Kesejahteraan Sosial

01 FAMILY SUPPORT EMPOWERMENT AND WORKPLACE WELL-BEING 19 promotes bonding between father and child, supports maternal recovery and strengthens family cohesion. In the Malaysian context, paternity leave has been found to positively influence employee satisfaction, concentration at work and the quality of parent-child interaction (Ren & Siew, 2023). These shortcomings suggest that currentmaternityandpaternity leave policies require a more holistic, inclusive approach. To align with international standards and promote gender-equitable caregiving, it is recommended that fully paid maternity leave in the public sector be extended to at least 180 days per birth to support exclusive breastfeeding and adequate postpartum recovery. The lifetime cap of 360 days should be removed to ensure equal access for multiple pregnancies. In parallel, a formal entitlement to at least 30 days of paid paternity leave should be introduced, distinct from other types of unrecorded leave, to support early paternal involvement. Malaysia can also look to international models, such as Sweden, where parents are entitled to 480 days of shared leave per child, of which 390 days are paid at 80% of salary, with 90 days reserved exclusively for fathers (Duvander, Halldén, Koslowski & Lindquist, 2024), and Norway, which offers up to 49 weeks of fully paid parental leave or 59 weeks at 80% of salary, with a mandatory 15-week father’s quota (Kenzheali, 2024).