The proposed senior citizens bill is problematic because it turns filial responsibility into a legal obligation.
Cases of elderly abandonment are serious. Nobody wants to see old people abandoned at hospitals or left uncared for. But laws affecting millions of families should not be created based on knee-jerk reactions.
Official statistics showed that around 2,144 elderly persons were abandoned at hospitals nationwide between 2018 and mid-2022. Compared to Malaysia’s elderly population, the figure remains less than 1% over several years.
In 2025, Malaysia recorded roughly 2.7 million elderly persons aged 65 and above, while senior citizens aged 60 and above stood at about 4.1 million. Of these, 18.8% lived alone.
The bill appears intended for a very small number of cases, working out to less than 0.1% of the elderly population, yet its emotional and psychological effect extends to all families.
If the government cannot handle less than 0.1% of abandonment cases through healthcare, welfare and support systems, then the problem lies with the short-sightedness of policymakers, not within ordinary families.
On May 7, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi instructed the women, family and community development ministry to draft a proposed Parents Care Act within six months, which could place legal responsibility on children to care for elderly parents.
He said the law was needed as Malaysia moves towards an ageing society and cited cases of elderly neglect, including parents being sent to old folks’ homes and left without visits.
Ahmad Zahid said the government would study laws in countries such as Singapore and China before drafting Malaysia’s framework.
However, the biggest flaw in the bill is the assumption that all parents are good parents. In many cases, parents who fulfil their responsibilities do not need to force their children through legislation to care for them.
In many cases, parents who failed to uphold their parental responsibilities are also the ones demanding legal financial support from their children.
Furthermore, there are also no statistics showing how many parents who were genuinely loving and responsible were abandoned by their children.
While Singapore’s Maintenance of Parents Act is often mentioned as an example Malaysia could follow, it is also evident that the act has not been very effective.
During parliamentary discussions there, an MP reportedly stated that about one in four cases at the Office of the Commissioner, and one in three tribunal cases involved children alleging abuse, neglect, or abandonment by their parents. That alone exposes the weakness of a blanket maintenance law.
Some parents abused their children. Some neglected them emotionally. Some abandoned their families. Some treated children as future retirement plans instead of human beings. Family relationships are complicated. Legislation cannot assume all parents deserve care simply because they are parents.
In healthy families, children usually take care of their parents willingly. They do so out of gratitude, love and respect for the people who raised them.
Taking care of parents should be a blessing, not a burden. The bill makes caring for parents a burden.
Once filial responsibility becomes a legal obligation, the relationship changes and becomes transactional. What normally comes from love and willingness becomes compliance with the law.
The bill also gives the impression that responsibility for elderly care is being pushed onto children instead of strengthening healthcare, retirement protection and support systems for senior citizens themselves.
If this bill gets approved, parents suing children may slowly become normalised in society, making the problem worse. Malaysia should focus on building stronger support systems for the elderly instead of legislating family relationships.
Bottom line is: You don’t swat a fly with a sledgehammer, especially when it concerns less than 0.1% of the elderly population.
Carolyn Khor (carolynkhor@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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