2 days ago
Babies can wait: Young Malaysians choose stability over parenthood
ADILLAH Zaki and her husband are putting off having a baby until their late 20s because of concerns over the expense of raising a child.
The couple, both 26, believe they need to earn a combined RM10,000 a month to raise children comfortably.
Adillah, a legal analyst, said her friends shared her worries and believed that more support for working parents, like daycare at the office, would help.
But she said these facilities should be tightly regulated to curb abuse.
A 36-year-old woman, who wished to be identified only as Charlotte, said a household income of RM15,000 would make having children manageable.
"Anything less, you'll probably feel the pinch," she said.
Charlotte and her 38-year-old husband initially wanted to have children. But their plans changed due to life's pressures.
"Life's expensive, work is stressful and by the time you get home, you're already drained.
"It just doesn't feel like the best environment to raise a child right now. We looked at the bigger picture, such as the economy, political scene and how expensive life has become.
"Even basic things like buying a home or paying for education are huge challenges.
"So we decided it's better to focus on living the life we want rather than struggle to raise a child in a world that feels this uncertain," said the Kuala Lum-pur resident.
Charlotte said the topic of children often came up at family gatherings, but a joke about rising living costs would put the subject to rest.
She said existing policies also did not meet what working parents need to raise children.
"Affordable, good quality childcare and longer parental leave for mothers and fathers would make a huge difference.
"Right now, it often feels like parents are left to figure it all out on their own, and that is a big reason many think twice about having kids."
Charlotte said it was necessary for family-friendly policies to also be applicable to men, as caring for children was not just a woman's job.
Adillah and Charlotte's justifications for postponing parenthood are indicative of the trend among young adults nationwide.
In the first quarter of this year, 93,500 live births were recorded nationwide, down from 105,613 in the same period a year ago.
Every state and Federal Territory saw a dip in births.
In Sarawak, where Adillah is based, the crude birth rate per 1,000 population was 2.7, in line with the national average but higher than most states.
The Sarawak government is concerned about the downward trend, which is more dire in other states, especially Penang.
Penang recorded only 2.2 births per 1,000 population in the first quarter of this year, down from 2.5 in the same period a year ago.
The Statistics Department recorded 27,337 births in Penang in 2000, but only 19,579 in 2023.
Penang Social Development, Welfare and Non-Islamic Affairs Committee chairman Lim Siew Khim said the rising cost of living and childcare, people getting married later, gender bias in the workplace and concerns over work-life balance were contributing to the problem.
"Our current work culture does not adequately support work-life balance, especially for women.
"Pregnancy and parenting are often perceived as obstacles to career progression, resulting in hesitation among women to start families.
"This imbalance also stems from the lack of shared parental responsibilities and outdated workplace norms," Lim said.
She said the Penang government introduced the Mempelai Emas initiative — a one-off RM500 payout for newly married couples — to encourage youths to tie the knot.
It also launched the Anak Emas initiative, a cash incentive which parents can apply for upon the birth of a child in Penang.
"However, we acknowledge that financial incentives alone are not sufficient to reverse this demographic trend.
"The state believes that more structural reforms are needed.
"Penang needs better family-friendly policies, including flexible work arrangements, improved childcare support and equal parental leave policies.
"Employers must move away from outdated mindsets that view flexi-hours as reduced productivity, and instead adopt inclusive policies that empower mothers and fathers to balance their careers and family life."
Lim said a cultural shift of seeing parenting as a shared duty between husband and wife was needed.
"Only with equal access to parental benefits and workplace opportunities can we build an environment where having children is no longer seen as a burden, but a shared societal investment," she added.
Universiti Putra Malaysia economist Associate Professor Dr Ida Md Yasin said the high cost of living was among the main reasons for the drop in birth rates, alongside greater access to higher education.
"At the age of 23 or 24, women are graduating from higher education and looking for a job. Only after that, will they start a family and have children."
She said there were more female students compared with males in degree or diploma programmes.
"The women perform well. But when we look at the workforce, these girls go missing."
She added that working women needed more support to strike a balance between careers and motherhood.
