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This study analyzes the relationship between values and social problems for Malaysian teenagers. Malaysia has undergone a tremendous social transformation that has affected many of its traditional and religious values and norms. This development is said to have contributed to a r.ise in social problems. Our basic premises are that values are reflected by behavior and that reli­gion plays an important role in Malaysians' value formation. In this context, and since !slam is Malaysia's official religion, the measurement of values is based on the works of al-Ghazali and Rokeach.1 Some suggestions also are provided for future devel­opment policies.

The information on extra costs of disability among developing countries, including Malaysia, is lacking and the issue seems neglected. As a result, an appropriate amount of monetary assistance that should be provided to the disabled community in Malaysia could not be determined. This paper undertakes a preliminary analysis of the extra costs of having a disability, by taking the staff of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) as the sample as to calculate the extra costs of having a disability. The standard of living approach is adopted, and the extra costs are calculated by dividing the estimated coefficient of disability variables by the estimated coefficient of income. This paper analyses the extra costs among households containing one person with disabilities, and also across different severity levels, types of disability, according to gender, and residential area (i.e. urban or rural). Overall, a household containing one person with disabilities accounted 27.5 per cent out of their monthly income to fulfil disability-related needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Trade Organization (WTO), established on 1 January 1995 as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), has played an important role in promoting global free trade. The implementation of its agreements, however, has not been smooth and easy. In fact this has been particularly difficult for developing countries, since they are expected to be on a level playing field with the developed countries. After more than a decade of existence, it is worth looking at the WTO’s impact on developing countries, particularly Muslim countries. This paper focuses mainly on the performance of merchandise trade of Muslim countries after they joined the WTO. I first analyze their participation in world merchandise trade and highlight their trade characteristics in general. This is then followed by a short discussion on the implications of WTO agreements on Muslim countries and some recommendations on how to face this challenge.