Malaysia's Socio-Economic Mobility In Positive Direction -- Khazanah

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Seventy-four per cent of children who were born to parents in the poorest quintile (bottom 20 per cent of the population) have moved up by at least one quintile higher than their parents, a Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) study showed. Its Chairman, Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the rising pattern in the last two decades undoubtedly proved to be a major socio-economy mobility in Malaysia during the period. "For the last two decades, children born in poor family in Malaysia had succeeded to place themselves in the higher career level such as chief executive officers, doctors and engineers. "In 1970s, 49.3 per cent of Malaysian were poor compared with 50 per cent in 1957. "It was evident that we were able to create thousands of doctors and others holding higher level positions," he told reporters after the launch of Khazanah's 'Climbing the Ladder: Socio-economic Mobility in Malaysia' report here, Friday. The report analyses the existence and extent of inter-generational mobility in Malaysia, in terms of educational attainment, occupational skills level and income. The study found that Malaysia has a high rate of educational, occupational and economic mobility, with 62 per cent of children being better educated than their parents. Similar results can be seen in skill acquisition where 76 per cent of those whose parents had a low-skill occupation now have a medium-skill occupations. The report also set out policy recommendation, including broadening access to education, namely pre-school education; reducing gender barriers; and assisting children from rural areas. Acknowledging a 'middle-class squeeze', the report said the needs of the middle-income group should also be looked into. KRI Managing Director Charon Mokhzani said only 19 per cent of a child's income in Malaysia was associated with his/her parent's income, which compared favourably to that of the Scandinavian countries of between 15-18 per cent. He said the data showed that Malaysians lived in a mobile society and that children's future was not pre-determined by the income or education of their parents. -- BERNAMA