PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 13 (2): 117-130 (2005)ISSN: 0128-7702

Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Making Volunteering Visible1

SURJIT SINGH S/O UTTAM SINGH, RAHIM M. SAIL, BAHAMAN ABU SAMAH,RAJA AHMAD TAJUDIN SHAH & LINDA A. LUMAYAG

Institute for Community and Peace StudiesUniversiti Putra Malaysia

43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Keywords: Voluntary action, ageing, volunteerism, Malaysia, visibility of work

ABSTRAKKerja sukarela selalu dikaitkan dengan jenis pekerjaan yang tidak berbayar dan percuma sertatidak pernah diambil kira di dalam data kebangsaan Malaysia. Kertas kerja ini mencadangkanagar kerja sukarela diambil kira sebagai satu nilai ekonomi dan sebahagian daripada aset negara.Asas empirikal kertas kerja ini adalah berdasarkan satu kajian yang telah dijalankan pada tahun2003 yang berkaitan dengan sumbangan nyata atau tidak nyata pesara kerajaan di dalam kumpulanprofesional dan pengurusan sektor Perkhidmatan Awam Malaysia. la mengandaikan bahawadengan memberi nilai wang yang sesuai dan sepatutnya terhadap sumbangan pesara sukarelawandi dalam pembangunan komuniti, akan menggalakkan lebih ramai pesara melibatkan diri dalamkerja yang lebih produktif dan bermakna semasa tempoh peralihan hidup mereka.

ABSTRACTVolunteer work is always associated with free and unpaid employment and is never accounted forin the national data of Malaysia. This paper argues that voluntary work should be made visible byaccording it with economic value for it to be part of the national asset of the country. The empiricalbasis of this paper is reflected in a research survey conducted in 2003 on the tangible and intangiblecontributions of the public service retirees who belonged to the Professional and Managerialgroup within the Malaysian civil service. It is premised on the belief that providing a decent andliveable monetary value to the retirees' voluntary contribution in community development wouldusher in more retirees to come forward to engage in meaningful and productive work during theso-called transition period of their waking life.

INTRODUCTIONThe world over is facing an uphill battle ofengaging the ageing population in the mostproductive and meaningful way. In westerncountries such as the United States, Canada,United Kingdom and Australia, concertedefforts have been underway to ensure that theelderly gets their fair share in the developmentof their nations. For instance, in America, theIndependent Sector, a non-profit organization

with a membership of at least 500 charities,youths and other groups, conducted a surveyin 2002, had estimated that Americans spend19 billion hours per year volunteering and putthe value of these efforts at US$226 billion.This represents 2.5% of the United StatesGross Domestic Product (GDP) and is greaterthan the GDP of 85% of the countries in theworld (United States Department of Energy2003, as cited in Penner 2004). Such

This research was funded by IRPA, 8th Malaysia Plan, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, under ProjectNo.:07-02-04-0540-EA001.

Surjit Singh et al.

concerted efforts are well reflected in themanner in which the political and civilleadership formulates social and healthpolicies and regulations affecting the ageingpopulation; creating formal support services;job-matching programme within the formaland informal industries; and, initiatingsupport programme within the non-governmental framework, among others.Thus, it can be said that the whole system ofgovernance initiates and supports programmethat are fully effective and operational andwhich considers, among others, the equallyprominent role that the elderly populationplays in the mainstream society. In lessdeveloped countries, however, much is to bedesired when it comes to the status and welfareof the ageing cohort presumably because thesecountries still have to confront other morepertinent issues affecting the 'productive'labour age group to the extent that the elderlyis relegated to the background. For example,has the increasing number of older populationbeen reflected in development plans,specifically in regard to the budgetaryallocation for the elderly?

How it did come about that the elderlypopulation has become redundant anddisposable when they no longer thought tocontribute to the economic life of the nation?That this perception may well be pervasive inmany developing countries is a seeming reality.Perhaps it would be interesting to note that,such reality springs from a policy that fewdeveloping countries in the region haveadopted. It is based on the principle thatpromotes and encourages the productivity ofthe people and where their productivity andeconomic 'exchange value' is measured inrelation to the labour they put in their work.The bias in this model definitely impacted onthe elderly population where the essentialityof the labour exchange is couched inmonetary terms for those who are active and,as such, demarcates the population of thecommunity from those who are not. In the caseof Malaysia, when working adults in thegovernment sector reach the mandatoryretirement of 55/56, they become a'redundant ' workforce; while in other

countries e.g., Philippines and Singapore, theretirement age is around 60.

The main objective of this article is to showhow voluntary work of retirees could beaccounted for in the national statistics as partof the assets of Malaysia. In this way, retirees'contribution will be quantified in light of thenumber of ways they can engage in voluntarywork.

Voluntary Work Among the RetireesWhat is then the relationship betweenretirement and volunteerism or is there anyconnection between the two? According to theIndependent Sector Report (1995), about 50%of the adults in the US were involved involuntary work. It was also found that morewomen, more whites and particularly thosewith higher incomes were more prominent.About 11% of the 93 million volunteers wereinvolved in political or societal activities. Atelephone interview survey by the Hong KongPublic Opinion Program (HKPOP) of 1555randomly selected persons aged 15 and above,indicated that 22% had participated inorganized voluntary services and 55% hadnon-organized voluntary mutual aid activities.Of these, 22% were professionals or semi-professionals. Altruism was the main reasonfor volunteering with 72.2% believing thatpeople volunteered to help others. Theaverage contribution of a volunteer wasestimated as HK$2660 (US$350). As to themost important volunteer cause, nearly halfof the respondents in the CommonwealthFund Survey were church-related, followed byhealth services (Bass 1995; Fischer andSchaffer 1993). The recent volunteers werefrom among women, high school educationor higher preferences, married, high income,good health and active in religion (Bass 1997).

The ability of seniors to re-enter the labourforce and find jobs has no doubt been aidedby the fact that more of them are enrolling inthe career or job-related education programs.According to the latest available data from theDepartment of Education, the number ofAmericans 55 and older enrolled in the career-or job-related adult education courses

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increased by 45% between 1995 and 1999. Ananalysis of the Department of Educationstatistics found that there were 10,800,000Americans 55 and older participating in theadult education programs in 1995. Of those,3,800,000 or 35%, were enrolled in the career-or job-related courses. By 1999, seniors in adulteducation jumped 27% to 13,700,000, of which5,500,000 were takingjob-related courses. Mostsurprisingly, perhaps, is the fact that, whileindividuals 65 and older enrolled in adulteducation programs grew 12% between 1995and 1999, those takingjob-related coursesexpanded by 38%, from about 697,000 to966,000 (Challenger 2003).

Malaysia does not have sufficient data withregard to its volunteers from among theretirees. In view of the fact that social changesand social development are a high priority,retirees could be of help in this area. This studyattempts to ascertain the extent of involvementof the retirees in voluntary work and theirpotential for further involvement in theactivities planned under the 8thMP. As Herzogand Morgan (in Bass et al 1993:120) have said,"...If older persons were viewed as a potentialsocietal resource, we might begin to documentthe contributions they make throughvolunteer work today and attempt to identifycircumstances that can facilitate furthervolunteer work...."

There is little data, if any, about theinvolvement of Malaysian retirees in voluntarywork. Any reference to volunteerism in the 8th

Malaysia Plan (8MP) is with reference to youth.In view of the importance of the communitydevelopment, the Government has planned forvarious community and family developmentprograms such as Rukun Tetangga, Pesta GawaiandPesta Keamatan under the 8MP to assist thepeople cope with social changes and socialintegration. The Government is also aware ofthe decrease in the family size and increase inthe longevity of the older generation. To meetthe challenges of the future, the Governmentwill encourage smart partnerships with NGOs.More care-centres for the aged, the disabled,unfortunate children will be established.Recognizing the importance of training for

social workers the Government has establishedthe Social Institute of Malaysia in 2001. TheInstitute will cater for training in familydevelopment, psychology, sociology, socialwork, counselling for volunteers and membersof NGOs and other social workers (8MP, 2001:530-533). The retirees could contribute tothese activities.

Volunteerism and Community DevelopmentA community is a group of people living in alocality bonded together by a specialnationality, race, religion, values oroccupation. Boyle (1981:150) defines it as'...asocial system of relationships is implying apatterned aggregation of individuals andobjects operating as an interdependent wholewith some degree of regularity.. ./Development is described as a dynamicconcept of growth and improvements subjectto continuous environmental change.Community development is a process designedto create conditions of economic and socialprogress with the active participation of thewhole community and with the fullest possiblereliance on the communities' initiative(Rothman 1974). Levin and Perkins (1997)emphasize the importance of democraticprocedures, voluntary cooperation, self-help,development of indigenous leadership, andeducation in community development.

Community development cannot takeplace without the community involvement.Stukas and Dunlop (2002) suggest "efforts toincrease involvement of citizens in theircommunities are now widespread, involvingboth top-down process (i.e. governmentinitiatives) and bottom-up processes (i.e.grassroots organizing)". In the US, PresidentBush and President Clinton issued theNational Community Service Act 1990 and theNational and Community Service Trust Act.The global initiative was further promotedthrough the National initiatives and the UNGeneral Assembly 2000 resolution such as" "topromote the contribution that volunteerismcan make to the creation of a caring society(annex 111, article 54, p.24). Communityinvolvement requires the understanding of

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roles and perspectives, needs and outcomesof all the various constituent groups in thesystem and their integration (Stukas andDunlop2002).

However, we have extended ourcommunity domain to global perspectives inrelation to the community we live in today."...The broader global community will beenhanced by the health of the many smallercommunities that constitute the whole...."With this perspective and the introduction ofthe information age, we have to makeconnections, reach out to create a system ofrelationships with the blurring of boundariesand enter the virtual world of relationshipswhere "...every person has a chance to beinfluential and make difference in the worldby being a volunteer", where every CEO willpromote the ethics of "Everybody is avolunteer in this organization. Everyone hasstewardship or personal responsibility toimprove our community..." using the"...dominant force of our society ...thegoodness in the overwhelming majority of thepeople..." (Covey 1998 in Hesselbein,Goldsmith, Beckhard et al 1998). To quote VanTil (1995:11). "The world has never been inso great a need of the work of volunteers andthe many voluntary organizations sustained byvoluntary commitment...."

Bartle (n.a.) suggests 16 elements ofcommunity strength - altruism, commonvalues, communal services, communications,confidence context, information,intervention, leadership, organization, skills,unity, networking, political power, trust andhealth. According to Bartle, the more anycommunity has of each of the elements, thestronger it is, the more capacity it has, the moreempowered it is. The PMP group of retireeshas the experience and expertise to help indeveloping all those elements among thecommunity and can be a driving force forcommunity development. Volunteerism isrelated to the good of fellow human beings orgood of the people in a community. As theCEO of the National Institute of the NegroWomen says:

Without community service, we would not havea strong quality of life. It's important to theperson who serves as well as the recipient. It'sthe way in which we ourselves grow anddevelop.

Organized and Unorganised VolunteeringLiterature indicates that less emphasis hasbeen done in both organized and unorganizedtypes of volunteer work preferring instead toaccount and give value to the organized formof volunteering engaged in by men andwomen. Perhaps this is again another avenuewhere bias is taking place in research onvolunteerism especially when only the so-calledvoluntary work in formal groups is dulyrecognized the result of which is the under-estimation of other type of volunteer work.This has implication on gender where womenvolunteers tend to draw their interests onunorganized voluntary activities as extensionof their so-called feminine roles such ashousecleaning, baby-sitting and others.

As defined by the South Australian studieson voluntary work (Ironmonger 2002),organized volunteering or indirect volunteeringrefers to unpaid help in the form of time,service or skills willingly given by an individualthrough an organization or group. Formal ororganized volunteering^, indirect as it is mediatedthrough an organization. Reimbursement ofexpenses or small gifts is not regarded aspayment of salary. Work reimbursed bypayment in-kind is not regarded asvolunteering. On the other hand, unorganizedvolunteering (direct volunteering) refers tothe informal unpaid help and care that occurswithin the personal networks of family, friends,neighbours and acquaintances. Informal orunorganised volunteering is direct as it is notmediated through an organization. It includesregular, spontaneous and sporadic help thattakes place between friends and neighbourssuch as giving advice, looking after otherpeople's children or helping an elderlyneighbour.

It is interesting to note that in Australia,for example, unpaid work in the householdeconomy must be accounted for inunorganized volunteering to be able to get a

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clear picture of the time donated by volunteersto the said type of volunteer service. As arguedby Cahn (2002) and the United NationsUniversity (undated), "...if the samecalculations were used to assign value tounpaid work in developing countries, whereeven more ofwomen'sworkis unremunerated,the differences would be even greater". Theseand other issues provide the background ofthis article.

METHODOLOGYThe research was an exploratory studyconducted in 2003 designed to understand thestatus of the retirees who once belonged tothe Premier and Managerial and Professionalsector of the Malaysian Public Service and wholeft the service between 1989 and 2000. Ofthe more than five hundred questionnairesmailed to the retirees throughout Malaysia,261 retirees replied, representing the variousoffices such as education, administrative,police, medical, legal and technical.

The survey instrument consisted of ninesections with a total of 215 items withstatements ranging from the reasons whyretirees engage in voluntary work to theirwillingness to volunteer in the future. TheLikert scale was used to measure the retirees'opinion with one as the lowest and five as thehighest. Scores were tabulated and statisticalanalyses were applied.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of RetireesOf the 261 respondents, 13.4% were femalewhile 86.6% male with 52.1% from both sexeswere volunteers. Seventy-one percent (71%)of the volunteer retirees came from PeninsularMalaysia; 5.9% from Sabah; 6.6% fromSarawak and 16.9% from the FederalTerritories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.Ethnically, within the ranks of the volunteers,66.8% were Malays; 17.8% Chinese; 8.8%Indian; 1.5% Kadazan; less than one percentIban; and, 4.4% from other ethnic groups.

The overall marital status reflected that themajority (90.3%) of the respondents were

married with children. The other 9.7%represented those who were married but hadno children (2.7%), single (3.9%) and thosewho were never married (3.1%). A similarsituation was reflected for both the volunteersand the non-volunteers. However, it was notedthat the ratio was a little less (89.0%) amongthe volunteers than the non-volunteers(91.2%). The ratios would be different fromthe West where the difference between eachcategory would be very little (Cnaan et al1993).

About half of the respondents had aBachelor's degree (52.9%) whereas 32.2%were equally divided into diploma and masterqualifications. Only 2.3% possessed doctoratequalifications while the remaining 12.6%comprised professional, technical and otherqualifications. The proportions weresomewhat equally represented among thevolunteers and non-volunteers. Generally, itwas noted that the volunteers possessed aslightly higher score than the non-volunteersexcept for the HSC/Diploma qualification.This is true in other studies where it was foundthat those who volunteered possessed higherqualifications (Fischer and Schaffer 1993).Cheang and Braun (2001) also found thatvolunteers had higher qualifications than thenon-volunteers.

A little more than half (54.8%) indicatedthat they had no dependent children, while21.8% with one child and 11.5% and 11.9%with two and three dependent children,respectively. This is quite different from theWest where there would rarely be dependentchildren among the retirees as they retiredgenerally about ten years later around the ageof 65. This is a pertinent factor as it is relatedto the need of working for income afterretirement at the age of 56 years. It is notedthat more of the volunteers (50.7%) than thenon- volunteers (39.2%) have dependentchildren.

It is interesting to note that slightly morethan half (51.7%) had dependent childrenduring their retirement life. This was expectedas the compulsory retirement age was set at55/56 years. Hence, if the respondents hadmarried between the ages 25-30, their children

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would have been their tertiary education. Thiswas one strong reason why the retirees wereengaged in full-time or part-time work. It wasthus seen that more than half of the retireeswere doing voluntary work although they stillcarried the burden of their dependentchildren. This may not be common in the Westwhere retiriient was much later.

About a quarter (24.5%) of the totalrespondents had dependent parents ascompared to 21.6% for the non-volunteer and27.2% for volunteer retirees. This is also apertinent factor for Malaysians as the value ofextended families is a common feature. Thisaspect is also a special feature among theMalaysian retirees who had not onlydependent children but also dependentparents to look after. Again it was noted thatthe volunteers had more dependents than thenon-volunteers.

As the majority of the respondents wereMalays, it is not surprising that 59.8% of therespondents practiced Islam. The otherreligions in order of adoption were Christianity(14.6%), Buddhism (11.5%) Hinduism(6.5%), Non-believers (3.4%) and otherminority religious group (4.2%). There was ahigher proportion of Muslims (68.4%) andChristians 15.4%) among the volunteers, anda higher ratio of Buddhists (15.2% against8.1%), Hindus (8.0% against 5.2%), Non-believers (6.4% against 0.7%) and 'Others'(5.6% against 2.2%) among the non-volunteers. This meant that there was a greater% of Muslims and Christians among thevolunteers than the non-volunteers; the otherreligions were less reflected among thevolunteers. These religions were again relevantto the people of Malaysia as represented bythe proportion of the population of thecounty.

Only 2.3% of the respondents perceivedtheir financial position to be 'not satisfactory'.On the other hand, 93.1% considered theirstatus as 'satisfactory to good' while 4.6%perceived it as 'excellent'. Only tworespondents (1.5%) in the volunteer categoryand four respondents (3.2%) in the non-volunteer category perceived their status to beunsatisfactory. With about 50% engaged in

productive work and their regular pension asincome they should be comfortable. However,there may be a few who have to support theeducation of their children.

Going by the findings from 10 studies(Fischer et al. 1993), there is a likelihood ofincrease in volunteerism with increase inincome. This is to be expected from theretirees who continue to hold high positionsin organizations during retirement.

The health status among the overallrespondents can be considered as excellent(6.5%), good (43.13%) and satisfactory(44.8%). The remaining 5.4% was perceivedas not satisfactory. Generally the ratios for thevolunteers and non-volunteers were somewhatsimilar. The volunteers indicated a slightlybetter profile. The self-perception was not verydifferent among the volunteers and the non-volunteers. Considering the fact that about50% of them were gainfully employed, theirhealth status can be assumed to be good.However, there may be some who wouldsuccumb to degenerating diseases of aging thatmake up the 'not satisfactory' category in therange of 4.4% for volunteers and 6.5 % forthe non-volunteers.

Various studies have indicated that poorhealth can be a de-motivation to volunteer(Fischer et al. 1993; Chambre 1987).Humanistic theory suggests that humansdetermine what they want to do at every stageof their lives. This is supported by thecomments from the respondents:

... Now my health is not so good to do morevolunteer service... I have been operatedtwice on my spine.

... I am a diabetic; heart problem, highblood pressure, high cholesterol. Age hascaught up; a little weak.

... At present I have diabetes andhypertension and therefore not very healthy.

... I have less energy - use a number ofsupplementary vitamins.

It was found that 48.5% of the retireeswere living a 'free and easy' life. Of the

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remaining 51.5%, 13.8% were in full time job,11.5% were in part-time jobs, 20.4% were self-employed while 5.8% were in search of jobs.Volunteers were slightly less (13.2%) involvedin the full-time jobs than the non-volunteers(14.5%). There were more (14.0%) amongthe volunteers in the part-time jobs than thenon-volunteers (8.9%). More volunteers(25.0%) were also self-employed as comparedto the non-volunteers (15.3%). However, fewervolunteers (3.7%) were looking for jobs ascompared to 8.1% of the non-volunteers. Lesspercentage (44.1%) of the volunteers was 'freeand easy' compared to 53.2 % of the non-volunteers.

This is in contrast to Cnaan's findings, ofwhich 6.9% of volunteers and 3.2% of the nonvolunteers engaged in part time work. Thosewho were not gainfully employed werebetween 56.4% for the volunteers whereas42.5% for non-volunteers. There were 36.7%volunteers and 54.3% non-volunteers engagedin the full time work.

Attendance at place of worship is seen tobe generally high. The percentage for 'at leastonce a week and more' is 46.3% for thevolunteers, and 35.2% for the non-volunteers.Altogether, they represented 40.75% of therespondents. These would probably beMuslims who were expected to pray five timesa day. Among those who attended at least oncea month or more, it was found that thevolunteers had a higher attendance (97.1%)as compared to the non-volunteers (80.8%).The attendance of the volunteers whoattended' 'several times a day' was 34.6% ascompared to 21.6% among the non-volunteers. In sum, 10.7% hardly ever attendedthe place of worship. Among the non-volunteers, they formed 19.2% of therespondents as compared to 2.9% of thevolunteers.

This is in line with the western countrieswhere it had been found that there were morechurchgoers among the volunteers. It can beagreed therefore, that those who are religiousare more inclined to volunteer.

It is observed that all in all 52.1% of therespondents were from the Education serviceand as shown in Table 1, 61.0% of the

TABLE 1Percentage respondents by service

at time of retirement

Services

EducationPoliceFinanceMedicalSocial/WelfareAdministrativeEngineeringAgricultureOther

Volunteer(n=136) %

61.05.11.51.53.7

14.01.52.29.5

volunteers were from the Education service aswell. This can be associated with the similarpercentage of participants in the sample.Among the volunteers the Administrativeservice comprised of 14.0%. Police service was5.1%, whereas 9.5% of the volunteers werefrom other miscellaneous services. Except forthe education service, all the other serviceshad a smaller percentage of volunteers thanthe non-volunteers. The ratio of the non-volunteers to volunteers for the Police servicewas more than double.

This was reflected in the comments of onerespondent, saying "... I feel as an ex-policeofficer, I have contributed 36 years of my lifehelping the general public and my colleagues.I feel now is the time to spend on my family...."Only 1.5% of the Medical and Finance personswere volunteers indicating that they were stillactive in their paid profession.

It was noted that the volunteer retirees hadparticipated more in all the school activities.Among the various school activities, 14.2% hadbeen involved in voluntary activities outsideschool. The contextual model (Lewis 1997;Pepper 1942) suggests that development is acontinuous process intervened by concurrentcircumstances and not earlier traits. Accordingto Fischer and Schaffer (1993), "...a numberof studies have shown, people who volunteeredin old age tend to be those who havevolunteered when they were younger...."Cheang and Braun (2001) support the

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TABLE 2Percentage respondents by volunteer activities during working career

VolunteerActivities

Volunteer(n=136)

Non-volunteer(n=125)

Overall(n=261)

Religious InstitutionYouth developmentEducationalHuman servicesHealthWork-relatedArtsCultural and HumanitiesPoliticalCommunity foundationsSocietal benefitRecreationalService clubsInformal (care-giving)

20.65.7

18.25.72.3

11.31.82.64.74.95.77.45.73.4

15.24.2

16.25.14.0

17.01.44.02.94.74.0

10.17.24.0

18.35.1

17.45.43.0

13.61.73.23.94.85.18.56.43.6

TABLE 3Distribution of volunteer retirees based

on type of services

Type of service

ReligiousEducationSocialCommunityWelfareHealthPoliticalRecreationalWork-relatedSocietal benefitSportsService clubsYouthArts & Culture

Percent(n=136)

34.633.822.118.416.910.37.47.45.13.73.72.92.20

findings as their study found that 52% ofcurrent volunteers performed voluntaryservice when they were children. However, the'younger period' could extend from school toone's career.

As for the involvement of the retirees involuntary work during their pre-retirementcareers, it was noted that the volunteers were

generally more involved than the non-volunteers in voluntary work during theirworking careers as shown in Table 2 . The mostpopular contributions were for religiousinstitutions, educational, work-related servicesand leisure activities. This is in support of thefindings that re t i ree volunteers wouldnormally have been involved in service workwhile at school or during their working career,

A recent research on volunteer retirees inMalaysia showed the various areas wherevolunteer retirees rendered their services.Following their interests, most of the retireesspent most of their time in religious (34.6%),educational (33.8%) and social activities(22.1%) as depicted in Table 3. The areaswhere voluntary work took place amongretirees were in more or less organized andstructured groups and did not in any wayaccount the work that took place outside it.

Putting Dollar Value on VolunteeringConventional understanding of volunteerismstresses that it is a free service rendered by anindividual's desire to lend a helping hand tothe community. Some scholars argue that workis not truly a voluntary work if it is remunerated(Smith 1991, as cited in Wilson 2000) andargue further that argue that voluntary work

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whether it is engaged in by retirees or fromother age cohorts would lose its spirit and valueonce it is remunerated.

It is rather important that since retirees'productive contribution within the publicservice ceased to be given economic, social andpolitical meaning and value after retirement,the urgency to account for the retirees' workbeyond their formal employment in the civilservice needs to be highlighted. Voluntarywork in any form must be included oraccounted for in the national data based onthe following considerations: firstly, householdwork such as taking care of the dependent orsick family member, child minding or babysitting, extending domestic help ashousecleaning, etc. must be included both inthe local, state and national statistics arguingthe relevant role of extended family membersvis-J-vis sustaining the household or family unit(see for example, Ironmonger 2002); secondly,by accounting unpaid household work, itwould provide our national leadership, inparticular, the different government agenciesworking on the family and social welfare, themuch needed picture of the extent the countryis dependent on our own citizens; and thirdly,drawing from the experience of advancedeconomies where both paid and unpaidvoluntary work in the organized andunorganised units/groups are remuneratedand accounted in most official documents, e.g.Gross National Products, HumanDevelopment Report, Volunteer ServicesProgramme among others. As the UnitedNations (undated) acknowledges, much of thevoluntary action is spontaneous, informal andunstructured and because it lies outside theformal market, it tends to go unrecorded,unregistered and recognized.

The 1995 Human Development Report ofthe United Nations Development Programacknowledged the fact that there was completedisregard of the estimated value of othereconomic activities and this refers to theunpaid productive activities of women andmen for household use, for the benefit of thecommunity, or for the non-monetarizedexchange. It further reported that "globally,

only slightly more than half of the total timespen* on "economically productive activities"was going through formal markets andreported in the standard income measuressuch as Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Theproductive contribution of home, family,community is not included in any of theeconomists' measurements of the GDP.

To cite a particular case, South Australiabelieves that calculating the economic valueof volunteering is important because it can

emphasize to government and policymakers that voluntary work makessignificant contribution to the communityencourage the citizens to becomevolunteers by demonstrating theeconomic benefits of volunteering; andinform the media and the communityabout the value of volunteer time to thenational economy (Ironmonger 2002).

In a study on the public reception andperception of volunteer services in theCantonese-speaking Hong Kong, volunteersacross the life course suggested that if theirservices were to be given a monetary value itwould be HK$76 (RM38) per hour on theaverage. In the case of Malaysia, aside fromaccounting the value of voluntary work,perhaps, organized and unorganizedvolunteering should consider to provideminimal food and transportation allowance tothe would-be volunteers during their "workingdays". Some charity organizations in KualaLumpur and the Klang Valley have beenpracticing this to most of their volunteers.

Ways to Assign Monetary Value to Volunteer

ContributionsThe United States has established anIndependent Sector group that monitors thevolunteer programme in the country, whileCanada has instituted the CanadaVolunteerism Initiative (CVI). Similarly,Australia, Europe and United Kingdom alsopromote volunteerism and have stronglyemphasized the role of volunteering workoutside the market economy, arguing thatmost human transactions are found outside

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TABLE 4Input-based methods of estimating dollar value of volunteer time

Approach Feature Advantages Disadvantages

GeneralistApproach toReplacementCosts

It uses one globalfigure for allorganizations

Useful for surveys ofvolunteer value

Too general for applicationto a particular organizationor a particular task

SpecialistApproach toReplacementCosts

It evaluates volunteercontributions to theorganization bycomparing them withsimilar jobstasks inthe market

Very precise and likelyto result in the mostaccurate estimate

Necessary information maybe difficult to obtain forsome organizations

ModifiedSpecialistApproach toReplacementCosts

It evaluates volunteercontributions to theorganization bycomparing them tothe general marketvalue of jobs within aparticular field ofendeavour

Not as precise as thespecialist approach,but more practical

For organizations with abroad range of tasks, couldbe too approximate

Source: Mook and Quarter 2003

the lure of the market forces in the most cases.In many occasions, voluntary action isconsidered as co-production (Brudney 1990;Ferris 1984 as cited in Mook and Quarter2003).

Based on the experience of Canada, as wellas reflected in South Australia and Europe,three major approaches, viz, generalist,specialist and modified specialist, are adoptedbased on replacement costs, that is, how muchit would cost if an organization was to pay forthe service provided by a volunteer (Mook andQuarter 2003). Table 4 details the differentapproaches of estimating volunteer time indollar terms. As is happening in Canada, thetype of work is usually classified under a certaincategory in such a way that its roles are moreor less the same or those which likely producethe same end result are placed in the samecategory. For instance, clerical oradministration or secretarial task; consultancyand training of youth; religious or charity work;

house-cleaning, child-minding and care for theelderly, etc. In countries cited above, it seemsrather convenient to make an estimate ofreplacement cost considering that they havereadily available data across voluntary workand age cohorts. However, in Malaysia, thepaucity of available statistics on volunteeringmakes the estimation an uphill task. Tables 5and 6 are theoretical formulation of theestimations and these figures imply that asubstantial monetary contr ibut ion ofvolunteers remained unnot iced andunrecognized by the national establishment.This does not bode well as far as accountingthe overall national assets of Malaysia isconsidered.

Table 5 illustrates how the various typesof voluntary work can be estimated based onthe number of hours spent per volunteer. Thegeneralist approach provides a more generalview of the volunteer tasks irrespective of taskspecificity, time and space. On the other hand,

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TABLE 5Estimated cost of volunteer work per volunteer

Type of work

TrainingClerical/admin workTutoringReligiousChild-mindingHouse-cleaning

Hourly Rate*(RM)

10.005.00

10.005.005.005.00

Hours perweek

333355

Cost permonth (RM)

120.0060.00

120.0060.00

100.00100.00

Annual Value(RM)

1,440.00720.00

1,400.00720.00

1,200.001,200.00

* Estimate of hourly value of type of work is theoretically derived

TABLE 6Estimated total value of work per given year

Type of Work Total # of(RM)

Hourly rate(RM)

Hoursper week

Annual ValueVolunteers*

TrainingClerical/admin WorkTutoringReligiousChild-mindingHouse-cleaningTotal Annual Value

20002000200025001500621

10.005.00

10.005.005.005.00

333355

2,880,0001,440,0002,880,0001,800,0001,800,000

447,1208,367,120

* It is assumed that 50% of the total retirees (21,242) as of 2003 would engage in voluntary work. Thefigure is based on the present empirical study.

the specialist approach demands that theorganization tasks and responsibilities areclearly spelled out so as to ascribe themonetary value to the time spent. What isthought to be more practical and effective isthe modified specialist approach which takesinto consideration the general situation of thejob market.

In Table 6, the estimated total value ofvoluntary work in a given year based on anestimated total number of volunteers inMalaysia is illustrated. In a way, this looks likea very minimal amount especially when takenindividually, however, when taken as a groupof workers, the scenario would change asreflected in the table. Based on our 2003 data,it is conservatively estimated that about RM8.3

million is contributed by 50% of retirees tothe GDP of Malaysia annually.

The total annual monetary value ofvoluntary work is calculated this way:

Total numbers of volunteers per type of work XHourly Rate X Hoursper week X 4 weeks X 12 months = Total annualvalue

Now, if this figure is to be recognized andaccounted for in our national statistics as partof the gross national product (GNP) ofMalaysia, this would make a great contributionfrom the older population alone. This meansthat despite the fact that the public viewsretirees as a group of elderly needing help, the

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Surjit Singh etai

TABLE 7Contribution of hours of voluntary service by organization and level of responsibility (n=136)

Organization

HealthWelfareSocialEducationReligiousService club/groupCommunityYouthPoliticWork-relatedArts & CultureSocietal benefitRecreationSports

Total Hours

Currency (RM)

Total Value (RM)

1

1319740

187125

948

04

250

280

41

718

X5

3590

Responsibility

2

229

5682

2631869

3181516351138

657

X10

6570

(Hours) Levels

3

873

128127457

90131

938255812934

24

1276

X15

19140

4

4182

23320279457

17133

199111440

055

1936

X20

38720

Total ServiceInvolvement(hrs/month)

84361457598

1639174419

452597688

115104158

4577

68,020

study shows that, retirees could indeed be agreat potential resource for the developmentof our communities. By rendering service tothe community in various ways and forms andwhen such services are duly accorded withmonetary value, this would make theircontribution more visible to the nationaldevelopment plan of Malaysia.

Table 7 shows the contribution of retireesin volunteer work based on the actual numberof volunteer retirees (n=136) in the study. Thevalue of their contribution is calculated fromthe number of hours they put into theorganization identified as the responsibilitylevel. From the table, it is safe to say that whena certain volunteer task is quantified by thenumber of hours one spends volunteering andthat when there is a standard of measuring it,the value of volunteer retiree's time andcontribution could be well-accounted for.What this strongly implies is the visible andtangible contribution of our older population

in the community affairs as shown in theirinvolvement in various types of organization,which is translated into figures as part of theGross Domestic Product of Malaysia.

Table 8 shows the distribution of educatedMalaysians throughout the country who are55 years or more and have retired from theirfield of expertise and so if this can beharnessed properly, their potential will not goto waste. For example, the retirees in Selangorand Kuala Lumpur could well be utilized forvarious volunteer works such as in charitableorganizations, among others.

Policy Implications and Recommendations1. A national or state/community level

Voluntary Work Survey (VWS) across agesmust be conducted to determine theeconomic contribution of the volunteerworkers, specifically to include theircontributions as the national assets ofMalaysia, thereby rendering voluntary

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TABLE 8Population distribution of older Malaysians by state based on educational qualification

State

JohorKedahKelantanMalaccaNegeri SembilanPahangPerakPerlisPenangSabahSarawakSelangorTerengganuKuala LumpurLabuanTotal

Certificate(college

polytechnic)

683439349249255291806119485319228

1154166331

75881

Diploma(college

polytechnic)

80043535427539530369699

715458372

2806185

115513

9061

DegreeAdvanceddiploma

993544497374475278

1046103

1080774535

4973254

253317

14476

Postgraduatecertificate/

diploma

2018891579661

22513

288190150618

40450

52573

Postgraduatedegree

427276166185205127535

33575428425

2662102

17274

7877 39868

Source. Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2000

work visible. The survey would includedisaggregate data based on gender, agecohorts and the type of voluntary workfrom both organized and the unorganizedgroups.

2. It is now timely to conceive of voluntarywork more broadly by encompassing everyprosocial act within the domain of bothunorganized and organized volunteeringsuch as helping, caring and reciprocating.

3. In a multi-ethnic society like Malaysia,volunteering promotes and facilitatescultural understanding and tolerancewhen volunteer programmes cut acrossraces or ethnicity.

4. The monetisation of work will usher innew emerging issues that are relevant torecognizing voluntary work.

5. There is a need for a disaggregate databased on gender, ethnicity and class.

6. A tripartite council or commission mustbe established to consist of representativefrom the government bodies, non-government organizations and the

religious and civic groups and to act as anumbrella organization that initiates,monitors, promotes as well as strengthensvolunteerism.

CONCLUSIONStill much remains to be desired as far asmaking voluntary work a visible social actionthat carries monetary value in Malaysia. Thisis based on the fact that volunteerism, firstly,is not given due recognition, especially thoseengaged by retirees; and secondly, voluntarywork is considered as an unpaid employmentthereby does not have to be reflected in thenational records. The move to document andrecognize volunteerism and to accord it withmonetary value is a demonstration of thenational acknowledgement as well as anexpression of tacit recognition that volunteersfrom all walks of life contribute to thecommunity development. In this way,volunteering becomes a visible feature in thenational scene and volunteers as a valuablehuman capital that the national leadershiphelps to sustain.

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Surjit Singh etal

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INDEPENDENT SECTOR. 2002. Giving and volunteeringin the United States. Washington, DC: Author.

IRONMONGER, D. 2002. Valuing volunteering.Household Research Unit. Department ofEconomics, University of Melbourne:Australia.

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(Received: 29 August 2005)

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