By Jeanette Tan | Yahoo! Newsroom – 8 hours
ago
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/why-are-malays-having-more-babies-.html
A letter on The Straits Times forum page has gone viral, with the
author questioning why Malay Singaporeans are having more babies
than the rest of the other races in Singapore.
The provocatively headlined letter, “Do Malay husbands know
something the Chinese don’t?”, appeared on The Straits Times Forum
page on Wednesday. The online version of it has
been Facebook-shared over 8,000 times to
date.
In an eight-paragraph letter, writer Ivan Goh compares the total fertility rate of
Chinese in Singapore (1.08), Indians (1.09) and Malay Singaporeans
(1.64) and essentially asks why the TFR rate for Malays is so much
higher.
“Perhaps the Government should find out why Malay women are more
willing to have babies,” he wrote.
He continued: “Are Malay men more romantic, persuasive and less
stressed out by life’s perceived demands than Chinese men? Do Malay
couples have a more viable network of caregivers?”
Reaction to the letter has been mixed, with some praising it for
sparking debate on what is generally a taboo topic, while others
said it displayed great ignorance of the issue.
ST reader Luzanne wrote, “Nice catchy title but the article
displays great ignorance of the issue… Just like Catholicism, Islam
strongly emphaises on kids and family above material acquisition
and selfish ambition. But more importantly , it forbids abortion
and contraceptives. Malay culture encourages early marriages. High
divorce and remarriage rates also increase the total number of kids
in a family. THOSE are the main reason for Malays’ higher fertility
rates.”
FAMILY VALUES
The
forum letter, as it appeared in The Straits Times on Wednesday.
(Yahoo! photo)
When asked about the letter, 26-year-old project manager Nur Anisa
told Yahoo!
Singapore she
agrees with the point Goh made about having a strong network of
family caregivers.
"Grandmothers, aunts and even neighbours are willing to take care
of the children if the mothers have to work, and we do have a very
close-knit community--that really does help," she said, adding that
Malays place a great amount of value and emphasis on the family and
in having families.
She stressed that Malays do not dismiss the importance of career
progression and financial security, but said simply that they
typically value their families much more.
"So having a family isn't seen as a burden for most of us -- we see
children as a 'blessing from God', even if they might be unplanned
during a marriage," she said.
She pointed out, however, that contrary to what Goh wrote,
confidence isn't necessarily the key factor to having more
children.
"I don't think it's much about what Malay men have in terms of
confidence, it's just the values that the Malays hold on to," she
said, adding that Malay men are happy with and tend to find
contentment in having families, as well as being able to provide
for the family, more than anything else.
This thinking may be changing, though. For 28-year-old Muhammad
Adil, the importance of career and financial stability come much
more into play in current times.
“I think for the upcoming generation and mine, we are quite
balanced in a way that we put the importance of family on the same
level as career since the cost of living is much higher now,” he
said.
“That said, I think we will still lead (as a community) in
producing the most babies, since family will always be important in
the Malay community!”
Copy editor Yusuf Abdol Hamid disagreed with the idea that any
traits Malay men might have could impact their birth
rates.
"I think birth rates don't come down to how romantic someone is, or
spontaneous even--to say that Malay men are more successful at
getting their wives pregnant because of that is illogical," said
the 27-year-old.
He pointed out that contrary to what Goh wrote, policies in the
past made no difference to child-bearing behaviour in the Malay
community, where during the two-child policy years, he said his
mother never knew anyone who went to get themselves
sterilised.
"Everyone (Malay Muslim families) continued having children, even
with the financial penalties that came with them, and none of them
were too bothered by the policies that discouraged having more," he
said.
But he said things might change as Singapore's society matures, and
the next generation of Malay parents may be clearly pulling away
from previous ones.
"We're all still chasing the same things -- money and career first,
and the rest (such as family) simply facilitate our journey
there."
