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.
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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).