The changing student demography at Chinese national-type schools (SJKCs) in Malaysia is a lifeline for such institutions as student enrolments dwindle, but this also poses existential questions for the Chinese community in the country.

This is according to a paper by Singapore-based Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute published on Tuesday, where the think tank’s visiting fellow James Chai presented findings based on a survey and data compiled from multiple sources.

The paper argued that while the student population in SJKCs are shrinking...