Newlyweds focused on couple-time first
MANY young couples nowadays are putting off starting a family soon after marriage, to focus on their careers and finances due to rising cost of living especially in major cities such as Johor Baru.
They say having children, despite government assistance or tax breaks, is a huge responsibility that require careful financial planning.
Most of those interviewed told StarMetro that they wanted to enjoy their lives together first and save enough money to have children.
Nur Mysara Ahmad Fauzi and her husband Mohd Dary Irsyad, both 25, who tied the knot on Jan 17, said they were enjoying life as newlyweds with no plans to start a family yet.
'We leave that to fate. But these days, having a baby is a major commitment compared to my parents' time.
Mohd Dary and Nur Mysara want to enjoy life together and do not have a plan to start a family yet.
'Kindergarten and daycare fees and cost of baby items are significantly higher compared to our parent's time,' said Nur Mysara.
'Back then, my mother could get daycare for RM300 a month, but now it can easily reach over RM1,000,' she said, adding that it did not include other costs such as medical expenses.
She hoped the government would introduce initiatives so that kindergartens and daycare centres can offer lower fees.
'Providing subsidies for diapers and baby formula to B40 families will also help ease their financial burden,' she added.
Despite being an only child, Nur Mysara said she knew her parents' struggles in raising her as they also had to depend on grandparents and an aunt for financial assistance.
P. Kamalanathan and his wife S. Geetha, both 26, who also got married earlier this year, said they were busy with their respective jobs in Singapore and saving up to start a family.
'We are young and we want to earn as much as possible to get a house and be financially stable before we start a family,' said Kamalanathan, a technician.
He said they went out to work at 6am and would come back late whenever they had to work overtime.
'We have a plan to save up as much as possible, as my wife would have to stop working when we start our family.
'Both of us are from big families and we love children, but the cost of living in Johor Baru is high and we have to be financially prepared,' he said, adding that many of his friends were putting off marriage to concentrate on their careers and other goals.
Singaporean Jacob Tan, 35, and his wife Bobo Tean, 33, who hails from Kluang, Johor, spent a lot of money renovating their house, so starting a family would have to wait until they saved more money.
They got married on May 2 after dating for three years.
Last week, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said Malaysians' total fertility rate (TFR) had dropped from 2.1 children per female in 2010 to 1.6 children per female in 2022 as per the Statistics Department's Vital Statistics 2023 Report.
Factors contributing to this TFR decline, she said, included economic and lifestyle choices apart from the infertility issue.
According to United Nations' projections, she said, countries like Japan, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand have also reported very low fertility rates.
In response to these challenges, Nancy said the National Population and Family Development Board had implemented several initiatives, including providing affordable fertility treatment services, establishing clinics to address male infertility issues and offering tax exemptions of up to RM8,000 for couples seeking fertility treatments.
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