A resident in Puchong, Selangor, responding to a face-to-face survey by an enumerator.
PEOPLE who have yet to complete the Malaysia Population and Housing Census (Census 2020) survey under the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) are urged to do so via e-Census for the future of the country.
“We are giving the last push by doing face-to-face interviews to conclude Census 2020 by Oct 31,” said Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.
“Most of the respondents have been cooperative and we appreciate it,” said Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.
“Census is an opportunity given by the government every 10 years to all Malaysians to voice out their necessary needs, such as education, healthcare, connectivity, recreational amenities, electricity and water supply.
“The data collected is the base data of policy-making by the Government as well as reference for analysts in future planning for the nation.
“We hope everyone carries out their responsibility as Malaysians in completing the census. The data determines our future for a better life,” he said during a live stream on the Statistics Department’s Facebook page.
As at Sept 30, 28.1 million residents or 86% – of which 1.4 million are foreigners – have been surveryed from the estimated 32.7 million population in Malaysia under Census 2020, Mohd Uzir shared.
A total of 14.4 million or 51.3% of the people surveyed were men while 13.5 million or 48.7% were women.
Of the 9.4 million homes, nine million or 96.1% have been covered, with 7.2 million out of 8.2 million households having completed the survey.
An enumerator placing census survey forms in the mail boxes in a condominium.
According to Mohd Uzir, the states with the highest response rates were Johor (104.9%), followed by Federal Territory of Putrajaya (101.3%), Negri Sembilan (100.4%), Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (99.2%), Perlis (95%) and Kelantan (93.8%), while states with low response rates were Federal Territory of Labuan (78.6%), Pahang (69.3%), Sarawak (66.6%) and Sabah (55.9%).
Other states’s response rates were Perak (93.2%), Penang (92.8%), Selangor (91.2%), Melaka (88.2%), Terengganu (88.1%) and Kedah (84.3%).
“For the states with a low response rate, it is not that the respondents were not cooperative, but it was the pandemic that caused the delay, while some high-risk areas were unreachable,” he explained.
Based on the data collected, 95% of the people are Malaysians while 4.8% are foreigners.
Based on the ethnic group analysis, the bumiputera group comprised 69.4% followed by Chinese (23.1%), Indians (6.7%) and others (0.8%).
In some areas, gaining access was a huge challenge.
In terms of age groups, of the 28.1 million people, 25.4% are aged between 0 to 14 years, 69.3% are of working age (15 to 64 years) and 5.4% are aged 65 years and above.
Perlis recorded the highest percentage for senior citizens aged 65 and above which is 9.7% while both Penang and Sarawak recorded the highest percentage of the working age group (15 to 64 years old).
Putrajaya recorded the highest percentage of the young age group (0 to 14 years) at 36.5%.
Of those who have completed the census, a majority (63.3%) filed their information through face-to-face interviews via Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI), Paper & Pen Interview (PAPI) or Drop-off & Pick-up (DOPU) while 22.5% filed through online using e-Census or the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI).
Due to the pandemic, Census 2020 was implemented through several phases and took more than a year compared to a maximum of four weeks pre-pandemic.
However, this situation has given DOSM the opportunity to conduct more detailed analysis of data as well as to return to a survey area if necessary.
Mohd Uzir assured that in this pandemic situation, the enumerators are taking all the necessary precautions to ensure their own safety and that of residents whom they approach.
“The Census 2020 exercise is carried out in accordance with the standard operating procedures and has gotten approval from the National Security Council with a letter dated Sept 21.”
Some enumerators have to return to the same household to complete the survey.
Some 4,800 enumerators from the department’s short-term employment programme (MyStep), who are fully-vaccinated, will be still doing their rounds of conducting face-to-face interviews on a targeted basis in order to complete Census 2020 by Oct 31.
“As the deadline is nearing, enumerators are pushing hard for this final mile by having a certain quota of households to visit each day as well as working though weekends and public holidays to complete Census 2020 within this month.
“Do extend your cooperation to these frontliners when they approach your home,” he said.
Households which have yet to complete the survey can do so through e-Census. For details, visit www.mycensus.gov.my or call 1800 88 7720.
