KUALA LUMPUR: The country's level of unity of multIracial communities in 2022 is at a "moderate" level, the Dewan Negara heard today.
Deputy National Unity Minister K. Saraswathy said that based on the National Unity Index Survey (IPNas), the country scored 0.629 on the scale, a slight increase from 0.567 in 2015.
The IPNas score is divided into four categories - poor unity (0.0-0.24), low unity (0.25-0.49), moderate unity (0.50-0.74), and high unity (0.75-1.0).
"Social cohesion is used as a basic component of measurement to reflect the level of unity in the development of this index."
She said this in response to Senator Seruandi Saad, who asked the ministry to state how it assessed the level of unity in the country, and if there was an official index that was used.
Saraswathy added that through the 2022 IPNas survey, the four indicators that influenced the level of social cohesion were ethnicity; relations between ethnicities; racial ethos; and governance and development.
"Through IPNas, we have found that the aspect of governance and development was most important in improving unity among Malaysians.
"Therefore, initiatives by all ministries and government agencies must be multiplied to improve the index readings.
"The next IPNas survey will be conducted this year and we hope to improve the score to 0.7 by next year," she said.