Concerned MP points to 33pct drop in Chinese marriages

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has sounded the alarm over the drop in the marriage rate for Chinese Malaysians, which fell by 33 percent over six years from 2016 to 2022.

In a brief statement on Facebook, he also pointed out that the marriage rate for the Indian community had dropped by nine percent in contrast to the bumiputera marriage rate, which rose by 47 percent during the same period.

“I am happy to see that the marriage rate among bumiputera is on the rise (increasing by 47 percent) and the Indian community marriage rate is steady from 2016 to 2022,” he posted on Facebook.

“However, the Chinese community marriage rate has declined by 33 percent from 2016 to 2022. Quite a huge decline,” the PKR MP said.

He said that according to the parliamentary reply provided by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, several factors affected marriage decisions, such as financial concerns, finding a suitable partner, and focusing on career.

Sim called on the Chinese community to pay attention to this trend.

‘Get married, pronto’

He also emphasised the importance of marriage in his post, saying, “Marriage is a beautiful journey in life. It is also an important institution for society and the country.

“I hope to draw attention to the Chinese community to pay attention to this declining trend. I agree that marriage is an individual choice. But it will cause other chain effects such as declining fertility rates,” Sim said.

He urged all single people, regardless of race, to get married at the end of his post.

In February, Sim raised a related concern about the survival of vernacular schools given the decline in the Chinese birth rate.

“An average of 33 new students means only one class of Standard One per SJKC,” he said.

“Chinese births make up less than 10 percent of total live births and Chinese women have a total fertility rate of 0.8, while Malay women’s is at 2.1,” he said.

“This declining trend is not unique to Malaysia, as we are consistent with developed countries and Southeast Asia. So why is the Chinese birth rate so low?” he asked at the time.

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