PETALING JAYA: As festivals approach, hospital staff, already burdened with daily responsibilities, brace themselves for a distressing yet familiar scenario – an influx of elderly individuals.
The nature of the emergency is not health but helplessness. There are heartless children who leave their parents at the hospital so that they could celebrate the occasion elsewhere without a care in the world.
This grim reality within hospital walls is all too common, leaving staff with little choice but to accommodate the abandoned.
With a steady rise in such cases reported in recent years, the question arises whether Malaysia should legislate filial support laws to compel children to care for their parents and penalise them for neglect.
Countries like India, Singapore, Bangladesh and China have enacted such laws to tackle this issue.In Singapore, the Maintenance of Parents Act of 1995 allows parents to take legal action to compel their grown-up children to fund their survival.
Similar laws in India and Bangladesh impose penalties ranging from fines between RM300 and RM5,000 to jail terms of up to three months for those who neglect their filial responsibilities.
India-based criminologist Prof Dr K. Jaishankar told The Star that the country’s Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 (MWPSC Act 2007) was widely welcomed as a progressive step towards addressing neglect and abandonment of senior citizens.
The legal framework allows elderly parents to claim maintenance from their children or relatives, ensuring their basic needs are met.
Prof Jaishankar said the Act also raised awareness about the rights of senior citizens and the moral and legal obligations of their families.
“The Act also has provisions to address emotional and physical abuse, neglect and exploitation, as well as mandates the establishment of old age homes, medical care and other welfare measures for senior citizens,” he said.
However, he said awareness and enforcement of the law remain inconsistent, particularly in rural areas where many elderly individuals are unaware of their rights under the Act.
“Non-governmental organisations and government bodies have been working to raise awareness about the Act, but more efforts are needed, especially to reach out to those in remote areas.
“In India, family ties are traditionally strong, and many elderly parents hesitate to take legal action against their children due to societal pressure. The MWPSC Act 2007 has helped shift such a mindset by emphasising the legal and moral responsibility children must have towards their parents,” he said.
Prof Jaishankar said amendments were made in 2019 to the MWPSC Act 2007 to extend maintenance obligations to include stepchildren, adoptive children, and sons/daughters-in-law. The Act defines “senior citizens” as those over 60 years old and “very senior citizens” as those over 80 years old.
“The MWPSC Act serves as a model for other countries, including Malaysia, to address the growing issue of elder neglect and abandonment. India’s experience with the law offers valuable lessons for Malaysia in balancing legal provisions with cultural sensitivities as well as ensuring the dignity and security of senior citizens is safeguarded.
“Singapore’s Maintenance of Parents Act is a similar legislation that could be studied and compared alongside,” he said.
The criminologist suggested that early intervention should include awareness campaigns to educate the public about the rights of senior citizens, along with establishing old age homes and support systems for those lacking family support.
Prof Jaishankar also cited two court judgments in recent years that came under the purview of the MWPSC Act.
In February 2024, a 75-year-old woman in Delhi successfully sued her son for maintenance under the Act. The court ordered her son to pay 10,000 rupees (RM510) per month and provide her with a separate room in his house.
In Maharashtra in April last year, an elderly couple filed a case against their son and daughter-in-law for evicting them from their home. The court ruled in favour of the parents, ordering the son to pay maintenance and allow them to live in the house.
