KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been called to review the conditions of the application for childcare fee subsidy as the main condition of the application which is the per capita household income does not commensurate with the minimum wage rate.
Senator Nuridah Mohd Salleh said the per capita household income set for the subsidy application was RM800 for urban areas and RM500 for rural areas.
“The government needs to review the eligibility conditions for receiving this subsidy because we rarely hear in big cities, especially the Klang Valley, a per capita salary of RM800 per month when the minimum wage rate exceeds that,“ she said during the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) debate session in the Senate today.
The government has set a childcare fee subsidy of RM180 per month for a child who attends a Child Care Centre (TASKA) registered with the Social Welfare Department for eligible families.
Nuridah also raised the issue of the grant for the establishment of TASKA in the work place which has been introduced since 2019 by questioning the number of employers who have utilised the grant to create a nursery in the work place for the convenience of their staff.
The grant for the establishment of TASKA in the work place is an allocation for the establishment and maintenance of TASKA in federal or state government buildings.
Nuridah also suggested that the grant be extended to the private sector to reduce the cost of the financial burden of high TASKA fees with some costing RM500 a month for a child.
“This is a burden for working women, moreover, the income received is small at the same time they have to spend part of it on childcare fees,“ she said.
The Dewan Negara sitting continues on Monday. — Bernama