Introduction
World Children’s Day is dedicated to celebrating children and acknowledging their struggles. In Malaysia, economic growth and expansion of healthcare and schooling means children today enjoy a higher standard of living, are healthier and are more educated than past generations. But inequality, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has raised concerns on progress tackling child-specific issues.
While in no way comprehensive, this piece explores recent trends and raises key issues affecting children that all parents, guardians and changemakers must know.
Our children’s population is growing…but not for long
Malaysia is home to around 9.2 million children (i.e. persons aged below 18 years old), making up 28% of the country’s population. The number of children has risen steadily in the last few decades, but is expected to reverse soon due to the declining birth rate. By 2050, the number of children is projected to drop to 8.2 million, making up just 20% of the population. At the same time, the number of older persons (i.e. aged 60 and above) will exceed the number of children, in part due to lower death rates and longer life expectancy.
Fewer workers of tomorrow but higher care burden, a pressing need to address children issues now
These children will grow up to become the workers of tomorrow. If the trend continues, the shrinking working-age population will face a higher burden to care for both the elderly and the young. In 2020, for every 100 working-age persons, there are 44 children and older persons. In 2050, the number of dependents will rise to 51 children and older persons.
To create a healthy and productive workforce who are able to cope with increasing demands, it is critical to address the challenges that children are facing now, including poverty, education and health.
Children more likely to live in poverty than adults
In 2019, out of 405 thousand households living in poverty, 335 thousand are households with children. The poverty rate for children is higher than the national rate as close to 9% of households with children are poor compared to almost 6% for all households and around 2% for households without children. Households with children are vulnerable to falling into poverty as many earn just above their poverty line income (PLI). To put into perspective, if the current average PLI is doubled from RM2,208 to RM4,416 the poverty rate for households with children increases from 9% to almost 40% —an increase of 4.6 times. Given the rise in the national poverty rate from 5.6% in 2019 to 8.4% in 2020, child poverty has likely worsened too.
Contrary to the assumption that poorer households have more children, in 2019, out of 2.91 million households in the Bottom 40 group (B40), 477 thousand (16.4%) of them live with children aged 18 years and below. 66% of the B40 group with children only have around one or two dependents. In reality, more than 60% of children in Malaysia live in non-B40 households.
As social assistance measures are largely for low income households, most children are excluded. Currently, Malaysia lacks legislation in the provision of social security for children, resulting in social assistance measures that have weak institutionalisation and cover narrow populations. Unless their caregivers are covered by social insurance schemes, children have no social security to help cope with income shocks.
Education inequality persists
Enrolment in primary and secondary education is high, but the percentage of students who transition from secondary to post-secondary education is low. Only 40% of Form 5 students transition to post-secondary programmes under the Ministry of Education. Understanding who transitions and what are the reasons or barriers to not continue schooling may be of value as it could shed light on unequal opportunities in tertiary education.
The national average grade (gred purata nasional, GPN)—an indicator for performance in a standardised exam of a particular schooling year, with a lower value indicating better performance—for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) has generally improved from 2015, even in 2020 when students experienced school closures although it slightly deteriorated in 2021. However, there is an achievement gap between students in urban and rural areas. This disparity has been linked to rural schools’ worse infrastructure, limited access to technology and teaching resources, and utilisation of obsolete teaching materials. Other forms of discrimination also exist. Children from poor households, in Sabah and Sarawak, and undocumented children face various barriers to attending school.
While SPM results paint an optimistic picture of our children’s learning during the onset of the pandemic, international experiences suggest otherwise. The World Bank estimates students lose up to 1.3 years of learning because of the 42-week school closures in 2020 to 2021, one of the longest periods of closures in the region. This effect is strongest among disadvantaged children who lack resources to access learning remotely.
Education inequality matters as it impedes a child’s right to learn and results in future losses during adulthood. According to the same World Bank study, the future monetary losses due to the school closures can reach up to 10% of expected earnings.
Child mortality reduced but there is room for improvement
Malaysia has made tremendous progress in reducing child mortality rates. In fact, in terms of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Malaysia has already met and exceeded the 2030 target which is to reduce neonatal and under-five mortality rates down to 12 and 25 deaths per 1,000 live births respectively. Neonatal mortality rate is at 4.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 21.4 in 1970. Infant mortality rate is at 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 39.4 in 1970. Under-five mortality rate is at 7.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 55.9 in 1970.
However, there have been persistent gaps across localities. Despite the low national child mortality rates, there are districts showing high rates, recording 2 – 5 times the national figure.
Children suffering from the triple burden of malnutrition, mental health problems and disabilities
Good early life nutrition is an important foundation of lifelong health. However, Malaysia is currently facing the challenge of a ‘triple burden of malnutrition’ in which segments of children’s population are undernourished, micronutrient deficient and overweight/obese. About one in five children aged under 5 are stunted, one in 10 underweight and one in 10 wasted. At the opposite end of the spectrum, one-third of kids aged 5 – 17 are either overweight or obese, ranking Malaysia as the second highest for child obesity rate among Southeast Asian countries, behind Brunei. Except for wasting, all indicators worsened from 2011.
Child malnutrition is not unique to the poor but cuts across income groups. About 22% and 17% of children in B40 and T20 households, respectively, are stunted. For obesity, the rates for the B40 and T20 do not differ much, at 16% for the former and 18% for the latter.
Psychosocial distress and poor mental health are not uncommon for children. The prevalence of mental health problems among children aged 5 to 15 is almost 8%. The prevalence is highest for the B40, lower for the M40 and lowest for the T20. Children with disabilities are identified as one of the most marginalised populations, facing higher risks of abandonment, abuse, institutionalisation and exclusion. About 5% of children aged 2 to 17 have difficulty in at least one domain. Again, we see the prevalence highest for the B40.
Child abuse and exploitation
Decline in income may drive families to force children into abusive and exploitative situations. From 2010 to 2020, the number of children in need of care and protection from abandonment, abuse and neglect increased from 3,257 to almost 5,900. Even if adjusted for population size, the share of cases as a percentage of children population has increased from 0.047% in 2015 to 0.063% in 2020.
Poverty and low income have also been linked to child marriage and child labour. These forms of exploitation deny a child from enjoying childhood and adolescence, and forces them into adulthood. Between 2007 and 2017, Malaysia registered about 15,000 child marriages. In 2018, 1,856 children were married with 90% being girls, 83% Muslim and 17% non-Muslim. The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights claims the employment of child labourers in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the extent of the problem is unclear as there is no official data on this matter.
Climate change and natural disasters disrupt the wellbeing of children
Climate change has increased the number of weather-related disasters by a factor of five from 1970 to 2019. Just 2021 alone, Malaysia experienced devastating losses from floods resulting in 58 deaths, 208,643 victims and destruction of homes and livelihoods. The Department of Statistics estimates that the floods in late-2021 alone caused up to RM6.1b (or 0.4% of GDP) in damages.
Children are particularly vulnerable during disasters as they have higher susceptibility to diseases and malnutrition. Studies in Malaysia focusing on climate change concluded that children, especially from marginalised groups, are affected by climate-related impacts in five ways: 1. Children become more exposed to diseases, hazardous substances and pollutants, and susceptible to infections. 2. Children’s learning affected as flooding, haze, etc. can block access to schools. 3. Children cannot access basic services and necessities such as food, healthcare and water. 4. Children’s families experience income instability. 5. Children more exposed to hazards and threats to wellbeing arising from damage to infrastructure.
Conclusion
Poverty and deprivations have grave consequences during childhood and can transcend to adulthood if not rectified early on. Children who grow up impoverished suffer from poor living standards, develop fewer skills and earn lower wages as adults, creating a cycle of poverty, limiting upward social mobility and increasing inequality.
As World Children’s Day proclaims its theme of ‘inclusion, for every child’, this ideal is still far from reality in Malaysia. Children are more likely to live in poverty and handed unequal opportunities in education and health. We also see a rise in the number of children abused and exploited, with climate change serving to aggravate problems further. While these challenges may seem insurmountable, we must make a difference for our children because we can.
There is no silver bullet, but setting a social protection floor for all children is a vital first step to level the playing field. The current lack of statutory social protection for child-specific risks results in families seeking assistance without any legal foundation, namely from government agencies or non-government organisations. These assistance schemes are precarious, only intended for those deemed ‘deserving’ and excludes those who fall through the cracks.
As all children are vulnerable to poverty and child-specific issues are prevalent across income groups, a universal social protection floor that automatically ensures basic income security through universal child benefit, and access to education, care, nutrition and any other necessary goods and services must be set. For a prosperous Malaysia, all children should have an equitable place at the starting line.
