ARI Working Paper Series

Arguments have been made for structural forces and religion as key factors in explaining for why fertility rates among Malays supercede that of Chinese and Indians in Malaysia. Such arguments, however, fail to highlight the role of culture in determining fertility. Bringing culture into the forefront in an analysis of fertility trends forms the nub of this article, with specific focus on the lack of dramatic decline in fertility rates among tertiary-educated urban Malays in Peninsular Malaysia. Based mainly on ethnographic interviews of thirty Malay women, it shows that in spite of these women working, they have chosen to have more than two children because of the cultural value accorded to having a large family.

That larger families continue to be the norm, as it is argued here, even among urban Malays stems from reasons of culture, which supersedes the influence of religion or the pro-natalist policy of the Malaysian government on fertility trends, although not denying that these factors also bear an influence on fertility differentials. In addition, the decision for having larger families is bound up with positive cultural values ascribed to the mother role and, in turn, prestige granted to family life.