Generation Z and the Level of Islamic Akhlaq Practices

: Akhlaq (good moral character) is an important element in the life of adolescents. It determines adolescent behaviour. Akhlaq is the product of knowledge and an understanding of knowledge gained through formal or informal education. The practice of Islamic akhlaq needs to be internalized in every student in order to build self-respect and good behaviour. The practice of Islamic akhlaq plays a role in creating piety in a person and becomes the measure of balance in Allah’s judgment. Therefore, this research is very relevant for the purpose of identifying the level of Islamic akhlaq practised by the young generation. This research is designed as a survey study that uses a questionnaire as the research instrument. The research sample focuses on Muslim students from six Central Zone Polytechnics. The total number of respondents includes 400 Muslim students in their final semester for each polytechnic. Data obtained from the questionnaire are gathered and analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Science Version 22.0 (SPSS v22.0) software to obtain the frequency, percentage and mean score. The research results find that the highest level of Islamic akhlaq practice among the respondents is calmly listening to al-Quran recitation with a mean score of 4.72, followed by an average and the lowest level of mean score of 3.40, that is, the respondents did not like to loiter. The overall average mean score of 4.44 is high. This shows that the level of Islamic akhlaq practice by polytechnic students in the Central Zone is good but that they are in need of continuous guidance so that good akhlaq can be maintained and enhanced. Gen Z is growing up in a world connected with the ever-growing human-created technology. The generation is often in cyberspace and can connect to every part of the world without boundaries or limitations. Therefore, it is a challenge to the apply values and norms based on Islamic akhlaq for Gen Z.


Introduction
In the researcher's study of criminal cases involving Muslim adolescents, such as rape, fornication (zina), seclusion (khalwat), exchange of sexual service for material gifts by teenage girls (bohsia) and by teenage boys (bohjan), drug abuse and so on, it is found that such behaviour is due to an indifference towards the practice of Islamic teachings according to Shariah based on Islamic morals.Moral character is a stable disposition of the self and psyche that expresses action, conduct or behavioural practices effortlessly without thinking.In addition, the appreciation and practice of akhlaq refer to traits and conduct that is appropriate, with good values, commandments, prohibitions, encouragements and injunctions 1 .The Malay-Muslim community has its own system of values and norms based on the religious beliefs 2 .The results of research by Jamilah showed that many students know about akhlaq and related laws but do not properly practise it, whereas in Islam its implementation is complete and comprehensive.This is in line with a study by Jamilah, concerning the practice and appreciation of Islam in KBSM(National Secondary School Curriculum) Islamic education among Form 4 students at a school in Malacca 3 .The results of her study showed that, in theory, students understand the obligatory five daily prayers but that in practice, they do not fully perform this obligation.
The phenomenon of social problems among students is alarming for many parties.The latest developments reported by the media shows that a social ambience of increasing anxiety and concern over recurring crime and misdemeanor.Crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, riot, theft and other offences are on the increase especially those involving young offenders.The number of arrests of students aged between 12 and 17 years has increased.Statistics show that throughout the year 2013, 7,816 criminal cases were reported compared with 3,700 cases in the previous year, 2012.This is an increase of 4,116 cases 4 .This anxiety is also felt at polytechnics, because a number of students mix freely between males and females without limits and modest attire, as obliged by Islam.This moral weakness is believed to accur due to weakness in religious knowledge and practice.Islam is seriously concerned with moral soundness such as the concepts of modest dress, wearing a veil, the manner of socializing and ikhtilat (limits on the mixing of genders), because all these are aimed at curbing various social problems.
According to Mohamed Hamdan, even though only a handful of Muslim polytechnic students are involved in the issue of moral weakness at present, it is feared that the issues could spread among their other friends 5 .This shows that some Muslim adolescents currently have lost their sense of shame in regard to violating Islamic akhlaq.
Regarding such cases, there is a need to research on the true level of Islamic akhlaq practised by students at the polytechnics of the Central Zone.Measuring the level of Islamic practice is important for obtaining accurate information on the extent to which Islamic akhlaq as practised may play a role in motivating students to observe Islamic obligations with feelings of peace, calm and harmony.The polytechnics are a tertiary institution under the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia.The department responsible for overseeing their management is the Department of Polytechnic Education.A polytechnic institution offers various fields of study, particularly science and technology courses 1 .At present, polytechnics offer several areas of study, namely mechanical, civil, electrical, marine and petrochemical engineering, commerce, tourism and hospitality, information technology, design and visual communication, and aircraft maintenance.Thus, polytechnic education also refers to a tertiary institution that offers technical and skill based courses 2 .
To date, there are a total of 27 polytechnics in Malaysia that provide placement for 43,000 school leavers (SPM).Another 7,000 places are reserved for the certificate holders of polytechnics and college communities.A total of 69 courses are offered, 49 of which are at the diploma level and 20 programs are at the certificate level 3 .
Polytechnics are categorized into the North, Central, South, East Coast and Borneo zones.
Becoming a developed nation is one of Malaysia's national aspirations in achieving the National Vision and this effort is not exempted from social problems among youth.The social problems are becoming increasingly challenging to deal with because of the powerful external influence of internet usage, gadgets, entertainment, and so on.Various efforts have been made to deal with this social problem, as the society is aware of the importance of youth for the future 4 .This social ill is an inevitable phenomenon of today's society.The social problem of crime and misconduct attracts public attention and is the subject of current political polemics 5 .This problem is frequently associated with a lack of religious appreciation and Islamic akhlaq.Good akhlaq/moral or ethics are very important elements in individual life 6 .Thus, research on the level of Islamic teachings practised from the akhlaq aspect is performed to obtain a true picture of the akhlaq among today's youth.

Research Location
The

Research Instrument
The research questionnaire consists of 30 items covering questions regarding the practice of Islamic akhlaq.
The researcher uses questionnaire items adapted from an instrument developed by Fariza et.al. and make some modifications and improvements to suit the research purpose and retests its reliability and validity based on previously conducted pilot research 2 .

Demographic Analysis of Research Respondents
Table 1 shows the frequency of respondents based on gender.The research findings show that 209 respondents (52.3%) are male and 191 (47.8%) are female.In this research, the gender balance of respondents is controlled.Source: 2016 Questionnaire Table 3 shows the frequency of respondents based on the department of studies in the polytechnic.
Of  Hazlinda divided adolescence into three levels: early adolescence between the ages of 10 and 14 years, middle adolescence between the ages 15 and 17 years and late adolescence between ages of 18 and 19 years 1 .Lester & Alice Crow hold the view that for males, late adolescence between the ages of 17 and 21 years, and that for females,adolescence is between 18 and 21 years 2 .According to Zakaria et.al., between the ages of 19 and 23 years, the students are late adolescents, that is, they are more mature and developed in thinking as well as more stable emotionally and spiritually 3 .This finding shows that all respondents have gone through a formal school system of religious education, and that on average, polytechnic students are from either technical secondary school, vocational secondary school or a day national secondary school.It may be deduced from the research results that demographically, the respondents' male and female genders is balanced.The balance in the respondents' gender background is controlled, so that the research results are not biased and not skewed towards any one gender.Based on the frequency of respondents from the polytechnics, it is found that the highest number of respondents is from the Ungku Omar Polytechnic, followed by the Sultan Azlan Shah Polytechnic and the Sultan Idris Shah Polytechnic, and then by the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Polytechnic.Banting Polytechnic in Selangor and the Metro Kuala Lumpur Polytechnic show the lowest number of respondents.This distribution is based on the actual number of students in the final semester of their diploma program and Ungku Omar Polytechnic is found to have the most of such students.This analysis is performed to balance the research findings among the polytechnics concerned.Regarding the frequency based on age, the majority of respondents were 21 years old, because most of those admitted to the polytechnics were SPM school leavers.Similarly, the frequency of respondents based on the level of religious education shows that all respondents have gone through a formal system of religious education.This proves that all the respondents have basic religious knowledge and Islamic education.Therefore, the level of Islamic akhlaq practised may be better and more interestingly studied and analysed on the basis of these demographic findings.

Level of Islamic Akhlaq Practised by Polytechnic Students
The main finding from this research is that the level of Islamic akhlaq practiced by Polytechnic students are high level.This means that a majority of the students have a knowledge about Islam and that they practice it.
According to Mohd Sulaiman akhlaq is an issue that is inseparable from every move of human behaviour 1 .
Akhlaq is explained as being the reflection of the inner person, which is born from the person's psyche or soul and which is expressed in his or her character and behaviour2 .Mohd Asri et.al stated that an honourable akhlaq is an action born of a person's faith and piety.Therefore, the practice of akhlaq in a Muslim student's life is inseparable from daily life and it is obligatory in Islam3 .
Table 6 shows the frequency of respondents based on the items regarding the level of practise of Islamic teachings relaed to akhlaq.
The results analysis finds that the item with the highest level is respondents calmly listening calmly to a Quran recitation with a mean score of 4.72 and that respondents fast during Ramadhan for fear of violating Allah's commandment, with a mean score of 4.70, this is followed by the item that the respondents feels at peace when giving to the needy, with a mean score of 4.69.Further, the items related to the respondents seeking Allah's pleasure by doing good among fellow humans, the respondents feeling ashamed when not performing prayers, the respondent's acceptance or pleasure and satisfaction with Allah's will upon failure to achieve outstanding success and respondent's respecting parents to foster affection and harmony in the family, each have a mean score of 4.65.
The item with the lowest mean score of 4.27 is that the respondent emulates the Prophet (pbuh) in his or her daily life, followed by the item that the respondent exercises patience when his or her friends when they quarrel with him or her with a mean score of 4.23 and the item that the respondent is accompanied by same sex friend when he or she engages with the opposite sex, with a mean of 4.18.The lowest mean score is for the item that the respondent fills his or her leisure time with reading books,with a mean score of 3.41 and that the respondent does not like to loiter, with a mean score of 3.40.
Therefore, the mean score for every item exceeds 3.40.This shows that the overall average mean score is generally high, at 4.44, even though two of the items have an average mean score.This research finding is consistent with research by Seri Kartini who showed that 96%, that is 96 polytechnic respondents, had a high level of practising Islamic akhlaq in comparison to only 4% at average level and no respondents at low level 1 .Thus, there are some but not many respondents who commit acts that conflict with akhlaq values.Asmahan's study showed that 62.5% of respondents were at a high level of practising Islamic akhlaq, that 16.7% of the respondents were at an average level and 20.8% of them at a low level2 .A study by Alias found that the behaviour of polytechnic students in terms of aqidah was at a high level whereas their levels of ibadah and akhlaq were average 3 .Similarly, Jamilah's study on secondary school students in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan found that the practice of akhlaq was at high average level with a mean score of 4.16 4 .These findings shows that many students know about akhlaq and its related rules but that they do not properly observe it, whereas in Islam its implementation should be complete and comprehensive.
Although the results of this research show a high level of Islamic akhlaq practice, there is still a minority of polytechnic students whose practice of akkhlaq is not so as high.A study by Mohamed Hamdan which found that the akhlaq problem among Muslim adolescents at polytechnics is on the whole average and that it has not quite reached an alarming level 5 .However, the parties concerned, particularly the insitutions, needs to pay attention so that this social ill may be immediately overcome, reduced, and if possible, eliminated completely so as not to spread to other adolescents.A focus on the minority of students who still have this social problem needs to be emphasized so that they may be given solid support, whether for their identity or morals.This is because today's adolescents are very much in need of positive, good and pure character values, especially from parents and family members.The Islamic Law stresses the importance of the family consultation 6 .Adolescents are in an extremely in need of support, attention and love from their parents and family members.Family harmony is the medium of control or the main preventive factor that prevents adolescents from being involved in negative social behavior.In addition to loitering, adolescents also omit performing their daily prayers, whereas prayer constitutes an emotional relationship between a slave and his or her God.In prayer, one may interact with Allah s.w.t through the internalization of Allah's attributes in addition to recognizing one's own imperfections 7 .A feeling of awe for Allah's supremacy in prayer, may evoke fear in a person and discourage him or her from committing sin.This is affirmed in a study by Seri Kartini and Fariza which found that less than 45% of respondents at Ungku Omar Polytechnic consistently perform their obligatory prayers 1 .
On the whole, it may be deduced that the level of akhlaq practice by polytechnic students is good despite two items showing an average mean score.These items which were scored as average relate to the issue of loitering which is one of the most favourite activities of today's adolescents including polytechnic students.This finding agrees with the research results of Mohamed Hamdan, who found that the most leading factor in the polytechnic environment that causes deterioration in akhlaq is loitering 2 .According to Wan Mohd Zahid the loitering problem leads to negative attitudes such as wasting time without direction, lack of productivity, civil disturbance and possibly the involvement in unhealthy activities 3 .According to Iran Herman most adolescents who loiter are involved in smoking, gambling, or watching and viewing pornographic materials, and even drug addiction, alcohol consumption, stealing and pre-marital sex 4 .Therefore, the cooperation of all parties needs to be intensified to spur the efforts to give a real understanding of Islamic akhlaq practice at polytechnics and to increase the activities that may prevent this social problem from spreading and that encourage and give opportunities and space to students to do the right things and prevent evil.

Conclusion
This research finds that the level of Islamic akhlaq practised by polytechnic students is high.This shows that the majority of polytechnic students have a good and honourable akhlaq appropriate for the process of formal religious education that they have received from secondary school until present.With that, the students, may become good humans obedient to Allah s.w.t.Obedience to Allah s.w.t.greatly contributes to the search for an afterlife with Allah s.w.t.even though there is still a minority of polytechnic students who are not so good in terms of akhlaq practice.This also proves that this minority of polytechnic students who have this social problem has not increased and that they have not yet been influenced by other students.This matter always needs to always be given attention and emphasized by the parties concerned.This problematic minority group may, to some extent, thereaten and ruin the image and reputation of the polytechnic, if the group is not wisely controlled and curbed.The practice of Islamic akhlaq always needs to be supported by the polytechnic students and a wise dakwah approach should be exercised regarding this minority group, so that they may be motivated to practise Islamic akhlaq.This minority group of students may influence other polytechnic students with their poor akhlaq.Thus, they must always improve themselves from time to time by practising Islamic teachings so as not to be easily influenced by the negative elements that conflict with Islamic values and teachings.The strengthening of a stable identity by faith and practice may have an effective impact on the students' spirituality and go on to became a self-defence mechanism against unhealthy actions.It is hoped that this research may serve as a reference and guideline for the parties concerned specifically those at polytechnic institutions, to enhance existing dakwah programs and to empower the existing rules at the polytechnics.With an orderly dakwah program and ongoing efforts, the level of Islamic akhlaq practised by polytechnic students may be further enhanced.
research locations include six of polytehnics in Malaysia, namely Ungku Omar Polytechnic in Ipoh, Sultan Azlan Shah Polytechnic in Behrang, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Polytechnic in Shah Alam, Sultan Idris Shah Polytechnic in Sabak Bernam, Banting Polytechnic in Selangor and Metro Kuala Lumpur Polytechnic.This zone is selected to represent all the polytechnics in Malaysia because of some common factors that may be studied in these Central Zone polytechnics such as seniority, area and category.Muslim students in the final semester of their diploma course.Based on the Statistical Report of the Student Affairs Department of each Central Zone polytechnic, the total research population of Muslim students in the final semester of their diploma in December 2015 was 2960 students.Based on Krejie and Morgan's(1970)Table as stated by Chua, a sufficient sample number should be 350 persons 1 .In this research, the researcher has increased sample size to 400 persons to improve the level of research reliability.

Table 1
Frequency of Respondents based on Gender

Table 2
Frequency of Respondents based on Polytechnic the 400 respondents, 151 persons (37.8%) are from the Department of Commerce, 86 persons ( 21.5%) are from the Department of Electrical Engineering, 28 persons (7.0%) are from the Department of Tourism and Hospitality, 70 persons (17.5%) from the Department of Civil Engineering and 64 persons (16.0%) are from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.Most Central Zone polytechnics have commerce, electrical engineering, civil engineering and mechanical engineering departments, while the tourism and hospitality department is only found at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Polytechnic.

Table 3
Frequency of Respondents based on Departments

Table 4
shows the frequency of respondents based on age.Based on this finding, the majority of respondents are aged 21 years old (90.0%).This means that the respondents involved in this research are aged between 20 and 23 years old and may be categorized as late adolescents.The selected respondents consist of students in the final semester of their diploma course.This finding also shows that most of the students entered the polytechnic as SPM school leavers.Mohammad Nasir & Noreha hold the view that legally, adolescents are those aged 21 years and below 1 .However, Jamsiah & 1 Mohammad Nasir Saludin & Noreha Mohamed Yusof.(2002).Strategi menangani gejala sosial remaja: Kajian kes di Kuala Lumpur (Strategy in Dealing with Youth Social Problem: Case Study in Kuala Lumpur).In Lukman Mohammad Jemain, Zalina Mohd Ali & Noriszura Ismail (edit..).Keluarga, Gender dan Cabaran Sosial di Malaysia (Family, Gender and Social Challenges in Malaysia), (Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications Distributor Sdn.Bhd., 2002), p.200.

Table 4
Frequency of Respondents based on Age

Table 5
shows the frequency of respondents based on the level of religious education.The Findings show that 191 persons (47.8%) have religious education at the primary school level, 119 persons (29.8%) at the Primary Religious Certificate level, and that 70 persons (17.5%) have a Secondary Religious Certificate, 3 persons (0.8%) have the High School Religious Certificate of Malaysia and 17 persons (4.3%) have other certificates.

Table 5
Level of Islamic Akhlaq as Practised by Polytechnic Students