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  By SHYAFIQ DZULKIFLI PETALING JAYA: Selangor leads among Peninsula Malaysia states when it comes to reducing water losses. The state has managed to cut non-revenue water (NRW) by nearly four percent over a five-year period from 2018 to 2022. NRW refers to water that has been produced but is lost before it reaches customers. According to the most recent figures from the National Water Services Commission (SPAN), Selangor's NRW, which was at 31.7% in 2018, fell to 27.8% in 2022, representing a 3.9% drop. Perlis is second in NRW reduction with a 2.3% reduction over the same period, while Pahang is third with a 1.4% drop. Reducing NRW will be under greater public scrutiny with new water tariffs coming into effect on Feb 1. Numbers for Sabah and Sarawak are not available as SPAN only regulates the water and sewerage industry for Peninsula Malaysia and the Federal Territory of L...

By SHYAFIQ DZULKIFLI PETALING JAYA: Are more Malaysians saying “I don’t” to marriage and opting to remain single? According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the number of males and females aged 15 and above listed as “never married” has gone up from 3.08 million in 1970 to 8.39 million in 2020. However, the percentage of single persons in relation to the country’s population has fallen, due to population growth over the years. In 1970 for instance, 53.6% of the population aged 15 and above were single. The figure has fallen to 34.01% in 2020. The data, contained in a report titled Key Findings Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 . The report contains figures on the numbers and percentages of persons aged 15 and above in terms of marital status by dividing them into four categories. The categories are never married, married, widowed and divorced/separated. The report listed Malaysia’s population at 10.44 m...

By S HYAFIQ DZULKIFLI PETALING JAYA: Are more Malaysians saying “I don’t” to marriage and opting to remain single? According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the number of males and females aged 15 and above listed as “never married” has gone up from 3.08 million in 1970 to 8.39 million in 2020. However, the percentage of single persons in relation to the country’s population has fallen, due to population growth over the years. In 1970 for instance, 53.6% of the population aged 15 and above were single. The figure has fallen to 34.01% in 2020. The data, contained in a report titled Key Findings Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 . The report contains figures on the numbers and percentages of persons aged 15 and above in terms of marital status by dividing them into four categories. The categories are never married, married, widowed and divorced/separated. The report listed Malaysia’s population at 10.44 m...

By YUEN MEIKENG and SHYAFIQ DZULKIFLI PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is fighting the biggest surge in Covid-19 cases it has seen this year. Infections climbed over the past two months, with several neighbouring countries also seeing a rise in cases. The following is a closer look at the current increase in cases, based on experts’ views and an analysis of data from the Health Ministry’s KKMNOW portal. Seasonal Covid After several lockdowns, cases fell from a seven-day average of 30,390 on March 10, 2022, to 1,244 on May 7, 2022. Covid-19 then became seasonal. The chart below shows what the ups and downs look like since 2022. Click “Play” to animate. Virologist Dr Jasmine Khairat said cases tend to rise in the middle and end of the year in Malaysia due to several reasons. One is the high rates of travel movements in and out of the country due to school and public holidays. “At the same time, it also coincides with the seasonal na...

Summary: Rapid rise of vaping among youths. By SHYAFIQ DZULKIFLI PETALING JAYA: Nearly one in five adolescents in Malaysia use tobacco products, underscoring the high stakes in the country's anti-smoking efforts. An anti-smoking law was passed by Parliament last month, but many lawmakers expressed disappointment during the debate over the removal of a generational endgame provision from the Bill. The following are key statistics on how young Malaysians are increasingly hooked on the habit.   Rise of vaping According to the Adolescent Health Survey 2022, 18.5% of adolescents (individuals aged between 13-17 years) use tobacco products. The survey by the Health ministry found e-cigarettes/vape use increasing from 9.8% in 2017 to 14.9% last year. Meanwhile, smoking cigarettes trend declined to 6.2% as compared to 2017 at 13.8%.       Boys most affected E-cigarette/vape prevalence in male adolescents is at 23.5%, almo...

By SHYAFIQ DZULKIFLI PETALING JAYA: The amount of fish caught in Malaysian waters has fallen by nearly 300,000 tonnes since 2016 as concerns rise over the impact of climate change.  The country’s fishermen netted 1.57mil tonnes of fish and other marine species in 2016, according to Department of Fisheries (DoF) statistics.  Since then, their catch has declined by about three percent each year to 1.31mil tonnes in 2022.  The DoF in a report published in June said the outlook for this year is also gloomy.  It anticipates that the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon could cause a further drop by about 70,000 tonnes this year to 1.24mil tonnes.    Many of Malaysia’s favourite seafood is affected by the declining catch.  They include Pelaling/Temenong, Tenggiri and Kembung, which the Department of Statistics listed as the top three most consumed fish on a per ...

 By SHYAFIQ DZULKIFLI  PETALING JAYA: Malaysians love food, but what do we eat the most?  Rice, the country’s staple food, tops the list.  Malaysia’s per capita consumption of rice is currently at 79kg, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu was reported saying in September.  Statistically, this means that on average each person in Malaysia consumes 79kg of rice per year or about 1.5kg per week.  Apart from rice, data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) offers further insights on other foods we eat a lot of.  DOSM’s 2023 Selected Agricultural Indicators includes per capita consumption figures for meats, fish vegetables and fruits.  According to the report, chicken meat came out tops, followed by coconuts and chicken/duck eggs.  The report states that the country’s per capita consumption of chicken meat stood at 48kg last year, which works out to about 1kg per week....