GEORGE TOWN – Are Penangites a happy bunch? The answer is a resounding “yes”, according to the Happiness Index Penang (HIP) survey that saw 79.3% of respondents say it is a very liveable state.
HIP, which was created by Penang Institute and takes after Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index, surveyed 3,011 residents from October 2020 to April 2021.
Liveability is just one of four factors in HIP – freedom and governance, economic well-being, environmental sustainability, and liveability and social wellbeing.
The report showed that Penangites are generally very happy, with the HIP value for the year 2020 to 2021 standing at 0.881 – where zero indicates unhappiness and one denotes happiness. This number means that approximately 76.5% identify as happy, and the remaining 23.5% as not yet happy.
Of the not-yet-happy percentage, 13.7% indicated that they are “narrowly happy” while the remaining 9.9% identified as unhappy.
Based on the survey, senior analyst for socioeconomics and statistics Yeong Pey Jung said the results indicate that Penang is a very liveable state with high satisfaction scores, with cultural and heritage conservation at 90.9%, well-being and quality of life at 86.6%, safety and security at 84.2%, family and community well-being at 84%, physical health at 83.9%, housing at 83.5% and digital connectivity at 72.9%.
However, cleanliness and urban connectivity (in terms of public transportation and traffic) scored lowest at 63.2% and 61.6%, respectively.
Meanwhile, satisfaction results for environmental sustainability scored lower at only 76.1%.
According to another senior analyst for socioeconomics and statistics in the team, Negin Vaghefi, it is clear that Penangites are very concerned about the environment.
Environmental issues in the state have affected happiness levels, as some 14.8% indicated dissatisfaction with the effort put in in forest and hill conservation.
The highest dissatisfaction was in the freedom and governance domain, with 13.2% indicating that they are very unhappy with freedom and governance. Though 89% are happy with religious, cultural, and spiritual freedom, only 56.9% are satisfied with the governance of the state and nation.
Yeong said during their conversations with those taking the survey, many responded neutrally after verbally indicating that they were less comfortable reporting on their true feelings about governance.
Meanwhile, Negin affirmed that the 3,011 respondents statistically represented the population of Penang in terms of population within a district, gender, education, age, and employment status with a margin of error of 2%.
Penang Institute chief operating officer Ong Siou Woon said having a HIP index is crucial to measure the country’s well-being and social progress, on top of the main measurements of a country’s economic development like gross domestic product and gross national product.
This is a project under the Penang2030 Vision announced by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in August 2018.
The next survey in this series will begin in the first quarter of 2022.
The final report on the HIP Index will be made available on the Penang Institute website next month. – The Vibes, November 24, 2021
