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Understanding of Reading Habits among

Students in Malaysia: A Review

Conference Paper · May 2015

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3075.8482

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 Innovation Vision 2020: from Regional Development Sustainability to Global Economic Growth

Understanding of Reading Habits among Students in Malaysia:

A Review
Mohammad Fazli Baharuddin, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam, Malaysia,
fazli811@puncakalam.uitm.edu.my
Wan Mohd Hafiz Wan Hasnol, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Kedah, Malaysia
wanmohd@kedah.uitm.edu.my
Mohd Faizal Mohd Ramsi, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Johor, Malaysia
faizal916@johor.uitm.edu.my
Razilan Abdul Kadir, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam, Malaysia
mrazilan@salam.uitm.edu.my

Abstract
Reading is an aspect associated with literacy. However, the reading process is not simple in its
nature. It does not merely involve recognizing a single character and pronouncing it correctly or to
recognize and pronounce a few characters that are arranged in particular manner, but more
importantly it is the ability to understand the meaning of these arrangements. In spite of government
initiative to inculcate reading habits, not very much known about how much students read and what
they read. The purpose of this paper is to review previous studies regarding reading habits and
reading interests among students in Malaysia. The scope of this literature review extracted from
books, journals articles, conference papers, theses and dissertations, technical reports,
bibliographies, speeches and talks in both print based and electronic media on the subject of reading
habits and reading interests.

Keywords: Reading habits; reading interests; library; Malaysia

Introduction
Reading has come to hold the most significant place in education as means of communication in
highly literate society. Fidzani, in his study (1998), stressed that the book is still very much part of
people’s lives in our modern society an in spite of the invention of the latest audio-visual materials,
the book in its ordinary conventional form is still the most important for acquiring knowledge and
information. The enrichment in knowledge would, in turn, enable one to present oneself more
confidently.

While it important to encourage a love of reading in reluctant or struggling readers, an effort that has
been focus of a great deal of research over the last several decades, it is equally essential to ensure
that accelerated readers continue to enjoy reading and are supplied with appropriate reading
materials. Teachers, media specialists, and children librarians should be aware of the needs of these
students in order to provide them with appealing books that will allow them to continue to enjoy
reading and encourage them to reach their full potential. According to Adetunji (2007), reading has
been described as the act of translating symbols or letters into words or sentences that have meaning
to an individual. It is also the understanding of what is seen in text, which is the ability of the reader
to capture incoming visual information, process that information and obtain meaning from it.

Individuals practice and apply the reading habit in order to them to generate and enhance their
knowledge. There are varieties of materials in various forms available in the library, bookshops and
on the internet. People can choose any form of reading materials that they want, such as newspapers,
magazines, e-books, dictionaries, online articles, periodicals, journals and many more. Some people
actually take to read the dictionary to polish their language and vocabulary skills before their bad
time (Mohamad Azri, Mohammad Fazli & Wan Mohd Hafiz, 2014). This is a healthy and useful
habit for an individual. Anyhow, reading requires a strong and efficient skill if learning is to be
successful because the information needs to be processed accurately.

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According to the findings of the Malaysian reading Profile 1996, study was carried out by National
Library of Malaysia (Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia) (1996), the average Malaysian only read two
books per year. Researchers found that Malaysians will read whenever they have free time. Thus,
they do not have any specific time for reading. Also, the study revealed that majority of the
Malaysians preferred to read newspapers and magazines rather than books, novel and comics. The
finding also shows that Malaysians from age 10 years old and above purchased their own reading
materials from shops book rather than borrow them from the library.

The purpose of this paper is to review previous studies regarding reading habits and reading interests
among students in Malaysia. At the same time, this paper is to define the relationship between their
reading habits and academic achievements.

Problem Statement
In spite of all above initiates by the government to inculcate reading habits, not very much known
about how much students read and what they read. How they prefer to spend their free time? Is
‘reading’ an activity they love? How long do they spend? What factors lead them to read or not to
read? However, reading as a practice and art has tended to diminish (Hewett, 1960). In the opinion of
Asheim (1956), reading as a habitual activity is normally confined to a relatively small section of the
literate population, and continued serious reading is limited to an even smaller segment within this
group of readers. On the local scene, the habit of reading does not appear to be a prominent feature in
the lives of most Malaysians. This situation was validated when Prof. Atan Long conducted a study
on reading habits and interests of Malaysians in 1982. In his study, he found that Malaysians had
poor reading habits and did not like reading. He warned that the apathy towards reading, if allowed to
carry on, would create wide rifts in the socioeconomic and intellectual development of segments of
the population. Furthermore, with the Information Super Highway and the Multimedia Super
Corridor under construction, these professionals would be engrossed heavily in networking and
managing information. This situation would have to be looked into seriously as we are in the 21st
century because reading for knowledge and information will become a critical source for competitive
advantage besides development.

Literature Review

There are so many studies have been done in Malaysia and many have been carried out in other
countries. The review was focuses on reading habits and reading interest in order to enhance the
understanding of the area to provide a conceptual framework for future study. The scope of this
literature review extracted from books, journals articles, conference papers, theses and dissertations,
technical reports, bibliographies, speeches and talks in both print based and electronic media on the
subject of reading habits and reading interests.

Reading Habits in Malaysia

Lim (1974) carried out a study of the reading habits and interests of sixth form students in English
medium schools and their use of the school library facilities. A preliminary survey of the school
library facilities was carried out in all sixth form English medium schools in order to categorize the
schools for the purpose of sampling. The sampling unit was the schools and the questionnaire was
administered to 815 students in eight schools selected, according to the stratified random sampling
procedure, from those with good school library facilities and those with poor school libraries
facilities. Findings revealed that the students read regularly outside school hours. They also read
mainly for acquiring knowledge and for study purposes only. The relationship of the library and
reading habits appears to be not statistically significant. Students do not know well to utilize the
library facilities.

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Mohammad (1982) carried out a survey on reading interest among secondary school students in
Rompin. The survey aimed at investigating students reading interest on newspapers, books,
magazines and comics on how often they read those materials. Between that, the researcher also
investigated factors that led students in reading topics selection. Sample of the study was 400
students from Form one and form two at Sekolah Menengah Tuanku Besar Tampin, Negeri
Sembilan. The researcher found that students read for academic purposes only. Respondents gave
priority to reading text books in order for them to get the best exam result followed by newspapers
and magazines because they wanted to improve their general knowledge.

Another study among students was conducted by Safiah (1987) in order to identify the differences
between reading interest and reading resources selection among Standard four students based on
location, gender, language literacy, father’s education, fathers’s profession and socio-economic
background. Study sample of 166 Standard four students and 20 of Malay Language teachers in two
schools which are Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Subang Jaya and Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuang.
Findings showed that there were no significant differences in the number of story books read per
month based on location, gender, language literacy, father’s profession and socio economic
background. However, there was a significant difference in history book topic selection and joke
books between rural and urban areas students.

On his study, Arnasalam (1994) aimed to investigate the relationship between three factors: 1)
reading interest; 2) academic achievement; and 3) curriculum activities. The sample comprised 274
Form four students from four schools in rural and urban areas. Schools from urban areas are Sekolah
Menengah Bangsar and Sekolah Menengah Cheras in Kuala Lumpur, while schools from rural areas
are Sekolah Menengah Dato’ Harun, Tanjung Karang and Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Aziz,
Kuala Selangor.

Findings revealed that the majority of the students read 10 to 20 pages text per week. Besides, they
also spent time for reading between 30 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Gender also played role in
reading habits because the study found that female students spent more time in reading and they also
read many books than male students. Socio economic status also contributed to the encouragement of
reading. Most of the high socio-economic status students tended to spend more time for reading read
many books and have a positive attitude. Furthermore, high academic achievement students spend
more time in reading rather than their lower academic counterparts. Surprisingly, the researcher also
found that students who are active in curricular activities used to read many books.

The Arumugam (1999) study aimed to determine the factors associated with the reading habits of
primary and secondary school students. The specific purpose was identify the factors that motivate or
inhibit good reading habits in students and provide ESL teachers with data relevant to motivating
students to read extensively. A total of 100 students and 50 teachers were selected randomly in the
district of Cameron Highlands. Findings reported that although teachers played a vital role in
encouraging students to read, the number of books read was few and 60% respondents never read at
home. Besides, only a few of them (28%) visited the school library.

The research carried out by Siah Poh Chua (2008) examined the effects of the Sustained Silent
Reading (SSR) program on cultivating students’ habits and attitudes in reading books for leisure. The
researcher conducted his study at a Malaysian secondary school and recruited only Form one students
three times in a twelve-month period, obtaining data from a questionnaire. The salient parts of the
SSR program in secondary school were:

a. A twenty minute reading time;

b. Teachers started the program in the first period and it was part of every school day;
c. Students were free to choose which book to read;
d. All students, teachers and staff were to do nothing but to read books which they like;
e. Class teachers acted as role models by participating in reading;
f. Teachers allowed no interruption of students’ reading; and

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g. Teachers encourage students to write notes and reflections in their reading journals.

The researcher found that the effect of the SSR program did not have any significant impact on
cultivating students’ after school subsequent to the launch of the SSR program. The researcher stated
that, although the SSR program could not cultivate students’ affective reactions to reading books for
leisure, it did not cause students to spend more time actively reading books for leisure.

In the study that was carried out by Nor Shahriza (2006) was an attempt to understand the reading
habits and attitudes at the Bachelor of IT students and the Bachelor of Art students from the
International Islamic University Malaysia. A total of 127 students formed the sample of study.
Findings reported that significant differences exist between the two groups of students in terms of
types of material and reading resources used.

Nor Shahriza and Amelia (2007) carried out a single case study approach due to the organization in
defining the population. Sample of study was the undergraduate students from two academic faculties
at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The faculties were Kulliyyah of Information
and Communication Technology (KICT) (IT-based) and Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge
and Human Science (KIRKH) (arts-based). Based on 400 samples drawn, 127 responses were
received from the survey. Study reported that university students spend quiet a significant amount of
time reading newspapers, academic books and web sites. Besides, reading has become a major
activity during their leisure time. In addition to that, researchers also found that male students read
more resources other than academic books, such as newspapers, web sites and literature.

Reading Interests in Malaysia

Lim Teh Eng (19740) carried out a study of the reading habits and interest of sixth form students in
English medium schools and their use of the school library facilities. A preliminary survey of the
school library facilities was carried out in all sixth form English medium schools in order to
categorize the schools for the purpose of sampling. The sampling unit was the school and a
questionnaire was administered to 815 students in eight selected schools, according to stratified
random sampling procedure, from those with good school library facilities and those with poor school
library facilities.

Findings revealed that most of the students relied more on reading textbooks rather than non-
textbooks. Recreational reading of fiction seemed to be confined to small group of students. In terms
of subject matter, findings showed distinct differences between genders as well as between the art and
science students. More male than female students read foreign news, sports news, feature articles, war
news and political news, whereas more female than male students read local news, short stories,
fashion and the woman’s page. Regardless of reading preferences, the majority of the students
preferred to read in English and non-Malay students tended to neglect reading in Bahasa Malaysia.

Mohammad (1982) carried out a survey on reading interest among secondary school students in
Rompin to investigate students’ reading interest in newspapers, books, magazines and comics and on
how often they read those materials. The researcher also wanted to investigate factors that lead
students in the selection of reading topics. Samples of the study were Form one and Form two
students from Sekolah Menengah Tuanku Besar in Tampin, Negeri Sembilan. The investigation
found that the reading materials in Bahasa Malaysia were available in ampin only. Findings from the
study also revealed that textbooks (84.8%) and revision books (62.8%) have greater readership than
other reading materials, followed by newspapers (56.8%) and magazines (56.8%), while comics have
a lowest readership (16.6%). Most of the respondents were greater readers of science topics. The
findings also showed that the best students used reading materials based on science and general
knowledge topics. However, students who were weak in language preferred to read materials based
on war stories, sports and history. The same applied to Form two students, who also have similar
interest. But Form three students tended to read more revision books and history books.

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 Innovation Vision 2020: from Regional Development Sustainability to Global Economic Growth

The Che Mat Deli Abdullah (1994) study sought to identify the reading interest in additional reading
resources among Upper Secondary School students in Sekolah Menengah Tengku Mahmood, Besut,
Terengganu. Data were collected through observation and a survey questionnaire was distributed
among 100 students from Form four. Results showed thwt respondents were interested in additional
reading materials, but they preferred to read text books in order for them to pass examinations.
Generally, respondents read the additional reading materials to enhance their general knowledge. A
few students practice reading as their favourite hobby.

Szarina Abdullah (1995) carried out a survey on reading habits and interests among students in
Malaysia Higher Learning Institutions. There were 1, 556 respondents from different fields and races
selected as the sample of the study from seven local universities including Institute Teknologi MARA
and Tunku Abdul Rahman College. Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents aged
between 20 to 24 years old came from lower socio-economic and low level of parents’ education
background. Most of the respondents (64.4%) read newspapers daily, while (45.4%) read lecture
notes daily. Respondents read general knowledge books or non-fiction books between one to three
days monthly. However, respondents used to read textbooks, magazines and journals between one to
three days weekly. The researcher also found that females were the greater readers compared to male
students. There was no relationship between reading habits and family’s socio-economic background.
The hypothesis higher the family socio-economic background, the higher reading interest was not
supported by the findings.

Azura (2006) carried out a study on the reading habits and interests among the students from Faculty
of Information Management in Universiti teknologi MARA. A total of 100 questionaires were
distributed to sample students. Findings showed that most of the respondents (30%) preferred to read
topics on entertainment, followed by 18% who preferred reading technology, 17% on sports and 15%
on religious topics. The minority of the students read politics (6%) and only 1% of them read
engineering. In terms of types of materials, it was found that 27% of students read newspapers, 21%
read academic books, 17% read magazines, 16% read comics and 14% read novels.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Although there are few studies done among Malaysian students, none of them was carried out at an
urban school. There are some aspects from the previous study that can be carried out in detail in
future research, specifically on types of reading materials that secondary school students frequently
read per day and types of reading materials that they read during their school holidays and weekends.
Future research also should investigate factors that cause secondary school students to read during
school holidays and factors of why students do not borrow their reading materials from the public
library.

Based on the literature, the majority of the students spent three to four hours per day to read.
Although most of them are the great readers of newspapers, magazines and novels, parents should
encourage their children to spend for reading. Parents should also promote reading habits and interest
among their children by setting up a home library with variety of topics and conducive area. Other
than that, our society also can contribute to inculcate reading habits by giving books as a gift during
special occasion. In school, the person in charge should conduct library orientation on information
literacy programs among students. In this way, the students will get a clear picture on how to utilize
the library. Furthermore, because most of the respondents like to read novels, the school library
should provide a greater variety of novels. The school should also organize books fairs and
exhibitions to promote the reading habit and interest among students. The school can also consider
providing more nicely decorated reading corners at all gazebo located around the school compound as
well as in every classroom so that students can have easy access to their reading materials, especially
when teacher is not in class. It is clear that reading habits and interest can be cultivated among
students if parents and teachers play their roles to encourage them to read. As we all know, people

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who read frequently and who read from a variety of reading material will be able to acquire more
knowledge.

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