Socio-Economic Problems of the Malays in Singapore

Abstract

This paper focuses on the socio-economic status of the Malay community in modern Singapore as reflected in educational attainment, occupational status, and home ownership. It also examines the historical context in which the socio-economic problems of the Malays have emerged and then reviews the various efforts made by the Malays to resolve their problems. The Malays in Singapore constitute about 15 per cent of the population (380,800 out of 2,558,000 persons [Department of Statistics, Singapore, March 1986, p. 3]). Almost 90 per cent of the Malay population comprises people of direct Malay ancestry while the remaining 10 per cent are of Indonesian descent, such as the Javanese and Boyanese. Educationally, the Malays fare poorly compared to the other ethnic groups. In 1980, the Malays had the highest percentage (86.3 per cent) of persons aged ten years and above who had less than a secondary school education (79.2 per cent at the national level) and the lowest percentage (13.7 per cent) with secondary and higher level education (20.8 per cent at national level). Enrolments at various institutions of higher learning were also low. In 1983 there were only 384 Malay undergraduates in the National University of Singapore (NUS). For the year 1982/83, there were 291 Malay students in the Singapore Polytechnic. In the Ngee Ann Polytechnic there were only 106 Malay students in 1982/83. However, in 1981, there was a significant number of Malay students in vocational institutes, totalling 2,263 or 25 per cent of the total enrolment of 8,974 (Hashima Johari 1984, p. 80).