KUCHING: More funds are being sought by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry under Budget 2027 for its welfare and aid programmes, says Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri (pic).
The minister said her ministry is proposing an additional RM168mil under the upcoming budget, mainly for welfare programmes and improving the livelihoods of its target groups.
“We currently have an allocation of about RM3bil for welfare recipients. With the additional RM168mil that we are proposing, our allocation may be closer to RM4bil, including extra funds for welfare if there is an increase in recipients,” she told reporters after launching care sector initiatives under the Madani Budget 2026 here yesterday.
Nancy said the proposed increase in allocation would mainly go to the Social Welfare Department, including support for caregivers.
“This is a new thing that we have – caregiving to support women who are heads of households, families and senior citizens,” she said, adding that her ministry had submitted its budget proposals to the Finance Ministry.
“We were told we were doing the right thing because our proposals focused on helping our target groups. We will only know the exact amount when the Budget is tabled on Oct 9,” she said.
On the care sector, Nancy said her ministry was confident of achieving its target of 50,000 professional caregivers in the country by 2030.
“This year, we are targeting 2,000 caregivers, focusing only on those caring for senior citizens.
“But the 50,000 target will be more comprehensive, involving care for the disabled and children as well,” she said.
Nancy also said having professional caregivers was important to support women in the workforce.
“We want to encourage women to work, but sometimes they have to look after their children at home. We don’t want them to be cautious about having more children because they need to work,” she said.
She noted that the aim was to produce professional caregivers who could look after the children of working women.
