Bill requiring children to support ageing parents likely next year, says Kulasegaran

The proposed filial law in Malaysia, which would legally obligate children to care for their elderly parents, is under consultation and expected to be tabled early next year, according to Deputy Minister M.

This legislation, intended to address situations where adult children neglect financial responsibilities towards their non-working elderly parents, is being developed in collaboration with the ministry overseeing family and welfare matters.

Inspired by similar laws in countries like Singapore and India, the proposed Family Support Bill follows extensive consultations with NGOs and relevant stakeholders.

Additionally, mandatory caning is under review, but details remain confidential under the Official Secrets Act.

IPOH, Sept 17 — The proposed filial law that would legally require children to care for their ageing parents is still under consultation and is likely to be tabled early next year, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said.

Kulasegaran said he had hoped the Bill could be tabled by October this year, but the timeframe was too short as the government still needed to consult non-governmental organisations, relevant departments and other stakeholders.

“I’m hoping for this year. But probably, it looks like early next year,” he told reporters after attending the Program Sumbangan Prihatin Hari Malaysia at Trends Restaurant here.

Kulasegaran also explained that the proposed law did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Law and Institutional Reform Ministry, but the ministry overseeing family and welfare matters, with his ministry collaborating on the matter.

He said the proposed Family Support Bill would address situations where elderly parents were no longer working while their adult children, including professionals such as lawyers, doctors, politicians and engineers, failed to provide financial or other support.

He said Malaysia had studied similar laws in countries including Singapore and India, where legislation allows parents who are not supported by their children to seek a court order requiring their children to provide financial support.

“This is not an unusual proposal. In several countries, including India, Singapore and others, we have studied what kind of legislation could be adopted in Malaysia,” he said.

Kulasegaran said the government could not introduce such legislation arbitrarily as it first needed to examine related laws and conduct various consultations before deciding on the appropriate course of action.

“The process has already been carried out and is ongoing,” he said, adding that he hoped the proposal could be brought forward despite the limited timeframe between October and December.

He said the need for such legislation had also been raised by elderly parents.

Kulasegaran also said he had observed that people who failed to care for their parents could later face similar difficulties when seeking care from their own children.

On mandatory caning, Kulasegaran said the matter was also still under consultation following an impact assessment meeting he chaired recently.

He said the government had received expert opinions and various recommendations on the matter on Tuesday, but could not disclose the details as they were covered under the Official Secrets Act.

“We have had discussions with the Attorney General’s Chambers and various other parties. I am in charge of the meeting,” he said.

Asked whether the abolition of caning was among the recommendations, Kulasegaran declined to comment.

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据副部长M称，马来西亚拟议的孝道法正在征求意见，预计将于明年初提交审议。该法将依法规定子女有义务照顾年迈的父母。

这项立法旨在解决成年子女忽视对不工作的老年父母的经济责任的情况，是与负责家庭和福利事务的部门合作制定的。

受新加坡和印度等国类似法律的启发，拟议的家庭支持法案是在与非政府组织和相关利益攸关方进行广泛磋商后制定的。

此外，强制鞭刑正在审查中，但根据《官方保密法》，细节仍属保密。

怡保，9月17日讯——首相署（法律及体制改革）副部长古拉塞加兰表示，拟议的孝道法（该法将依法要求子女赡养年迈的父母）仍在咨询阶段，预计将于明年初提交审议。

库拉塞加兰表示，他原本希望该法案能在今年10月提交，但时间太短，因为政府仍需咨询非政府组织、相关部门和其他利益相关者。

“我希望今年就能实现。但可能要等到明年年初了，”他在出席完位于此地的 Trends 餐厅举行的马来西亚关怀日活动后告诉记者。

库拉塞加兰还解释说，这项拟议的法律不属于法律和体制改革部的管辖范围，而是属于负责家庭和福利事务的部门的管辖范围，他的部门正在就此事进行合作。

他表示，拟议的家庭支持法案将解决老年父母不再工作，而他们的成年子女（包括律师、医生、政治家和工程师等专业人士）未能提供经济或其他支持的情况。

他说，马来西亚曾研究过新加坡和印度等国的类似法律，这些国家的立法允许未得到子女赡养的父母向法院申请命令，要求子女提供经济支持。

“这并非一个不同寻常的提议。包括印度、新加坡等在内的多个国家，我们都研究过马来西亚可以采取什么样的立法，”他说。

库拉塞加兰表示，政府不能随意推出此类立法，而需要先审查相关法律并进行各种磋商，然后才能决定采取适当的行动方案。

“该程序已经进行并正在进行中，”他说道，并补充说，尽管10月到12月的时间有限，但他希望该提案能够尽快提出。

他说，一些年迈的父母也提出了制定此类法律的必要性。

库拉塞加兰还表示，他观察到，那些不赡养父母的人，日后在向自己的子女寻求照顾时，可能会面临类似的困难。

关于强制鞭刑，库拉塞加兰表示，在他最近主持召开的影响评估会议之后，此事仍在磋商中。

他表示，政府周二已收到专家对此事的意见和各种建议，但由于涉及《官方保密法》，因此无法透露详情。

他说：“我们已经与总检察署和其他各方进行了讨论。我负责主持这次会议。”

当被问及废除鞭刑是否在建议之列时，库拉塞加兰拒绝置评。

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