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The Chinese Malaysian Dilemma :: More

A Seminar on Chinese Population in Malaysia was held in Kuala Lumpur recently. The seminar was co-organised by the Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies, Soka Gakkai Malaysia and Chung Hwa Old Boys Association. A number of papers were presented and these have been reported in the Star on Monday in its Star Two pullout and online as the Chinese Dilemma

The first report, Replenishing the Chinese community is on a paper presented by associate professor Tey Nai Peng, lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Administration at Universiti Malaya, his paper is entitled The Causes and Consequences of Demographic Changes of Chinese Malaysians. Some interesting figures are to be found in his paper ::
--- the Chinese Malaysian population declined from 35.6% in 1970 to 24.5% in 2000.
--- the crude birth rate (CBR) of Chinese Malaysian declined from 30.5 per thousand in 1970 to 22 in 2000.
--- the Chinese Malaysian total fertility rate fell steeply, from 4.6 per woman in 1970 to 2.2 in 1998.
--- between 1970 and 2000, the average age at marriage among Chinese men had increased from 27 years to 31 years while the women from 24 to 27.
--- the proportion of Chinese males aged 30-34 who had never married increased from 19% to 37%, while the females from 9% to 18%. At this rate, fertility is likely to reach replacement level and below replacement level within the next few years
--- Chinese women with tertiary education had 1.9 children, women with secondary education 2.4, women with primary education 3.4 and women without schooling 4.

The decline in the population growth of the Chinese Malaysian has been attributed to various reasons and these include the following ::
--- marriage at a later age,
--- emphasis on career,
--- the high costs of raising children and their education,
--- increasing number of unmarried,
--- urbanisation, higher education, increased female participation in the modern sector of the economy,
--- changes in the norms of family formation and childbearing, and greater contraceptive use and
--- the breakdown of the extended family and the lack of childcare facilities,

All the reasons mentioned by Prof Tey may have been colored to varying degrees by the new economic policy and its implementation, this apparently has not been explored in depth. Prof Tey and Dr Voon Phin Keong, director of the Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies suggested that research into the feelings and anxieties of the present generation of the Chinese population over marriage and childbearing issues, what they want and how they can be helped, should be explored. This research should be carried out not only among those in the marriageable and childbearing age group but also the older folks who contribute to the extended family and associated values.

Related stories can be found below ::
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Dialect-job link
The make up and break up
No man is an island