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A Review of Literature and Projects 2005
The gender distribution of young people
aged 15-24 years is shown in Figure 3.
Each account for 9%-10% of the
population, thus together comprising
about 20% or a fifth of the population
as a whole. There are slightly more male
than female young people.
Figure 4 shows that the major ethnic
groups in Malaysia have maintained the
same distribution. However, among the
20-24 year-old age group, there was an
increase in non-citizens in 1995,
followed by a decline between 1996 and
1999, and an upsurge in 2000. This may
be explained by the flow of foreign
workers, especially in the labourintensive
sectors, which employ mainly
young workers. It also reflects the
economic realities of Malaysia during
these years. There was rapid
socioeconomic development in the late
1980s and early 1990s, followed by the
financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, and the
recovery in 2000. The presence of
foreigners among the older young
population as a result of labour market
forces in the country calls for specific
strategies in terms of health services for
younger people, including sexual and
reproductive health. The Malaysian
Government has a policy of requiring
health screening of all foreign workers
before they enter the country, and
annually thereafter. One of the
conditions screened for is HIV/AIDS.
Another implication of the presence of
foreign workers is that they contribute
significantly to patronization of sex
workers. There have also been incidences
of violence and crimes, including sexual
crimes, committed by foreign workers.
Figure 3: Distribution of adolescent population (age 15-24) by gender
Source: Social statistics bulletin 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001.Department of Statistics, Malaysia.
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