Page 57 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

AEI Insights: An International Journal of Asia-Europe Relations, Vol 5, Issue 1, 2019, ISSN: 2289-800X

THE POLITICS AND POLICIES OF POPULATION CHANGE IN
INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA

Patrick Ziegenhain
Visiting Professor, Atma Jaya University, Jakarta, Indonesia

E-Mail: p.ziegenhain@web.de

Abstract
Indonesia and Malaysia will soon experience the consequences of an ageing population. Both
countries, however, are not yet prepared well for this major demographic change and have only
adopted few policies with regard to an ageing society. This article explains the features of and
the reasons for the demographic changes in Indonesia and Malaysia before it will analyse the
main policy challenges in a comparative perspective.
Keywords: Demography, Ageing, Demographic Policies, Malaysia, Indonesia

Introduction
The population in both Malaysia and Indonesia, has changed to a great extent in the last 50
years and a further population transformation is predicted. If the UN prognoses become true
both Indonesia and Malaysia will not only witness a substantial increase of their respective
populations in the next 25 years but also a significant ageing process.
Both countries were chosen, because they are two major states in Southeast Asia which have
common roots but have taken somewhat different economic and political ways in the last 70
years after becoming independent countries. Additionally, both countries do not seem to be
well prepared to deal with the challenges of a society with a higher proportion of older people.
In so far, the comparison will be based on a “most similar” design.
Indonesia is the fourth-largest country (after China, India and the USA) in terms of population
size worldwide. The country is home of at least 400 hundred different ethnic groups and
cultures. However, nearly 40 percent of the population can be classified as Javanese, the
dominant ethnic group of Indonesia. Indonesia's national motto is "unity in diversity"
(Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) and reflects the multitude of ethnic, cultural and linguistic in the
world's largest archipelago, which stretches more than 5000 kilometres from West to East
through three different time zones. In the latest (2016) Human Development Index of the
United Nations Development Programme Indonesia is ranked on position 113 worldwide as a
country with medium human development.

Indonesia’s neighbour country Malaysia has a similar cultural, linguistic and historic
background as the Western parts of Indonesia. However, the country is much smaller and has
seen, not least due to the British colonial past, a massive influx of labour migrants from South
China and India in the first half of the 20th century. After independence in 1957/1963 Malaysia
progressed quite fast and developed markedly better in socio-economic terms than Indonesia.
Malaysia is now (together with the small city states of Singapore and Brunei), one of the
wealthiest and most developed states in Southeast Asia. In the above mentioned Human
Development Index Malaysia is ranked on position 59 worldwide as a country with high human
development.
There are multitude of country studies on either the Indonesian or Malaysian demographic
developments (e.g. Kohler/ Behrmann 2017, Mahari 2011, McDonald 2014, Rabi 2017), but

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