Kesejahteraan Sosial

14 KOMPENDIUM REKOMENDASI POLISI KESEJAHTERAAN PSIKOLOGI PERKHIDMATAN AWAM KESEJAHTERAAN SOSIAL of maternity leave to 180 days would bring national policy in line with global health guidelines and improve maternal and child health in the public sector. 4.3.3.2 Raise Paternity Leave To At Least 30 Paid Working Days The current upper limit of 20 days of unrecorded paternity leave in Malaysia which often depends on the utilisation of other leave categories is still low by international standards. Countries such as Finland and Japan, for example, grant between 54 and 70 days of paternity leave (OECD Family Database, 2023). Research by Koslowski and O’Brien (2022) shows that extended paternity leave contributes significantly to promoting gender equality in the household, improving father-child bonding and facilitating maternal recovery in the postpartum period. In line with these findings, Malaysia should consider increasing the formal entitlement to paternity leave to at least 30 paid working days to better support shared caregiving responsibilities and improve family well- being. 4.3.3.3 Raise Incentives and Regulatory Enforcement for On-Site Childcare ThePublicServiceCircular2/2012providesguidelines for theestablishment of childcare facilities in government workplaces, yet implementation remains limitedand inconsistent. The lack of legal requirements or specific financial incentives may have contributed to low levels of compliance by public sector organisations. Empirical findings by Yusof et al. (2021) show that access to on-site childcare facilities has a positive impact on employee productivity and promotes a better work-life balance. The introduction of targeted fiscal measures such as tax incentives or operational subsidies modelled after Singapore’s Workplace Childcare Centre Scheme in Singapore could improve institutional compliance and expand equitable access to childcare services across government workplaces.