Heliyon 6 (2020) e03370

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Heliyon
journal homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon

Research article

The influence of leadership quality towards community cohesion in Iban

community in Malaysia
M. Rezaul Islam a, b, *, Haris Abd Wahab b, Laying ak Anggum b
a
Institute of Social Welfare & Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1205, Bangladesh
b
Department of Social Administration & Justice, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study aimed to examine the influence of the traditional leadership qualities towards to develop community
Iban community cohesion in the Iban community in Malaysia. A quantitative approach was used to conduct this study, where data
Community development were collected through a self-administered survey questionnaire from 210 chiefs in the Iban longhouse at the
Malaysia
Pakan District in Sarawak, Malaysia. A pre-tested questionaire was administrered to the respondents using a
Leadership quality
Leadership
simple random sampling in the District of Pakan, Sarawak. The leadership quality was measured based on the
Community cohesion leadership traits, leadership style, leadership behaviour, situational leadership, and trsnformational leadership;
Social sciences while the community cohesion was measured by a sense of belonging, social alienation, social support, rooted-
Economics ness, social solidarity, and social ties. The results of the correlation and regression analysis showed that the
Sociology traditional leadership qualities had a significant correlation with the development of social cohesion. The findings
Social organisation proved that the traditional leadership is essential to increase community cohesion in the Iban community. The
Human rights findings would be important guideline to the development thinkers, practitioners, community leaders, and
development institutions.

1. Introduction driving through the changes required to build a more cohesive

community.
Community development is a process through which people and The commitment of leaders towards community involvement is a key
communities learn how they can help themselves (Commnity Develop- indicator in developing community cohesion. While the success of
ment Academy, 1997). One of the main purpose of community devel- leadership in society depends on the quality of followers who are willing
opment is to improve cohesion in the community. Leadership is an to contribute to the success of the leadership of the largest power (Sab-
important element towards community cohesion of a society (Martis- ran, 1999). Sabran (1999) also noted that success in community devel-
kainen, 2017; Wood, 2017; Decrane, 1996; Campbell, 1997). Leadership opment not only the efforts of the leaders, but success is also attributed
quality has led the transformation of the community development. Ac- with strong support from members of the community. The quality lead-
cording to Asnarulkhadi (2005), a successful community development ership aims to lead, engage and influence and usually produce interaction
can happen when social ties among community members strengthened so with a group, organization or community. The relationship between the
that it can form a network and apply social support among them. leader and community is very important to establish the success of
Therefore, it can be said that the leadership plays an important role in the community development. Therefore, the quality of leadership form is the
community development process. Aspects of leadership have a strong basis of the power of the people under his/her command and become the
influence on the formation of community cohesion in a community and main indicator for the success of a community to build community
contribute to the community development process. Social values and cohesion. Leadership quality and the formation of a strong cohesion
processes related to social integrity is the foundation of community could promote efforts in community cohesion. Thus resulting in sus-
cohesion. Accordingly, the quality leader is needed to form a strong tainable community development takes place when it shares common
cohesion with community members. Chris et al. (2005) mentioned that values in the community working to establish certain criteria in the social
leadership and commitment are essential to the development of com- attraction and establishment of friendly relations between members of
munity cohesion. Someone needs to take responsibility for managing and the community. In addition, leaders who have the knowledge and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Rezaul Islam).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03370
Received 15 October 2018; Received in revised form 25 May 2019; Accepted 3 February 2020
2405-8440/© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
M. Rezaul Islam et al. Heliyon 6 (2020) e03370

abilities are also seen as more effective in helping members of the com- achieving the stated goals. Abdullah and Ainon (2003) defined leader-
munity to identify and take advantage of the development carried out. ship as a behavior that aims to influence other individuals and encourage
Whereas, according to Sabran (1999), leader with the criteria and them to obey without pressure. Islam and Morgan (2012) emphasize
characteristics of effective also contributed to the success of community natural leadership style where leadership cannot be achieved by training;
development. However, communitycohesion is the result of the rela- rather it should be developed through group activities. Isaac Mostovicz et
tionship that exists to unite the community, develop harmony and a sense al., (2009) defines leadership as an interpersonal influence that is
of community and commitment to achieve common goals. implemented in a situation and directed through a process of commi-
Iban community is the largest community in Sarawak, Malaysia. Most nution towards goal achievement. However, leadership is clearly a role
of them live in longhouses. Kedit (1980) describes the Iban longhouse as that leads toward goal achievement, involves interaction and influence,
"values of unity and communal living". Tuai rumah is the person responsible and usually results in some form of changed structure of behavior of
for maintaining the harmony of Iban society in the Long house. They are groups, organizations, or communities.
the responsible leaders in the care of the affairs of the longhouse. This The role of leadership completely depends on the leadership style.
responsibility is inherited from generation to generation by every The scholars in the field of leadership research use many and varied
selected Tuai Rumah who heads a longhouse. In line with current conceptualizations of leadership style. Most of the definitions are based
changes, Tuai Rumah has to prepares itself with superior leadership on a distinction between an internally and intrinsically directed, people-
qualities to enhance its influence among longhouse communities. Hence, oriented, and stimulating leadership style versus an externally and
maintaining the harmony of living in longhouses is the biggest challenge extrinsically directed, task-oriented and correcting leadership style
for the Tuai Rumah as it involves the aspect of community cohesion and (Vermeeren et al., 2014). Some definions underpin the differentiation
requires a high commitment from the entire longhouse society. Tradi- made between transformational versus transactional leadership (Bass
tional leadership practiced in the past is no longer productive and does and Avolio, 1994) and participative versus authoritive leadership. Islam
not necessarily apply in some situations (Warren, 1998). To consider the (2016) found that Gramsci's ‘organic’ intellectual leadership, developed
above situation, this study is an attept to examine the quality of leader- through social processes, is more important to manage non-governmental
ship in Iban community. This study showed that the quality of leadership organizations' (NGOs') development projects as this kind of leader suc-
is crucial in safeguarding and forming community cohesion in longhouse cessfully shares organizational values and norms and disseminates these
communities. Hence, the focus of this study is to determine the quality of values and practices with his/her group members.
leadership among the Tuai Rumah and its influence on the formation of The leadership goals are to improve the quality of work, to transform,
cohesion among Iban communities in longhouses. and to set goals to achieve success. Leadership quality is often a measure
This study has a number of rationales and importances. We believe of the success of community development. This study is more focused on
that while the study focuses on Iban community in Malaysia, the impli- a community leaderwho is responsive to community needs. This is most
cations are international in scope. The Minstry of Women, Family and effective when s/he shares its goals, values and vision in the local
Community Development, Malaysia is responsible to determiner policies community.
and direction to achive women, family and community development. We Today, ‘community cohesion'is more influential concept in commu-
mentioed earlier that leadership and social cohesion are important ele- nity development. According to Isham et al. (2002), the integrity of the
ments for community development. The Iban community is part of the community depends largely on the social solidarity formed in the aspect
Sarawakian community of Bumiputera, which comprises the vast ma- of bonding, individual basic relationships, development, effectiveness
jority in the state of Sarawak. According to the last census, the total and function of community that allows to thrive civic engagement. From
population in Sarawak was 579,900, and the Iban comprises the largest subjective point of view, community cohesion was seen as ‘perceived
percentage (almost 30%) of this population (Department of Statistics, cohesion’ that was referred as ‘solidarity’ (a deeply shared identity and
Malaysia, 2010; Hoe et al., 2018). Traditional leadership style is one of shared values). According to Morris et al. (2011 in Hansard, 2006), there
the most dominants in this community, but due to globalization and is a common vision and sense of belonging by all communities; a society
mainstream development, the traditional leadership is changing a lot in which the diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances is
over time. In the line with this argument, this study examines the styles of appreciated and valued; a society in which similar life opportunities are
leaderships in Iban community. Here, the leadership quality was available to all; and a society in which strong and positive relationships
measured based on the leadership traits, leadership style, leadership exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in schools and in the
behaviour, situational leadership, and trsnformational leadership; while wider community. Weinstein et al. (2015) added the nature of commu-
the community cohesion was measured by a sense of belonging, social nity cohesion as a sense of place is closely tied into a sense of community:
alienation, social support, rootedness, social solidarity, and social ties. By “when the latent bond of common interest in the place…draws people
using a number of statistical tools such as correlation and regression together and enables them to express common sentiments through joint
analyses, this study showed that the traditional leadership qualities had a action”.
significant correlation with the development of social cohesion in the Improving the function and quality of local leadership is one of the
Iban community. The study argued that the findings would be important ways to shape cohesion in the community (Browne et al., 2005; Tekleab
guideline to the development thinkers, practitioners, community leaders, et al., 2008). This is because, the institutions of leadership and unity in
and development institutions. rural communities are elements that depend on each other. However,
different communities need different approaches to unifying them with
2. Literature review other communities (Avolio et al., 2009). Hence, the quality of leadership
and the formation of community cohesion is the basis for the community
2.1. Leadership and community cohesion development and growth of the community. Here, community develop-
ment is considered as a process that enables people to take collective
The literature gives a certain level of confusion about the definition of action to achieve their common goals; as a participatory method it leads
leadership, leadership style and qualities of leadership. These concepts to improved resource allocation and sustainable outcomes, to increase
may have a number of definitions but still these are very complicated and the negotiation power of poor people, and mobilises greater local re-
these are studied through various fields that require different definitions. sources (Islam, 2016). The strength of community cohesion also illus-
For example, many theories and explanations have been developed in trates the ability of a community to function and develop in a harmonious
leadership because of their importance as a practice and research topic atmosphere together. The community solidarity can only grow in full as
(Dubrin, 2010). Zaharah and Silong (2008) mention that leadership is an they recognize each individual has the right to their social equality
art or process to influence a person, group, organization responsible for (Tekleab et al., 2008).

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2.2. Leadership system in Iban community ii) To explore the leadership quality of the Iban community accord-
ing to the leadership traits, leadership style, leadership behaviour,
Iban Dayak is one of the groups who mostly live in Sarawak, including situational leadership, and trsnformational leadership;
a small represent in West Kalimantan and Sulawesi. The Iban population iii) To measure the community cohesion according to the sense of
is about 30% of all citizens and ethnic Dayak Sarawak's largest compared belonging, social alienation, social support, rootedness, social
with other ethnic Dayak (Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2014; solidarity, and social ties.
Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, 2014). In short, ethnic ethnographic
boundaries in Sarawak can be solved being on three main categories: the 3.2. Research methods
coastline inhabited by Malays and Melanau, the lowlands were inhabited
by the Iban and Bidayuh. While the highlands are mainly made up of 3.2.1. Research approach and research method
ethnic minorities such as the Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Murut and Punan. This study used a quantitative approach, where a survey design was
Generally, the leadership in the Iban community can be divided into carried out to conduct this study. This design generally provided the
traditional and modern leadership. The traditional leadership is called characteristics and quality of leadership and social cohesion of the Iban
TuaiRumah, while modern leadership consists of institutions Temeng- community. Here, leadership quality aspects are categorized as inde-
gong, Pemancha and headman. This study focused on the quality of the pendent variables, while social cohesion variables are categorized as
traditional leadership in the Iban longhouse in the formation of com- dependent variables tested based on the impact of these leadership
munity cohesion among the people of the longhouse. This kind of lead- qualities. The study employed the correlation statistical tool which
ership is very dominant and has a strong influence in the rural determined the relationship between these variables.
community. Normally, they are made up of parents or religious leaders
and highly respected by the community. The relationship between 3.2.2. Study location, population and sampling
traditional leaders and communities found to be very closely because This study was conducted in Pakan District of the Sarawak Sarikei
they are seen more often interact and sit in a set of communities. Division. The Sarikei Division consists of four main districts namely
Traditional leadership role in uniting the Iban community is critical to Sarikei District, Meradong District, Julau District and Pakan District.
the success of any project. TuaiRumah is the authority to appoint lead- Based on the last Preliminary Count Report in 2010, the total number of
ership in the longhouse only, Penghulu on the regional, and Pemancha on population in Sarikei was 54, 992. The composition of the Iban popula-
the county level. Tua Rumah leadership institutions have existed before tion in the city of Sarikei is 18, 559, Meradong 27, 676, Julau 15, 419,
the British colonial era and still remains to this day. The leader is better and Pakan consist of 15, 480 people. The Pakan district was chosen as the
known as Tuai works practically an institution in the longhouse. Tuai in location of the study because of its population density factor consisting of
Malay means ‘old or head’ and ‘house’ refers to the items under the au- Iban. Based on the source of census population in 2010, a total of 14, 423
thority of the tuai. people in the Pakan District are Ibanians. The people of this district are
Quality traditional leadership is crucial in shaping cohesion and still practicing the traditional Iban community life pattern. Based on
simultaneously promoting community development processes among these homogenous factors and characteristics, the Pakan District is best
rural communities. According to Ozor and Nwankwo (2008), quality suited for this study.
local leadership is essential to bring the development process as they can This study applied a multi-stage sampling procedure. First, selected
influence the participation of the community to be voluntarily engaged in the Pakan District for the study. Secondly, considered six main long-
development activities. The Iban community also has a modern level house areas such as Engkamop, Wak, Pedanum, UluJulau, Lemunjan,
leadership institution consisting of Penghulu and Pemancha. The Pen- and Entabai.), and then three areas such as Wak Area, Lemujan/
ghulu Institution, and Pemancha were created during Brooke's reign, in Entabai Street Area and Entabai were randomly selected. Thirdly,
their efforts to unite the Iban community at that time. Thus, the position selected thelonghouses from the three longhouse areas where 10% of
of modern leadership is given only on the basis of certain or ad hoc the longhouses from the three areas were randomly selected. Total
purposes only to win the anti-Brooke's Iban community. According to nine longhouses were selected. Fourthly, selected a total 210 house-
Jayum (1991), Penghulu's post was created to generate power and po- hold heads “tuaibilik” as respondents from nine longhouses for the
sition stability of a TuaiRumah. This institution is empowered to study.
administer the welfare of the longhouses and the Houses of Residence.
This study aimed to examine the influence of the traditional leader- 3.2.3. Inclusion and exclusion criteria
ship qualities towards to develop community cohesion in the Iban com- The study followed the following inclusion criteria to select the re-
munity in Malaysia. The basic hypothesis of this study is leadership spondents. All other were excluded from the study.
quality in terms of leadership characteristics, behavior, styles, situation
and transformational will influence the formation of social cohesion of i. head of longhouse household “tuaibilik” either male or female,
Iban communities in longhouses. ii. (ii) living in the selected longhouse, and
iii. (iii) recognize tuairumah as a leader for the longhouse
3. Study objective and methodology
3.2.4. Profile of the respondents
3.1. Study objective Overall, the respondents involved in this study were between 20 years
and the maximum age of 80 years with an average age of 46 years
3.1.1. Main objective (Table 1). 61% of them were males. This group was considered valiant in
The main objective of this study was to examine the influence of the speech and has a strong influence on the organization in a longhouse.
traditional leadership qualities towards to develop community cohesion Men were actually functioning as head of the room for each family. While
in the Iban community in Malaysia. women were more than male assistants and do housework. 74% of the
respondents were married and the average household size was five. 35%
3.1.2. Specific objective of the respondents did not attend school. A few of the respondents (1%)
had diploma and 2% had Bachelor Degree. Due to their low level of
i) To know the demographic and socioeconomic profile of the Iban education, they were employed as farmers (74%) with less than RM500
community; monthly income (77%).

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3.2.7. Data analysis techniques

Table 1. Respondents’ socio-demographic information. The data obtained from the distribution of questionnaire were
Socio-demographic information N % analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version
Age 22.0). To ensure the reality and validity of the study, the pilot test and the
<30 years 38 18.1
Cronbach Alpha test were used. Based on pilot study, Alpha Cronbach
31–40 years 28 13.3
values for each element as follows; community cohesion ¼ 0.867, lead-
ership characteristics ¼ 0.823, leadership style ¼ 0.896, leadership
41–50 years 69 32.9
behaviour ¼ 0.789, situation leadership ¼ 0.932, and transformational
51–60 years 39 18.6
leadership ¼ 0.947. In order to facilitate the data analysis, procedures
61 years 36 17.1
frequencies, product-moment correlation and multiple regression were
Sex
employed.
Male 129 61.4
Female 81 38.6
4. Results
Marital status
Bachelor 31 14.8 4.1. Correlation analysis
Married 156 74.3
Single mother or father 23 11.0 Perason product-moment correlation were employed to determine
Family size the relationship between leadership quality element (independent vari-
2–4 people 82 39.0 able) and community cohesion among the Iban community (dependent
5–7 people 91 43.3 variable). Five leadership quality (indenpendent variables) were
8–11 people 34 16.2 included in the following correlation analysis. The former comprised:
12 people 3 1.4 leadership traits, leadership style, leadership behaviour, situational
Education level leadership and transformational leadership. While the dependent vari-
No formal education 73 34.8 able is community cohesion among Iban community. Table 2 presents the
Primary School 54 25.7 correlation analysis.
Lower Secondary School/SRP/LCE 30 14.3 Data showed that the correlation coefficients (r) for the five
Secondary School/SPM/MCE 35 16.7 leadership quality variables were highly significant. These obser-
Upper Secondary School/STPM/HSC 11 5.2
vations indicated that positive relationships existed between five
Diploma 2 1.0
variables and community cohesion among Iban community. An
analysis of leadership quality influence to community cohesion level
Bachelor Degree 5 2.4
was also done by using Multiple Linear Regression Analysis using
Primary occupation
‘enter’ method. Table 3 presents the multiple linear regression tests
Farmer 155 73.5
between leadership qualities (independent variables) with levels of
Gardeners 15 7.1
community cohesion (dependent variable). The results of multiple
Housewife 11 5.2
linear regression tests against the five independent variables
Public Sectors 7 3.3
analyzed are leadership qualities (leaders' characteristics, leadership
Private Sectors 3 1.4
styles, leadership behaviors, leadership situations and trans-
Not Working 20 9.5 formational leadership). The five leadership qualities are significant
Income in contributing to the formation of community cohesion in the Iban
< RM500 161 76.7 community in the longhouse.
RM501 - RM1000 40 19.0 The findings of the study show that (R) for this study is 0.64. The
RM1001 - RM1500 5 2.4 value of R (0.64) explains that there is a high correlation between in-
RM1501 - RM2000 1 0.5 dependent variables with dependent variables. While Adjusted R2
RM2001 - RM2500 1 0.5 Square value analysis (0.396) shows that about 40% of variants in
>RM2501 2 1.0 community cohesion can be explained together by 5 independent var-
iables for this regression test. The results of the analysis show that
leadership practice of transformation (sig 0.001), leadership style (sig
3.2.5. Data collection methods and data collection instruments 0.018), leadership behavior (sig 019), situation leadership (sig 0.045)
Data were collected through a face-to-face interview method. There and characteristic of leader (sig 0.001) significantly explaining the
were a number of justifications to use this method for data collection. formation of Iban community cohesion in the longhouse. The study
First, the respondents’ education level was low and this face-to- face found that the transformational leadership factor (sig 0.001) and the
interview method was more effective to them. Secondly, this data characteristic of the leader (sig 0.001) were strong factors in contrib-
collection method has a number of merits such as accurate screening, uting to the community cohesion of the Iban community. This finding
capture verbal and non-verbal meanings, keep focus, and capture emo- illustrates that the level of community cohesion is increasing as Tuai
tions and behaviours (DeFranzo, 2014). All of these advantages pro- Rumah has the practice of transfiguration leadership in his government.
moted to collect data efficiently. A structured interview schedule was Hence, the quality of the TuaiRumah regarding individual consider-
prepared for this data collection procedure. ation, motivation and inspiration, the ability of intellectual simulations
and showing superior influence to longhouse residents will have a high
3.2.6. Ethical approval tendency in the formation of community cohesion of the Iban com-
The researchers used the research ethics provided by the University of munity. Meanwhile, Tuai Rumah which has the characteristics of
Malaya Research Ethics Committee (UMREC). The researchers submitted leaders such as skilled and taboo and customary, educated, caring,
an application in a prescribed form with the research proposal and other responsible, honest and having a stable economic background will give
relevant documents to the UMREC. The committee undertakes ethics the advantage to increase its influence among the communities in
review of all research involving human participants and approved this longhouses.
research.

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adding one's trust and respect. This leader also has the characteristic
Table 2. Correlations between leadership quality variables and community charisma of a leader who seeks to develop a great symbolic power to
cohesion among Iban community.
influence his followers (Lussier and Achua, 2009). On the other hand,
Leadership quality variables Correlation coefficient (r) TuaiRumah Leadership with good inspirational motivation was success-
Leadership traits 0.506** ful in contributing to the longhouse community's readiness to work
Leadsrehip style 0.477** continuously and optimist about their future. Leadership with inspira-
Leadership behaviour 0.465** tional motivation is a leader capable of attracting and empowering his
Situational leadership 0.431** followers.
Transformational leadership 0.590** The second element of leadership qualities influencing the commu-
** nity cohesion in the Iban community in the longhouse is the character of
Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
the leader itself. These leadership features are also seen as an important
factor in the TuaiRumah's social resources and influence over the Iban
community in the longhouse. Even according to Brown & Nylander
5. Discussion
(1998), the role of leadership personalities may be very crucial in the
early stages of community leadership formation. Findings showed that
The objective of this study was to determine the influence leadership
TuaiRumah in this Iban community mostly have a stable economic
quality toward the community cohesion in the Iban longhouse. Based on
background. The study also found experienced leaders as well as char-
a quantitative analysis, the study found that all elements of the leadership
acteristics that influenced the leadership aspects of the longhouse com-
qualities such as leaders’ characteristics, behavior, styles, situation and
munity. The vast experience of a TuaiRumah has been found to help a lot
transformational have relationship and contributing factor to the for-
in strengthening its leadership credibility. Among other features owned
mation community cohesion in the longhouse of the Iban community in
by the TuaiRumah are such as caring, responsible and honest.
Malaysia. The article contributed a dynamic and multi-dimensional un-
derstanding of how the leadership quality influential were shaping
within the community cohesion in the Iban community in Malaysia. The 6. Conclusion
findings showed that transformational leadership variables and charac-
teristics of leaders were two major contributors to the formation of Based on a quantitative research approach, this study explored the
community cohesion in the Iban community. Transformation leadership leadership quality based on leadership traits, leadership style, leadership
emphasized the aspect of moral values, ethics and leaders' insights in behaviour, situational leadership, and trsnformational leadeship; while
influencing and transforming individuals, organizations and commu- the community cohesion was measured by a sense of belonging, social
nities (Lussier and Achua, 2009). According to Avolio et al. (2009), alienation, social support, rootedness, social solidarity, and social ties.
transformational leadership is a behavior that transform and inspire This study acknowledged the limitations of the study that data were
followers to perform beyond expectations while transcending collected fully depend on quantitative approach that would facilitate the
self-interest for the good of organization. Therefore, leadership in triangulation. A further study can be suggested that could captured many
transformation requires that a leader have characteristicsidealized in- qualitative aspects about the leadership and community cohesion in the
fluence, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and Iban community. Results showed that the quality of traditional leader-
inspirational motivation. ship has a very significant relationship with the formation of community
Idealized influences owned by TuaiRumah can be seen through their cohesion. This explains the increasingly high quality of the Leadership of
personality that shows a high commitment to things related to commu- the House, the higher the community cohesion that exists in the
nity life, easy to approach the population, can make judgments in deci- community.
sion making, mutual values, gain people's confidence and selflessness. The importance of the traditional leadership of TuaiRumah is seen
This is in line with the assertion that the Iban people served the collective bringing a new dimension in the field of community development. This
interest of the group. In addition, the superior influence of TuaiRumah study has emphasized the quality of traditional TuaiRumah leadership to
also shows that they have their own charisma in leading the longhouse shape community cohesion in the Iban community. The importance of
residents. This is in line with the assertion made by Bass & Riggio (2006). leadership in the Iban community is not something new in the world of
They said that transformational leadership has much in common with scientific research and has acquired a wide range of critical views from
charismatic leadership, but charisma is only part of transformational local researchers or outside researcher. Early institutional leadership in
leadership. The shared values here refer to the living space that exists Iban society can be seen clearly in the longhouse social organization
between leaders and members of the community. This situation can ‘TuaiRumah’. The Iban community also has various other ‘Tuai’ titles
explain that the Iban community adopts an egalitarian way of life as the such as ‘TuaiKayau’, ‘TuaiSabong’, and ‘TuaiBurong’. According to the
Iban community has the rights of equality and served the collective in- findings of this study, to improve the quality of traditional leadership
terest of the group. should be given special attention to future research. The importance of
Individualized consideration is a factor that describes the role of the improving the quality of leadership in the Iban community also has a
leader as a mentor to his followers. It is the attitude that a leader must positive impact on the development of rural communities.
possess by giving an example of high ethical behavior, being pride, and The findings of this study has a greater policy implication. Malaysia is
a multi-racial country. At the policy level, the government acknowledges
that national unity would not be possible without a greater equity and
Table 3. Multiple regrression of independent variable on community cohesion. balance among Malaysia's social and ethnic groups (Tenth Malaysia Plan,
2011–2015). Cohesion and social unity are important elements in
Independent variables Standardized Coefficients Sig. T maintaining the security of the country and the well-being of its people.
Beta (β) There are various factors that can contribute to the promotion of com-
Leadership traits .270 .001 munity cohesion among the people. Based on this study, it is found that
Leadership style .199 .018 the community leadership factor is an important element that needs to be
Leadership behaviour -.251 .019 taken into account in enhancing cohesion and unity in society. Therefore,
Situational leadership .145 .045 policymakers need to be aware of the need to involve community leaders
Transformational leadership .397 .001 in planning and implementing programs related to national unity.
a 2
The result from this study also helped to reveal that the success of the
R ¼ .641 , Adjusted R ¼ .396, F ¼ 28.430, Sig. F ¼ .000.
community cohesion programme was not depended solely on how much

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money, skills and efforts that were allocated, but most important was to Community Development Academy, 1997. Building Community from Grassroots.
University of Missouri, Columbia.
exist a strong and clear connections and linkages between effectives
DeCrane Jr., A.C., 1996. A constitutional model of leadership. The Leader of the Future:
leaders and other existing factors in the community. In general, New Visions, Strategies, and Practices for the Next Era. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco,
community-level leaders are either officially or unofficial selected by the CA.
authorities. The findings exposed that all of the elements of leadership DeFranzo, S.E., 2014. Advantages and Disadvantages of Face-To-Face Data Collection.
Snap Surveys Ltd, London.
qualities, which are the characteristics of leaders, leadership behaviors, Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2010. The 2010 Population and Housing Census of
leadership styles, situation leadership and transformational leadership Malaysia. Department of Statistics, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
contributed to community cohesion in the Iban community. Therefore, Department of Statistics, Malaysia, 2014. The 2014 Population and Housing Census of
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M. Rezaul Islam: Performed the experiments; Analyzed and inter-
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preted the data; Contributed reagents, materials, analysis tools or data; Palgrave Macmillan, London.
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Laying Anggun: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed Demografi 2010. Putrajaya, Malaysia.
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Sarawak, East Malaysia. University of Hull, Hull of City.
Kedit, P.M., 1980. Modernization Among the Iban of Sarawak. Dewan Bahasa dan
Funding statement Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur.
Lussier, R.N., Achua, C.F., 2009. Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development, 4
ed. Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio.
This work was supported by University Malaya Research Grant Martiskainen, M., 2017. The role of community leadership in the development of
(Project No - PG113-2013A). grassroots innovations. Environ. Innovat. Soc. Trans. 22, 78–89.
Morris, A.B., McDaid, M., Potter, H., 2011. Promoting community cohesion in england.
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leadership development. Leader. Organ. Dev. J.
The authors declare no conflict of interest. Ozor, N., Nwankwo, N., 2008. The role of local leaders in community development
programmes in ideato local government area of imo state: implication for extension
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Additional information Sabran, M.S., 1999. Leadership in the Success of Community Development Projects in
Malaysia: Two Case Studies. University of Missouri-Columbia, USA.
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Effects of self-awareness of empowering and transformational leadership. J. Leader.
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