counting and ethnicity Malaysia1 Counting and Integration: The Experience of Malaysia

counting and ethnicity Malaysia2 Outline of Talk Objectives Motivation: Malaysia Truly Asia Measurement Measurement and Integration Concluding Remarks

counting and ethnicity Malaysia3 Multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation

counting and ethnicity Malaysia4 Ethnic Fractionalization Index (EFI), Selected Countries (Yeoh 2001) CountryEFI Republic of India0.876 Republic of the Philippines0.838 Republic of Indonesia0.754 Canada0.714 Malaysia0.694 Kingdom of Thailand0.535 United States of America0.395 United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland0.325 Solomon Islands0.133 Source: Table 1, Yeoh (2001)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia5 Geographical Location of Malaysia

counting and ethnicity Malaysia6 Economic Development and Measurement of Ethnicity National unity main objective of economic, social and national development National unity main objective of economic, social and national development NEP – an ethnic based economic policy to NEP – an ethnic based economic policy to  Reduce poverty irrespective of race  Reduce identification of race with economic function

counting and ethnicity Malaysia7 In 2006, Malaysia ranked 37th in GDP; 19th largest exporter, and 23rd largest importer in the world

counting and ethnicity Malaysia8 Data on Ethnicity Very important for monitoring and strengthening public policy Very important for monitoring and strengthening public policy Measurement important element of census as well as official statistics Measurement important element of census as well as official statistics Also collected by public and private institutions that provide such feedback to government (eg. Banks, educational institutions, etc) Also collected by public and private institutions that provide such feedback to government (eg. Banks, educational institutions, etc)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia9 Measurement of Ethnicity in Census 1 in 3 of the 147 countries surveyed which had done a census in year 2000 had not included a question on national and/ or ethnic group (UNSD, 2003) In contrast, experience for Malaysia can be traced back to 1871  despite difficulties of “so many races speaking different tongues” (Hare, 1902: 4)  Need to have questionnaires in and enumerators speaking many languages  Priority in release of information

counting and ethnicity Malaysia10 Measurement: Word used Started with ‘nationality’ in 1871 Moved to ‘race’ beginning 1901  “a wider and more exhaustive expression than ‘nationality’ and gives rise to no such ambiguous question in classifying people” (1901)  “enumerators could not distinguish between nationality and race” (1951)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia11 Measurement: Word used Moved to ‘Community’ in 1972  a group “bound by a common language/ dialect, religion and customs Since 1980, ‘ethnic / dialectic/ community group’ Although terms changed, generally enumerators have been since 1902 instructed to capture race/ dialect group (religion is captured in a separate question) Since 1980, published data on ethnicity has been presented along with citizenship

counting and ethnicity Malaysia12 Measurement: How? By self-identification (ethnicity & citizenship) ‘An individual’s answer to the question on race should be accepted without question, for there would be many persons descended from at least two of the tribes listed who would claim one as their own for their own private reasons and with whom it would be quite improper to discuss or dispute these reasons.’ (Jones, 1962) For persons of mixed parentage, the 1970 census sought to identify the ethnic group to which the person felt he or she belonged failing which father’s community was used (Chander, 1977)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia13 Population of Malaysia, 2000 Total: 22.2 million (in order of size): Malaysian Citizens (94.4%): Malays, Chinese, Indians, Other Bumiputera, Iban, Kadazan Dusun, Bajau, Other Malaysian Citizens, Bidayuh, Melanau, Murut Non-Malaysian Citizens (5.6%): Indonesia, Philippines, Other Foreign Citizens, Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Singapore

counting and ethnicity Malaysia14 Measurement: Number of Categories

counting and ethnicity Malaysia15 Measurement: Number of Categories Criteria: size in population, importance of a group for public policy Aim: “classification should be as scientifically accurate as possible, the groups must be reasonably balanced in size, and it should be in sufficient detail to provide a sound basis for future scientific investigations” (Harrison in Noakes 1948)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia16 Measurement: Number of Categories Role of politics (eg. Sabah) Difficulties when it comes to defining ‘Malay’ (impact of religion, and constitutional definition) Changes in society, a natural phenomenon but difficult to capture (eg Sino-Kadazan, Kadazan-Dusun)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia17 Measurement: Number of Categories Table 6: Ethnic Fractionalization Index, Malaysia, 2000 Based on ethnic and Religious Groups measured in Population) RegionEFIPercentage of Total Population Sabah Sarawak Peninsular Malaysia All Malaysia

counting and ethnicity Malaysia18 Measurement Outside the Census Areas: education, scholarships and training, employment in public service and business licenses (related to NEP) Major ethnic groups captured; degree of fineness based on purpose and need Terms used vary, eg. Nationality Influenced by census categorisation

counting and ethnicity Malaysia19 Measurement: Summary Census an important leader in measurement of ethnicity Underscored by the careful efforts by the various Superintendents of Census to define a diverse population Language is not the principal criteria as concluded by UNSd (2003) Nevertheless still confusion in understanding of race, dialect group, language group, nationality, ethnicity by man in street and even man in office But individual knows who he or she is

counting and ethnicity Malaysia20 Measurement and Integration Many Malaysians likely able to trace ancestry from more than one ethnic group For the young especially, being forced to select one reference group can be an issue Individual need for self-identity vs need for comparable data (Sawyer 1997)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia21 Measurement and Integration Issue of who is a Bumiputera? (Kessler 1992)  the Bumiputera could be Malays who are Muslim, Malays who are not Muslim (e.g., certain aboriginal groups), Muslims who are not Malay (e.g., the Melanau of Sarawak), or persons who are neither Muslim nor Malay (e.g., ethnic Thai Buddhists and some indigenous groups in East Malaysia).

counting and ethnicity Malaysia22 Measurement and Integration Young people of the nation have grown up “bred under the NEP…in a stable [Malaysia]…perceivably more integrated…highly conscious of their ethnicity…more Islamised…more polarised.” Lee (2003) Issue of race relations more important in less fragmented P.M. compared to more fragmented E.M.

counting and ethnicity Malaysia23 Measurement and Integration Education system promotes segregation by ethnicity in Peninsular Malaysia The measurement by self-identification, the definition of Malay and the difficulty of separating race and religion suggest that there will be great difficulty in measuring certain groups of the population - evidenced by comparing 1991 and 2000 census data (Figure 3)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia24 Measurement and Integration Seemingly easy shifts between ‘Malays’, ‘Other Bumiputera’ and ‘Other Malaysians’ Reflect in part the commonalities in origin from neighbouring but politically different regions, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand Movement of such peoples across the region in search of economic prosperity is not new, and continues to occur

counting and ethnicity Malaysia25 Measurement and Integration Has this now entered the social realm so that we can consider the ‘Bumiputera’ community as an ethnic group? Yes, by criteria of Yinger, Sawyer, Statistics Canada Then, there is integration among the diverse cultures and communities that comprise the Bumiputera group Especially for those who become Muslim and accept Malay customs more integrated

counting and ethnicity Malaysia26 Measurement and Integration However, policy based on a group which is growing not just from natural increase, will likely fail to address growing intra-ethnic inequalities as observed in the case of income Intra-ethnic inequalities can arise from the inadequate measurement of ethnic groups within the Bumiputera category to receive special benefits (“second-class Bumiputera”)

counting and ethnicity Malaysia27 Concluding Remarks Not easy to collect data on ethnicity Data collection agencies have been creative in trying to capture the diversity against odds of “different tongues” and remote locations of peoples How have ethnic data been used for policy design and has it contributed to integration?

counting and ethnicity Malaysia28 Concluding Remarks Confidentiality of ethnic data Assessment of achievement of NEP targets vary Maybe targets cannot be met as the target Bumiputera group is a shifting one Or is the measurement of Bumiputera group not detailed enough to identify groups that need special attention?

counting and ethnicity Malaysia29 Concluding Rematks Should we continue to measure ethnicity? Yes, but to meet specific policies that use our diversity to advantage The problem is not the data but how they are used to formulate, implement and monitor policies

Thank You