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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