Govt Will Enact Law To Protect Senior Citizens May Punish Non Filial Children

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PARLIAMENT | The government plans to enact a Senior Citizens Act to better protect and empower the elderly as the country moves towards becoming an ageing nation by 2030.
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Aiman Athirah Sabu said the bill for the legislation is expected to be tabled for the first reading next year.
The ministry will also look into possibly including provisions in the bill involving children who are not filial to their elderly parents.
“The enactment of a Senior Citizens Act is seen as a positive and holistic step in protecting seniors.
“The efforts to enact such an act is one of the steps the ministry is taking in handling the issue of the ageing population.
“In relation to that, the ministry will examine the suitability of a law against children who are not filial to their parents in the Act to increase the public’s awareness on taking care of senior citizens,” Aiman said in the Dewan Rakyat during the question-and-answer session today.
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Aiman Athirah SabuShe was responding to a question from Mohd Sany Hamzan (Pakatan Harapan-Hulu Langat) who asked whether the government intends to introduce a law to deduct the salaries of children who send their parents to nursing homes.
Aiman said the ministry welcomes the suggestion to introduce such a law for children capable of taking care of their elderly parents but shirk their responsibility.
It was previously reported that 2,144 senior citizens were abandoned in hospitals from 2018 to 2022.
In 2022, the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration said it had drafted the Senior Citizens Bill to address this problem. - Mkini

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