KUALA LUMPUR: Bayan Baru member of parliament Sim Tze Tzin has urged the Chinese community to consider marriage following a drop in marriage rates from 2016 to 2022.
Sim voiced concerns over the implications of decreasing marriage rates, emphasising repercussions such as declining fertility rates.
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"I hope to raise awareness in the Chinese community of this declining trend," he said in a Facebook post.
Sim expressed satisfaction with the increased marriage rates in the Bumiputera community.
"I'm happy to see the marriage rates among Bumiputeras are on the rise, while the Indian community's marriage rates are steady," he said.
Recent statistics from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry showed a 47 per cent increase in marriage rates among Bumiputeras.
The Chinese community has seen a 33 per cent drop in marriage rates since its peak in 2016.
"While I acknowledge that marriage is a personal choice, I encourage those who are still single, regardless of ethnicity, to seriously consider tying the knot," Sim said.
The Malaysian Population and Family Study 2014 has identified financial challenges and a lack of suitable partners as primary factors contributing to declining marriage rates among both genders.
To address these issues, the ministry, through the National Population and Family Development Board, has introduced the SMARTSTART 2.0 pre-marriage course for unmarried people.
The government has also implemented the SMARTSTART 2nd Honeymoon programme to combat the rising rates of divorce in Malaysia.