The lengthening of maternity leave for mothers in the civil service from two months to one year, announced during the tabling of Budget 2015 by Prime Minister Najib Razak, has been greeted with both fanfare and reservation by mothers and as well as analysts.
On the one hand, it is a clear recognition by the government that motherhood is very important and that new mothers should be given the time and space to be with their newborn; at the same time skeptics ask how this policy might impact productivity and quality of service, especially at frontline governmental departments (e.g. immigration, Home Affairs).
To some extent it’s good to compare this with the maternity leave policies new mothers in other parts of the world receive:
We took the opportunity to speak with a few people to find out what they think about this change:
“Increasing the maternity leave in Malaysia is a wonderful start for us to follow what parents in the Scandinavian countries get. Something as vital as extra maternity leave gives the mother time to bond properly and securely with their babies. The first year of a baby is very crucial to the development of the baby’s self in many ways. This in turn brings about a healthier, happier families and society.
“This is a good step and let’s hope that paternal leave will follow suit too as there are evidence that shows the importance of daddies to bond with their babies too. If we were to develop a compassionate, loving society, proper bonding is crucial and I am happy Malaysia is taking this step. I hope private sectors will follow suit too.”
– Jashpreet Kaur, Certified Infant Massage Instructor
“My comment is this move is great. It should be extended to the private sector too. If that’s not doable, private sector companies should build creches for the female employees.”
– Ayuni Zainuddin, Certified HypnoBirthing Practitioner & Breastfeeding Advocate
“Ideally it should be six months of exclusive breastfeeding, so one year is definitely good news for mothers. Most mothers struggle with leaving the baby and returning back to work after the maternity leave, so those extra months will be a good bonding time for mothers. Also, most mothers struggle with finding childcare for babies below 12 months.
“Even so, I think it will be tough for the private sector to implement a similar policy as it has different KPIs. However, they may want to consider providing childcare facilities at the workplace as an option. This will enable mothers to return to work while at the same time providing exclusive breastfeeding for their child.”
– Hannah Yeoh, Selangor State Assembly Speaker and Assemblyperson for Subang Jaya
“It’s a promising start towards encouraging mums to go back to work, and is a step towards understanding the role of women in the workforce and leading the way for private corporations to follow suit and compete. It’s fantastic for family units! Babies need mums home the most at this time. This also reduces the need to find alternatives such as daycare (which is what keeps poorly run places open that sometimes lead to infant deaths – everyone knows the TASKA horror stories). Even so, if it’s unpaid it won’t really make too much of a difference, particularly for families that need both parents employed to afford the rising costs of living.
“But the policy sounds difficult to implement on paper. For example, can the government retain empty positions in the service for a year without needing replacement? If no, then what would the mechanism look like especially for career progression? If yes, then the positions are seen as unimportant if staff can be afforded to be missed for a year – exacerbating the accusation of a bloated civil service. Also, how will discrimination for promotions and employment be identified and dealt with?”
– Khairun Nisa Mohamed Zabidi, Entrepreneur
What do you think of the one-year maternity leave? Leave your comments below or join our discussion forum.
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Image Credits: Flickr user Jerry Lai
