*Wong Wen Jing, Lee Yee Ling

Abstract: The Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca (NILAM) programme has been implemented by the Malaysian Ministry of Education since 1999 with the objective of fostering a lifelong reading habit among students. However, the programme has been widely criticised for failing to cultivate students’ reading motivation. Teachers play a major role in encouraging students to read more, and one method they can use to foster students’ reading motivation involves the use of incentives. This study aimed to examine the impact of incentives used by teachers to promote primary school students’ reading motivation in the NILAM programme. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study conducted interviews with 12 teachers from a national primary school in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The research findings found that the teachers used rewards and recognition as incentives to encourage their students to read. Most teachers viewed that incentives were effective in promoting their students’ reading motivation. The analysis reveals that parental involvement and various forms of positive reinforcement could enhance the impact of incentives in promoting reading motivation. This study also provides insights into how to make the NILAM programme more meaningful and engaging for students.

Keywords: NILAM programme, reading motivation, incentives