AS of June, 44 workplace childcare centres have been set up in Selangor.
State women empowerment and welfare committee chairman Anfaal Saari said 29 were located at public sector workplaces and the remainder at private sector workplaces.
Anfaal said the Selangor Women’s Policy and Action Plan 2024-2026 and Selangor State Care Economy Policy 2024-2030 encouraged the establishment of workplace childcare centres to support women returning to work, strengthen household economic resilience and promote family-friendly workplaces.
“A 2025 study on family-friendly employment practices in Selangor also recommended establishing more workplace childcare centres.
“However, the state has yet to make them compulsory.
“The provision of childcare facilities at government premises is subject to the planning and management of the respective ministry, department or agency,” she said during the Selangor State Assembly sitting at Bangunan Dewan Negeri in Shah Alam yesterday.
She was responding to questions from Mohd Razali Saari (PN-Sungai Panjang) on childcare centres in government and private workplaces.
Anfaal said the government has not provided exemptions from childcare centre registration requirements, with all applications required to comply with Child Care Centre Act 1984 (Act 308) and Child Care Centre Regulations 2012.
“These requirements are not merely administrative procedures.
“They ensure compliance with established standards for safety, health, child welfare, caregiver-to-child ratios and suitability of premises.”
She said the state had also developed guidelines for care centres serving the elderly, children and persons with disabilities to streamline requirements imposed by various technical agencies, facilitate registration and compliance, and encourage more centres to operate legally, safely and to high standards.
The state also provides grants of up to RM5,000 to care centre operators to help meet the requirements of technical agencies, she said.
Under the MamaKerja initiative, working mothers also receive RM1,000 in financial assistance to help offset childcare costs, Anfaal added.
