http://muhammad-ridzwan.blogspot.com/2007/10/unspoken-numbers.html
Recently I picked up a booklet titled “Progress of the Malay Community in Singapore since 1980” from the library. It’s been recently published by MCYS to document several milestones that the community has made.
Undeniably, there have been several improvements with Singapore’s Muslim community. Drug abuse may still be a bane, but at least we’re not the number one problem race anymore. More of our children are attending school and dropouts have reduced considerably.
As expected though, several disturbing trends still remain. Divorce rates are increasing alarmingly and the number of teenage pregnancy cases continues to be a persistent challenge for the community.
However, other several riveting trends have NOT been highlighted by the publication. While browsing through the statistics, I picked up a handful of note-worthy figures that we need to pay attention to. These unspoken numbers need special mention for they tell a dreary tale of things to come for the Malay community.
The booklet is quoted as saying that Malay households “are doing better financially”. Median monthly household income has more than tripled from below $800 in 1980 to $3,100 in 2005.
Is this something that Malays should be proud of? Think again. A three-fold increase in income over a period of 25 years may seem impressive. But look at the numbers when presented in graphical format.
We are actually falling behind the other races – by a very wide margin.
In 1980, the Median income of virtually all households in Singapore - be it Chinese, Malay and Indian - were almost alike. The Chinese may earn slightly more, but the disparity between the races was not so obvious.
However come 1995 onwards, the Indians and Chinese seem to have raced ahead in median household income, leaving the Malays biting the dust. The disparity is even more pronounced in 2005. This rising income gap seemed to have crippled the Malays in a perpetual last placing. It looks to be a long time more before the race in household income evens out. Meanwhile, Malays remain the country’s poorest people.
But wait, it gets more interesting. Being the poorest in the land, surely you would expect the Malays to be more prudent with their money?
No.
If you flip to the Specific Consumer Durables Chart, it will tell you that Malays make up the nation’s second highest number of car owners percentage wise, behind the Chinese. According to latest statistics, 23% of Malay households today are having a car. Even the Indians, who earn much more than us, do not lay claim to this title. I suspect the number of Malay car owners is much higher now with the recent spate of frenzy car buying among the community.
The Malays sure do enjoy their entertainment too, and will spare no cash in its pursuit of it. They are the most dominant owner of VCD and DVD players in the country. 87% of Malay households here own these devices, as compared to 83% for the Chinese and 81% for the Indians.
Cable TV subscription looks to be a hit with Malay families also, with 36% of Malay households having subscribed to it, surpassing numbers for the Chinese households who have only got 32% of their population on cable.
Unfortunately, Malays do not spend the same fervor for education.
Despite the extravagance in matters like cars and DVD players, Malay parents have seemed to take learning pretty lightly. Only 64% of Malay households have a computer in their midst – lowest figure among all the ethnic groups who all score above 70% in computer ownership. The same goes with Internet subscription figures. They score the lowest in this aspect too, with only 44% of Malay households connected.
What do these figures mean to you?
The figures tell a paltry story about our Malays indeed. They have been highlighted in such a way not so I can demean my own people, but I think these issues have gotten very little mention by our leaders and our media.
There is a fundamental flaw with the way Malays are spending money and the effects will be staggering for our children and our future. The numbers are slowly coming out one by one and it tells a story of debt, falling wages and a very mediocre future. Sadly, people are more comfortable sweeping these truths under the rug as unspoken numbers.
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