MALAYSIA is grappling with a historic low in birth rates, with only 93,500 babies born in the first quarter of 2025, an 11.5% decline from the previous year.
The ethnic Chinese community faces a particularly acute crisis, with just 7,350 Chinese babies born in the first four months of 2025, an 8.6% drop and the lowest in Malaysia’s history. The Chinese fertility rate stands at a mere 0.8 children per woman, far below the replacement level of 2.1.
Wanita MCA national chairperson Wong You Fong described this as a “serious warning sign that we are facing a demographic, social, and cultural crisis”.
She warned, “If this trend continues, we are not only looking at a shrinking population, we are facing the very real possibility of becoming a marginalised minority in our own country.
“Such a shift will inevitably weaken our political representation, economic influence, and cultural presence.”
Wong attributed the decline to economic pressures like high living costs, unaffordable housing, and inadequate childcare, noting that many young adults “are choosing not to marry or have children, not because they don’t want to, but because they feel they can’t”.
She urged urgent action, stating: “There is no room for complacency. This is a defining moment. If we truly care about our future as a community and as a nation, we must act now – with urgency, empathy, and purpose.” — May 17, 2025
Main photo credit: The Star
