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Purpose: Homebuyers' motivation to purchase the green building (GB) is vital for the widespread adoption of greener practices and for tackling the adverse impact of the built environment. In this regard, through the lenses of qualified and competent GB developers (GBD) and real estate agents (REAs) using judgment sampling technique, this paper aims to evaluate the factors stimulating the purchase intention of Malaysian homebuyers. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the interval-valued fuzzy Delphi method (IVFDM) to identify influential factors, while the cybernetic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (CFAHP) for prioritizing the identified factors according to their significance in nationwide promotion of GBs is utilized. Findings: The findings, which are consistent with those reported in the literature and validated by the focus group, uncover the most prominent factors that drive the purchase intention of GB homebuyers. The results indicate that the homebuyers are familiar with the benefits of GB; however, the benefits are not sufficient to overcome the perceived "high cost" of green practices. Hence, homebuyers still seek financial incentives, which is a clear indication that financial issues are the most motivating factor. Practical implications: Increase in informative promotion of GB is necessary, particularly among prospective homebuyers in developing countries where GB adoption is in its infancy. Frontline players (those who are responsible for wider promotion) can utilize the factors that this study found to be important to identify appropriate steps to increase prospective homebuyers' motivation for purchasing greener dwellings. Originality/value: The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, review and identification of the most cited determinants that have been reported in the context of the subject. Second, this paper presents the most significant determinants in a developing country setting through the lenses of Malaysian experts in the area. Third, improvement measures could be implemented in Malaysia and other developing countries to promote the GB paradigm with an aim to make the building environment more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of government financing is a challenge in various industries, including higher education universities. The funding source and the resources' size are the key determinants of quality education. The problems arise in multi-criteria decisionmaking, where many subjective opinions are needed from the experts. It is, therefore necessary to prioritize the limited budget available for important criteria. On the other hand, multi-criteria evaluation leads to technically rigorous and enlightened university budget decisions. This paper proposes the exploitation of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in budget allocation at one of the public universities in Malaysia. This study's participants were eight top management experts in managing expenditure at the faculty level. The findings showed that the most significant factors in deciding budget allocations are Teaching and Learning (0.30) and Maintenance (0.26). Furthermore, the most dominant sub-criteria were laboratory and equipment devices (S4) and training and conferences (S10), with a weighted mean of 0.682 and 0.664, respectively. The weights were aggregated by the geometric mean and median, as well as the simulated mean and median, which showed deviating results and rank reversals. The geometric mean weights differed significantly. In contrast, the aggregation using measures of the median was similar to the geometric median, with only a few rankings criteria differing. This highlights that the median score is significant in weight calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Biomedical Engineering Maintenance Services (BEMS) is a comprehensive maintenance program that ensures the safety and reliability of medical devices. Significant and crucial devices are identified and prioritized for best practice prior to the equipment life cycle to mitigate functional problems, alarmed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) underlying the modernization agenda. A model of multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) to prioritize medical devices according to their criticality is presented in this paper, with the utilization of quality function deployment (QFD) and fuzzy logic in the development of the model through a quantitative survey of experts from all regions in Malaysia. As a result, a customized version of the Asset Criticality Assessment (ACA) is developed and is recommended for use in more than 144 Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals. Subsequently, real data of four selected devices are pulled from the Asset and Services Information System (ASIS) to demonstrate a relevant and comparable end‐result using the QFD and fuzzy logic. In essence, the key contribution of the customized ACA model is that it assesses a promising evaluation with a broader range on both the performance of medical devices and the appropriate asset replacement choices. This leads to an effective maintenance strategy for each device and the modernization of reliability computation metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manuscript type: Research paper. Research aims: A key objective of zakat institutions is to distribute funds efficiently and effectively. Despite its critical role in alleviating poverty, the distribution of zakat appears to have been overlooked by previous studies. Recognising such a gap, this study examines the distribution priorities of zakat funds in Malaysia. Design/Methodology/Approach: Our study relies upon secondary data on the distribution of zakat funds between 2007 and 2015. We analyse the data using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique (pairwise technique analysis), which involves ranking zakat recipients and comparing them across all states in Malaysia. Research findings: This study demonstrates that zakat funds were distributed to beneficiaries as mentioned in the Quran: hardcore poor (fakir), poor (miskin), zakat operator (amil), inclined to Islam (muallaf), slave (riqab), debtors (gharimin) wayfarer (fisabilillah) and stranded in path (Ibnu Sabil). The poverty groups and wayfarers were the top priority of Malaysian zakat institutions. Meanwhile, debtors, slaves, and those stranded in path were given the least importance. Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study addresses the gap in the zakat literature by adding empirical evidence on the zakat distribution practices amongst all states in Malaysia in remedying the long-standing issue of poverty. The output of this study contributes to enhancing society's understanding of the role of zakat institutions in combating poverty in Malaysia. Practitioner/Policy implication: A clear policy that focuses on designing practical programmes that can enhance the living standards of poor people should be designed and reinforced in all zakat institutions. Research limitation/Implications: The study's data is limited from 2007 to 2015. This is due to the inconsistency and missing data related to the distribution of zakat. Nevertheless, this study extends the existing zakat management literature, especially in the context of zakat collection and distribution among beneficiaries. Furthermore, the present study highlights important issues on how to manage zakat funds in Malaysia practically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper presents results of an empirical investigation involving private construction clients in Malaysia, which seeks to establish appropriate tender evaluation criteria and weightings for a risk-oriented tender evaluation system. Design/methodology/approach: At the initial stage of this study, a list of significant risks is identified and gathered through literature review. These risks are then mapped onto tender evaluation criteria. Following this, the identified risks and their mappings are validated through a questionnaire survey to determine appropriate criteria for tender evaluation. Weightings for the selected evaluation criteria are established through an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) group decision-making (GDM) method. Findings: In practice, different lists of criteria, covering tender's technical capability and financial performance, are often used by different client organisations. However, there is a paucity of research behind the selection of these criteria and the weighting being attributed to different criteria. Originality/value: This study provides an important and a valuable insight into the actual criteria used during tender evaluation practice based on an analysis of documentary evidence. Both current practice and existing tender evaluation studies failed to address the risk element adequately. There is a lack of an explicit link between evaluation criteria and project risks. This study fills this knowledge gap by identifying tender evaluation criteria through reviewing criteria used in practice and examining their links to risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil is a fundamental resource with its value vital to the world's ecosystem. Due to the fact that soil is one of the bases of all terrestrial life, humans cannot survive without it. However, soil erosion has jeopardized soil sustainability and affected the environmental quality, leaving a bad impact if these issues were not tackled at an earlier phase. Many research has been done to predict soil erosion susceptibility areas using different methods. This research aims to classify the contributing factors of soil erosion according to the risk and generate a soil erosion risk prediction map in Cameron Highlands. Thus, this research focuses on a knowledge-driven method that uses Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique to achieve the objectives. This technique consists of weighing the factors adopted by comparing pairs of factors that control erosion in this area through experts' opinions. 15 factors have been chosen to build the prediction map. Result shows that rainfall erosivity is the main factor contributing to soil erosion in Cameron Highlands which is 0.110, followed by land use (0.095), slope steepness (0.089), soil texture (0.079), NDVI (0.079), TWI (0.072), slope length (0.065), slope aspect (0.064), slope altitude (0.062), SPI (0.061), lithology (0.060), slope curvature (0.054), drainage density (0.049), distance to road (0.029) and distance to stream (0.025). The west part of the study area was exposed to a high risk of soil erosion. This research will give the decision-makers, policymakers and planners insight into minimizing the soil erosion problem and suggest better precautions and solutions to overcome this severe environmental problem in the more advanced phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seaports face significant environmental challenges in their role as hubs for logistics activities, particularly since ships are significant contributors to energy consumption, global warming and air and marine pollution. The environmental pressures facing ports has led to the emergence of the green port concept. Port Klang is the largest port in Malaysia, characterised not only by significant container throughput, but also by significant congestion issues, emissions and pollution. These characteristics led to the selection of Port Klang, the nation's major seaport, as a case study for this analysis of the variables most relevant in the effective implementation of the green port concept and subsequent research into how this green seaport concept influences a seaport's future competitiveness. To achieve these aims, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been employed. The findings of the analysis suggest that environmental quality, the use of energy and resources, waste handling and habitat quality and greenery are the critical influential factors required for establishing green port hub status and that then port competitiveness is most significantly affected by green operations, sustainable equipment, resources management and cost efficiency at seaports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrialized building system (IBS) is a modern technology that may advance the construction industry. In various domains, conventional construction methodologies are being replaced by IBS to meet growing market demand sustainably. The Malaysian government has successfully started implementing IBS in the public sector. However, the private sector is hesitant about its adoption. Last planner system (LPS) is a realistic way to collaboratively manage project-based production that involves trade foremen or design team leaders (the last planners) in planning in greater and greater detail as the time for the work to be done gets closer. This study identified the critical success factors (CSFs) of IBS adoption using a questionnaire survey distributed among the IBS stakeholders, contractors, consultants and academicians. After that, a conceptual framework was developed for adopting IBS in Malaysia based on the LPS via analytical hierarchy process. The results display the importance level of each CSFs by their criteria weight according to master planning, phase planning, make-ready planning, weekly planning and learning phase in LPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Reportedly, green roof (GR) makes a significant contribution towards a truly sustainable-built environment; however, its implementation is yet to hit a sufficient level in developing countries. Thus, this study assesses GR implementation strategies in developing countries by providing a comparative analysis through experts in Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Turkey. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a four-step methodological approach to achieve the research aim: literature review, focus group discussion, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) analysis and correlation analyses. First, a literature review followed by a focus group discussion is used to determine 18 (out of 25 initially) strategies for the selected context and these are classified into three categories: governmental and institutional support, knowledge and information and policy and regulation. Afterward, the identified GR strategies are evaluated using the FAHP with the data gathered from the experts in the countries studied. Finally, correlation analyses were used to observe the strength of agreement between the assessments of experts from the included countries. Findings: The findings indicate that financial incentives, low-cost government loans and subsidies and tax rebates are the essential strategies for the wider adoption of GR. Evaluating the policy and regulations strategies also showed that mandatory GR policies and regulations and better enforcement of the developed GR policies are ranked as the most prominent strategies. The findings show a low level of agreement among respondents from Kazakhstan, while there is a high level of agreement between the experts in Malaysia and Turkey. Research limitations/implications: The research contribution is twofold. First (research implication), the study identifies the strategies through a complete literature review. Second, the identified strategies are evaluated through the lenses of experts in three developing countries which are hoped to provide (practical contribution) a better understanding of the most effective strategies that require attention and enable the frontline stakeholders (particularly government authorities) to focus on them. Originality/value: The study findings provide a good point of departure to explore the strategies for broader adoption of GRs in developing economic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface water pollution is a huge issue worldwide that keeps growing in magnitude and complexity which leads to millions of people don't have access to clean water resource. Numerous studies on vulnerability, hazard and risk assessment of water pollution had been conducted yet most of them only focused on one of the three risk components. Therefore, the objective of this study was to apply a geospatial approach that integrated hydrogeological and anthropogenic parameters to assess the risk of surface water pollution in Selangor River Basin, Malaysia. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) were applied in hydrogeological vulnerability assessment. WRASTIC index was used in anthropogenic hazard assessment. The risk map showed that high-risk zones were mainly located in areas where development and agricultural activities are extensive. Conversely, low-risk zones were in areas that were mostly covered by forest with few developments, such as the upstream region. The results also revealed that high and very risk levels were dependent on soil media and presence of land use and anthropogenic activity especially agriculture, industry, and wastewater presence. The risk map also showed that developed area with high hydrogeological vulnerability would have higher risk of pollution compared to areas without any anthropogenic hazard. The risk map can assist stakeholders to identify at risk of pollution. This allows for better decision-making in integrated river basin management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parties conducting electronic businesses usually do not meet face-to-face, nor do they exchange currency or hard copies of documents hand-to-hand. When companies enter electronic commerce transactions, choosing an electronic payment (or E-Wallet) system that will work well is a major issue. In the present study, initially, after examining different E-Wallet systems in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, assessment criteria were identified based on previous research and experts interviews. The assessment criteria were used for questionnaire development to rank factors for selection of the best E-Wallet in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The survey result was analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a mathematical model, and synthesized using Superdecisions® software. Then, applying the AHP, the five top E-Wallets used in the Klang Valley were ranked. Results show that Samsung Pay is the most preferred E-Wallet system, followed by Lazada Wallet and Boost. The findings of this research are intended to be useful for both academic researchers and companies planning to adopt or improve their electronic payment systems. The hierarchical model developed in this study is expected to provide valuable guidance to E-Wallet service providers, banking industry practitioners, financial institutions, and similar companies in optimizing their resources. E-Wallet service providers can use the results to increase the adoption of their E-Wallet transactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to determine the suitable places for a radioactive waste repository in Peninsular Malaysia to implement a permanent disposal facility for disposal sealed radioactive sources (DSRS). The sole Malaysia interim waste storage that stores a large proportion of DSRS was expected to be occupied by 2025 fully. Currently, the nation's licensing board promoted the borehole disposal facility to resolve the full capacity dilemma. The potential sites were determined by the geographical information system (GIS) based Weight Linear Combination (WLC) analysis, integrating the improved Analysis Hierarchical Process (improved AHP) and the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approaches. The sensitivity analysis was applied to identify the main contributing factors for corresponding Peninsular Malaysia selection. Ten parametric criteria and three exclusion criteria are applied to assess the potential areas and screen out the unfavorable regions, respectively. Results indicated the final composite map presents 435 areas of very high suitability class with 17.5% coverage from the total suitability class. The top 5 largest candidates with high potentiality are Jerantut & Ulu Lepar, Bandar Tun Razak, Pertang & Simpang, Pertang, Tanjung Ipoh, and Labis, where come from three provinces: Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor. By TOPSIS model, the ranks for these five candidates are Jerantut & Ulu Lepar, Bandar Tun Razak, Tanjung Ipoh, Labis and Simpang Pertang. The model revealed that the suitability ranks is proportional to its area sizes in the approximate values of criteria. The three main contributing factors in Peninsular Malaysia are hydrogeology, seismicity and lithology, which are strongly recommended to involve in other corresponding site selection project. • Top five candidates for radioactive waste disposal site in Malaysia are Jerantut & Ulu Lepar, Bandar Tun Razak, Tanjung Ipoh, Labis and Simpang Pertang. • Three main contributing factors for site selection in Malaysia are hydrogeology, seismicity and lithology. • The suitability index rank is proportional to the area sizes in the consideration of area factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia's renewable energy policies do not cover production from waste, including the generation of biogas from palm oil mill effluent. This paper combines life cycle cost-benefit analysis (LCCBA) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to provide new insights into costs and benefits of technologies over the life cycles, and on the basis of this information, asks experts to rank different options to enhance policy. The results show that the continuous stirred tank reactor has a higher LCC of 0.63 Million USD/year, compared to a LCC value of 0.55 Million USD/year for the covered lagoon bio-digester. In terms of cost-benefit, the continuous stirred tank reactor has a higher net present value of 0.46 Million USD/year, higher return on investment of 10.11% and a shorter payback period of 9.9 years compared to the covered lagoon bio-digester system, which has a net present value of 0.22 Million USD/year, return on investment of 7.79% and a payback period of 12.8 years. The continuous stirred tank reactor system therefore emerges as more economically feasible compared to the covered lagoon bio-digester system. On providing this information to experts using AHP, the three top ranked policy options emerged as: i) providing detailed environmental guidelines, ii) standardising technical guidelines for biogas installation and iii) covering the open pond wall using lining. Economic insights and policy opportunities based on this research can be used to inform policy decision making in multiple contexts where biogas plant projects are under consideration, in both Malaysia and globally. • Life cycle cost-benefit analysis (LCCBA) on palm oil mill effluent treatment. • Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) ranks policy options. • Combining LCCBA and AHP offers insights linking economic analysis & policy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable urban development has been a popular subject in urban studies and related disciplines. Owing to the challenges faced by cities worldwide to accommodate the growing urban populations, it is becoming ever more important for innovative research on sustainable urban development to be performed to help cities achieve sustainability. This study develops and tests an integrated approach to sustainable city assessment, which is a combination of importance-performance analysis (IPA) and modified analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Questionnaires designed following the IPA concept were distributed to residents of three cities. The importance scores from the collected data were factorized and the factors' relative scores were then calculated using a formula developed in this study to represent pairwise comparisons. The derived criteria weights were applied to the performance scores to evaluate the cities' relative overall sustainability performance. This approach replaces the AHP's 1–9 scale with the IPA's importance rating scale, which is a Likert scale, in the questionnaire. Based on the findings, implications and future research suggestions were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Aspects of the lifecycle sustainability of modular and prefabricated construction remain unexplored. In particular, the characteristics of various concrete techniques require further investigation. This study assessed three different construction techniques, namely, On-site concrete (OSC), Individual Panel System (IPS), and Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC). Methods: The following environmental impact criteria were studied: greenhouse gas (GHG), ozone layer depletion (OLD), human toxicity (HT), fossil depletion (FD), and terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE). These were calculated using life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis. The total cost of each case studies was calculated using LCC and a social survey was also conducted using a questionnaire survey. The significance weights were incorporated into an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for use in multi-criteria decision making (MCDM: TOPSIS). Results: PPVC was assessed as the best construction technique for most of the environmental criteria. It was 6%, 2%, and 6% lower than OSC in GHG, FD, and OLD, respectively. On the other hand, OSC was shown to be an economic method by 2.4% and 4% having lower cost than PPVC and IPS. Additionally, PPVC achieved the best value in Social-LCA. Conclusions: Finally, since different concrete construction techniques were nominated as the best for each criterion, an assessment of multi-criteria was conducted. The results of MCDM showed that PPVC is the most sustainable method among the alternatives. Furthermore, two sensitivity analyses were performed to dispense with the human subjectivity involved in AHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most devastating flood event in Kota Bharu was recorded in December 2014, which affected several properties worth millions of dollars and thousands of homes. Damage to physical properties, especially buildings, is identified as a significant contributor to flood disasters in Malaysia. Therefore, it is essential to address physical flood vulnerability by developing an integrated approach for modeling buildings' flood vulnerability to decrease the flood consequences. This study aims at developing a flood vulnerability assessment approach using an indicator-based model (IBM) for individual buildings in Kota Bahru, Kelantan, Malaysia. An intensive literature review and expert opinions were used to determine suitable indicators that contribute to the physical flood vulnerability of buildings. The indicators were grouped into three components, i.e., flood hazard intensity (I), building characteristics (C), and effect of the surrounding environment (E). The indicators were further refined based on expert opinions and Relative Importance Index (RII) analysis. Based on their contribution to the Malaysia local building flood vulnerability, priority weight is assigned by the experts to each of the selected indicators using the participatory Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). A spatial database of buildings in Kota Bharu is developed through field surveys and manually digitizing building footprints from satellite imageries. The identified indicators and their weight are added to each building footprint. The Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) aggregation method combined the weight of indicators into a vulnerability index and maps. The results of a physical flood vulnerability were validated using building damage information obtained through interviews with the community that experienced previous flood in the study area. The result showed that about 98% of the study area's buildings have either moderate or low vulnerability to flooding. The flood vulnerability map has an overall accuracy of 75.12% and 0.63 kappa statistics. In conclusion, the IBM approach has been used successfully to develop a physical flood vulnerability for buildings in Kota Bharu. The model contributes to support different structural and non-structural approaches in the flood mitigations process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]