Questionnaire Text
Malaysia 1970
— source variable MY1970A_ETHNIC
— Ethnic or primary nationality linguistic community
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7. To what community do you belong? _ _
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7. To what ethnic group, community or dialect group do you belong? _ _
Questionnaire instructions
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Question 7
The word 'ethnic group' refers to a group of people who are bound together by common ties of language, religion, custom, etc.
Ask the question as given, and do not make assumptions. Generally accept the answer given, unless it is plainly absurd. Choose the appropriate code from the Enumerator's Code Card (Form 14(a)/ 14(b)/14(c)) and record on the Persons Form in the following way: (i) Write the code in the boxes provided (ii) Write the description of the ethnic group along the line provided to the right of the boxes and (iii) Mark in the code in the coding boxes provided in Question 7.
The Enumerator's Code Cards i.e. Forms 14(a), 14(b) and 14(c) list the various sub-ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak respectively.
It should be noted that in the case of Peninsular Malaysia, persons who report themselves as one of the indigenous groups of Sabah and Sarawak should be coded as 'Other Malay Race' (Code 09). The category 'Other Indigenous' refers to Orang Asli/Tribes of Peninsular Malaysia other than those listed (Codes 03-07).
For Sabah, all persons who report themselves as one of the indigenous groups and categories as listed in Form 14(b) should be assigned the code '01' (Pri-Bumi). Please note that the indigenous groups of Sarawak also come under this category.
In the case of Sarawak, it should be noted that the ethnic groups 'Jisayah', 'Xedayan' and 'Murut' refer to those who come from Sarawak only. The indigenous groups of Sabah found in Sarawak are to be categorized under 'Other Indigenous' (Code 12 in Form 14(c)).
Those people of mixed ethnicity may present you with a problem. Some of them are uncertain about the ethnic group they belong to. You must encourage them to make a choice by asking them to consider from which ethnic group they take their language, religion, custom, etc. or to which of their parent's ethnic group they consider themselves as belonging. As a last resort, record the father's ethnicity.
To help code the Chinese sub-ethnic groups, the Code Card shows the Chinese characters for the several groups. If you have difficulty, show the person the card and ask him to choose the correct grouping.
[p. 70]
The following is a guide to several problem cases that may arise during your work:
a. Persons who report themselves as a Javanese, Boyanese, Bugis, etc. are to be recorded as Indonesians. (Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak). In Sabah, they should be recorded as Pri-Bumi.
b. Not all Indonesian-born people report themselves as Malays. Many of them regard themselves as Indonesians and should be recorded as such. (Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak). In Sabah they should be recorded as Pri-Bumi.
c. The sub-groups Hokchiu and Hokchia are to be coded as 'Foochow' (Sarawak). In Sabah, these sub-groups are included in 'Other Chinese'. The sub-group Henghua is under 'Hokkien' (Sabah).
d. If a person answers 'Ceylonese' (for 'Sri Lankan'), check if they are 'Sri Lankan Tamil' or 'Other Sri Lankan'. Do not include 'Sri Lankan Tamils' as Indian Tamils'. In other words, if the respondent's answer is only 'Tamil', ask the respondent whether it is Indian Tamil or Sri Lankan Tamil (Peninsular Malaysia). Those who say they are 'Singhalese' should be classified as 'Other Sri Lankan: (Peninsular Malaysia).
e. Do not include Pakistanis as 'Other Indian'. There is a separate category 'Pakistanis' which refer to 'West Pakistanis'. Thus, if the answer is only 'Pakistanis' ask whether it is East or West Pakistanis. East Pakistanis are referred to as 'Bangladeshi', which is a separate category in the list (Peninsular Malaysia).
f. Not all Punjabis are Sikhs. If a respondent is a Punjabi other than a Sikh, record him as 'Other Punjabi' (Peninsular Malaysia).
g. Nepalese and Gurkhas should be recorded as Other Asian and not as 'Other Indian' (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak).
h. 'Other Asian' also refers to Other Asian ethnic groups which are not shown separately in the list (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak).
i. Straits-born Chinese (Babas) would be classified under whatever dialect group they identify themselves with. If they are unable to, they would be classified under 'Other Chinese' (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak).
j. 'European' also includes Australians and New Zealanders (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak).
The category 'Others' is for all people who do not fit into the Codes as specified (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak).
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[Questions C1-27 were asked of persons who live in their households on Census Days.]
C9. To what ethnic group, community or dialect group do you belong? _ _ ____
(Refer to code card)
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Question C9
[Question C9 of the enumeration form is not presented here.]
Purpose
The purpose of this question is to obtain information about the ethnic group of each person.
Definition
The term "ethnic or dialectic group" refers to a group of persons bonded by common language, religion, customs or other such factors.
How to ask the question
You are to ask the question as follows:
"What is the ethnic or dialectic group of ____ (member's name)?"
In general, accept whatever answer is given by the respondent.
Do not make guesses by referring to the name, appearance, etc. of the person.
Example: If the respondent replies that he is a "Malay", answer should be entered as follows:
01 Malay
[p.120]
If the reply given by the respondent is too general, for example "Chinese" or "Indian", you should obtain more detailed information.
Example (a):
Wrong
_ _ Chinese
Right
51 Hokkien
Example (b):
Wrong
_ _ Indian
Right:
62 Malayali
[p.121]
Case-by-case guidelines
During the interview, you may encounter some problems in deciding the ethnic group of a person and the correct code to be given. The following are some guidelines provided for cases you may possibly encounter and how to solve these cases.
1. Mixed ethnicity
Persons of mixed ethnic origin may present some problems to you. There may be cases where the persons may not be certain of their ethnic origin.
You should encourage them to make a choice by asking for the ethnic origin of their language, religion, customs, etc., or to which ethnic group their parents consider themselves to have originated from.
As a final resort, record the ethnicity of the father.
2. Indonesia
i. For those who report themselves as Javanese, Boyan, Bugis, etc.
Record them as "Indonesian" and write Code 2 in the code box.
ii. For those of Indonesian origin (without considering citizenship) especially in Peninsular Malaysia, there are those who regard themselves as "Malay", while some consider themselves as "Indonesian".
For those who report themselves as Malay, write "Malay" on the dotted line and give Code 1.
For those who report themselves as Indonesian, write "Indonesian" and give Code 2.
3. Ceylonese/Sri Lankan
If the answer given by a respondent is "Ceylonese" or "Sri Lankan"
Confirm if they are Sri Lankan Tamil or Sinhalese. If the answer is "Sri Lankan Tamil", record as such and give Code 66, and if the reply is "Sinhalese", the give Code 67.
[p.122]
4. Pakistani
If a respondent says he is a "Pakistani", write "Pakistani" and give Code 69.
Do not record him as "Other Indian".
5. Punjabi
If a respondent says he is a "Punjabi", ask the respondent if he is a "Sikh" (Code 63) or Other Punjabi (Code 64).
6. Nepalese and Gurkha
If a person says he is a "Nepalese" or "Gurkha", you should record him as "Nepalese" or "Gurkha" and give Code 75 (Other Asian) and not as "Other Indian" (Code 70).
[p.123]
Special Note:
Other Asian (Code 75)
This category is for any Asian ethnic group which is not separately listed in the Code Card (Document 6).
Baba Chinese
The Baba Chinese are to be classified under whichever dialectic group they consider themselves to belong to. If they are unable to do so, they are then to be classified as "Other Chinese".
European (Code 77)
The category "Europeans" includes Australians, New Zealander, and Americans".
Chitty
Those who report themselves as "Chitty" should be classified as "Other Indians". (Code 70)
Others
This category is for those who cannot be placed in any of the categories which are listed in the Code Card (Document 6).
Questionnaire form
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C8. Which ethnic group or dialect group do you belong to? _ _ ____
(Refer to code card - Document 4)