DESPITE boasting a high national literacy rate, educationists and social analysts are lamenting the fact that Malaysians are falling far behind other countries in cultivating a reading habit.

In a recent study conducted by Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), Malaysia was ranked sixth from the bottom of a list of 61 countries in the World’s Most Literate Nation (WMLN) ranking. 

The results contrast an announcement in May this year by director-general of National Library of Malaysia Nafisah Ahmad that stated that the literacy rate among Malaysians currently stands at 94.64% for those aged 15 and above.

However, analysts and education activists say that coming in at an unimpressive 53 in the literacy list and sharing the bottom rung with fellow Southeast Asian nations Indonesia and Thailand has less to do with Malaysians’ ability to read, than with their willingness to.

Policy analyst Oh Ei Sun from the Pacific Research Centre said the low ranking was not an indication of Malaysians’ levels of education or literacy, which he also acknowledged to be high, but was due to the reluctance of Malaysians to read.

“We read too few books as a people,” Oh told The Malaysian Insight.

“It would be a stretch to consider Malaysia a country wanting in literacy. People here can read, but they just don’t.”

Honorary Secretary of Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) Munawirah Putra said the habit of reading was less prevalent in children from lower-income families, especially those living in rural areas.

“Parents of very young children among the top 25% of earners are more than twice as likely to have at least 10 books in the home.

“Wealthier mothers are also more than 50% more likely to read to their child three or more times a week,” Munawirah told The Malaysian Insight, citing past research.

As such, she said PAGE was actively supporting programmes that reach out to the poorer communities, educating them on the importance of exposing young children to the habit of reading.

Information from the CCSU website said the WMLN list ranked nations on their populace’s literacy behaviours and their supporting resources, and was not necessarily based on their ability to read.

According to the website, the rankings were based on five indicators that affect the literate health of the nations – libraries, newspapers, education inputs and outputs, and computer availability.

“Based on the WMLN research, we’re not doing poorly on availability of libraries as it is second to percentage of computers in a household,” said Munawirah.

However, she said the government could increase the number of community libraries to make it easier for those living outside the city to have access to books.

“One way we can improve the reading culture among Malaysians who are evidently reading two books a year is by promoting programmes to inform low-income parents about the value of talking and reading to their young children,” she said.

In 2005, the National Literacy Survey carried out by National Library showed that Malaysians only read an average of two books per year, which was the same amount almost 10 years earlier in 1996.

The same survey conducted in 1982 reported that Malaysians only read an average of one to two pages a year.

In the CCSU literacy ranking, southern neighbours Singapore ranked 36th on the list, while other Asian countries on the list are South Korea (22), Japan (32) and China (39). – October 26, 2017.