MALAYSIA’S 2025 National Unity Index (IPNas) has exposed a significant divergence in social cohesion across states, with Kedah recording the lowest score of 0.593 against a national average of 0.701.
Pahang leads the rankings with a score of 0.817, narrowly ahead of Melaka at 0.816 and Sarawak at 0.791, according to the latest data.
Other states surpassing the national average include Terengganu with 0.745, Negeri Sembilan on 0.731, Sabah at 0.722, Perlis on 0.720, the Federal Territory of Labuan at 0.719 and Johor exactly on the national average with 0.701.
In contrast, several states and federal territories fall below the national average. Perak scored 0.648, Kelantan registered 0.654, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur recorded 0.659, Selangor stood at 0.675, Penang at 0.692 and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya at 0.693.
The study’s findings point to ethnicity as the most dominant social deficit affecting social integration, accounting for 60.3 per cent of the identified issues. This is followed by media at 57.2 per cent and politics and federalism at 56.9 per cent.
The report highlights the role of media as the second most significant contributor to social fissures, particularly in relation to threats from fake news, hate speech and the manipulation of racial sentiment, underscoring a pressing need for more comprehensive digital literacy interventions.
A total of 9,448 respondents aged 18 and above took part in the IPNas 2025 survey, which included household heads, their partners or children. Respondents were selected using a Two‑Stage Stratified Random Sampling method covering all states and encompassing both urban and rural areas based on Enumeration Blocks and Living Quarters defined by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
The respondent profile showed that 60.3 per cent were Malay, followed by Chinese at 19.1 per cent, Indian at 6.0 per cent, Sabah Bumiputera at 8.8 per cent, Sarawak Bumiputera at 4.4 per cent and other ethnicities at 1.4 per cent.
Regarding residence, 76.7 per cent of participants lived in urban areas while 23.3 per cent resided in rural locations, with 55.1 per cent male and 44.9 per cent female respondents.
Age distribution indicated that those aged 40 to 49 made up the largest group at 24.7 per cent, followed by 30 to 39 at 20.3 per cent, 50 to 59 at 18.4 per cent, 18 to 29 at 16.3 per cent, 60 to 69 at 13.2 per cent and those aged 70 and over at 7.1 per cent.
In terms of religion, the majority of respondents were Muslim at 68.4 per cent, followed by Buddhists at 15.5 per cent, Christians at 9.1 per cent, Hindus at 5.3 per cent and other religions at 1.8 per cent. - February 24, 2026
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