WORRISOME TREND

(Sin Chew Daily) – Population ratio is always an important issue in a multiracial country, In Malaysia, the ratio of Chinese population has been declining steadily since the early years of independence, triggering tremendous concerns in the local Chinese community

Statistics show that the percentage of Chinese Malaysians slipped from 37.6% in 1957 to merely 23.4% last year. The statistics department has earlier predicted that this ratio will fall below 20% by the year 2030.

The Chinese community has been talking about the worrisome trend of declining population as they seek workable solutions to mitigate the impact on the rights of Chinese Malaysians as a result of the sharp decline in population ratio.

UTAR Tun Tan Cheng Lock Center for Social & Policy Studies, UTAR Center for Chinese Studies and the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP) jointly hosted a seminar last Friday on the “trends and challenges of Chinese Malaysian population”, reflecting once again the local Chinese community’s concerns and worries in this matter.

The worries of the Chinese community have not been unfounded. Under the one-man-one-vote system, the sheer number of people to a certain extent represents the community’s political strength. This is a political reality we cannot afford to overlook, especially in a country where racial politics is very much alive.

To be more precise, the relatively low percentage of Chinese population in this country signals increasingly thinned political influences. The Chinese community will invariably be marginalized when the government draws up national policies and administrative strategies. Their rights will be eroded, and this problem is very real! The question now lies with how we are going to tackle and resolve this problem.

While discussing the issue of declining Chinese population in the country, do bear in mind that this is indeed an irreversible trend. Due to late marriages and declining birth rates, among other things, it is impossible for the Chinese population ratio to climb back to its peak at the dawn of nationhood. Some have called for Chinese Malaysians to have more babies in hope of arresting or at least slowing down the downward trend.

This, nevertheless, is not a very effective approach, as there are a number of things that should be taken into consideration.

And since it is difficult to get the local Chinese to have more babies, perhaps we can strive to create a country thriving on moderate politics and free from racism. In other words, we need to shape a country that is fair and equal to all citizens irrespective of race in a bid to safeguard the rights of minorities.

It is not easy to achieve this, and we need to have more input and thorough studies to push it ahead.

The declining Chinese population ratio should sound an alarm bell to remind us of the need to actively engage ourselves in interracial communication in creating a Bangsa Malaysia.

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