Improving Your Relationship with Prudential Relationship Index

I have indeed always wondered how relationships really work. Well, now there are data to show us what people really want in a relationship, be it with their partner, their parents, friends and colleagues or even their children. Taking a look at this Prudential Relationship Index actually opened my eyes to my own relationship with my partner too. Prudential has launched the inaugural 2016 Prudential Relationship Index (PRI) to understand the state of personal relationships in Malaysia and throughout Asia. A score of 100 on the PRI means that a person’s primary relationship delivers 100% of what they want from that relationship. Download the full report here.

Firstly, I am quite glad Malaysia is not at the bottom of the list when it comes to relationship fulfilment. The 2016 Prudential Relationship Index for Malaysia is 71/100, ranking Malaysia fifth equal out of the ten countries surveyed. Vietnam has the highest PRI ranking at 83/100; China has the lowest PRI ranking at 54/100. The average PRI score across all countries in Asia is 68/100. It seems to me that the more developed the country, the lower the rank, what do you think? We as Malaysians really have to watch our backs so we do not fall in the rank. So that’s why it’s important to know what really works in our relationships with each other and what should be eliminated from our lives.

Here are some of the highlights from the survey that is particular to Malaysia.

It seems that in Malaysia, being multi ethnic makes us very open to having partners of another race. Only 21% of Malaysians think that their ideal partner has to be of the same ethnicity. It is great that we live in a melting pot society, everyday is always interesting. Having the same religion however is still important when choosing a partner as believed by 52% of Malaysians. I can totally get that as usually, your thoughts, ideas and opinions are formed around the religion that you have. Having the same mind is very important to form a relationship that works easily without prejudice and reliance on lifehacks.

Talking about easy, getting along easily is what most Malaysians want in a relationship, up to 76% really think so. It is not easy to find someone we get along easily with, and when we do, that person usually becomes our best friend. Why would we want to hang around people that stresses us out, puts labels on us or makes us go crazy? Therefore, being easy to get a long with is high above on the key of a successful relationship. This totally opens my eyes, I want to be that person that can get along easily with my partner. Not the one that demands undivided attention, unattainable standards, and always suspicious.

Being able to laugh together is of utmost importance to me too, so I agree with most Malaysians. Life should be mostly happy and fun, easy and passionate after all. Having two kids. I also agree that whenever we do have arguments, it’s always about money (47%) and usually the addition of kids in our lives also deplete that money quicker than anything. Also, kids being kids, they drive us crazy all the time (33% people think so). Being in this new tech savvy world, too much time spent on the computer or smartphone makes people mad. For me, everything is kind of interlinked. If you are happy, you will laugh a lot and therefore stop seeking other attention on the computer or smartphone, chat rooms and what nots as an escape from your problematic and crazy relationship. Therefore, put time into what matters the most and later whatever fulfills you will flow with it.

In Malaysia, most partners do now have a joint account, citing only 39% of married Malaysians only open one. It is similar to my situation, we just never bothered with opening one. However, we do discuss about major purchases and decide together when buying something. I think in this day and age with most women already working and some possibly earning a bigger income than their husbands, the line is blurred regarding financial support. For us, whatever needs money we just pay for it together with him mostly paying for the house and daily food, while I pay for the car and other necessities while trying to save some up for the future too.

Why don’t you take the test yourself? This is my test result, showing that my partner and I are soulmates. That is because we do seriously do everything together, in fact we work together in our local church. We also have great mentors and a strong support group that never let us work through our problems alone, so I guess that is really important.

Sometimes a little craziness in our little family is what keep us laughing all the way.