Pages

Share This

Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

A great Malaysian tragedy

Funeral of children who died

Questions about Malaysia's treatment of this minority:The runaway children Malaysia failed to ...

 
Young, impoverished mother from Chinese viral photo finally found after 11 years, and how different her life is now | The Star
 

THIS is one article that I didn’t want to write. I put off writing it for two years. Writing 900 words about this subject was more painful than taking three years to write a 100,000-word thesis. I would do three more theses if I could avoid writing these next 900 words.

This article is about a tragedy that concerns us as a people and a nation. The tragedy should have sparked a national debate, but it was ignored despite being repeated four times.

What is this great tragedy, you might ask? Is it the May 13 race riots in 1969? Is it the Bukit Kepong incident in 1950? Is it the first riot in 1964 in Singapore before it left the federation? Is it the fall of a government? Or is it the dismal state of our institutions of education, justice and administration?

To me, all of these things combined fail to measure up to the tragedy I am about to describe.

Two years ago I happened to read a news article about an Indian-Malaysian family whose father killed all of his children. The report related how the mother died of cancer a few days before and the father, who was jobless and also in poor health, had become distraught. He ended up killing his 15-year-old son and three other children by strangling them all. After that horrifying deed, he hanged himself.

I could not sleep well for several days after reading about that, wondering why a father would kill his children. What drove him to do that? The police and other authorities dismissed it as the act of a crazy man. I did not think so.

Two weeks later, there was a report of another destitute Indian-Malaysian family whose parent, also suffering from an illness, killed the children. Again, the authorities dismissed it as “orang gila punya kerja” (a mad person’s act).

Several months later, I read of Chinese-Malaysian parents who poisoned their four little children and then themselves. At the last minute, an ambulance was called, but all the children died; the parents survived.

And just last week, a penniless father, whose race was not stated, smothered his three children after his wife died.

After each of these cases, our nation went on with business as usual. No professors from our 200 universities raised the issue. No religious clerics from any religion made it into a social and political issue. No NGO stood up and demonstrated or wrote press statements about the tragedies.

Was I the only one who cringed at the news of parents killing their children? Was I the only one to ask questions?

Firstly, why did these parents not seek help from other family members? All of us have wider family circles and if we begged several of them to care for one child each, surely they would respond? I have no issue whatsoever if adults decide to take their own lives, but I am aghast and crushed when children are killed just because one cannot figure out how to feed and care for them.

All children in this country – and the world – should be cared for and given a minimum chance to survive until they can make their own way. Is that not a social, political and spiritual right? What happened to the larger family system if parents think that it would burden other family members?

Then I asked the question: why did the parents not seek help from the leaders of their own race or religion? We have political leaders of all races and houses of worship worth millions. What is the purpose of religion and these splendid displays of architectural feats if parents had no faith that they could get help from going to a church, a mosque, a temple or a gurdwara to ask congregants to help their children?

If I were the parent, I would have taken them to the mosque and begged for help and asked to stay at the mosque. I would help sweep the floor of the mosque or scrub its toilets and then ask restaurants for leftovers so I could feed my children and myself. There is no shame in that. But, of course, I would ask for help from my own family and wife’s family first before going that far.

Finally, I asked: what should our government do for such families? Why did the four families not go to a zakat office or the Welfare Department for help? Why did they have no confidence in our institutions, orphanages and other forms of welfare? What are these zakat or welfare officers doing? Why are they not proactively walking the streets and looking under bridges for the homeless or talking to people in low-cost flats to see if there are families facing destitution?

I wish the four families had reached out to the media or someone for help instead of killing their children. What does it say about our nation when parents kill their children instead of trusting our institutions of race, institutions of religion and institutions of governance?

When I was in the United Kingdom, I was given a financial allowance for my four children. When I was in the United States, I was given food stamps when my daughter was born. I also remember watching a report on YouTube about 400,000 unemployed British youngsters given £250 (about RM1,400 at current rates) a month as a benefit back then.

I spent nine years overseas and I never read about parents killing their children because of poverty. What does it say about our country, our people and our faiths when four tragedies like these can happen – and that they raised not one iota of concern? We are, truly and sadly, a nation that is failing its most vulnerable people.


Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd RasdiProf Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at UCSI University. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

 Source link


Related posts:

 

https://youtu.be/nYSqwi8qY7w In the later years of my school life, I used to attend parties thrown by my schoolmates for their birthday,...
 
 
UMNO politician Ismail Sabri's rise to become Malaysia's prime minister   Malaysia's new PM brings graft-tainted UMNO back to p...
 
 
 
    Penang (2,474) reached a new record Sspt 8, 2021. Hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients has also been trending up, despite 49.4 perc...
 
 
Suaram adviser questions Pakatan Harapan's funding from the National Endowment for Democracy https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/202...
 
 
IN the first half of 2021, Asean-5 countries, comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines experienced strong, ex...

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Covid-19 Cases going down; top priority – keep the kids safe

 Malaysia's Cases going down to below R1  

 

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is seeing a dip in the Covid-19 infectivity rate. Though this is encouraging, health experts caution the public against taking their foot off the pedal.

Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman said the downward trend proved that the preventive measures put in place were effective.

“Our steps to control the outbreak are on track but we have to continue this effort to reduce it further.

“It is a good sign, but if we loosen our grip, the number of infections is set to potentially increase, ” she said.

Dr Malina added that while the country’s R value was showing a decline, the aim would be to push it down to near zero.

The R value, or reproduction number, refers to the infectivity rate of a virus at a particular point in time.

It represents the average number of people an infected person could spread the disease to, so an R value of lower than 1 means that the number of people being infected on average will be fewer over time.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the R value had dropped to below 1 during the first week of the lockdown.

Yesterday, it was recorded at 0.99.

On May 31, before the two-week lockdown was implemented, it was 1.09.

Previously, the R value was also recorded at levels of 1.21 and 1.16, on May 23 and May 29, respectively.

International Islamic University Malaysia epidemiologist Prof Dr Jamalludin Ab Rahman said while the R value did show a positive impact, it was not enough.

Malaysia was not out of the woods yet, he said.

“R alone is not enough. For example, we should look at fatality rates, or the number of new clusters.

“Should we be happy with an R value that is lower than 1?

“Yes. But is the effort enough? Not yet, ” Dr Jamalludin pointed out.

“The R value has to be persistently low. Until when? There is no precise answer.”

He said that while the MCO and lockdown had reduced mobility among the general population considerably, Malaysia was still seeing transmissions in factories.

“The government really needs to settle this source of infections.

“The movement control order can solve sporadic cases in the community but if factories are still operating and close contact in crowded spaces is not being controlled, we will continue to have cases from factories, ” he added.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Azmi Mohd Tamil agreed.

He said that unless a relational database – where all secondary cases were mapped out to each primary case – it would not be possible to get the accurate average number of secondary persons infected from a single primary case.

“What we have is only an estimate based on a mathematical model.

“As long as we have cases in the community, the outbreak will continue – until the majority of the population is immune to the disease.”

At present, Dr Azmi said, “all possible cases of Covid-19 need to be screened, identified and isolated from the susceptible population”.

He reckoned that the lockdown should not be lifted on June 14.

“The number of cases does not support that – even though the R value is currently below 1, ” he added

Source link  

Top priority – keep the kids safe



PETALING JAYA: Spending almost two weeks in hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 last year is something housewife Sharifah Farah Ayuni Syed Rosli does not want to go through again – ever.Now, she and her husband have only one important thing in mind – to look after and protect their three children from being infected.

“That harrowing experience was enough to jolt us. We hope neither we nor our kids get infected by the disease,” said the 30-year-old from Kota Baru.

Recalling her stay, Sharifah said she spent about 13 days in hospital with her businessman husband Mohd Azlee Che Mohd Zaid and their son, Mir Ali Zafar, who was three months old at the time.

While she was well cared for by medical workers there, the housewife said she was mentally exhausted thinking about her two other children, who tested negative and placed in their grandmother’s care.

“Nowadays, I get a little anxious if I feel unwell, worrying if I contracted Covid-19 again.

“Thankfully, we are all healthy. We understand that we must stay at home to guard against getting infected,” she said.

Recently, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there was a rise in infections among younger children, some of whom had to be treated at intensive care units.

Sharifah said she and her husband tried to set good examples for their three children, now aged six, four and one-and-a-half, and remind them to wash their hands and wear their face masks properly.

She said her children understood that they could not go for outings because of the pandemic.

“We are grateful that they are obedient and follow our advice.

“There are times when they get upset and sulk, as children sometimes do, but they listen,” Sharifah said.

Kiranjit Muniandy wonders if she is doing enough to protect her 19-month-old daughter from getting infected.

“The number of kids getting infected of late is alarming. It’s tougher now because she is at that age where she just wants to touch everything,” she said.

Kiranjit, 39, was also worried about the high number of new cases daily.

“My husband and I have decided not to go out and stay at home.

“We have also stopped receiving visitors. We take care of our daughter while we work from home.

“Thankfully, we work on shifts. My husband works in the day while I work at night so we take turns,” said the banking executive.

Kiranjit said she would take every precaution to protect her family from being infected and hoped that the pandemic would end soon as she misses her family in Sabah.

“My daughter has not met her grandparents for over a year,” she said.

Faster herd immunity if kids are jabbed too - PressReader

 Source link  

 

Related posts:

 

    PETALING JAYA: An RM40bil aid package has been announced for the people to face economic challenges during the lockdown. In a spec.

 

 

  KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced that there were a total of 9,020 new cases reported up till 12pm today, pus..

 

Monday, February 15, 2021

Choosing a good executor for your will

“It is a certainty but the Asian culture fails to talk about death adequately. Many times, the parents don’t really talk about this to their children. Such as, when a parent passes away, who will be in charge of the family’s business, ” Rockwills Advisory Services Sdn Bhd’s general manager and associate estate planning practitioner ason Tham told StarBiz.


 

DEATH is an issue nobody likes to talk about, but it is a certainty in this life.

This is likely due to the Asian culture where death is a rarely or openly discussed subject among families which could lead to complications later on for the loved ones.

“It is a certainty but the Asian culture fails to talk about death adequately. Many times, the parents don’t really talk about this to their children. Such as, when a parent passes away, who will be in charge of the family’s business, ” Rockwills Advisory Services Sdn Bhd’s general manager and associate estate planning practitioner Jason Tham told StarBiz.

“Many times, the children are also helping out in the family business and as the founder and business owner it is difficult for the parents to say that they are their children’s boss and parent at the same time. While in some other instances, siblings may be unhappy if parents outrightly choose one over the other to take over the family business.

"A lot of people have an inkling that this is an important topic to talk about but they don’t know where to start, ” Tham added.

He noted that recent business trends for Rockwills have indicated that awareness among Malaysians on the importance of writing a will have been on the rise as business volume in this area have grown.

Writing one’s will in advance will also help ease the transition for a person’s loved ones in terms of matters pertaining to inheritance.

Other than the importance of being more open in discussing death, Tham said it is important for a person to choose a good executor for the will.

“The executor will be acting on a person’s (demised) will. So appointing a capable executor is a very important task and a common mistake made by many is to overlook this part of choosing a capable executor. Some of the characteristics to look out for in a capable executor is that the person must be reliable and trustworthy, ” Tham said.

“Some good examples of a good executor can be a person’s spouse. Since this is a person whom you can trust and this person would know and can execute your wishes in regards to inheritance.

“We must also know that this person chosen will continue to be in existence, ” he added.

Tham explained that continuing to be in existence generally means that as a general guideline, one should try not to appoint their parents as their will executors.

“Most likely a person’s parents would be much older and the chances of them continuing to be in existence would be lower.

“If there are no untoward or unexpected incidences, most likely your parents will pass away before you. An executor will execute a person’s will when a person is gone, ” he said.

Tham said usually, a family member will be selected as executors and they are usually candidates that would naturally be a priority.

“In some cases, a person might require a neutral body to execute a person’s will and this is when a professional estate planning firm may come in handy, ” he said.

“One example when this may be applicable is when a father would like to give his inheritance to his children but they are not on good terms with each other.

“So it is very difficult for the client to appoint one of them to be executors since they would likely be biased and it can create more fights among them. So this is when a licensed trustee is useful to carry out the demised’s will wishes, ” Tham said.

A licensed trustee can also help carry out a person’s wishes in the event that both parents are not around with minors or offsprings who are not yet considered adults, he said.

Source link

 

Related posts:

 

Working from home trend spurs demand for bigger houses

 

Better to buy a car or a house first?

 

Leaving a legacy by buying a house first before a luxury car ...

 

Housing affordability is an income issue, what's with the fuss?

 

How to allocate your money wisely: lessons from my father 

Saturday, December 5, 2020

Sheer joy of parenting

 What the writer and his wife love about being parents is that their children have enhanced their lives in so many ways

To the writer and his wife, parenthood is their greatest achievement although they have experienced difficult trials along the way.

FINANCIAL reasons is the normal excuse given by some who are not willing to have children. This is shocking.

Sure, having kids will affect our budget but that should not be the reason for not having children, or at least one child. To those who do not want to have children, I have reasons to change your mind.

When my wife, who was then earning as much as I did, decided to forego her job as a bank officer and concentrate on being a mother, it was our decision to prioritise our children’s upbringing rather than focus on our financial standing. We knew then that we really had to tighten our belts, but with careful planning, we survived.

Nothing else can produce the joy that parenthood offers. I can’t imagine going through life without feeling that spectrum of emotions. Feeling it all, good and bad, gives our lives as a married couple more purpose and challenges.

There is the pure joy of just watching our children be kids and reliving all those first moments when they discover how to do things on their own. Their smiles, giggles and pride in new accomplishments, even though some may be mischief in nature, were a sheer pleasure to watch.

As the sole income earner in the family, I could have had the worst day at work, but to come home and listen to our children, discuss their day with my wife, or to overhear them giggle while playing or watching television makes the worst day disappear.

I was 33 when I had my first kid. Though my first child wasn’t born normal, having children was such a life-altering experience. My wife and I were always looking for a purpose in our lives and when we had our children, we found it.

We love being parents. Seeing them do well in their studies and behaviour-wise, we know we are doing right thus far. That doesn’t mean we don’t have our share of mistakes but we are better persons for knowing our children and are very honoured to be their parents.

My wife and I love being parents because of the hugs, giggles and grins. When our kids are happy, so are we. As they grew, they amazed us every day with their new words, behaviour and discoveries. They have taught us to be more patient, more loving and much more appreciative of every moment we have together as a family.

Parenthood is a joy. Even while experiencing the hardest trials of our lives, we have learned to rise to all occasions. We’ve found ourselves lifted to new heights while stretching ourselves beyond our limits once we put it upon ourselves to guide them. With rarely a dull moment, we’ve experienced more adventures from parenting our children than we ever imagined.

Parenthood is our life, our passion and our greatest achievement. We also love watching our kids evolve into empathetic, kind human beings who can think for themselves, like spending their money thriftily and being involved in various school activities. You don’t realise the progress until far down the road but the wait is so worthwhile.

We don’t deny that parenthood is a hectic life filled with schedules, diaper changes, feedings, spendings and much more. There are so many things we love about being parents, but the one that stops us dead in our tracks is when each of our children turn to us and say, “Ayah Mi” (referring to me) and “Mak” (referring to my wife).

We love the fact that when our children were growing up to be adults, we were beside them every step of the way, teaching, helping, moulding and loving them.

Life may be great for those who do not want to have children but life will be even better once they have been blessed to become parents.

What we love about being parents is that our children have enhanced our lives in so many ways. We are a better husband, a better wife, better employees, neighbours, relatives and friends. We would rather have our worst days with our kids than to have our best days without them.

By DR ARZMI YAACOB

 

Related articles:

 

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Childcare centres in Penang allowed to reopen in phases from June 15 onwards

The first phase of the reopening of childcare centres will start on June 15 and more will be allowed to open in the next phases. — Filepic
THE Penang government has agreed to allow all 120 registered childcare centres (taska) to operate in stages, says state welfare and caring society committee chairman Phee Boon Poh.

He said the first phase of the reopening involved 26 centres starting from June 15 and more would be allowed to be open in the next phases.

“Since June 1, the state government and several other agencies, notably Welfare Department, have been conducting surveillance at the taska centres during the conditional movement control order (MCO).

“During the surveillance, the operators’ compliance level of the standard operating procedure (SOP) was scrutinised.

“The detailed reports were sent to me,” he said in a recent statement.

Phee said only nine taska were allowed to open in the state.

There are 15 public taska in the state.

“Overall, the compliance rate is at a satisfactory level.

“The attendance of kids is still at the minimum and the centres operate at 50% of their capacities,” he said.

He said the state government’s intention to allow private taska to operate had to be postponed to June 15 following additional SOP imposed by the Health Ministry on June 1.

He said regulations on matters such as cleanliness, isolation room preparation, sanitisation and prevention of gatherings must be channelled to parents and be taken seriously.

He said this was to ensure that there would be no risk of the virus spreading among children.

In ensuring compliance, taska operators must get the operating permission letter from the state Welfare Department after inspection is complete.

They must ensure that the total capacity of children in their premises does not exceed more than 50%, among other requirements.

Source link


Read more:







About 38,000 Johor preschoolers resume classes today



Remaining 6,696 childcare centres get green light to reopen ...

 

Related posts:


Covid-19 CMCO: daycare centres SOP. One-off grant of RM5,000 for childcare centres


 

 


Covid-19 Recovery countdown Malaysia conditional movement control order will be replaced with recovery movement control order from June 10 to Aug 31, 2020

Activities that are allowed, not allowed and pending during the recovery movement control order period. 

 


Malaysia announces RM35b Penjana plan for economic regeneration

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Covid-19 CMCO: daycare centres SOP. One-off grant of RM5,000 for childcare centres

Childcare centre operators are advised to refer to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and Social Welfare Department’s websites for information on the updated SOPs. — Bernama pic
  
CMCO: Updated SOPs for daycare centres tabled yesterday, says Ismail Sabri


PUTRAJAYA, June 2 — The government will update the standard operating procedures (SOP) for childcare centres, thereby enabling the vast majority to resume their activities.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry tabled the updated SOPs earlier today during the ministerial meeting on implementing the conditional movement control order (MCO)

“Before this, 304 out of 7,000 childcare centres nationwide were allowed to operate per the government’s SOPs. The update will enable the remaining 6,696 centres to operate immediately,” he said during his daily press briefing.

Childcare centre operators are advised to refer to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and Social Welfare Department’s websites for further information.

Ismail Sabri added the SOPs for pre-schools and kindergartens will be finalised by the Education Ministry before they are allowed to resume operations, as their management falls under the purview of several other ministries.

As of yesterday, the Housing and Local Government Ministry has conducted 7,426 public sanitation operations in 132 zones since efforts began on March 30.

Approximately 10,956 premises have been sanitised, including 2,642 business centres, 4,056 government buildings, 1,581 housing areas including public housing, 2,325 public areas, and 352 supermarkets.

Yesterday alone saw 47 sanitation operations conducted covering 31 zones in 10 states, including 14 in Sabah, and seven in Johor and Melaka.

As of 8am today, 185 Covid-19 quarantine centres are in operation compared to 186 the day before. Currently 14,365 individuals are undergoing mandatory quarantine.

Approximately 168 Malaysians were brought back yesterday from Thailand, Singapore, China, Australia and the Netherlands, and placed in quarantine.

Since April 3, 48,773 Malaysians have been brought back from abroad and quarantined, with 38,021 individuals having since completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine period and allowed to return home.

Source link


RM5,000 allocation to help nurseries carry out new healthcare SOP


 
Welcome help: the government subsidy will allow childcare centres to carry out daily sanitisation and cleaning activities so parents are more comfortable with the idea of bringing their children back to the centres.

The childcare subsidy in the Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (Penjana) will help support working parents and nurseries in adapting to the new normal.

Association of Registered Childcare Providers Malaysia president Anisa Ahmad said the one-off grant of up to RM5,000 per registered childcare centre (taska) would help them carry out important new healthcare standard operating procedure (SOP).

“The grant will help a taska carry out daily sanitisation and cleaning activities, making parents more comfortable in sending their children to nurseries due to the enhanced safety procedure.

“Many parents were asking for taska to open up but when we reopened recently, not many children were sent there.

“Parents are still wary of Covid-19 but it’s also expensive for us to operate and pay rental and staff salaries if we are unable to collect enough monthly fees.

“So we hope that the new initiatives will restore their confidence and encourage parents to send their children to nurseries again, ” said Anisa yesterday.

The fact that early childhood education was given a mention by the Prime Minister in his short-term economic revival package and included in Penjana was “very refreshing”, she added.

The government is providing incentives to train new practitioners for childcare and early education courses under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

“We understand that it is an incentive of RM900 for the Permata programme and we’re happy that early childhood education was given a focus, ” Anisa said.

On the RM800 e-vouchers per household for mobile childcare services, Anisa said: “As far as I know, online childcare services are not licensed or certified by the Welfare Department. More clarity is needed on this.”

About 8,000 childcare centres, 5,000 households and an estimated 10,000 new early education practitioners will benefit from the government’s childcare subsidy programme.

Parents like Sheikh Rahim, 30, welcomed the increase in income tax relief for parents on childcare services expenses from RM2,000 to RM3,000 for the year assessment of 2020 and 2021.

“It’s a relief especially since we are halfway through the year and taska usually ends by November, ” said the executive at a travel company.

Asked if he would be confident enough to send his three-year-old child back to taska soon, Sheikh said this would depend on the compliance of the operator.

Nurhidayah Rahman, 27, who is eight months pregnant and looking to continue working after her maternity leave, gave the thumbs up to the increase in income tax relief.

“Monthly expenses for taska in Kuala Lumpur range between RM1,000 for basic and RM1,800 for more upscale care.

“So any offset is welcomed as it puts more money into the pocket of parents but the government will also have to play its role by having stringent approval for nurseries, ” she said.


Read more:


Parents to play bigger role under new SOP | The Star




Related Posts:


https://youtu.be/9evJFXr_Z7Y PM: Govt targets SMEs and mid-tier firms in short-term economic recovery package In his special address..



Dormitories https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/05/schools-gear-up-for-new-normal?jwsource=cl Temperature scre...


Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Hike in daycare & childcare centre fees in 2019


MONTHLY fees at majority of daycare centres in Perak are expected to increase between 15% and 20% in 2019.

Fees between RM300 and RM350 for a child could be increased to RM400.

Perak Daycare Association president Noor Shalina Sahari said the increase was due to the implementation of the minimum wage policy for workers set by the Government.

The minimum wage will be streamlined at RM1,100 nationwide starting Jan 1.

Noor Shalina said the increase at the respective daycare centres would differ from one another, depending on the number of employees and the locality.

“The ratio at a daycare centre is three employees to one child.

“The centre would require five staff to handle children aged one to three while 10 workers are needed for those aged three and above,” she said during a grant presentation ceremony at the Urban Transformation Centre in Ipoh.

“To be honest, the rate in Perak is still considered low.

“Currently, our rates are between RM300 and RM350. Next year, it could be between RM350 and RM400,” she added.

Noor Shalina said the increase would also be based on the respective areas.

“If the daycare is located in an area where majority of its residents are from the low income group, the increase would be minimal.

“It would also depend on the respective daycare operators,” she said, adding that the association has 120 members.

“There will be no drastic increase, it will not benefit us also as we are also competing with those that are home-based and not registered with the Government,” she added.

Source: The Star by Ivan Loh


Childcare centres to hike fees in 2019 - Rates to rise by 10% to 30% to cover costs 

'Childcare providers are now required to have at least a diploma in early education'. - Norsheila Abdullah

PETALING JAYA: Taska (childcare centres) are expected to charge between 10% and 30% more next year to keep up with the minimum wage and to cover costs.

Association of Registered Childcare Pro­viders Malaysia president Norsheila Abdullah said this is unavoidable as the minimum wage for childcare providers has been fixed at RM1,100 and that they are increasingly becoming more qualified.

She expects the fee hike to affect all states as the minimum wage has been streamlined to RM1,100 nationwide starting Jan 1.

“I think the price increase is appropriate because they are receiving very low salary, between RM800 and RM900, and they deserve the minimum wage.

“Besides the minimum wage, other reasons for the increase include hidden costs such as childcare providers’ qualifications and overhead costs such as rental, electricity and water bills.

“Childcare providers are now required to have at least a diploma in early education and to be certified with the Permata Early Childhood Education Programme (KAP), a government-run course that costs RM900, and first aid training,” she said.

Currently in Kuala Lumpur, the fee per child in taska is typically no less than RM450 per month, said Norsheila.

The increase of taska fees would however vary according to the operating costs in the particular location, said Norsheila.

It is likely that only centres charging lower fees will increase them by 30%.

“How much the increase will be depends on the taska. If they are charging between RM200 and RM250, then maybe they will increase by 30% because they need to keep up,” she said.

Norsheila suggests that parents sending children to registered centres be given rebates by the government and taska which adhere to all the regulations be allowed tax exemption.

Selangor Taska Association president Mahanom Basri said taska operators should not haphazardly increase fees without matching it with quality service.

“We don’t actually want to increase the price without any reason. Most of the childcare providers have either a diploma or a degree and sometimes work more than 10 hours per day but they are lowly paid. So we hope the parents will understand and not be angry with us.

“If childcare providers are paid accordingly, they will take care of the children well and both parties will be satisfied,” she said.

While there are over 1,500 taska in Selangor, Mahanom gave assurance that there would be no standardisation of fees among the operators because they are still bound by the Competition Act 2010.

She said the Selangor state government has been assisting parents in need via incentives such as the Sikembar programme, whereby they subsidise RM100 for every child sent to a taska registered under the Community Welfare Department.

Mahanom added that there are also alternatives to the fee increase.

“Currently, I know of some taska operators who don’t want to charge the parents too much so they work out a compromise whereby the parents, as partners in education, would contribute items like rice and vegetables monthly to the taska so that it takes away a a bit of the operating cost burden,” she said.


The  Star by fatimah zainal

Related posts:

Malaysia needs more childcare & daycare centres


 Childcare centre fees set to go up

 

Malaysian Minimum Wage Order forcing establishments to close due to unsustainable fees

  

Government refusal to recognize the UEC due to 'national sovereignty', Kamalanthan said


Parents opt for daycare centres with no live-in maids now


Hike in daycare & childcare centre fees in 2019


MONTHLY fees at majority of daycare centres in Perak are expected to increase between 15% and 20% in 2019.

Fees between RM300 and RM350 for a child could be increased to RM400.

Perak Daycare Association president Noor Shalina Sahari said the increase was due to the implementation of the minimum wage policy for workers set by the Government.

The minimum wage will be streamlined at RM1,100 nationwide starting Jan 1.

Noor Shalina said the increase at the respective daycare centres would differ from one another, depending on the number of employees and the locality.

“The ratio at a daycare centre is three employees to one child.

“The centre would require five staff to handle children aged one to three while 10 workers are needed for those aged three and above,” she said during a grant presentation ceremony at the Urban Transformation Centre in Ipoh.

“To be honest, the rate in Perak is still considered low.

“Currently, our rates are between RM300 and RM350. Next year, it could be between RM350 and RM400,” she added.

Noor Shalina said the increase would also be based on the respective areas.

“If the daycare is located in an area where majority of its residents are from the low income group, the increase would be minimal.

“It would also depend on the respective daycare operators,” she said, adding that the association has 120 members.

“There will be no drastic increase, it will not benefit us also as we are also competing with those that are home-based and not registered with the Government,” she added.

Source: The Star by Ivan Loh


Childcare centres to hike fees in 2019 - Rates to rise by 10% to 30% to cover costs 

'Childcare providers are now required to have at least a diploma in early education'. - Norsheila Abdullah

PETALING JAYA: Taska (childcare centres) are expected to charge between 10% and 30% more next year to keep up with the minimum wage and to cover costs.

Association of Registered Childcare Pro­viders Malaysia president Norsheila Abdullah said this is unavoidable as the minimum wage for childcare providers has been fixed at RM1,100 and that they are increasingly becoming more qualified.

She expects the fee hike to affect all states as the minimum wage has been streamlined to RM1,100 nationwide starting Jan 1.

“I think the price increase is appropriate because they are receiving very low salary, between RM800 and RM900, and they deserve the minimum wage.

“Besides the minimum wage, other reasons for the increase include hidden costs such as childcare providers’ qualifications and overhead costs such as rental, electricity and water bills.

“Childcare providers are now required to have at least a diploma in early education and to be certified with the Permata Early Childhood Education Programme (KAP), a government-run course that costs RM900, and first aid training,” she said.

Currently in Kuala Lumpur, the fee per child in taska is typically no less than RM450 per month, said Norsheila.

The increase of taska fees would however vary according to the operating costs in the particular location, said Norsheila.

It is likely that only centres charging lower fees will increase them by 30%.

“How much the increase will be depends on the taska. If they are charging between RM200 and RM250, then maybe they will increase by 30% because they need to keep up,” she said.

Norsheila suggests that parents sending children to registered centres be given rebates by the government and taska which adhere to all the regulations be allowed tax exemption.

Selangor Taska Association president Mahanom Basri said taska operators should not haphazardly increase fees without matching it with quality service.

“We don’t actually want to increase the price without any reason. Most of the childcare providers have either a diploma or a degree and sometimes work more than 10 hours per day but they are lowly paid. So we hope the parents will understand and not be angry with us.

“If childcare providers are paid accordingly, they will take care of the children well and both parties will be satisfied,” she said.

While there are over 1,500 taska in Selangor, Mahanom gave assurance that there would be no standardisation of fees among the operators because they are still bound by the Competition Act 2010.

She said the Selangor state government has been assisting parents in need via incentives such as the Sikembar programme, whereby they subsidise RM100 for every child sent to a taska registered under the Community Welfare Department.

Mahanom added that there are also alternatives to the fee increase.

“Currently, I know of some taska operators who don’t want to charge the parents too much so they work out a compromise whereby the parents, as partners in education, would contribute items like rice and vegetables monthly to the taska so that it takes away a a bit of the operating cost burden,” she said.


The  Star by fatimah zainal

Related posts:

Malaysia needs more childcare & daycare centres


 Childcare centre fees set to go up

 

Malaysian Minimum Wage Order forcing establishments to close due to unsustainable fees

  

Government refusal to recognize the UEC due to 'national sovereignty', Kamalanthan said


Parents opt for daycare centres with no live-in maids now