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MINDA MUDA Quantitative Survey
National Unity Study On Young Malaysians
The Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS)National Young Lawyers’ Committee (NYLC)
18th April 2008
Background• Vision 2020: United Malaysian nation with a sense of common and
shared destiny. “empower national unity and integration through a Malaysian way amongst its diversified races amidst rapid development of the country” (Datuk Maximus Ongkili, JPNIN)
• ‘National unity’ is defined by the Department of National Unity and Integration in Malaysia as ‘a situation in which all citizens from the various ethnic groups, religions, and states live in peace as one united nationality, giving full commitment to national identity based upon the Federal Constitution and the Rukunegara’.[2] (Translated from) Mesyuarat Panel Penasihat Perpaduan Negara, February 1992
• Citizenship & Identity• Social Contract• NEP/NDP/NVP
Introduction: Development of Project
• Stage I: In-Depth Qualitative Research - Young Urban Malaysians’ Study – Urban youth in Klang Valley, research findings used to formulate the
Questionnaire and Dimensions for the Stage II Quantitative Research
• Young Malaysians’ Roundtable Discussion (CPPS-NYLC) – CPPS-NYLC 1st Young Malaysians’ Roundtable Discussion– Platform to discuss key findings from Stage 1 & to further explore dimensions– Ethno-religious politics, education policies and young Malaysian identity in
national unity
• Consensus Document – Views and feedback were collated throughout the Roundtable and formed the
Consensus Document, a set of 20 points presented at Parliament to Dato’ Dr. Maximus Ongkili, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of National Unity.
• Stage II: MINDA MUDA QUANTITATIVE STUDY- Quantification of Key Dimensions outlined
Introduction: Research Objectives
– To unearth young Malaysians’ life values, hopes and aspirations for the present and future
– To understand attitudes towards and aspirations for national unity in Malaysia, inclusive of racial, religious and social integration.
– To understand attitudes towards the education system in Malaysia, and how this contributes positively or negatively to national unity in Malaysia
Research Methodology• Target : Young Malaysians Aged 18 to 35 yrs old
• Quota-controlled Sampling via Intercept Interviews
– Tight quota controls that reflect the National distribution by representative by Strata, States, Age, Race & Gender
– Well spread out locations covering different segments of the week / day times
– Random Intercept e.g. every 1 in 5 persons– Length of Interview Approx. 25 mins– Same-race interviewers to avoid Interviewer bias
• Supervision & Validation
– One team leader per team for on-site supervision & verification– Average of 50% telephone validation conducted by independent
QC team.
Research Methodology
• Sample Size, N=1000– N=700 Urban cities– N=300 Rural Areas– Quota controls by Region, Strata, Gender, Age &
Ethnic Group. – Quota breakdown were derived based on 18-35 yrs
old population data extracted from the Population & Housing Census of Malaysia Y2000
CENTRAL Urban Rural Kuala Lumpur Bukit Bintang None
Bangsar Pudu raya / Kota Raya Damansara Uptown Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman
Selangor Puchong Jaya Ulu Yam Lama Kelana Jaya SS2 SS15 Sunway Pyramid Taipan USJ Sect 27 Shah Alam Port Klang / Klang Town
N. Sembilan None Mantin
SOUTH Urban Rural Johore Jalan Wong Ah Fook Saleng
Jalan Pelangi Jalan Dato Sulaiman Sri Tebrau Jalan Dobi
Malacca Sentral bus station Jasin Bandar Hilir Mahkota
NORTH Urban Rural Penang Vantage Point None
Farlim Beach Street Prangin Mall Komtar
Perak Jalan Gopeng, Ipoh Tanjong Rambutan Jalan Silibin, Ipoh Jelapang Jalan Tasek, Ipoh
Kedah City Point, Alor Setar Kuala Kedah Plaza Sentosa, Alor Setar Padang Serai
EAST Urban Rural Pahang Jalan Air Putih Pekan
Jalan Bukit Ubi Temerloh Kuantan
Kelantan Kota Bharu- Pasar Besar Siti Khatijah Machang
KB Mall
Terengganu K. Trengganu Kuala Berang
Research Methodology: Areas Surveyed
Variable PercentageGender
Male Female
50.449.6
Age (in years)18-1920-2425-2930-35
13.829.926.030.3
RaceMalayChineseIndian/Others
63.627.19.3
StrataUrbanRural
70.030.0
RegionNorthCentralSouthEast
25.538.519.216.7
Demographic Profile of Respondents
Level of EducationNo formal schoolingUp to primary schoolUp to lower secondary schoolUp to upper secondary schoolForm 6/ Pre University/ Matriculation/Foundation DiplomaDegreePostgraduate and above
0.11.28.8
51.49.3
18.19.81.4
Household monthly incomeBelow RM1500RM1500 – RM2500RM2501 – RM3500RM3501 – RM4500RM4501 – RM5500RM5501 – RM6500RM6501 – RM7500Above RM7500(Don’t Know/Refused to answer)
10.725.824.214.28.35.72.83.54.7
Executive Summary
• Across the study, certain trends were apparent. First, there were significant differences in responses between urban and rural areas.Rural respondents were more optimistic about unity in the country, and gave generally higher scores and ratings to perceptions of harmony and peace. Urban respondents showed a greater level of dissatisfaction. The National Unity Model indicates that people rate unity as improving in the next 10 years, but by only a slight increase.
• Second, significant differences were clear between responses of the ethnic groups, the pattern being Malays giving highest scores, followed by Indian/others, and finally Chinese. Regional differences were not as stark, but nevertheless respondents within Central and Southern regions seemed to be less optimistic about unity in Malaysia as did those in the East and West Peninsular. The younger age group prefers to mix more within their own ethnic and religious groups, relative to the older age group, indicating increasing racial and religious polarisation.
Executive Summary• There were numerous suggestions given to improve national unity
by respondents themselves, showing that policies had a direct relationship with perception of national unity. Specifically, Government policies that were perceived to be unfair within education, economic and religious issues need to be addressed.
• Research findings have revealed underlying currents of inter-ethnic tension, made clear within their differentiated ratings across the questionnaire. Despite efforts of addressing unity issues through a number of activities and programmes, challenges still remain.
• In order to truly deal with root causes of disunity in the country, Government departments should be encouraged to boldly examine public policies that adversely affect the socio-economic and socio-political fabric, especially those related to provision of equal opportunity and equal access to all, where the National Unity Model indicates personal inter-ethnic relationships being strong but shows up national policies as the potential problem.
5-Dimensional Chart: Ethnic Breakdown
4.2
4.3
4.34.2
4.2
3 .5
3.5
3.4
3 .8
3.2
4 .1
4.2
4.1
4 .5
3.8
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
Economic Policies & NU
Education Policies & NU
Religious HarmonyRacial Harmony
National Unity
MalaysChineseIndians
5-Dimensional Chart: Strata Breakdown
4.0
4.0
3.9
4.1
3.7
4.2
4.3
4.24.3
4.2
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
Economic Policies & NU
Education Policies & NU
Religious HarmonyRacial Harmony
National Unity
UrbanRural
5-Dimensional Chart: Regional Breakdown
4.2
4.2
4.14.2
4.0
3.9
4.0
3.94.1
3.7
3.9
3.9
4.04.1
3.7
4.2
4.2
4.24.1
4.2
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5Economic Policies & NU
Education Policies & NU
Religious HarmonyRacial Harmony
National Unity
Nor th
Centr al
South
East
1. Economic Policies2. Education Policies3. Religious Policies4. Racial Harmony
5. National Unity Policies
I. Five Policy Areas to be urgently addressed:
1. Economic Policies• General agreement across the board that
– The Government should change socioeconomic policies to help integrate society better.
– Government policies to help the poor should apply to all races in Malaysia.
– A positive sign showing that young Malaysians are open to more inclusive economic policies.
• Whether current economic policies have been good for national unity– Chinese gave significantly negative responses as opposed to
Malays and Indians– Rural respondents more likely to agree economic policies were
good for national unity. – Study showed warning signs of dissatisfaction amongst the
Chinese with respect to economic policies in Malaysia.
1. Economic Policies• Statements in full: (on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “Fully Disagree
and 5 is “Fully Agree”)
(a) I don’t know much about the NEP (New Economic Policy). (b) I think the NEP has been good to unite the country together. (c) Government economic policies are good for national unity. (d) The Government should change socioeconomic policies to help
integrate society better. (e) Government policies to help the poor should apply to all races in
Malaysia(f) Government policies to help the poor should be for a particular
group of Malaysians only.
1. Economic Policies
Rural respondents were more likely to agree that Government’s economic policies were good for national unity.
On a scale of 1 to 5
4.2
4.2
2.5
3.5
3.4
1.9
4.1
4
2.2
0 1 2 3 4 5
NEP good for unity
Econ Policies good forunity
Policies for a ParticularGroup Only
Statements on Economic Policies
Mea
n R
anks
Indian/OthersChineseMalay
Ranks given for general Government economic policies were relatively high (with the exception of the Chinese who gave significantly lower scores), The ranking given for whether the NEP has been good to unite the country together showed the Malays, followed by Indians, then Chinese in decreasing rank order.
On a scale of 1 to 5
2. Education Policies• The results show that different groups view the impact of education
policies on national unity very differently– Malays most likely to agree that current education policies contribute
positively to national unity, followed by Indians and lastly Chinese– The rural respondents give positive ratings – Northerners and Easterners gave more positive ratings, with those in
the Central region being the most pessimistic– Worrying signs that Chinese show strong aversion to education in
Malaysia (at school or university level), preferring foreign education over local.
• Present education policies are therefore perceived as – Contributing positively towards national unity amongst: Malay, rural,
East and North– Contributing negatively towards national unity amongst: Chinese,
Central, urban.
2. Education Policies• Statements in full: (on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “Fully Disagree
and 5 is “Fully Agree”)
(a) Education policies in Malaysia make people of different races more united.
(b) Primary and secondary schools are good places for different races to interact.
(c) Local universities help to bring people of different races closer together.
(d) The standard of local universities is good.(e) I would prefer to study in Malaysia compared to overseas.(f) I would prefer to send my children to local schools/ universities
instead of overseas.
2. Education Policies
Means (Strata)
Urban Rural
3.8 4.2
On a scale of 1 to 5
Average of Statement Means (Ethnicity)
Malays Chinese Indians/Others
Q5 (a – f) 4.28 3.25 4.02
3. Religious Policies• Generally positive religious harmony rating amongst respondents, an
average of 6.9 (1-10). – Very high ratings stating that the government should do more to help religious
harmony in Malaysia– Indians had the highest number of friends of different religions, followed by
Malays and then Chinese. • However, significant differences emerged among the different groups
– Respondents from rural areas rated religious harmony significantly higher than did those from urban areas
– Respondents from the Malay ethnic group rated religious harmony significantly higher than did those from Chinese and Indian/others ethnic groups.
– For the statement which read “The Government helps to bring different religions together in Malaysia”, only 42% of Chinese gave high ratings (closer to fully agreeing) compared to 85% and 70% of Malays and Indians, respectively.
– Easterners are the most positive, perceiving religion to be unifying Malaysians together compared with other regional counterparts.
• An opportunity for government to immediately address religious issues which are currently resulting in pessimism amongst the Chinese.
3. Religious Policies• Statements in full: (on a scale of 1 to 5)(a) Religion brings people together in Malaysia.(b) I have friends of different religions in Malaysia.(c) It is not difficult to get along with people of
different religions in the country.(d) Religious harmony will get better in the future.(e) The government helps to bring different
religions together in Malaysia.(f) The government should do more to help
religious harmony in Malaysia.
3. Religious PoliciesHow would you rate religious harmony in Malaysia presently, on a scale of 1-10?
6.6
7.1
7.3
5.5
6.8
6.9
6.6
6.5
7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Urban
Rural
Malay
Chinese
Indians
North
Central
South
East
Rel
igio
us H
arm
ony
Means
4. Racial Harmony• Differences in ratings of racial harmony:
– Those from the rural region rated racial harmony significantly higher than those from urban regions on a scale of 1 to 10. Indeed, 16% of those from rural regions gave a high rating compared to 12% from the urban region. Urbanites therefore show less confidence in Government’s efforts at improving racial harmony than do those from the rural strata.
– For most individual statements, again there was a significant difference between ratings by Chinese as compared with responses from Malay and Indian/others ethnic groups.
– Respondents from the Eastern states of Peninsular Malaysia found it relatively more difficult to relate to those of different races.
– Older respondents preferred mixing with people of a different race compared to younger respondents. Similarly, the younger group gave a higher rating to the statement “I find it difficult to relate to people of a different race” compared to those of other age groups. Both the above findings are worrying indications that show the increasing racial polarisation amongst the younger generation.
4. Racial Harmony• Statements in full: (evaluated on a scale of 1 to
5)(a) I like mixing with people of a different race.(b) I find it difficult to relate to people of a different
race. (c) I prefer to make friends with people who are
like me. (d) Different races can mix / get along well with
each other in this country(e) The government is successful at bringing all
races together
4. Racial Harmony
6.56.9
7.15.6
6.96.9
6.56.5
6.7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Urban Rural
MalayChineseIndians
NorthCentralSouthEast
Rac
ial H
arm
ony
Scale of 1-10
How would you rate racial harmony in Malaysia on a scale of 1-10?
4. Racial Harmony
On a scale of 1 to 5
I find it difficult to relate to people of a different race.
2.2
2.7
2.8
3.1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
North
Central
South
East
Regi
on
Means
4. Racial Harmony
On a scale of 1 to 5
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
3.85 3.9 3.95 4 4.05 4.1 4.15 4.2 4.25 4.3 4.35
18-19
20-24
25-29
30-35
Age
Gro
ups
Means
“I like mixing with people of a different race.”
4b. Unfair Treatment• Malays felt significantly less unfairly treated on almost all
variables compared to the Chinese and Indian/others. – 75% of Malays stated that they had “never before” been unfairly
treated on account of race, whereas only 45% of Chinese and 49% of Indians/others stated so.
– 82% of Malays stated they had “never before” been unfairly treated on account of religion, as opposed to 53% for both Chinese and Indian/others.
• Respondents from the South and Central regions rated a higher incidence of unfair treatment than did those from Northern and Eastern regions, for race and religion respectively.
4b. Unfair Treatment“I have been unfairly treated due to my race.”
Unfair treatment due to race
1.8
1.3
1.4
2
2
1.5
1.7
1.9
1.4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Urban
Rural
Malay
Chinese
Indians
North
Central
South
East
Unf
air T
reat
men
t
Means
4b. Unfair Treatmentq7
c_d
Never Before
Very Rarely
Occassionally
Quite Often
Alw ays
Percent
806040200
race
Malay
Chinese
Indian/Others
4b. Unfair Treatment
1.6
1.2
1.3
1.7
1.9
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.3
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Urban
Rural
Malay
Chinese
Indians
North
Central
South
East
Unf
air T
reat
men
t due
to re
ligio
n
Means
“I have been unfairly treated due to my religion.”
4b. Unfair Treatmentq7
c_e
Never Before
Very Rarely
Occassionally
Quite Often
Alw ays
Percent
100806040200
race
Malay
Chinese
Indian/Others
“I have been unfairly treated due to my religion.”
5. National Unity Policies• Overall, young Malaysians gave a generally positive
rating for national unity, an average of 6.48 out of 10 presently, and an average of 6.62 out of 10 in ten years from now. Malaysians expect national unity to improve slightly over the next decade.
• Respondents from rural areas rated Malaysia as being more united than did those from urban cities.
• Malays and Indians rated national unity significantly higher than the Chinese.
• Those from the central region gave significantly lower ratings than did those from northern and eastern regions.
5. National Unity Policies• Statements in full: (evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5)(a) I feel that Malaysia is a country that is united. (b) I have never had bad experiences of national unity in
the country.(c) It is important to talk about things that Malaysians are
not happy about. (d) The Government is successful in promoting national
unity in the country.(e) There are not many incidents that are bad for unity in
the country. (f) We have achieved national unity in Malaysia. (g) National unity is important in my life.(h) Political parties are successful in promoting national
unity in the country.
5. National Unity Policies
4.4
4.1
4.1
3.9
3.3
3
3
2.9
4.1
3.8
3.8
3.5
0 1 2 3 4 5
a
d
f
h
Sta
tem
ents
on
Natio
nal U
nity
Average of ratings (1-5)
IndiansChineseMalays
Statements in full: (evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5)(a) I feel that Malaysia is a country that is united. (d) The Government is successful in promoting national unity in the country.(f) We have achieved national unity in Malaysia. (h) Political parties are successful in promoting national unity in the country.
5. National Unity Policies
4
3.7
3.6
3.5
4.3
4.1
4.1
3.8
0 1 2 3 4 5
a
d
f
h
Sta
tem
ents
on
Natio
nal U
nity
Average of ratings (1-5)
RuralUrban
Statements in full: (evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5)(a) I feel that Malaysia is a country that is united. (d) The Government is successful in promoting national unity in the country.(f) We have achieved national unity in Malaysia. (h) Political parties are successful in promoting national unity in the country.
5. National Unity Policies
On a scale of 1 to 10
6.3
6.8
6.9
5.4
6.9
6.8
6.4
6.2
6.6
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Urban
Rural
Malays
Chinese
Indians
North
Central
South
East
Nat
iona
l Uni
ty in
Mal
aysi
a
Means
Rate National Unity in Malaysia on a scale of 1-10
II. National Unity Model I
• The National Unity Model estimates the perception of national unity as a function of other variables
• This is a powerful prediction model. • Using econometric software Eviews, an ordinal
logit model was estimated. • Dependent variable = National Unity at present.• Independent variables = Critical factors that
contribute to the perception of national unity.
National Unity Model ICoefficient Std. Error z-Statistic Prob.
SOUTH -0.286320 0.151633 -1.888240 0.0590
EAST -0.295848 0.164021 -1.803723 0.0713
INDIAN_OTHERS 0.355835 0.205892 1.728261 0.0839
Q5D 0.246782 0.073338 3.365009 0.0008
Q6C_A 0.616573 0.097001 6.356377 0.0000
Q6C_B 0.103558 0.060283 1.717872 0.0858
Q6C_F 0.296800 0.082480 3.598469 0.0003
Q6C_G -0.235551 0.083502 -2.820890 0.0048
Q7A_1 0.496162 0.056073 8.848467 0.0000
Q7A_C -0.187348 0.071071 -2.636066 0.0084
Q7B_1 0.576179 0.061477 9.372266 0.0000
Q7B_C 0.151839 0.048247 3.147136 0.0016
Q8B_G 0.110462 0.044681 2.472256 0.0134
Q9_A -0.247565 0.103023 -2.403011 0.0163
Q9_B 0.257656 0.098193 2.623977 0.0087
Q10_D -0.104357 0.057443 -1.816703 0.0693
National Unity Model I• National Unity at present is a function of these significant
contributing variables: – Region (North, **South and **East)– Race (Malay, Indian/Others)– 5d: Perception of local universities– 6ca: Feeling that Malaysia is united– 6cb: Not having had bad experiences of national unity before– 6cf: Having achieved national unity in Malaysia– **6cg: National unity being important in one’s life– 7a1: Perception of religious harmony presently– **7ac: Ease of getting along with people of different religions– 7b1: Prediction of religious harmony 10 years from now– 7bc: Preference of making friends with people like them– 8bg: Government policies to help the poor should be for a particular
group of Malaysians only– **9a: Thinking Malaysia will become a better place to live in– 9b: Thinking that national unity in Malaysia will improve– **10d: Thinking the police force is effective in maintaining security of
people and homes
National Unity Model II
• A similar model was used to estimate predictions of national unity in 10 years’ time.
• Dependent variable = National Unity 10 years from now
• Independent variables = See below.
National Unity Model IICoefficient Std. Error z-Statistic Prob.
GENDER 0.279512 0.113052 2.472418 0.0134
INDIAN_OTHERS 0.497960 0.200243 2.486773 0.0129
AGE -0.156845 0.054337 -2.886515 0.0039
Q5B 0.128510 0.074991 1.713671 0.0866
Q5C 0.138208 0.071929 1.921458 0.0547
Q6C_A 0.515287 0.094913 5.429028 0.0000
Q6C_D 0.182268 0.090194 2.020838 0.0433
Q6C_F 0.201835 0.087264 2.312935 0.0207
Q6C_G -0.205130 0.079372 -2.584402 0.0098
Q7A_1 0.306042 0.053335 5.738163 0.0000
Q7A_B -0.265651 0.072893 -3.644373 0.0003
Q7A_D 0.287195 0.084676 3.391712 0.0007
Q7B_1 0.380563 0.057859 6.577377 0.0000
Q7C_B 0.168687 0.058122 2.902295 0.0037
National Unity Model II• National unity 10 years from now is a function of these
significant contributing variables: – Gender (Male/Female)– Race (Malay, Indian/Others)– **Age (18-35 years old) – 5b: That primary and secondary schools are good places for different
races to interact. – 5c: Feeling that local universities help to bring people of different races
closer– 6ca: Feeling that Malaysia is united– 6cd: Thinking that the Government is successful in promoting national
unity in the country– 6cf: Having achieved national unity in Malaysia– **6cg: National unity being important in one’s life– 7a1: Perception of religious harmony presently– **7ab: Having friends of different religions in Malaysia– 7ad: Thinking religious harmony will get better in the future– 7b1: Perception of racial harmony presently– 7cb: Being unfairly treated due to Education level
All 6.509484Strata Urban 6.508636
Rural 6.51146Race Malays 6.939042
Chinese 5.383454Indians 6.851653
Region North 6.547289Central 6.399309South 6.58066East 6.623648
Age 18-19 6.58444120-24 6.40916725-29 6.48369830-35 6.596205
6.6633446.5010817.0410717.1431635.39009
7.0908156.8382356.5026886.4495697.0116147.0708436.5504956.7312936.530893
% Change2.363626-0.11607
8.1335232.9416240.12325
3.4905734.4437631.615471-1.992075.8572947.3871392.2051033.818733-0.99015
National Unity Predicted Values based on Models I & IIPresent Future
National Unity Models I & II
• National Unity is predicted to increase overall, based on the national unity models.
• The exceptions were respondents from the following categories: Urban, South, and 30-35 year olds.
0 2 4 6 8
FullUrbanRural
MalaysChineseIndians
NorthCentralSouthEast
18-1920-2425-2930-35
FullStra
taR
ace
Reg
ion
Age
Variables
Nat
iona
l Uni
ty
Rat
ing
(1-1
0)
National Unity at Present
National Unity 10 yearsfrom now
All 6.509484Strata Urban 6.508636
Rural 6.51146Race Malays 6.939042
Chinese 5.383454Indians 6.851653
Region North 6.547289Central 6.399309South 6.58066East 6.623648
Age 18-19 6.58444120-24 6.40916725-29 6.48369830-35 6.596205
6.6633446.5010817.0410717.1431635.39009
7.0908156.8382356.5026886.4495697.0116147.0708436.5504956.7312936.530893
% Change2.363626-0.11607
8.1335232.9416240.12325
3.4905734.4437631.615471-1.992075.8572947.3871392.2051033.818733-0.99015
National Unity Predicted Values based on Models I & IIPresent Future
III. Additional Dimensions
1. Language Literacy2. Youth Concerns3. Inter-ethnic/Inter-religious Interactions4. Ownership of Country5. Future and Aspirations6. Suggestions to Improve National Unity
1. Language Literacy
On a scale of 1 - 5
On a scale of 1 - 5
2. Youth Concerns
1 is the most
important, 11 is the
least important
2. Youth Concerns
0 2 4 6 8 10
Career
Material Goods
Economy
Education
Safety/Security
Religion
Politics
Social Problems
Environment
Racial Harmony
National Unity
Issu
e of
Con
cern
Rank of Importance
RuralUrban
Urban respondents gave a significantly higher rank of importance to the environment and material goods compared to rural respondents, but significantly lower rank to the importance of religion in their lives.
While all ethnic groups seem to give similar ratings to national unity, Malay respondents give a significantly high rank of importance to religion, whereas Chinese give lowest ranks followed by Indians.
1 is the most important, 11 is the least important
3. Inter-ethnic/religious Interactions
49
66
62
41
64
66
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Mainly from my ownage group
Mainly from my ownracial group
Mainly sharing myown religion
My
clos
e fri
ends
are
...
Percentage
RuralUrban
42
65
69
54
71
57
53
52
44
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Mainly from myown age group
Mainly from myown racial group
Mainly sharing myown religion
My
clos
e fri
ends
are
...
Percentage
Indians/OthersChineseMalay
Those within both rural and urban areas had very high proportions of friends from their own racial and religious groups.
Chinese scored the highest on having close friends within their own racial and age groups, whilst Malays had the highest proportion of close friends from their own religion.
Respondents from the East and the South seem to be the most racially and religiously polarised, significantly more than those from Central and Northern regions.39
55
53
51
61
60
54
73
70
41
80
79
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Mainly from my ownage group
Mainly from my ownracial group
Mainly sharing myown religion
My
clos
e fri
ends
are
...
Percentage
EastSouthCentralNorth
4. Ownership of Country
Rural respondents gave significantly higher ratings to statements of ownership of Malaysia than did urban respondents
The Chinese feel that they have significantly less ownership of the country than do Malays and Indians/Others.
On a scale of 1 to 5
On a scale of 1 to 5
5. Future & Aspirations
Again, the Chinese had significantly lower ratings about the future of Malaysia than did the Malays and Indians/others.
Again, the rural respondents had significantly higher ratings about the future of Malaysia than urban respondents.
On a scale of 1 to 5
On a scale of 1 to 5
6. Suggestions to improve National Unity
• General Inequality Issues• Inequality in University
Entrance Systems• Other Issues related to
Higher Education• Fine-tune Education
Programs• Improve Education
Standards• More Multi-racial School
Systems
• Address poverty issues• Salary & Employment
issues• Inequality issues in the
job market• Safety/Security Issues• Police force effectiveness• Effectiveness of
politics/politicians • Role of the public• Cultivation from young• Promotional campaigns/
programs
7. Suggestions to improve National Unity
Respondents in the rural areas gave more suggestions on promotional programs, most likely because these are the tools of national unity they have most experienced. Respondents in the urban areas gave more suggestions related to inequality issues.
A significant proportion of the Chinese (32%) and Indians (24%) gave suggestions on “General Inequality Issues” as a way of improving national unity in the country, as opposed to only 7% of Malays, who do not seem to see inequality issues as a problem contributing to fraying national unity.
Brief Conclusions• Significant difference between urban and rural
respondents, the latter being more likely to perceive Malaysia as having achieved national unity.
• There are significant differences between responses according to ethnic background. The Chinese population show marked differences in perception of national unity in Malaysia on nearly all factors: unfair treatment, racial harmony, religious harmony, and lower ratings on ownership of the country.
• Youth are more concerned with matters affecting their personal lives and sphere (career, education, safety & security), and less so with public social issues (Malaysian politics, national unity).
Brief Conclusions• Present inter-ethnic interaction is relatively superficial
across strata and ethnic backgrounds. • NU Model is a powerful predictor of perceptions of
national unity in the present and future in Malaysia given a set of variable values, and their accompanying coefficients.
• The NU Model demonstrates the sensitivities of the perception of national unity in relation to other independent variables.
• Given this set of present realities, there are many challenges to the state of national unity as perceived by the young in Malaysia, many policy-related. Work should continue to constructively build national unity in the country through all necessary means.
Thank You
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