Contemporary discourse on peacebuilding and humanitarian governance has predominantly emphasised institutional arrangements, elite negotiations, and policy-driven interventions, often neglecting the ethical foundations embedded within everyday community life. Addressing this gap, this conceptual paper advances a people-centred perspective by proposing a framework that links perceived stoic leadership and moral virtue to grassroots peace orientation within Malaysia’s plural society. The motivation for this research is inspired by the song “Warisan” (heritage) by Sudirman Arshad, particularly the lyric “di sini lahirnya sebuah cinta,” (this is where love is born) which symbolically reflects compassion, shared responsibility, and collective belonging. This perspective reinforces the view that peace is cultivated through moral values enacted in daily social interactions, simultaneously emphasising “belonging and responsibility to community”. Drawing on stoic leadership theory, virtue ethics, and civic engagement theory, this paper develops an integrated conceptual framework in which perceived stoic leadership (encompassing courage, wisdom, justice, and temperance) influences grassroots peace orientation through the mediating role of moral virtue. Grassroots peace orientation is conceptualised as an overarching construct that captures individuals’ orientation towards social trust, intergroup harmony, humanitarian solidarity, and the rejection of violence. This conceptual paper contributes to the literature by bridging moral philosophy with leadership and peace studies, offering a theoretically grounded framework that extends peacebuilding discussion beyond institutional contexts to everyday civic life. Parallel with the philosophical essence of “Warisan”, sustainable peace is conceptualised as emerging from shared moral commitment embedded within society.
Abdul Malib, M., Naimat, N., Ahmad Mustafa, M. S., Othman, Y., Mahat, I. R., & Md Shah, M. A. M. (2025). Beyond legal measures: Effective communication and governance responses to misinformation and fake news in Malaysia. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9(10), 1595–1604. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.910000135
Abdullah, A. (2023). Peaceful coexistence through muhibbah in a plural society. Cultural Impact. https://www.culturalimpact.org/post/peaceful-coexistence-through-muhibbah-in-a-plural-society
Al Qurtuby, S. (2023, May 16). Grassroots peacebuilding in Indonesia. Peace News Network. https://peacenews.com/grassroots-peacebuilding-in-indonesia/
Aristotle (2009). The Nicomachean Ethics (D. Ross, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original Work Published Ca. 350 B.C.E.)
Arshad, S. (1982). Warisan [Song]. On ABADI. EMI Malaysia.
Asakaviciute, V., Bareviciute, J., & Atko?i?nien?, Z. O. (2025). Leadership in Stoic philosophy: Virtues and communication. Filosofija. Sociologija, 36(3), 242–249. https://doi.org/10.6001/fil-soc.2025.36.3.1
Baidya, M., & Baidya, A. (2023). Importance of spiritual, moral and ethical values for the students of 21st century. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 11(8), a1-a8.
Blay, S., Barizah, N., & Rahmah, M. (2025). The right to peace: ASEAN perspectives and prospects (AICHR Thematic Study). ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). https://aichr.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATED-FINAL-2025-AICHR-TheRighttoPeace-Digital.pdf
Budiana, M. (2024). Conflict resolution and peace building in the international arena. Journal of Student Collaboration Research, 1(2), 16–35
DeVellis, R. F. (2017). Scale development: Theory and applications (4th ed.). Sage.
Ehrlich, T. (2000). Civic Responsibility and Higher Education. Oryx, Phoenix.
Eldridge, S. (2026). Moral virtue. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/moral-virtue
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Sage.
Heim, I., Laker, B., & Tabaeifard, S. J. (2026). Responsible leadership: A systematic literature review, theoretical framework, and future research directions. Journal of Business Research, 203, Article 115801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115801
Hoang, Q. T. K., Tran, D. M., & Dinh, T. M. (2026). The impact of servant leadership and transformational leadership on employees' service recovery performance: A comparative analysis. The Learning Organization, 33(1), 155–174. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-10-2024-0326
Hwang, J. (2022). Building sustainable peace through environmental cooperation in the island of Ireland: Modelling transboundary conservation. Irish Political Studies, 37(4), 548–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2021.2011230
Hyland, M. (2024). Stoicism for leaders: Navigating challenges with wisdom and virtue. Neuron Coaching. https://neuroncoaching.com/2024/02/19/stoicism-for-leaders-navigating-challenges-with-wisdom-and-virtue/
Ikram, M., & Boudraa, C. (2025). The role of quality governance in achieving sustainable development goals in North Africa: An integrated decision-support system. Sustainable Operations and Computers, 6, 198–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susoc.2025.07.005
International Crisis Group. (2026, July 8). Causes of peace in an era of hard power (Crisis Group Special Briefing No. 14). International Crisis Group. https://www.crisisgroup.org/sites/default/files/2026-07/b014-causes-of-peace-in-an-era-of-hard-power_0.pdf
Jurs, P., Samusevica, A., Kulberga, I., & Rocane, M. (2021). Youth civic engagement – Resource of social responsibility. In Proceedings of ICERI2021 Conference, 9977–9984. https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2021.2261
Moreno-Monsalve, N., Delgado-Ortiz, M., Sanabria-Ospino, A., Pardo Ezcurra, T. T., Nicolás Rojas, Y. W., & Fajardo-Moreno, W. (2023). High-Performance Project Teams: Analysis from the Stoic Approach. Sustainability, 15(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/su152216095
Noor, N. M. (2007). Polarisation and inequality in Malaysia: The future of Malay-Chinese relations. Intellectual Discourse, 15(2), 191–204.
Onan, G., Sürücü, L., Bekmezci, M., Dalm??, A. B., & Sunman, G. (2025). Relationships Between Positive Leadership Styles, Psychological Resilience, and Burnout: An Empirical Study Among Turkish Teachers. Behavioral sciences, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15060713
Palazzolo, C. (2026). After harm: The virtue of forgiveness in restorative justice.Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/teo0000351
Porter-O'Grady, T. (2026). Moral courage in healthcare leadership: Standing firm when professional values are under siege. Nurse Leader, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2025.102627
Postu?a, A. (2025). Leadership, values and authority: What shapes a manager's work ethos and plays a key role in authority creation? Central European Management Journal, 33(1), 72–86. https://doi.org/10.1108/CEMJ-02-2024-0044
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster. https://doi.org/10.1145/358916.361990
Qadeer, A., & Ali Mian, S. (2025). Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics and the Crisis of Ethical Leadership Today. Advance Social Science Archive Journal, 4(02), 538–544. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17368061
Qasaye, O. A. M. (2023). Conflict resolution and peacebuilding in international development. International Journal of Science and Research, 12(12), 333–338. https://doi.org/10.21275/SR231203104158
Raime, S., & Abd Rahman, N. (2026). An Islamic Stewardship Perspective on Academic Quality in Private Universities. Journal of Islamic Management Studies, 9(1), 112–126.
Ramli, M. A., & Jamaludin, M. A. (2012). Interaction of plural society in Malaysia: Diatribe or dialogue. World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization, 2(1), 53–57.
Razak, A. A., Saaidin, M., Rohaizan, F. S., Govi, M. K. d/o, & Rao, V. s/o K. (2023). The Impacts of Employees’ Job Performances in The Hotel Industry Post Pandemic in Kuala Lumpur. International Journal of Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences, 13(5), 1579 – 1598. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i5/16858
Restorative Narratives Communities. (2023). The power of grassroots approach to peacebuilding. https://www.rncommunities.org/blog/the-power-of-grassroot-approach-to-peacebuilding/
Reyes, J. P., Malabanan, M., & Monterroyo, C. B. (2026). A contemporary evidence synthesis of leadership styles and their impact on organizational performance: A systematic review. Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 4(1), 38–45. https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2025.707
Saruhan, M. S. (2025). Intersections of religion and ethics: A philosophical analysis within Islamic thought. International Journal of Islamic Thought, 28, 90–103. https://doi.org/10.24035/ijit.28.2025.337
Shahab, S. O., & Adil, A. (2020). Development and validation of Temperance Scale in Pakistan. PsyCh Journal, 9(6), 798–808. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.394
Shahnawaz, M., Naseem, I., Aamir, A., et al. (2025). Assessing the political and institutional determinants of international organizational effectiveness: Diplomatic mediation, peacebuilding, and human rights advocacy in the context of Pakistan. Asian Review of Political Economy, 4(19). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44216-025-00061-9
Singh, A., & Singh, V. (2024). The role of institutions in peace and justice for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 and societal sustainability. Amazonia Investiga, 13(80), 9–18. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.80.08.1
Souiai, M., Alkhowar, H., Al-Obaidli, H., et al. (2026). Peace and inclusive governance in sustainable development: Strengthening institutions and environmental services. Sustainable Development, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.71330
Taliep, N., Ismail, G., Suffla, S., Seedat, M., Swart, L. A., van Niekerk, A., & Bangdiwala, S. I. (2026). Comparing global and community indicators of safety and peace. African journal of psychological assessment, 8. https://doi.org/10.4102/ajopa.v8i0.200
Temby, Q. (2020). Social media and polarization in the “New Malaysia” (ISEAS Perspective No. 2020/21). ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/
Vogt, K. (2024). Seneca. In E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2024 ed.). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2024/entries/seneca/
Yuguero, O., Ruiz-Trujillo, P., Esquerda, M., Terribas, N., & Aymerich, M. (2025). Applying the principle of justice in digital health. NPJ digital medicine, 8(1), 467. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01877-8
Zhang, K., Shi, J., Wang, F., & Ferrari, M. (2022). Wisdom: Meaning, structure, types, arguments, and future concerns. Current psychology, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02816-6
Razak, A. A., Rahman, N. A., Raime, S., Misron, A., & Singh, P. S. S. (2026). Stoic Leadership, Moral Virtue, and Grassroots Peace Orientation in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(9), 1304-1320.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
