! From the discussion I had with Dr. Muati; seemed like I have quite a number of amendments to be done; and also some particularities to be highlighted. As for the findings of the research, I should :-

• Conclusion : should be tied with my 3 Research Questions and Objectives ;
• Implication : should be explained via three aspects – Theoretical (Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory), Practical (what will happen if other company implements the same approach) & Methodology (What if I opt for qualitative or Random Sampling?) ;
• Discussion on Research Objectives No.2 : Apart from possible factor on sex, other upcoming studies should also look into respondents’ religiosity.

My supervisor just said “OK”. Sigh, I guess I have to work harder to get outstanding acknowledgement. Sigh.

Communication research. This is my faculty for two years – Faculty of Modern Language and Communication, UPM.

In addition, my slides for presentation should comprise :-

• Topic, Research Questions, Research Objectives (as flashback);
• Methodology (illustrate that to acknowledge to the panelists) ;
• Types of Sampling ;
• Findings & discussions;
• Conclusion – implication and recommendations/suggestions.

Come on, Shahrill! Even supermodel Christy Turlington is doing Master’s Degree (in Public Health in Columbia University); why not you? Life is only once. Do not waste it to only being cooped in the secured zone. Be brave. Go for your dreams. Make use of your REAL potential!

Honestly, all of us are experiencing mental block and blank space, now. So much things within so limited time frame. But then again, looks like I have to suck up all of these, by hook or crook!

This is what I wanna be. So, I have to be extra Kiasu and more vigorous. Not for a short-term success but to ensure the longevity of presence in the arena. God bless.

The Polemics Of East Asian Vs American Students : “Intercultural Friendship : Effects of Home & Host Region” Presentation @ (KOM 5215) Intercultural Communication.

You know me; I love to archive whatever happens in my life, especially things that are very indulging and I am passionate about! I just finished presented a journal assigned to me by Prof Edzhar Tamam for the “Intercultural Communication” class entitled ‘Intercultural Friendship : Effects of Home & Host Region” by Elisabeth Gareis from Journal of International & Intercultural Communication”. How I wish it was MY OWN journal! LOL!

My slides.

Anyway, I am really NOT in the best state of health. I fell sick on Monday last week but recovered for a while after 3-4 days BUT due to the deteriorated haze, my cough worsened and I am now having THE HARDEST cough ever! People heard me coughing and they told me the cough sounded “so deep from the lungs”. It was scary and I am having 2 sleepless nights already due to intense coughing around 2 am-4 am every morning! Due to that, my voice now croaks and technically, I lose my voice and my lungs hurt.

 

Yeah, I wasn’t being my usual fiery-self just now. Usually I am very animated during presentation but the cough is taking toll on my voice and my respiratory system that it affected my articulation and energy. Still, what worries me most is that this weekend from Friday until Sunday, I have to join camping with my school colleagues to patronize the school children for Annual Boot Camp. Of course since male teachers are scarce, male teachers are made forced to sleep over and patronize the kids because most female teachers are “somebody’s wifey” and need to stay homes. Oh, well. Can you say more? It would be interesting to razor-mouth or do “nonchalance attitude” like the seniors but I guess whatever I can help, I am willing to do – except now the health is deteriorating. Imagine if my health really deteriorates during weekend and I need to issue Mc; it would be such a fuss amongst the teachers! – Oh, well; better safe my breath bothering about something else. Pray my health will be better, no?

Some of the comedic graphics I put between the slides.

OK, back to the real story. This journal is interesting as it fathoms the interactions between international students who study in America with their American counterparts. It highlighted 2 factors as the influential catalysts :-

1. Home Region : the origination of the international students (country of birth) or the affiliation with their conational cliques in the foreign soils;
2. Host Region : the foreign soils where these international students are studying- in the case of this papers; the United States of America (U.S.A.).

There were two Research Questions arisen via this paper :-

1. WHAT EFFECT DO HOME REGIONS HAVE ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ NUMBER OF HOST-NATIONAL FRIENDS & THE STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION WITH THE NUMBER AND QUALITY OF THESE FRIENDSHIPS?
2. WHAT EFFECT DOES HOST REGIONS HAVE ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ NUMBER OF HOST-NATIONAL FRIENDS & THE STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION WITH THE NUMBER AND QUALITY OF THESE FRIENDSHIPS?

This paper is quantitative with one part treated via qualitative approach (open-ended questions for respondents to comment of their dissatisfaction). The respondents were 454 international students from 3 locations :-

• Northeast metropolitan universities : in New York City;
• Northeast non-metropolitan universities/colleges : Connecticut, New Jersey, circa New York states;
• Southeast non-metropolitan universities/colleges : Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia.

I purposely put the map of U.S. to distinguish the Northeast part & Southeast part of U.S. Well, don’t expect everyone to know about U.S. when U.S. don’t even know about the world, no? I guess that is one of “blahh” thing that Americans should restructure their minds. 

This research found that most international students studying in northeast are likely LEAST to build friendship with American fellowmates & low satisfaction for the friendship in comparison to international students studying in southeast. In addition, international students in Northeast metropolitan universities (New York City) are likely LEAST to build friendship & low satisfaction for the friendship in comparison to their counterparts studying in Northeast non-metropolitan universities. The phenomenon was analyzed as that this happened because most of international students who study in metropolitan universities feel that the administration of universities were “less supportive” of them and somehow “overlooked their presence or well-being” due to density of students’ population and gigantic compound of the institutions.

Klu Klux Klan was from Southern, no? But Cohen et al. (1999) claimed that southerners are adhering politeness norms in comparison to Northerners who resort hostility as regulatory device. Well, perhaps the analyze referred to the present time? At least this paper opens up my horizon, a bit.

One interesting fact quoted by Cohen, Vandello, Puente, & Rantilla (1999) that really encapsulated my excitement was to find that Northerners usually are depicted as people who resort to hostility as regulatory device in comparison to the Southerners who are said to be adhering politeness norms! Well, I thought that apartheid was eminent in the south with the origination of Klu Klux Klan in comparison to the Northern area? I always had this idea that Southerners are more ethnocentric and quite Eurocentric. What Cohen et al. (1999) stated seemed contradictory to my belief and I am interested to know more about this!

Anyway, the finding exposed that among all the international students, those from East Asia (Korea, Japan, China) are having THE MOST DIFFICULTIES to build friendship with American counterparts. Some of the reasons enlisted by these international students are that :-

1. Low language proficiency 
2. No time to socialize
3. Hold different values & interest as opposed to their American friends 
4. Feel that Americans are unwilling  to engage in close relationships

It is also interesting to note that these are what the Americans feel about Asian people :-

1. Asian countries have relatively low status in the eyes of many Americans (Simon Anholt, 2009)
2. Asians are perceived as ‘nerdy’; most likely to be left out & least likely to be approached for friendship in the U.S. (Zhang, 2010)

Of course, this research has its limitation but I think that it is interesting as well. Could it be that apart from Integrated Marketing Communication and Public Relation, Intercultural Communication also is etching into my liking zone? I don’t know – I can feel the enigma of this branch of communication study! Anyway, to those who are interested to read the whole research paper, just click at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2012.691525. But of course, you have to subscribe to Taylor Francis Online database!

This You-Tube video I found is very much related to the article. Watch and you will understand the polemics and dilemma between Asian & American students.

My Supervisor & I Against The World : Questions On Variables of Quantitative Research. A Descriptive Research Design?

One question that is still burning in my mind is about my quantitative research has NO variables. Yes, although I have consulted my supervisor on this yesterday (REFER to https://undomiel84.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/a-quote-for-self-remembrance-even-your-own-shadow-leaves-you-in-the-darkness-a-dramatic-day-the-hazy-school-the-fruitful-professional-tete-a-tete-the-punctured-tyre-for-2-workshops/) and I was given the rationality but I am still in vague although he was adamant with his stance. And I am quite in bewilderment about the upcoming presentation when I am going to present the research without valid explanation on why my quantitative research bears no variables!

The one way to find out is to ask other scholars out there. So, I posted this question in a group called Doctorate Support Group which I guess an ensemble page consisting scholars. Predictably, the question received antagonistic replies which heavily emphasized that Quantitative Research MUST HAVE VARIABLES – if not, what measurements does the researcher use to extract the findings? And the term ‘quantitative’ also reflect numerical data and specificity of variables which mostly fall under the umbrella of cause-and-effect studies.

From the conversation in the page, I was convinced that nobody would ever agree with what my supervisor said. And then while I was browsing the Net, I came across the term “Descriptive Research” which is one of Exploratory Research element. I am intrigued by the fact that “Descriptive Research” fits the criteria of what my supervisor has been saying all these while and in this page by Research Gate in http://www.researchgate.net/post/What_do_we_mean_by_Descriptive_Research, :-

• It does not manipulate any variables because the natural condition of environment is not being manipulated;
• It does not encouraged any causal-effect studies because one variables might affect the other, but a case study approach can be used, instead because it brings “seeks to engage with and report the complexities of social activity in order to represent the meanings that individual social actors bring to their social settings.”;
• It also defined as “Descriptive research is the process of describing a population, as it is, without presupposing some theory describing the same population”.

In the page “The Handbook of Research For Educational Communications & Technology” (REFER to http://www.aect.org/edtech/ed1/41/41-01.html), Descriptive Research is described as :-

• can be either quantitative or qualitative;
• involve collections of quantitative information that can be tabulated along a continuum in numerical form, such as scores on a test or the number of times a person chooses to use a-certain feature of a multimedia program, or it can describe categories of information such as gender or patterns of interaction when using technology in a group situation.;
• Descriptive research involves gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data collection (Glass & Hopkins, 1984).
• It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader in understanding the data distribution. Because the human mind cannot extract the full import of a large mass of raw data, descriptive statistics are very important in reducing the data to manageable form.
• Descriptive studies are aimed at finding out “what is,” so observational and survey methods are frequently used to collect descriptive data (Borg & Gall, 1989).

In a page called Explorable (REFER to https://explorable.com/descriptive-research-design), Descriptive Research is described as :-

• Pre-cursor to Quantitative research design;
• Respondents are studied in the most natural way without changing their natural behaviour;
• No variables manipulated

This was the question I posted in Doctorate Support Group. A nice academic discussion I had. Thanks to those who took the time to respond the clouds in my mind.

So now – could it that my research is Descriptive Research? All the criteria fit the puzzle. Yet, I have to reconfirm this with my supervisor. At least, I will have a strong reason to counter back the panelists in the upcoming presentation; if this what my supervisor meant. A new information for me; I’ve learned that Master’s Degree is no more the spoon-feeding stage, baby!

So funny. I thought that the whole world was against my supervisor’s sentiment on my research as I have found no answers agreeing to what he said. Much like Britney’s “Me Against The Music” fiery spirit. My supervisor against the world. So who is Britney, who is Madonna? My Supervisor or I? LMAO! Being goofy is fun sometimes as decoy for stress!