Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey 2012
Malaysia, 2012
Identification
MYS_2012_HIS-BA_v01_M
Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey 2012
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Malaysia | MYS |
Income/Expenditure/Household Survey [hh/ies]
The Household Income Survey (HIS) was conducted by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia since 1973. However, starting from 1987, The Basic Amenities Survey was conducted together with Household Income Survey and known as Household Income/Basic Amenities Survey (HIS/BA). The survey has been conducted twice in five years.
The Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey (HIS/BA) 2012 is the latest income survey carried out by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia after the last survey in 2009. The survey is implemented twice in five years.
Data from this survey are used by the government as inputs for the formulation of national development plan especially in preparing for Tenth Malaysia Plan.
Objective of survey
The main objectives of the survey are as follows:
• collect information on income distribution pattern of households;
• identify the poverty groups; and
• identify the accessibility of basic amenities by poor households.
Sample survey data [ssd]
- Households
- Individuals
Scope
The scope of the study includes:
Incomes:
(i) earnings from paid employment (including wages and salaries, cash allowances, bonuses, commissions, overtime payments, free food, free or concession lodging, free or concession consumer goods, payment in kinds and employer's contributions to EPF/SOCSO);
(ii) income from self-employment (including value of home-produced goods for own consumption);
(iii) property income (including royalties, rents, interests and dividends);
(iv) current transfer receipts (including remittances, alimony, scholarships and fellowships, pensions, periodic payments from inheritance or trust funds and gifts in cash or in kind); and
(v) other income (including imputed rent of owner-occupied house).
Basic amenities:
(i) Education (distance of educational institution from the living quarters);
(ii) Health (distance of government and private health institutions from living quarters);
(iii) Housing (type of ownership, condition of building, number of bedrooms, types of materials for outside walls, types of toilets used, water supply, electricity supply and garbage collection facilities);
(iv) Household appliances (household equipments owned by the household for own use such as motorcar, washing machine, telephone and others).
Coverage
The survey covered both urban and rural areas in Malaysia except the Orang Asli Enumeration Blocks (EBs) in Peninsular Malaysia. Usually, the EBs that lie in the interior areas are not included in the sampling frames. However, for the latest survey, the Department expanded its coverage to include these EBs.
The survey covered households staying in private living quarters (LQ) only. The institutional households, that is, those living in hostels, hotels, hospitals, old folk’s homes, military and police barracks, prisons, welfare homes and other institutions were excluded from the coverage of the survey.
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Department of Statistics | Government of Malaysia |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Government of Malaysia | Funded the study |
Sampling
Sampling Frame
The frame used for the selection of sample for HIS/BA 2012 was based on the Household Sampling Frame which was made up of Enumeration Blocks (EBs) created for the 2010 Population and Housing Census. EBs are geographical contiguous areas of land with identifiable boundaries. On average, each EB contains about 80 to 120 living quarters. Generally, all EBs are formed within gazetted boundaries i.e. within administrative districts, mukim or local authority areas.
The EBs in the sampling frame are also classified by urban and rural areas. Urban areas are as defined in the 2010 Population and Housing Census. Urban areas are gazetted areas with their adjoining built-up areas which had a combined population of 10,000 or more.
Sample Design
A two-stage stratified sampling design was adopted. Primary strata (made up of states) and secondary strata (made up of urban and rural, and comprised district/ resident).
Samples are drawn independently within each level of the secondary strata. The units for first stage sample selection are the EBs while the second stage units are the LQs within the EBs. All households and persons within the selected LQs are canvassed. At every stage of selection, the units are selected systematically with equal probability within each level of the secondary strata.
Sample Size
The sample size required is based on the relative standard error of the previous survey for each strata and state. Other factors such as cost and availability of staff are also taken into consideration in determining the sample size.
Note: Detailed sampling design information is presented in the final report.
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2012-07 | 2012-12 |
Twice in 5 years
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Department of Statistics | Government of Malaysia |
Method of data collection
Data collection was carried out using the personal interview approach. Officers and staff of the Department who were involved in this survey were given special training as interviewers. They visited selected households (HH) to collect information on demography, income and basic amenities using a set of questionnaires.
Field checks were done by experienced officers from the Department of Statistics’ State Office to detect and rectify errors or omission of cases which occurred during the survey. In addition, re-interviews of certain selected households were done to ensure the quality of data collected.
Reference period
The reference period for the household income information was for the last twelve months. For example, if the survey month was July 2012, income recorded will be those received from 1st July 2011until 30th June 2012. The survey period for HIS/BA 2012 differed from that of the previous survey whereby the HIS/BA 2012 started in July 2012 and completed in December 2012 whereas HIS/BA 2009 commenced in April 2009 and ended in March 2010.
Data appraisal
Reliability of the data
Data obtained from survey or research based on sample selection has a probability of encountering two types of errors. These are sampling and nonsampling errors.
(i) Sampling error
Sampling error is a result of estimating data based on a probability sampling, not on census. Such error in statistics is termed as relative standard error (RSE) and is given in percentage. This is used as an indicator to the precision of the parameter under study. In other words, it reflects the extent of variation with other sample-based estimates.
For the HIS/BA 2012, the mean monthly household income for Malaysia was RM5,000 with an RSE of 0.6 per cent. In other words, the standard error (SE) is approximately RM29. Assuming that the mean household income is normally distributed, the confidence interval for the estimated mean income can be calculated. Based on a 95 per cent confidence level (alpha=0.05), the mean monthly household income was found to be in the range of RM4,943–RM5,057 per month.
(ii) Non-sampling error
To ensure high quality data, several steps were taken to keep non-sampling errors to a minimum. Unlike sampling errors, these errors cannot be measured and can only be overcome through several administrative procedures. These errors may arise through incomplete survey coverage, weaknesses in the frame, feedback errors, non-response errors and also errors during processing such as editing, coding and data capture.
Response errors may occur due to difference and difficulty in interpreting questions, be it on the part of the enumerator or respondent. To minimize these errors, intensive training was conducted for the enumerators as well as the supervisors. In addition, random checks were carried out on households that were already canvassed by the enumerators to ensure the validity of the information recorded. To ensure the completeness of the survey coverage, the sampling frame is frequently updated and the selections of living quarters were done after the completion of EB listing exercise.
Non-response errors occur due to reasons such as vacant house, ‘no one at home’, refusal to cooperate or not qualified for the survey. To overcome such cases, sample size in the survey was estimated after taking into consideration all probabilities encountered as mentioned earlier.
Data Access
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Statistics, Malaysia | Government of Malaysia | jpbkkp@stats.gov.my | http://www.statistics.gov.my |