Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has defended his calls for Chinese Malaysians to get married and have children, citing Confucianism and emphasising benefits for the country.
He said that according to Confucianism, people need to get married to take good care of the country.
"When you have a stable family, the nation will progress," he told Malaysiakini.
The Confucian verse Sim cited was “to put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”
However, the quote from The Great Learning or “Daxue” does not explicitly mention the need to get married and have babies to “put the nation in order”.
On Feb 13, Sim took to social media and said the decreasing numbers of Chinese Malaysians may affect the survival of Chinese vernacular schools.
He also posted several times on Feb 12, 14 and 15, encouraging the Chinese to get married and make babies.
However, data showed that Malaysians’ fertility rate is actually declining overall.
Asked why he only focused on the Chinese community, Sim said he encourages all ethnic groups to marry and have more children to contribute to the nation's development.
However, he specifically targeted the Chinese community because their birth rate was the lowest.
Elaborating, Sim pointed out that one of Malaysia's challenges is the declining birth rate and marriages, particularly among the Chinese community - which is ageing faster than other ethnic groups.
Numbers matter
In his efforts to promote the development of local politics, economy, culture and education, Sim said he encourages Chinese Malaysians to get married and have children.
He added that in politics, only those with sufficient numbers can exert political influence and participate in shaping policies and development.
"If you want to have a say, you need to have a sufficient number of people," the PKR leader said.
On the economic angle, Sim said if the majority of the population is elderly and their purchasing power decreases, it would impact the economy.
Without enough young people, he mentioned that the nation would lack the primary workforce needed to drive the economy forward, as well as to promote cultural heritage and education.
"Young people, with jobs and income, are the ones who bring economic vitality. The elderly and retirees usually rely on their savings and pensions - where their consumption rates are not high.”
Fewer workers, lesser tax
Sim explained that if the population declines, naturally, Malaysia would have fewer taxpayers – which means less money in the national coffers to bear the cost of public healthcare and pensions.
"Simply put, we need taxation, right? With economic growth and young people working and paying taxes, Malaysia can afford retirement facilities.
"If Malaysia lacks young taxpayers, tax revenues will decrease, leading to a reduction in our healthcare facilities,” he stressed.
Under Sim’s social media posts, some people commented that getting married and having children is a personal choice.
In response, Sim acknowledged the importance of respecting others' thoughts and choices.
He pointed out that Malaysia is an open society where everyone can express their ideas, and it's through the clash of ideas that results can be achieved.
He also welcomed more people to propose solutions to Malaysia’s declining birth rate. - Mkini
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