PurposeThe obfuscation hypothesis suggests that under‐performing firms will tend to obscure the meaning of their corporate narratives by deliberately adopting a textual complexity, most readily apparent through poor readability and the use of unnecessarily difficult language. This paper seeks to add to the literature in the area by comparing the textual complexity of corporate narratives, notably the chairman's statement, of main board and second board companies on the Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange), with their financial performance, and also to examine the impact of company size, board membership and degree of statutory regulation on the readability of corporate narratives.Design/methodology/approachFollowing the existing literature this paper uses readability as a proxy for textual complexity, in addition to more direct measures, and seeks to examine relationships between textual complexity and various measures of financial performance.FindingsThe findings suggest that there are significant relationships between corporate language and financial performance, but that these are not consistent with the obfuscation hypothesis.Originality/valueThe findings are consistent with the suggestion that increased regulation and statutory monitoring of disclosures are associated with improved readability of narrative. They do not provide support for the obfuscation hypothesis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted nations with enormous impact, socially and economically. This study seeks to examine the impact of COVID-19 on SMEs in Malaysia. The data was collected from a questionnaire-based survey and interviews conducted in July and early August 2020. The results of this study focused on the background of the SMEs, the impact on SMEs during Covid 19 crisis, particularly on the use of online distribution channel to sustain their business, and the economic stimulus package provided by the government to the SMEs. Findings showed that the severity of COVID-19 impact on SMEs in Malaysia differs according to the nature and size of the business. Among the impacts noted in this study are disruption in the business operation, reduction in both the supply and demand of the products, low production, financial instability, and the shift to the digital distribution channel. Moreover, this study indicated that government intervention plays a significant role in facilitating the SMEs to sustain their business in the industry.

Academicians, practitioners, and other faith-based stakeholders have recognised Ar-Rahnu or Islamic pawn broking as one of micro financing tool to the Muslims. The increasing need for ArRahnu services is influenced by the awareness of the Muslims on the availability of such service and the benefit of using it. In line with this development is academician is growing interest in Ar-Rahnu research, thus create opportunities for interested scholars to assess the development of research in this discipline. This paper purported to review published studies in this discipline since the inception of Ar-Rahnu concept to the current year to identify key trends or issues in ArRahnu research and propose future research agenda. This review, which is the first of its kind, is hoped to be valuable to the present and future Ar-Rahnu scholars interested in the evolution of literature and identifying opportunities for future research.

Job stress is a growing concern in today's workplaces and has been linked to negative mental and physical health outcomes. In this systematic literature review, we aim to examine recent research on the impact of job stress on mental and physical health outcomes. Findings from literature analysis indicate that job stress is consistently associated with negative mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and burnout. Furthermore, job stress is associated with various physical health outcomes, such as cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal disorders. From there, we developed the hypotheses for the study. This study could utilize a cross-sectional or longitudinal research design, depending on the research objectives and data availability later. Data collection could involve a combination of questionnaires, physiological measures, and biomarkers to collect data on job stress and mental and physical health outcomes. Various statistical techniques could be used to explore the relationships between job stress, mental and physical health outcomes, and potential moderating and mediating variables. Overall, the findings of this research can provide valuable insights into the harmful impact of job stress on mental and physical health and can inform the development of interventions and policies to promote employee well-being and reduce the negative effects of job stress.

The recession has caused many SMEs to close their doors, but some still found ways to survive and even thrive during these difficult times. This study intends to identify the critical success factors for SMEs in Malaysia to survive during an economic recession. The research methodology used in this study was a questionnaire survey and several semi-structured interviews. The data was collected from July through August 2020. Some three hundred surveys were sent out to the public using email, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Personal contacts were used to disseminate the surveys to respondents from SMEs across Malaysia. The findings focus on the sustainability strategies used during a turbulent environment like the current economic recession in Malaysia. The findings of this study concluded that improving access to finance and other support from government and financial institutions, human resources strategy, product innovation, and network strategies were also other factors to Malaysian SMEs' success during an economic recession. Adopting downscoping as a sustainable strategy help improve company profitability and stability as this will help sustain market competitiveness. Focusing on long-term strategies to sustain competitiveness in the market is also suggested as a critical success factor for Malaysian SMEs during an economic recession. It is in line with the government's strategy to successfully help Malaysian SMEs compete in a global market.