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Article History

Received: 19 December 2024

Accepted: 6 August 2025

First Online: 16 August 2025

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: The authors confirm that all research involving human participants was conducted in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations, including the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical review and exemption were granted by the Panel of Experts, Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, in December 2019. The panel determined that the study—based on an interview with a single individual, Mohd. Amin Din, who is currently retired and unaffiliated with any institution—qualified for exemption from formal institutional ethics approval. The exemption was granted on the grounds that the research posed minimal risk to the participant and fell outside the scope requiring oversight by a formal ethics review board.

: Informed consent was obtained orally from the participant, Mohd. Amin Din, by the first author in December 2019, prior to the commencement of the interview. The participant was fully informed of the purpose and nature of the study, which involved a non-interventional, qualitative interview for academic research purposes only. The decision to obtain oral rather than written consent was based on the informal and minimal-risk nature of the interview and the participant’s preference for a conversational setting. Oral consent was audio-recorded with the participant’s permission, and a copy of the consent script used has been submitted as part of this manuscript. The participant was explicitly informed that: Participation in the study was entirely voluntary. He could withdraw at any point without consequence. All information collected would be used strictly for research purposes. His identity would remain confidential in all reporting and dissemination of results. The data would be stored securely and used solely by the research team for analysis and publication. The participant confirmed that he understood these conditions and freely agreed to take part in the study.