DILIGENCE and hard work do not really move young Malaysians up the social mobility ladder, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, said an economist.

Muhammed Abdul Khalid, managing director of DM Analytics, said it is instead family background that matter most in pushing up someone.

However, his views were disputed by Merdeka Centre’s executive director Ibrahim Suffian, who said its recent study shows that youth put high preference on hard work and higher education.

Speaking at a forum on Wednesday discussing youth and social mobility, Ibrahim started the ball rolling by pointing out a recent Merdeka Centre survey.

He said 74% of Malaysians polled believe that “talent and hard work will play a big role” in helping them chart their future regardless of family background.

He also said 57% felt they can do better in life than their parents, as they are well educated.

“A majority (57%) felt they could do better than their parents, except perhaps for housing because house prices have gone up. This is because they are better educated and have more skills,” he said.

Social mobility is the ability of an individual to move or change categories between social strata in society.

However, Muhammed disagrees with this notion, adding that a survey done by his organisation in 2017 pointed otherwise.

He said hard work could have been the mantra of the older generation but for the youth of today, it is a matter of family background and parental status, which would push them upwards.

“While the Merdeka Centre survey found the youth saying if they work hard, they would move up, I have bad news for you. We did a survey in 2017.

“Before, yes, people from my generation… for them, parental status did not matter, but you cannot move all the way up.

“The rich will stay rich, especially if you are Chinese. If you are Chinese, born rich, 50% chance you will stay rich.

“Hard work matters just a little, the birth lottery matters more,” he told the forum.

The former economic adviser to the prime minister said this phenomenon is seen in advanced countries as well where there is a glass ceiling to prevent people from moving classes.

“We have seen this many times around the world like in China, Italy, America and the United Kingdom. Birth plays a bigger role, therefore, social capital matters. You work hard but it is very difficult to move up.

“The system that we have, tax and education, does not help you to move up and Covid-19 will make it worse. If you think you move all the way up, bad news for you, you have to rethink unless we change,” he said.

Ibrahim, however, shot back and said most Chinese polled felt they could do better than their parents regardless of their social background.

He also said most Malaysians assessed themselves on a personal capacity, and not based on family background.

“When we asked the question if people are better off than their parents, there is no difference between the ethnic groups. In fact, more of the Chinese felt they would be better off than parents (81%).”

However, Malaysians, especially the Malays, want affirmative action and race-based policies to continue despite being in the 21st century, said Ibrahim.

“From the surveys we have done in the past, 90% of Bumiputera respondents want to see race-based policies and preferential treatments continue, many want it to continue perpetually.

“This is the effect of years and years of politics tying between economic policies and ethnicities,” Ibrahim said.

Housing issue

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive officer Tricia Yeoh agrees that the current crop of youth believe they could move upward the social ladder, except for owning property.

However, she said this is increasingly becoming a non-issue as more and more developed countries are opting for a centralised renters’ market instead of buying properties.

“If you look at more developed countries, people have no problem renting if you live in the city. There is where the housing market is most highly priced.

“That is also going to change, how people live in the future. The prediction is that because of the pandemic, people are more likely to live in the outskirts.

“I think we are focused and obsessed that everyone needs to buy a house and own a house. I think it’s a good time to debunk the notion.

“Renting is a feasible option, especially if it’s going to be in the city centre,” Yeoh told the forum. – December 25, 2020.