Caregiving reform needed beyond symbolic praise, advocates say

A 'Care Credit and Care Income' framework could fundamentally reshape how Malaysia recognises and protects caregivers - by turning unpaid care work into retirement security and direct financial support.

Advocates say such a model is urgently needed to prevent caregivers, particularly women, from facing lifelong economic penalties for time spent raising children, caring for elderly parents or supporting family members with disabilities.

“Praise does not pay rent or secure retirement,” said Tehmina Kaoosji, a Gender Equity Activist, arguing that recognition must go beyond symbolic appreciation and be backed by structural reform.

She stressed that unpaid care work should not be dismissed as a private “women’s issue”, but acknowledged as labour that sustains households and underpins the broader economy.

Regular measurement of unpaid care work in national statistics, she added, would signal that caregiving contributes tangible economic value.

“What we don’t measure, we don’t value," she said.

Under a Care Credit system, years devoted to caregiving would count towards retirement savings through EPF or pension-style credits. Instead of losing out on contributions during career breaks, caregivers would accumulate social protection credits that recognise care as a formal economic input.

Complementing this would be Care Income — a targeted, means-tested allowance for lower-income households during intensive caregiving periods, including early childhood, disability or eldercare.

The aim is not to incentivise women to leave the workforce, but to prevent caregiving from becoming a pathway into poverty.

However, she emphasised that financial recognition alone is insufficient. Compensation policies must be matched with substantial public investment in childcare, eldercare and community-based services.

“You cannot talk about choice when childcare is expensive, uneven in quality and inaccessible outside major cities,” she said.

Tehmina also called for meaningful, non-transferable paid paternity leave to address entrenched gender imbalances. If leave provisions remain minimal or optional, employers may continue to treat motherhood as a liability while caregiving remains disproportionately associated with women.

Normalising men as caregivers from the outset, she said, could help redistribute household responsibilities and reduce workplace discrimination against mothers.

Universiti Putra Malaysia Putra Business School Associate Professor Dr Ida Md Yasin echoed calls for stronger policy support, particularly in affordable childcare and early childhood education.

She said families should not feel constrained in raising children, as doing so relates directly to the country’s future workforce and demographic stability. Yet balancing work and parenting remains difficult when both parents are employed.

Speaking from personal experience as a mother of five, Ida said extended family support was crucial in helping her manage career responsibilities, especially during outstation assignments.

She noted that childcare costs in Kuala Lumpur are high, particularly at private centres. Childcare facilities within government agencies are able to charge lower fees because operators do not bear rental and certain operational costs, which are subsidised. Private centres face higher expenses, resulting in higher fees for parents.

Although some government subsidies exist, she said they are insufficient. Malaysia has established strong support for primary and secondary education and has performed well in healthcare, particularly in reducing infant mortality rates. However, a gap remains between birth and primary school — specifically at the childcare and kindergarten levels.

“When we talk about raising a child, it starts from day one,” she said, describing early childhood as a critical developmental stage.

Both advocates agreed that without sustained policy reform and public investment - anchored by frameworks such as Care Credit and Care Income - caregiving will continue to carry economic consequences. Recognising care as real work, they said, is not merely a social issue, but a cornerstone of Malaysia’s long-term economic resilience.