Abstract

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.

Geographic 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.

Analysis unit

• Households
• Individuals

Universe

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.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Frequency of data collection

Twice in 5 years

Sampling procedure

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.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Sampling error estimates

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.

Abstract

The Household Income/Basic Amenities Survey (HIS/BA) 2009 is the latest income survey carried out by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia after the last survey conducted in 2007. The survey is implemented twice in five years. The publication provides data on income, poverty and basic amenities at national and state levels for citizens only.

The main objectives of the survey are as follows: - collect information on income distribution pattern of households;m - identify the poverty groups; and - to identify the accessibility of basic amenities by poor households.

Data from the survey are used by the government as inputs for the formulation of national development plan especially in preparing the Tenth Malaysia Plan.

Geographic coverage

The survey covered both urban and rural areas in Malaysia except the Orang Asli Enumeration Block (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.

Analysis unit

• Households;
• Individuals.

Universe

The survey covered households staying in private living quarters (LQ). The institutional households, that is, those living in hostels, hotels, hospitals, old folks homes, military and police barracks, prisons, welfare homes and other institutions were excluded from the coverage of the survey.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Sampling frame

The frame used for the selection of sample for HIS/BA 2009 was based on the National Household Sampling Frame (NHSF) which was made up of EBs created for the 2000 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 2000 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 at the time of the 2000 Population and Housing Census. All other gazetted areas with a population of less than 10,000 persons and non-gazetted areas are classified as rural.

Built-up areas are defined as areas contiguous to a gazetted area and have at least 60 per cent of their population (aged 10 years and over) engaged in nonagricultural activities as well as having modern toilet facilities in their housing units.

Urbanisation is a dynamic process and keeps changing in line with progress and development. Thus the urban areas for the 1991 and 2000 censuses do not necessarily refer to the same areas, as areas fulfilling the criteria of urban continue to increase or grow over time.

Sample design

A two-stage stratified sampling design was adopted and the levels of stratification are as follows: i) Primary stratum - made up of states in Malaysia ii) Secondary stratum - made up of urban and rural as defined in para 6.5 and formed within primary stratum

Samples are drawn independently within each level of the secondary stratum. 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 stratum.

Sample size

The sample size required is based on the relative standard error of the previous survey for each stratum and state. Other factors such as cost and availability of staff are also taken into considerations in determining the sample size.

The sampling procedures are more fully described in "Malaysia Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey 2009 - Report" pp. 93-96.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Sampling error estimates

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 2009, the mean monthly gross household income for Malaysia was RM4,025 with an RSE of 0.63 per cent. In other words, the standard error (SE) is approximately RM25. Assuming that the mean household income is normally distributed, the confidence interval for the estimated mean income can be calculated. Based on a 95 percent confidence level (alpha = 0.05), the mean monthly household income was found to be in the range of RM3,975.75–RM4,074.89 monthly.