FATHERHOOD in Malaysia is stepping into the spotlight.
With the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 introducing statutory paternity leave for the first time, and flexible working arrangements now part of labour laws, fathers are beginning to be formally recognised as caregivers.
Welfare schemes, health programmes and schools may still lean heavily on maternal roles, but these gaps are now clearer – and that clarity creates momentum for reform.
Nevertheless, some challenges remain. For instance, the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) offers maternity allowances but no equivalent for fathers, health systems still revolve around the “pink book” maternal track and schools often default to mothers as the main point of contact.
Yet these are not dead ends. They are the next frontier in building policies that treat caregiving as a shared responsibility. The story is not of fathers being sidelined, but of a system in transition – one where the first steps have been taken, and the next steps could redefine parenting as a truly equal partnership.
Equal opportunities
How do Malaysia’s labour laws currently address paternity leave and workplace flexibility for fathers?
Universiti Teknologi Mara law lecturer Amelia Masran says Malaysia has made notable progress in recognising the role of fathers in childcare through the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022, which introduced statutory paternity leave for the first time in the private sector pursuant to Section 60FA of the Employment Act 1955 (EA).
However, Amelia says, while this development represents an important step forward, it remains considerably more limited than the benefit available to mothers – female employees are entitled to 98 days of paid maternity leave, reflecting not only the demands of infant care but also the physical recovery associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
“As such, equality in parental benefits does not necessarily require identical treatment. However, the current framework continues to place greater emphasis on maternal caregiving, with fathers primarily recognised in a supporting role during the immediate postnatal period.”
She points out that Malaysia’s approach also remains relatively conservative when compared with international developments. Many countries have moved beyond short-term paternity leave towards broader parental leave frameworks that encourage both parents to share caregiving responsibilities.
“Nordic countries such as Sweden, Norway and Finland have long been recognised for providing extensive parental leave schemes, including leave specifically reserved for fathers. Closer to home, Singapore has progressively expanded its paternity leave entitlements as part of broader efforts to promote active fatherhood and shared parenting.
“These developments reflect a growing recognition that fathers play an important role not only as providers, but also as caregivers from the earliest stages of a child’s life.
In Malaysia, she points out, “The law stops short of creating a broader parental leave framework that treats caregiving as a genuinely shared responsibility. Although fathers may apply for flexible working arrangements, these are not automatic entitlements and remain subject to employer approval.”
Furthermore, statutory paternity leave is currently limited to legally married employees, excluding unmarried fathers from this protection, says Amelia.
“From a policy perspective, the introduction of statutory paternity leave in Malaysia should be viewed as the beginning of the conversation rather than the end of it.
“Modern parenting increasingly emphasises shared caregiving responsibilities and future reforms may consider expanding parental leave and strengthening family-friendly workplace policies.”
Welfare for caregiving
When it comes to social protection, Amelia says the framework has traditionally focused on income replacement, workplace injury protection and employment security rather than being explicitly designed around caregiving support – schemes such as Perkeso and the Employment Insurance System apply uniformly to eligible employees regardless of gender, and in that sense the system is formally gender-neutral.
However, she highlights that a distinction emerges when examining benefits linked specifically to caregiving.
“While Perkeso provides general protection for employment injury, invalidity and unemployment, it is not structured as a mechanism to support parental caregiving.”
She says maternity-related support, including maternity allowance under Perkeso subject to eligibility criteria, provides financial assistance to mothers during their statutory maternity leave period.
“In contrast, there is currently no equivalent paternity-specific allowance or caregiving support mechanism for fathers during paternity leave. As a result, the financial cost of paternity leave is borne entirely by employers, which may limit the extent to which such leave can be expanded beyond the statutory minimum.
“This structural gap is further reflected in the broader welfare and tax framework.”
Amelia says Malaysia does not currently have a universal child benefit or family allowance system that directly supports caregiving parents irrespective of gender.
Existing assistance programmes, such as cash transfer schemes – for example Bantuan Sara Hidup and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah – are generally means-tested and directed at household welfare rather than caregiving roles specifically, says Amelia.
“Similarly, while both parents may benefit from standard child tax reliefs, certain tax incentives remain gender-specific. For example, tax relief for breastfeeding equipment is exclusively available to mothers, reflecting its biological basis, while only one parent may claim childcare-related tax relief in respect of childcare centre or kindergarten fees.”
At the same time, health and family-related support services also tend to be more mother-focused, particularly in antenatal and postnatal care programmes, where fathers are not always explicitly recognised as primary participants in caregiving support structures.
“This reflects an underlying policy assumption that caregiving responsibilities rest primarily with mothers.”
Amelia says these gaps suggest that Malaysia’s welfare system remains largely organised around the mother-child unit rather than a fully shared parental caregiving model.
“Addressing this may require a broader rethinking of social protection architecture, including the potential introduction of shared or state-supported parental leave funding, more inclusive tax incentives, and caregiving policies that explicitly recognise the role of fathers alongside mothers.
“Such reforms would not replace existing maternal protections, but rather complement them in support of more balanced and shared parenting responsibilities within modern families. As fathers become increasingly involved in caregiving, welfare policies may need to evolve accordingly.”
Getting fathers included
Amelia points out that many health and childcare policies in Malaysia have historically been shaped by the biological realities of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, and as a result, public health and early childhood systems have largely been designed with mothers as the primary point of engagement.
“Frameworks such as the Health Ministry’s maternal tracking system [commonly referred to as the ‘pink book’], antenatal care pathways, and postnatal follow-up services are all primarily structured around maternal health needs.”
She says while fathers are not legally excluded from these systems, their participation is often not explicitly embedded within programme design.
“Antenatal and postnatal health services, for example, are operationally centred on the mother as the primary patient, with limited structured mechanisms that actively require or encourage paternal involvement.”
Similarly, Amelia stresses that while childcare centres regulated under the Child Care Centre Act 1984 are accessible to both parents, the regulatory framework is focused more on safety and operational standards rather than parental engagement, and does not specifically promote fathers’ participation in early childhood care processes.
“In reality, this has contributed to a policy environment where childcare and early childhood development initiatives are often framed in terms of enabling mothers to return to the workforce, rather than recognising childcare as a shared parental responsibility.
“Even where fathers are present, such as in hospital labour rooms or childcare interactions, there are limited formal structures that define or support their role as active caregivers during antenatal education, childbirth preparation or early infant care.”
She also says evidence and regional studies suggest that fathers often feel less prepared for childbirth and early parenting, as antenatal education programmes tend to focus predominantly on maternal physiological changes and breastfeeding.
“As a result, some fathers may enter the early stages of parenthood without adequate guidance on how to support their partners or engage confidently in newborn care.”
Amelia says a more inclusive approach would involve redesigning antenatal and early childhood programmes to explicitly incorporate fathers as active participants, including structured guidance on birth support, postpartum care and early child development.
“Research consistently demonstrates that early paternal involvement contributes positively to children’s developmental outcomes.
“The challenge for policymakers is therefore not simply permitting fathers to participate, but designing health and childcare systems that actively equip and encourage them to do so.”
