A common indicator that determines the success of a country’s progress is the gross domestic product (GDP).
However, some argue that GDP alone is not sufficient to measure societal well-being, for it does not take into consideration, among others, income distribution, quality of life or environmental sustainability.
Thus, different forms of evaluation need to be utilised to ascertain the state of diverse aspects of a nation’s well-being, which are employed in many ways by various organisations and governments around the world.
For example, global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) uses its proprietary Sustainable Economic Development Assessment (SEDA) tool, which aggregates data on 10 dimensions in three main categories: economic metrics, investment and sustainability.
Meanwhile, as part of its Better Life Initiative, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has created the OECD Better Life Index, a platform that provides data and insights on the well-being of its member countries based on 11 dimensions: housing; income; jobs; community; education; environment; civic engagement; health; life satisfaction; safety; and work-life balance.
These dimensions are quite similar to components measured by Malaysia through the Malaysian Well-being Index (MyWI). Published annually, the report assesses the level of the people’s well-being based on 14 economic and social components, including transportation, communications, governance and culture.
In order to enhance the Government’s effectiveness in carrying out social transformation, improvement and progress that benefit the people and their quality of life, Sarawak established its own well-being index named the Sarawak Social Well-being Index (SSWI) in 2017.
SSWI takes into consideration existing indices available nationally and globally and adopts them to meet the State’s unique geography, topography, population and size.
It comprises 10 pillars: family institution; capacity building; social harmony; health and social protection; social responsibility; housing; environmental security; public safety; social space and infrastructure; and good governance and practice.
Since its creation, two studies have been conducted utilising SSWI to measure the social well-being of Sarawakians. The first, in 2019, encompassed 24 districts in the State representing urban and rural areas.
The second, between August 2023 and May 2024 by a research consortium consisting of Swinburne Sarawak, University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) and Curtin University Malaysia, took a more comprehensive approach, covering all 45 districts involving around 18,640 respondents across various dimensions of society.
“We wish to share our confidence that the Sarawak Social Well-being Index has improved from 6.21 (out of 10) in 2019 to 7.18 in 2023,” said Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Well-being Development YB Dato Sri Hajah Fatimah Abdullah in her speech at the State-level Women’s Day 2024 celebration on 10 August 2024.
“This increase is the result of social innovation and the Government’s policy aimed at empowering and improving the well-being of not just women but also the disadvantaged and needy in our society, guided by the principles of social inclusivity in PCDS (Post-COVID-19 Development Strategy) 2030.
“We are also confident that all forms of social innovation through various initiatives of the Sarawak Government have been able to increase household income and lift them out of poverty,” she added.
This followed an earlier announcement on the result back in June 2024, in which the minister revealed that the southern region recorded the highest well-being index at 7.87, followed by the central region (7.59) and the northern region (7.42).
In spite of overall improvements in SSWI from 2019 to 2023, much is needed to be done. Given the varying scores achieved by the three regions in Sarawak, Dato Sri Fatimah proposed a comprehensive plan to improve the people’s lives by prioritising efforts to reduce regional imbalances through programmes targeted at infrastructure, the environment and social services.
Reference:
Chai, D. (2019, July 3). Is GDP really a good indicator of the social well-being of a country and its people? Curtin University, Malaysia. https://news.curtin.edu.my/insight/2019-2/is-gdp-really-a-good-indicator-of-the-social-well-being-of-a-country-and-its-people/
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (n.d.). Malaysia – Well-Being. OpenDOSM. https://open.dosm.gov.my/dashboard/wellbeing
Jacintha, J. (2023, August 21). Social wellbeing research to cover all districts. New Sarawak Tribune. https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/social-wellbeing-research-to-cover-all-districts/
Jude, T. (2024, August 11). Fatimah: Sarawak govt’s initiatives successfully reduce poverty. The Borneo Post. https://www.theborneopost.com/2024/08/11/fatimah-sarawak-govts-initiatives-successfully-reduce-poverty/
Kapoor, A. and Debroy, B. (2019, October 4). GDP is not a measure of human Well-Being. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/10/gdp-is-not-a-measure-of-human-well-being
OECD. (n.d.). OECD Better Life Index. https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org
Schwaerzler, C. et al. (2021, June 8). Economic Resilience Is Built on Societal Well-Being. Boston Consulting Group. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/prioritizing-societal-well-being-seda-report
The Borneo Post. (2017, June 8). State Social Wellbeing Index being developed. The Official Portal of Sarawak Government. https://sarawak.gov.my/web/home/news_view/223/8359/
Zarina, A. (2024, June 25). Indeks Kesejahteraan Sosial Sarawak 2023 pada tahap sederhana, dengan skor komposit 76.8 peratus. Suara Sarawak. https://suarasarawak.my/indeks-kesejahteraan-sosial-sarawak-2023-pada-tahap-sederhana-dengan-skor-komposit-76-8-peratus/
