Malaysia's Fertility Rate Falls

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - - An increasing number of Malaysian couples are seeking fertility treatment as the country's birthrate declines, a newspaper has reported.

A recent United Nations report showed the country's fertility rate dropped from 3.6 babies per couple in 1990 to 2.6 babies currently, the New Sunday Times said.

A key reason for the decline is an increasing fertility problem among Malaysian women, with as many as half of those who visit gynaecological specialists asking for treatment to help them conceive, Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said.

"Many of the couples will remain childless unless they are helped using the 'assisted reproductive technology' technique," Liow told the paper.

Liow said between 10 and 15 percent of childless couples in the country, aged between 30 and 40, had fertility problem.

A 2004 government study predicted that Malaysia's fertility rate would decline 0.1 percent every five years, as women postpone marriage and having children.

The study also revealed the number of children being born varied widely according to the educational level of the mother. Women with no formal education had almost twice as many children as those with a tertiary education.

Officials have voiced concerns that the low fertility rate could bring about changes in the country's demographic structure, including a gradual ageing of the population.

Malaysia's population is currently estimated to be almost 27 million. Government policy sets a target of 70 million by the year 2100.

AFP - Sunday, July 12

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10, 000 Malaysians Jobless Since Jan 1

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- More than 10,000 Malaysians have lost their jobs since Jan 1, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan, disclosed today.

He told Bernama that more were expected to be jobless in the days ahead as companies particularly in the manufacturing sector struggle to keep their businesses afloat.

In an urgent appeal to the government, he said it was of utmost importance for the second stimulus economic package to be released fast so that companies could know clearly where they stood.

The government released a RM7 billion economic stimulus package last month and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had promised a second package soon.
Shamsuddin said the economic downturn this time was much worse than the one in 1997 because it was more widespread and involved the major parts of the world.

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The situation he said was more critical as almost 600,000 local new job seekers were flooding the job market every year.

This comprised of university graduates, diploma holders, skilled workers and fresh school leavers.

Another factor that added to the woes of the jobless was the presence of 1.5 million to 2 million illegal foreigners who were also vying for the same jobs.

He said the MEF believed that the economic condition would take almost one to two years to improve.

"In the meantime, it would be best for the government to assist businesses and jobless Malaysians to tide over this bad times."

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He suggested that the government as a long term measure deal with the situation in the following way:

+ Repatriate all illegal workers to their country of origin
+ Replace legal foreign workers in stages with Malaysians
+ Freeze foreign recruitment
+ Give job priority to Malaysians.

He hoped that government would be firm and bold in instituting measures to face the economic reality the nation was now facing.

Bernama - Thursday, January 29 - Sajad Hussein

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