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Malaysia’s initiatives for
sustainable family development
Anjli Doshi-Gandhi, Deputy Director General (Policy) and Wan Hashim Wan Jaffar, Statistician, National
Population and Family Development Board, Malaysia, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development
A
dvancing
S
ocial
I
ntegration
and
I
ntergenerational
S
olidarity
T
he Malaysian 2010 Population and Housing
Census shows that the multi-ethnic population
of Malaysia was approximately 28.3 million
as compared to 23.3 million in 2000, growing at an
average of 2 per cent per year for the period 2000-
2010. Changing demographic trends have led to major
changes in family structure and size.
The number of households/families has been increas-
ing steadily over the last two decades. It is estimated that
there were 6.4 million households/families in Malaysia in
2010, compared to 3.5 million in 1991 and 4.8 million in
2000. Extended families have become progressively less
common. In contrast, the proportion of nuclear families
has increased from 60 to 65 per cent during the same
period and is estimated to be 70 per cent in 2010. The
average family size also declined from 4.92 in 1991 to 4.62
in 2000, and further declined to 4.31 in 2010. This decline
is partly due to the lowering of the total fertility rate as a
result of delayed marriage and the increased participation
of women in the labour force.
In the 1990s and the early years of the millennium,
Malaysia experienced rapid industrialization, urbanization
and economic development. Family well-being in Malaysia
has been affected, positively or negatively, by development.
Currently, Malaysian families face many challenges as a conse-
quence of the changes in their structure and dynamics, the
increase in the proportion of nuclear families, the need to
balance family and career, family relationships and changing
lifestyles. Adaptations will have to be made in areas such as
childcare and care of the elderly and the infirm, so as not to
lose the family support system.
As such, a strong family unit inculcated with positive family
values, shared responsibility among family members and a
strong marriage institution will continue to be the priority
of the Government’s development agenda. Under the Tenth
Malaysia Plan period (2011-2015), parenting knowledge and
skills will be strengthened to support the needs of young
couples and ensure an optimum work-life balance environ-
ment for Malaysian working parents.
Various initiatives to strengthen the family institution
have been undertaken by the Government of Malaysia
through the Ministry of Women, Family and Community
Development (MWFCD). Through its agency, the National
Population and Family Development Board (NPFDB), the
MWFCD has formulated, developed and implemented poli-
cies and programmes such as the National Family Policy,
1Malaysia Family First (1MF1st) and 1Malaysia Youth
Empowerment and Support (1MYes) programmes, One-Stop
Family Centres, and family education programmes such as
the Strengthening of Marriage Institution (SmartStart pre-
marriage programme), Parenting@Work, Smart Belanja@
Lppkn (family financial management programme), KASIH
Parenting Modules and counselling services.
To ensure sustainable family development, the National
Family Policy (NFP) and its accompanying plan of action
was launched in March 2011 and implemented by the
NPFDB in partnership with other ministries, departments
and related non-government organizations (NGOs). The
aim of this explicit policy is to develop prosperous, healthy
and resilient families to ensure social stability. The NFP is
a key policy that focuses on aspects of family well-being
A strong family unit inculcated with positive family values and shared
responsibilities is the priority of the Government’s development agenda
Image: Ariffadilah Md. Hashim